I’ve been working on some recipes to share on the blog, then the confinement hit, and going to the supermarket or obtaining ingredients became more of a challenge. Having lived in earthquake country, I started buying a few extra things in the last few weeks, especially seeing what was happening to our neighbors in Italy. Being a baker, I’m fortunate that I always have flour, chocolate, sugar, and nuts in stock, plus I keep butter on hand in the refrigerator and freezer, in case of emergencies. And not being able to bake a cake or a batch of cookies for me, counts as one!
We are on day #1 of a fifteen-day confinement. Bars, cafés and restaurants were closed Saturday at midnight (which were packed in my neighborhood, as usual, with twenty- and thirty-somethings), and people were told to keep a distance between them and avoid public places. But the revelry continued on the streets around here through the wee hours of Sunday morning. Later in the morning, people waited in line, shoulder-to-shoulder, shopping at the Bastille market, and Sunday afternoon, people filled parks in Paris, or sat by the canal to have a beer with friends. To be honest, it was disheartening, and a little frightening, to watch the news and hear people being interviewed, talking about how they didn’t care, that they were going to do whatever they wanted. So here we are, with talk of the military coming in to make sure people stay indoors.
I realize how fortunate I am to have a safe place to live. And while being stuck indoors isn’t all that fun, other people are having a much more difficult time. So be sure to compassionate to others, especially people in the medical community, public service, or who are working in shops. Bakeries and grocery stores in France are allowed to be open, and those people are in close contact with others, as well as handling money. Many are taking public transit to work, which isn’t the ideal place to be. So we should all do our best to make an extra effort to be compassionate and nice at this time, both in daily life and online, and realize that we are all in this together, no matter what country, continent, and culture you come from.
While we’re confined for a few weeks, I’ll be sharing some new recipes I’ve been working on which you can bookmark for later if you don’t have the ingredients right now, and I’m planning to share one of my favorite cocktails from Drinking French shortly as well, because many of us could use a good drink at the moment. Right?
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