April Fools 2020 Style

Wouldn't it have been lovely if we woke up this morning and discovered this whole pandemic was one huge April Fool's joke?

Sadly, there's nothing remotely funny about it. I can't even bear to watch the news any more.

One of the casualties of the pandemic here in Brooklyn is the annual Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.


Since the festival had to be canceled due to COVID19, I thought I would repost my photos from years past.

Enjoy the beauty. It's no April Fool's joke.


From April 2019 -

This past weekend was Cherry Blossom time in Brooklyn, but most especially it was Sakura Matsuri, also known as the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.

This annual festival draws over 60,000 visitors to the gardens in a single weekend!


The cherry blossoms are really something to behold. I shared a photo last week of the blossoms in my neighborhood.

and yesterday I posted a photo on Facebook of the blossoms after a rain storm washed them off the tree. Literally a river of petals.

So pretty, but sad to see those lush blossoms fade.

So back to the festival - You can check out the Botanic Gardens page here and see they have 60 events scheduled for Cherry Blossom weekend.

If you go to the main page - you can see the Cherry Blossom esplanade in full bloom.

There is also a beautiful and peaceful Japanese Garden.





So I figured I could give a recipe for something Japanese, right?

Um, no. I don't have any.

I'm excusing myself because I'm in the midst of another week of state testing.

But I can Google and I discovered Huffington Post had a list of five favorite Japanese recipes to celebrate the Cherry Blossom Festival.

So, if you're feeling adventurous, give it a try.

5 Tasty Japanese Recipes to Celebrate Cherry Blossom Season

My daughter loves to cook with Japanese sweet potatoes. She makes a delicious dish with sweet potatoes, wild Japanese black rice and roasted papaya and pineapple.

I wish I had a photo.

So, what's blooming in your neck of the woods?

Sakura Matsuri

This past weekend was Cherry Blossom time in Brooklyn, but most especially it was Sakura Matsuri, also known as the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.

This annual festival draws over 60,000 visitors to the gardens in a single weekend!


The cherry blossoms are really something to behold. I shared a photo last week of the blossoms in my neighborhood.

and yesterday I posted a photo on Facebook of the blossoms after a rain storm washed them off the tree. Literally a river of petals.

So pretty, but sad to see those lush blossoms fade.

So back to the festival - You can check out the Botanic Gardens page here and see they have 60 events scheduled for Cherry Blossom weekend. 

If you go to the main page - you can see the Cherry Blossom esplanade in full bloom.

There is also a beautiful and peaceful Japanese Garden.





So I figured I could give a recipe for something Japanese, right?

Um, no. I don't have any.

I'm excusing myself because I'm in the midst of another week of state testing.

But I can Google and I discovered Huffington Post had a list of five favorite Japanese recipes to celebrate the Cherry Blossom Festival.

So, if you're feeling adventurous, give it a try.

5 Tasty Japanese Recipes to Celebrate Cherry Blossom Season

My daughter loves to cook with Japanese sweet potatoes. She makes a delicious dish with sweet potatoes, wild Japanese black rice and roasted papaya and pineapple.

I wish I had a photo.

So, what's blooming in your neck of the woods?

Attack of the Tree Pollen

So the last two weeks have sort of gone missing.

These beautiful trees were preceded by the nasty stuff that makes it difficult to breathe...or stop coughing... or think... or do anything more than veg on the sofa.

Okay, I don't usually whine about allergies, but I've never had them as bad as this year. I was pretty much immobilized for a week.

Which wasn't such a bad thing because:

a) I was on Easter break; and

b) this cute guy had just had surgery on his ACL and couldn't do anything more than sleep.

Fenway would probably be embarrassed that I posted his naked leg, but he's a dog and doesn't know I'm posting it. :)

Still not feeling too well, but at least he got some air!

The good part was I did a lot of reading.

I did not do a lot of cooking.

So I had to dig back into my phone photo library, and I came up with these three simple meals that I threw together.

They're pretty self-explanatory.

First up:

I buy salmon burgers from our local health food store. I like them better than salmon steaks. I added a bed of couscous, some fresh asparagus, some roasted beets, and I sprinkled lemon juice over the whole thing.

Simple and tasty.

Second two are salads. I made a lentil salad and a salmon burger salad. Have you figured out I love to add fruit to my greens? I love using the fruit instead of dressing. Not just because the calorie count is lower, but because I love fruit in my salad.

Finally, my church had this sign posted for Easter. Wouldn't the world be a better place if we all kept this message in our hearts?