For our prompt of “Nest” today, I did a quick little doodle of a blue jay feeding its babies. These days, so many of us find ourselves nesting more so this seems like a fitting prompt. Indeed, short of the very occasional carry-out, Philippe and I are eating entirely at home in our own little nest these days. Since I’m worthless in the kitchen, I end up being the baby bird in this scenario, but without the gaping mouth as that would just be weird and mildly rude. Though we don’t normally eat out much, it’s always a treat to visit our favorite restaurants on the weekends. During the current times, that doesn’t happen anymore and it’s something I truly miss. But, I’m very lucky that Philippe doesn’t mind cooking all of the time and is an exceptional cook. He even cooks all of the dog’s food from scratch as well, so Phineas is equally spoiled.
Though all of Philippe’s cooking is extremely healthy and not high calorie, we’d had a few extra snacks on hand. These we had gotten from Costco so the bags are large enough a family of eight or more. There’s just the two of us, so we have been attempting to just dole out small portions and then hide the bag. This is to protect us from our worst inclinations and so far it’s working pretty well. It’s that out of sight, out of mind, approach. We have our daily walks, but we’re not getting quite the same number of steps as we might if we were at work, so we’ve dialed everything back a bit to compensate. That is, at least, what we’re doing now as I didn’t allow that sort of ridiculous restraint during my birthday weekend. Thankfully, the potato chips, which are the most addictive thing on the planet are a touch too salty so we can’t eat many before feeling like we’re turning into a human sponge.
To keep things interesting, Philippe has tried some dishes that just popped to mind that we’ve never had before this. Some of the earlier quarantine dinners were products of required creativity as we couldn’t get a lot of our normal ingredients. But, we’re now stocked on most of the things we adore. Phineas gets the same dish each night, but doesn’t seem to mind at all. It’s a turkey, liver, and pasta concoction that actually doesn’t smell too bad when Philippe is making it. We call it the “Turkey Special” and Phineas is excited to have it each and every night. Honestly, it’s inspiring to watch him be just as excited about something that happens every single day. As Philippe and I try to mix things up and keep things interesting, I enjoy being reminded that little routines are equally something special. I’ve no idea what’s on the menu for this evening, but whatever it is, I’m thrilled to be healthy and happy while eating at home.
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About the DoodlewashDa Vinci Paint Co.: Hansa Yellow Medium, Opus (Vivid Pink), Cobalt Turquoise, Terra Cotta, Ultramarine (Green Shade), and Indigo. Lamy Al-Star Safari Fountain Pen (Broad Nib) with sepia ink in an A5 Hahnemühle Watercolour Book. Want to purchase a print of this doodlewash? Click Here! |
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Recommended5 recommendationsPublished in By Charlie
Eating at home is definitely a challenge. Fortunately, hubby and I like chili, which is easy to make and actually pretty nutritious. I vary the ingredients so sometimes it’s more like a mexican stew, but that keeps it more interesting.
Yum!! I love chili! Or a stew of any kind! That sounds delicious! 😃💕
Charlie I do believe you are the dessert guy! Philippe sounds like a fantastic cook with a whole lot more patience than I could ever exhibit. Enjoy!
Thanks, Linda! 😃💕 hehe… I am the dessert guy and Philippe has infinite patience. He lives with crazy me after all! 😉
In our case, Charlie, crazy is vitality and creativity. So there!
So true! 😉
Sweet little family of Bluejays, Charlie! Those of us who are “healthy and happy while eating at home” truly are fortunate.
Thanks so much, Mary! 😃💕 Yes… we’re very fortunate. And much love to those who are out there taking care of us all.
Perfectly illustrated the current situations. Salute to an observant artist. 👍
Thanks so much! 😃💕 Glad you enjoyed this.
Wonderful Charlie, bluejays are such a striking bird. They, the cardinals and the gold finches really catch your eye as the fly through the yard. Jay’s always make their presence know.
Thanks so much, Karen! 😃💕 Yeah, I love Jay’s… they like to be noticed!
I love the painting. Love it!!
and I gotta tell you “weird and mildly rude” totally had me rolling!
hehe!! Thanks, Sarah! 😃💕 Yeah, I think I understated that a bit, but glad it had a comedic effect!
I too am cooking every meal at home. Joe helps a bit, but mostly he’s pretty useless in the kitchen too. In his bachelor days I think he ate out for every meal. I’d get bored with that pretty fast.
Yay to cooks in our lives! 😃💕 Yeah, I’m super useless in the kitchen, but super appreciative of everything that comes out of it!
Aweeeeeee so cute!!! 🙂
Thanks so much, Lisa! 😃💕
Great doodle Charlie.
Thanks so much, Gary! 😃💕
Nice painting 😍😍
Thanks so much, Haripriya! 😃💕
Lovely work
Thanks so much, Susan! 😃💕
Wah… Superb… 😍😍
Thanks so much, Soumya! 😃💕
This is lovely. Now I now what it looks like at the local bluejays home. I’ve seen them gathering bugs and other food lately. Such a nice site.
Thanks so much, Lori! 😃💕Yeah, I love bluejays… they’re such beautiful birds!
My backyard feeders are the takeout spots for the Blue Jays and other birds, along with a few enterprising squirrels. No matter how many unsalted peanuts in the shells I scatter about, they will still prefer the bird’s food. Your Doodlewash is amazing and perfectly detailed, the nest looks like those in my trees. I’m not sure if that is the Mother or the Father feeding the hungry wee ones, because the female and male Blue Jays look alike and both take part in raising their offspring. I sure wish that I had a Philippe at my house these days. The food prepared for Phineas sounds more impressive than what I prepare. I do not enjoy cooking and the best thing that I make is reservations! Eating at home from those places that still deliver or curbside pick-up are the only choices besides hoping to survive eating one of my concoctions. So far, so good…we are still healthy and alive! Thank-you!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this, Ellen! 😃💕 Yeah, I’m never sure whether jays are male or female. But love that they all take part in raising the kids. And yay to being healthy and alive! Yeah, if it weren’t for Philippe, I’d be on a carry-out regime much of the time. My cooking is so bad it probably can’t be called cooking. 😊
Beautiful.
Thanks so much, Linda! 😃💕
Those baby birds are screaming, “Why can’t we have pizza tonight?”
I’ve been cooking every night as well, but I’m not a great chef. Fortunately, hubby doesn’t know. I consider myself very lucky to have plenty of food at this time, however blandly I prepare it.
hehe… yay for pizza night! 😃💕 I look forward to it even more lately. And I bet your cooking is much better than you realize!
Similar to school cafeteria. LOL