Hello and welcome to the Hearth and Soul Link Party! How are things going in your corner of the world? We are looking forward to better days ahead here.
Whether your blog posts are old or new, as long as they are about things that feed the soul, they are welcome here at The Hearth and Soul Link Party. Things that feed the soul may include (but are not limited to) recipes, decorating, crafts, family, home, DIY, organization, travel, book reviews, the arts and self improvement.
What’s Been Happening
I hope this finds you and yours well, and that you have not lost anyone. I also hope you have not been too badly affected by the virus or the effects it has had on society. My family and I are well. It’s definitely a case of focussing on the positive, enjoying the lovely moments that come along, and looking forward to better days ahead here. Some restrictions on our movement and activities are being lifted.
However, we are still experiencing many cases of the virus and I’m not sure they are releasing the restrictions in a sensible order. I hope by the time you read this that may have changed! I’m definitely looking forward to better days ahead in that regard.
New on the Blog
It was National Vegetarian Week last week, so I’ve been sharing lots of delicious vegetarian and vegan recipes. My family and I do eat meat, but I try to make sure that many of our meals are meat free. It benefits our health, the environment and our budget.
Ratatouille is an oh so versatile, traditional French recipe from Nice and Provence. Serve it as a side dish, a pasta sauce, over rice and more! It’s vegan and naturally gluten free too.
I’m also very aware from reader comments and my interactions with friends and colleagues online that we are all putting an awful lot of pressure on ourselves these days.
I’ve got some easy ways to help you step back, get a little perspective and Be Kind To Yourself as we look forward to better days ahead on the blog now.
Thank you all so much for your support of the Hearth and Soul Link Party, and for sharing your wonderful content!
Better Days Ahead Features
So many of your contributions last week were about focusing on the positive and looking forward to better days ahead. Featured posts include (from top left, clockwise):-
Becca of The Earthling’s Handbook reminds us of some of the joys we can still experience even in the midst of these difficult times. I love the perspective she shared in Enduring Easter.
Being at home more has given me lots of chance to experiment in the kitchen, and I’m so enjoying trying your recipes. CJ of Morsels of Life is making salad something special with this Roasted Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette. I love the layers of flavour in this wonderful dressing.
Most of the things we want to buy are available to us again now in the UK as we look forward to better days ahead. However we still experience difficulty obtaining various ingredients from time to time. Confectioner’s sugar (icing sugar) is one of the items I have struggled to find. I was really excited to see Marilyn from Marilyn’s Treats offering instructions for Homemade Confectioner’s Sugar.
On the whole, I’m largely optimistic, but I do need a bit of encouragement once in a while during these challenging times. I really like these beautiful Printable Inspirational Quotes to Lift You Up from White Arrows Home.
Thank you all again for sharing. On with the party!
The Hearth and Soul Link Party
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I’m looking forward to reading and sharing your blogs again this week! Take care, stay safe and well. Wishing you a wonderful week!
Comments & Reviews
Hi April,
I am always ” the glass is half full” kind of gal and I see lots of positive things on the horizon as we all recover from this unexpected shut down in our lives.Perhaps it has given all of us a bit of a time out, a time to reflect and re-group to look at the really important things in our life. Hope you have a happy and healthy week and thanks so much for the party!
Miz Helen
I agree, Miz Helen. If we look for the positive, we can definitely find things to help us move forward! Wishing you a happy and healthy week as well!
Such an honor to be featured! Roasting the strawberry really does add another layer of yum. 🙂 Thanks for hosting! I brought by some Chili Lime Kale Chips. Hope you enjoy. 🙂
I’m so glad you are pleased, CJ! I always enjoy your recipes 🙂
Hello April, thanks for hosting, have a great week.
Have a wonderful week, Melynda!
After 14 consecutive days of decreasing cases, Nevada has done a phase 1 reopening. So far so good. That said we are remaining isolated.
The ratatouille looks wonderful! Pinned!
Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
Praying your cases continue to decrease, Michelle! Take care and stay well. Thank you for pinning my Ratatouille!
Hi April
Thankfully we are all well here in Colorado and our relatives and Italy and New York City continue also to be well. We are all trying to maintain social distance and wear masks when in public to protect others from our coughs, sneezes, and airborne droplets, and washing our hands frequently, etc. Some areas are open again but except for a monthly shopping, we stay home. I’d rather be safe than sorry!
Hi Pat, I’m so glad to hear you are all still doing well. I’m grateful you are able to stay in. Thinking of you and yours and wishing you a lovely week.
So happy to hear you are able to see the silver lining. So important to remain vigilant & positive right now. Thank you for hosting & have a wonderful week!
I definitely appreciate how blessed we are, Suzan. I hope that others are able to find a silver lining as well. Thank you so much for your support of Hearth and Soul!
Our city has had no new cases in a couple of days and no current hospitalizations, so I am encouraged. But I know that;’s not the case everywhere. I am concerned about a second wave in the next week or two now that more businesses are opening up. Sadly, some people are still not observing safety precautions. But, like you, I do look forward to better days. I look forward to exploring some of these links later on today.
It’s good news you have had no new cases, Barbara. I’m so happy to hear that! I agree it’s important to remain vigilant though. I hope you will enjoy visiting some of the links. I’m definitely finding it uplifting.
April, it’s the same here in Texas. There is some lifting of restrictions but still new cases every day. Hopefully soon, we’ll start seeing bigger declines. Thanks so much for hosting. Praying you and your family stay well.
Thank you so much, Donna. I am praying for bigger declines as well, and for you and yours too.
Yes, the arrival of spring and the relaxation of restrictions for quarantine are bound to make for much more enjoyable days ahead!
It’s amazing how even just a sunny day lifts me up these days, Michele! Take care and stay well!
Most places are starting to re-open in my area too. We still have social distancing measures (one way systems in supermarkets etc) and masks are compulsory in all public places but hey it’s good to get out again! Hope you have a good week.
I’m glad things are moving forward for you too, Jayne. Take care and stay well!
Thank you for featuring my post! These are strange times and difficult in many ways–but I really don’t miss rushing the kids out of the house early every morning! It’s nice to linger over my coffee reading “morning story” to my daughter.
My county in Pennsylvania recently moved to “yellow” but my family is making only a few changes for now: Our teenager can see a few of his friends (one at a time) who have been isolated, I took a masked and socially-distanced walk in the park with my best friend whom I hadn’t seen in two months, and I’ve scheduled a chiropractic adjustment which I badly need! We’re going to wait a few weeks before we increase socializing or catch up on dental checkups. Somehow, we’ve gotten by with only ONE take-out meal in all this time, but we’re planning to order another once we’ve finished all our leftover homemade soups!
It’s a pleasure! These really are strange times, Becca, but I’m so grateful for how you are focusing on the positive. It’s lovely to see things moving forward carefully. One of the things that makes me think twice is how I never cared about take away food, and now it’s the highlight of my Thursday. I’m still enjoying cooking though!
Thanks for hosting and sharing wonderful links we could explore during this crisis. Stay safe and healthy…
Thank you, Norah! Take care!
Thanks for hosting the party April. Enjoy the week!
Thank you, Julie! You too!
I’m in LA where the gov and the mayor are doing their best to keep us safe but many of the natives are getting restless. My family and I are doing our best to keep ourselves safe, productive and positive during the midst of all of this. I appreciate being able to connect with positive blogging buds like you each week. I always enjoy not only your parties but the recipes and other creative ideas you share with us throughout the week too!
Have an amazing week April! xoxo 🙂
Thank you so much, Ramona! I am always inspired by how positive you are as well! Take care and stay well, and I wish you an amazing week, my friend! xoxo
Thank you for hosting, April-! And thank you for the adorable teddy bear message! I appreciate your optimism, and know that others do as well!!!
Thank you so much, Kristine! I think we can really help each other to stay positive these days!
Thank you so much for the feature! Thank you for hosting! This is what I featured the week of 5-11 to 5-15 on my blog. On Tuesday was Crock Pot Chili Poor Man’s Style. Wednesday was GF Raspberry Lemonade Cake. Thursday was Easy Homemade GF Bread. And winding up this Week my How To Meal Plan 101. Enjoy!
Everything sounds delicious, Marilyn! I look forward to your recipes!
Trying to stay positive these days. The only thing that you can do. Thanks for hosting and I hope that you have a wonderful week. Stay safe and healthy.
I truly think it helps us all, Patrick, although I know staying positive can be hard at times. We will come through this together. Take care, stay safe and well. I hope your week is wonderful too.
Hello April,
Arizona is beginning to open up. Fortunately our state wasn’t as hard hit as many others. But, the economic hit is difficult for many people and my heart goes out to them. Our family is so blessed to all be healthy and employed. Thank you for your positive voice in the midst of panic. I’m so glad you are starting to see some relief and that you and yours are healthy. Have a wonderful week!
I agree, Helen, it’s heartbreaking to see how badly some people have been affected. I am so glad you and yours are safe, well and employed. Thank you for your support! Wishing you a wonderful week as well.
I certainly hope better days are ahead for all of us.
I am certain they are, Lauren 🙂
We have been very lucky not to even know anyone that has had Covidin our circle of family and friends. Our state is slowly starting to open things back up as of tomorrow; I’m kind of excited about getting my hair cut and gong to the dentist even if I do have to wear a mask.
I’m so glad you have not known anyone affected by Covid, Joanne! It will be lovely to get your hair done. I have to wait until July at the earliest! Take care and stay well. Have a lovely week!
Thank you for putting up the ratatouille recipe, April! I make a zucchini quiche and for some reason I thought that was ratatouille. I think we all need some new recipes and tend to make whatever is easiest or recipes that we are all too familiar with… 🙂 Happy to link up this evening and I’ve shared repainting our benches on our patio (#144).
Thank you for hosting and I hope your video chats and video cooking classes are going well!
Hugs,
Barb 🙂
Thank you so much for visiting and sharing, Barb 🙂 I’m glad you liked the ratatouille recipe. Everything is going well here. Hope all is well with you too. Hugs, April 🙂
Thank you so much for hosting and for the feature! I greatly appreciate it! This week I am excited to share Week two of the one room challenge which includes window treatments and the new bed frame! I hope you are having a great day and are staying healthy and safe!
It’s a pleasure, Kristin! I’m looking forward to your post. Hope you are staying healthy and safe too!
We are isolating and will continue to do so. I’m grateful to have my son and his girlfriend here. We are taking one day at a time but are enjoying our meals together and many other things because of the time we have been given. I read about a family that changed their kids’ whole outlook during this time by asking them to state three things that had gone well that day or that they were grateful for at the dinner table each evening. We decided to just cite one thing to start. It’s such a simple concept but it has made our evenings special and uplifting!
Stay safe but keep looking up, April!
Shirley
I’m so glad you are all together, Shirley. I love your family gratitude practice. What a wonderful thing to do. Take care and stay well! Thank you for all your support.
April thank you so much for hosting. I see several links I want to check out right away. I just read that a new phase of reopening is starting here and restaurants will be open for dine-in with certain measures in place. But I am going to continue as I have been, dining at home, sheltering in place. I don’t trust that I could sit in a restaurant with proper measures in place and there not be an obnoxious group come in insisting on their “rights” to do as they please.
Thank you so much for visiting and sharing, Jean. I too have reservations about going out to restaurants when they open again here. However I’m excited for takeaway to expand a little as even I have found cooking every single meal a little bit wearing at times – and you know how I love to cook! 🙂 Take care, my friend!