First I want to thank you so much for being here and sharing your experiences and knowledge. This is a very difficult time for all of us. As many of you know I am 65 (how did that happen). Here in California, anyone over the age of 65 is required to stay at home. Perhaps it is a good time for all of us to slow down and enjoy life’s simpler things. I have my garden to work in and I have this blog. We will get through this as long as we all keep the greater good in mind. That being said I want to focus on positive thoughts, pretty interiors, and over 50 fashion and beauty tips, and hopefully add a little sunshine to your day during this time.
If you follow me on Instagram you saw these beautiful flowers that I received from a client and my pal Rusty.
Do you follow James Farmer on Instagram? His feed is filled with gorgeous southern interiors ablaze with color. Just what we need right now to lift our spirits.
Keep in contact with your friends and family especially the older people in your life. The lily has a good article on How not to Feel Isolated during this time.
Our daughter posted this picture of our little ray of sunshine on Instagram Saturday. We are going to miss her.
Elizabeth Mincilli Eating My Way Through Italy has a great post on what it is like in Italy under lockdown and what we should do to prepare for it here
If you are a baker you might enjoy Mary Ann’s Comforting Dark Cherry Streusel Cake
Now is a good time to read that book you couldn’t find the time to enjoy. Katie from Preppy Empty Nester is an avid reader and always has great selections. I just uploaded this one to my IPAD. I love a good mystery. Have you read it?
As you know Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have Covid 19. They are an encouraging voice to all who are in the same situation.
Rita has released a playlist on Spotify called Quarrantunes
My friend Kim from Northern California Style has a great post on how we can all be responsible during this difficult period.
My husband and I have really become soup lovers. I will be posting more soup recipes. I posted this Artichoke Bisque Soup on Instagram and many of you asked for the recipe.
Artichoke Bisque with Roasted Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 4.5 lbs roma tomatoes
- 1/4 c olive oil
- 1 T sea salt
- freshly cracked pepper to taste
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 14 oz cans artichoke hearts
- 4 c chix stock
- 3/4 c parmesan cheese
- 1/4 c greek yogurt
- chopped fresh basil
- 1 small baguette
- 1 onion coarsley chopped
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread tomatoes on a large baking sheet with 1/4 c olive oil, onions, garlic, and 1/2 t salt and pepper. Roast for 25 minutes.
-
Add tomato mixture to large dutch oven along with artichoke hearts, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil over medium heat reduce and simmer for 40 minutes. Blend with an immersion blender or in the cuisinart, leaving some chunks. Add salt and pepper to taste, finish with 1/4 c greek yogurt, stir,
Serve with warm baguette slice and chopped fresh basil.
Recipe Notes
Many of us are confined to our homes right now so fire roasted tomatoes could be substituted in lieu of all of the roasted tomatoes are part of them.
The good news…it is raining here in California. We are hoping for a miracle march. We are going to use this time to get our garden in shape.
Beau can’t figure out what all the fuss is about.
Please share what you would like to read more about here on the blog and what you are doing to pass the time. Be sure to follow me on Instagram to see what I am up to in the garden. Let’s get through this together!!
Shop The Post
I miss my great-grandchildren so I totally understand you missing Summer. I loved today’s post! You understand what’s going on, and you understand the seriousness of it. I appreciate your addressing it intelligently. Stay safe.
Great post. I recognized James’ picture as soon as I scrolled down. I like the instagrams of two other Georgia designers mollarymathisoninc and MargaretKirklandinteriors too. A lot of eye candy from those three.
I did order beans today from Rancho Gordo, but they are backlogged on orders. I love their variety.
Bill and I made the soup together last night. It was delicious. And enough left over for tonight. I really enjoyed reading all the comments, book recommendations and encouraging attitudes from all of your readers. Thank you Cindy!
Oops- forgot to mention… Mary Kay Andrews, a funny Southern author and lover of interior decorating has several hilarious books about spunky women reinventing their lives and homes I recommend to lift the spirits!
Hi Cindy, I discovered your website this week- perfect timing for the current times! Turning 67 in January got my attention as I saw in the mirror how quickly my appearance changed in the past 2 years. Having natural dark brown hair, green eyes, and golden olive tone skin all my life, the color of my skin is now very light and the monthly hair coloring process of a lighter brown are simply not working on a head of 95% grey and paler skin. I am going to Embrace The Grey and my Eileen Fisher wardrobe of chocolate brown, dark olive, black is going to be updated. Her signature arnica and gold leaf will stay, but most certainly the palate will be lighter. I also have the same EF arnica jacket you wore in a recent post.
Also very glad to read from your other followers they are opting to stay home if over age 65 during the pandemic. This is key to stopping the viral spread. Prevention works! I live in a suburb of Memphis, TN and we have only 3 confirmed cases in the greater metropolitan area. The quick response is typical of the Volunteer State; we truly do take care of each other and schools, restaurants, bars are closed, events and meetings, travel cancelled, and anyone over 60 is expected to remain at home. I began cocooning 10 days ago.
Thank you for your ray of sunshine blog and personal style! It truly helps us to have your creative diversion during the stressful isolation. It has been a dark, cold, rainy winter in the South but the sun shone unexpectedly this afternoon and I gleefully pulled weeds in my backyard and garden beds, reveled in seeing the tiny signs of spring budding up, and felt renewed! Take care everyone!
Great post Cindy, I’m also enjoying reading all of the comments. I have a fabulous book to recommend…Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson. I listened to the audible version and it was so good..one of those you don’t want to end but can’t wait to find out what happens…it’s a psychological thriller..would be a great movie!
We are in the Dallas area and all restaurants and bars are closed and I’ve gathered craft supplies and ingredients to try some new recipes. These are trying times and let’s make the most of our home staycations 😊 I’ve got lots of organizing and cleaning out to do..
Also if anyone has any good shows to suggest for binge watching would love to hear about those.
Stay well everyone 💕
This is the perfect post, Cindy. No reiterating what most of us have heard. I owe Preppy Empty Nester a visit, I love her posts and her reads are good and bad for me…I always seem to hit Amazon for her recommendations and I have a stack of unread books!
I am feeling a bit helpless in this crises–I started stocking up weeks ago. I’m an over thinker. I wish I could give back and do more but my severe asthma is an everyday battle and I would definitely be a terrible case. I’m staying put and I have enough going on here to keep me very busy.
And like many of us bloggers, we will be around more often…Yay!
Take care, Cindy!
Hi Jane
My husband has asthma on occasion as well so it is a bit worrisome. You must stay in and continue to share your thoughts. I see that Debra closed her shop. Let’s hope for speedy end to this. Thanks for your thoughtful comment as always
The blog world and Instagram is my entertainment during this time of self-quarantine. I’m also organizing drawers and cupboards. I’m also re-reading a Rosamunde Pilcher book I read years ago. It’s rainy here in SoCal so it’s the perfect time to be indoors.
xo,
Karen
Hi Karen
I organized drawers on Sunday and I have plenty more I can do. The day never seems to be long enough for me. Yesterday late in the day Steve and I had a glass of wine in the garden as the sun peeked out for a bit. It felt good.
Cindy
This was such a great post. Stay safe and keep taking of yourself, eat healthy and of course continue the cocktails!
Prayers for our nation and the world as we navigate this together.
Much love,
Amanda
Hi Amanda
We are very healthy eaters. We eat a lot of soups, salads, lean meat and fish. We like to cheat on the weekends. Hope all continues to be well in Texas. Are you limited to move about?
Thank you, Cindy, your post today was a true breath of fresh air for me. Along with the other faithful followers of your blog, I appreciate the beautiful pictures, helpful articles, and recipes. We live in a small, charming university town/small city that overnight has fallen silent. I received an email today which informed residents that our old and beautiful, but surprisingly up to date and spacious library had closed its doors indefinitely. We live in a neighborhood of lovingly restored homes built in the 1920s and 1930s just two blocks away from our beloved library. I am 62, my husband is 67, we share your “stay indoors” requirement. The weather is still rather chilly, but we’ve been wrapping up and taking a nice brisk walk 2-3 times a day, we have an ongoing Scrabble game set up on the dining room table and I’ve been trying out recipes I’ve collected over the past several months and just hadn’t gotten the time to make them yet. We express our gratitude for each other, our health, home and family in daily prayer, it’s quite reassuring. Reading all of the responses to this post is spirit-lifting, all of us, a collective consciousness, encouraging, sharing and reminding each other that a bright tomorrow is in our future.
Hi Annie
I have always felt so fortunate to have such thoughtful engaged readers. These comments have touched my heart in ways you can’t imagine. Please keep commenting on your daily life and how you are passing the days and sharing what you would like to hear more about. I definitely will have more time to devote to the blog in the coming weeks. You guys are a great source of comfort to me.
Great post, Cindy! This is a scary time, It’s going to be hard to stay put! That recipe looks yummy! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Carla
Yes it is. How are things in Texas? Hopefully we all can gather at Roundtop sometime soon!
Making your Tomato Artichoke Bisque. And wondering how many onions to use……..
Hi Kathleen
I corrected it! I am such a fly by the seat of my pants cook. I always tweak my recipes that I always run the risk of forgetting something! Thankfully you caught it! I am so glad you enjoyed the soup. I am a big fan of roasted vegetable-based soups.
Cindy, this was a welcoming post; with so many people responding, the sense of being virtually together is comforting. Today in Vancouver it is sunny, another respite for combating the negative news. Making your soup tonight and will look for another bight side, tomorrow.
Hi Joyce
Thank you so much for commenting. We are very thankful for the rain here in California. However when the sun peeked out at the end of the day it was a welcome sight. Enjoying a glass of wine in front of the fountain in the sun (hoping the virus does not like the sun) was a welcome change.
I never participated before until this post, it just brought such joy and happiness to all your readers……thank you!
Thank you Jan for the sweet comment and please continue to share. We all love hearing from you!!
I would like to try to make the soup with canned fire roasted tomatoes. Any idea on how many ounces/pounds? Great post by the way.
Hi Linda
The original recipe called for 28oz of canned tomatoes and 3 lbs of roma tomatoes but it was a little too “tomatoey” for us. That should help guide you better. Enjoy!
lovely flowers, Cindy. thanks for sharing all the wonderful positive advice, and for sharing the IG of James Farmer, just beautiful. (I’m in the same age group as you; we’re in Missouri, no restrictions as yet.)
Hi Debra
Just heard that the entire SF bay area is under mandatory lockdown except for service-oriented businesses, groceries, etc. Keep us posted on what is happening in your state. I am from the Midwest originally and still have many good friends there. James Farmer has a new book coming out in August.
Thank you for the tips on how to keep busy during this time in our lives. I would have never dreamed in a million years that we would be living this nightmare. I woke up this morning thinking what a bad dream I had.
So my nephew’s trip to New Zealand was cancelled due to NZ’s 2 week quarantine there. And we were keeping their two dogs. Hubby drove the pups home to Cibola near San Antonio . Gave him a break to get away. I stayed home and read and and ate! It has been raining for days here in Post Oak Bend . (SE of DFW)
The garden has a fresh layer of compost tilled in and it is ready for vegetables now. Maybe we will get some sunshine soon and we can actually get plants in the ground. Your Beau is just precious. We are Lab people. Sadly , we have lost three due to cancer in two years. Love your soup recipes. Chicken tortilla is my favorite after seafood gumbo. Round Top Antique show has been cancelled so I am not going anywhere . Looking forward to all of your posts! Please stay well and happy!
Hi Marcia
We have been getting a lot of rain here as well, thankfully. At least we both live in states where we can get out and garden if homebound. Beau has been a great dog. I am so sorry you lost two to cancer. Beau is our fifth lab, and when something happens to him we will get another. Once this is all over I hope to make it to Round Top again, such great fun!! Would love to meet some of my texas readers as well!
Thank you for this post, Cindy. It felt like a warm hug from you to all of us. I am practicing self care with lots of books to read, projects that spark joy and reading all the fantastic blogs that are reaching out to their readers with supportive dialogue. What a nurturing community of people. I wish everyone the best during these trying times. I am currently reading ‘Walking on Thin Ice’. A true story of a team’s trek to the North Pole. It’s quite good!
All the best.
Nice, timely post, Cindy,
Here in Italy/Umbria we are on lockdown. Total lockdown.
We have provisioned ourselves well. We live in the country so we are always well provisioned, and it is not unusual for us to stay home for days, under normal circumstances. We are busy with home projects, outdoor projects, and preparing for our vegetable garden- seeding our Heirloom tomatoes and veg that needs to be started indoors, and this is also normal behavior for us at this time of year.
Elizabeth Minchilli’s post was spot on, as well as all the links she included in the post. She is also in lockdown at her country house in Umbria, with her husband and daughter Sophie. She speaks of the impact to individuals, who are already living on a limited profit margin. This coronavirus will have lasting effects- to all economic sectors. Our hearts go out to all the victims and their friends and loved ones worldwide.
Such gratitude to all the medical workers and volunteers who risk their lives, to help others.
Compassion is critical. We are all in this together.
Sending well wishes to you and your family.
Hi Robin
Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. Our hearts go out to all of you during these trying times. We are all one. Now more than ever.
Thank you for your beautifully expressed thoughts and well wishes. Thank you, especially for your most important reminder that compassion, kindness toward all and love are the ingredients that create the triumph of the human spirit. Be well…
Robin, I hope you continue to share your thoughts and insights with us. We are so grateful that you and your family are safe.
Thanks Cindy for a great blog. We are not yet at the stage the rest of the world is, but it is inevitable unfortunately so I’m preparing as best we can and we have decided this morning not to leave our town to visit grandchildren in the city 😢😢😢. Stay safe and I look forward to your updates on Insta. Will definitely make the soup, as it sounds and looks delicious. Best wishes. rebecca
Hi Rebecca
Thank you so much for chiming in. We will not be visiting our granddaughter in the near future either. We do not want to risk infecting her should we catch it. She is such a light in our life that will be the most painful for us.
When word was out the flu was out for the elderly, I said to my husband, “At least that’s not us.” He gave me the side eye and it hit me: I at 70 and he at 72 are in the bull’s eye of this storm. It reminded me of when my mother turned 50, she told my dad that she was now middle aged. He looked up from his newspaper and gave her a similar look, “How many 100 year olds do you know?”
We started getting prepared two weeks ago. News is that this social distancing may last much longer than the first “two weeks” . Like the line from the movie “The Money Pit” this may two weeks itself into months and months. I decided to keep a diary to keep track of my days and to have to remember what we ate! Today I learned how to test eggs: if they float in a large bowl of water they’re goners and how to make sour cream from whipping cream (about to go) with buttermilk.
Summer is adorable. She will need her own fashion blog any day now. I know you will miss her like crazy. It’s still too cool and unpredictable to start gardening here in Kansas. I’ve had to postpone new carpet installation until “the danger passes”. Take care and know that we care.
Hi Patricia
You two were so wise. You were listening when many others were not. I just listened to Trumps press conference and it sounds like he is being a bit more realistic as well. We will miss Summer so much but will do a lot of skyping! FYI we have always done the egg test. My aunt and uncle had an egg farm back in the day and taught us that trick. Keep sharing your experiences with all of us!
Love this post full of short, but varied, subjects….something for everyone.
Hi Nancy
Thank you so much. I am so glad you enjoyed it. I was at a loss as to what to post.
Thanks, Cindy for the streusel shout out! This was a great post. HOW adorable is Summer. I’m going to do a new playlist and organize my jewelry and drawers…and then download that book for fun!!
Mary Ann
PS. Pinning your soup
I cleaned drawers yesterday and boy did they need it!!
Lovely, uplifting suggestions for this time of social distancing. Thank you.
Donna Leon writes incredible mysteries set in Venice in which she is a half time resident. Her books have been made into movies available with subtitles. The characters are rich and diverse and uplifting. My husband and I have been reading the books at the same pace for many months and are now loving the movies
Reaching out with my heart,
Diney on Camano Island
Hi Diney
Thank you for the book suggestions. I am going to look them up. I hope you are staying put as well. Our hearts go out to Washington as well.
Excellent ! We all needed this ! Thank you…..
Hi Patricia
Thank you so much!
Great tips Cindy! Thanks for keeping our spirits up during all this! 🙂 Have fun with your garden, and take care!
Thank you so much Barbara. You are a bright light on Instagram!
Thank you Barbara! You are always like a ray of sunshine yourself!
The Silent patient is great! Only bad thing you’ll be done with it in 2 days! Enjoy.
Hi Fran!
Ha! Any other suggestions?
Just finished the Rent collector by Camron Wright and The storyteller’s secret by Sejal Badani, both very good. Currently reading the Adventurer’s son by Roman Dial. After that will read Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano and Maybe you should talk to someone by Lori Gottlieb. I am 61, a retired psychologist and LOVE to read. Are you familiar with the app Goodreads?
Hi Francoise
Thank you for the great suggestions. I used to be an avid reader and I have not read as much as I would like due to the time commitment required for this blog and my real job! I am familiar with Good Reads but I always value suggestions from my readers. You guys are such a great community of women filled with great advice. Thanks for reading and let us know how you like the Adventurer’s son. That one is on my radar as well!!
COOKING AND READING and I SHOULD BE CLEANING!
PLENTY TO DO IN THESE STAY AT HOME DAYS!
THE GARDEN has so many GREEN HUES NOW with this RAIN!
I will tippy toe to the chicken coop and see what I spy TODAY!
PLEASE STAY HEALTHY!
ALTHOUGH, I don’t think there is much THAT CAN KEEP YOU DOWN!!!
HIP SURGERY TWICE AND NO MEDS STILL BLOWS ME AWAY!!!!!!!
XX
NEW POST over yonder……..
Hi Eliz
I did take extra strength tylenol the second time Elizabeth, and they gave me one of those awful painkillers once the first time around. Hopefully we will all stay well and can garden during this difficult time. Thank god for the garden!