Wednesday. (Get a coffee.)(And get comfortable.)
A lot (LOT!) is going on. (Thanks in advance for bearing with me.)
A lot (LOT!) is going on—so seriously, get a coffee and get comfortable…and stick with it, undistracted, for just a few minutes…there’s enough distraction in the world, so why not treat yourself? (Also, there are lots (LOTS!) of pictures this week, and they take up space and will break things up.)
The weeks fly by, and so do the months and the years…I’ll never understand, then, why, for example, work days drag with such excruciating dragginess…but here we are, another month-ish gone by since the last roundup.
There’s a lot going on, specifically and in general, which is why I suggested that a coffee (or tea if that’s your thing) might be in order as you settle in for a read.
Lately I’ve been worrying generally (as I noted last week) about how I’m living this life, about whether I’ve been doing a good enough job, about trying to shed the mantle of expectation, etc., etc., etc., and I often wonder whether I’ve been figuratively squeezing the toothpaste out of the tube of life. Worrying and wondering about all that notwithstanding, one thing I can tell you with absolute certainty is that I have been, quite literally, squeezing every drop of toothpaste out of the actual tube, thanks to my favorite gadget, as shown below. (And I can also tell you with absolute certainty that sometimes wondering and worry are wasted and sometimes they aren’t, but that’s a story for another day. Or not.)
Come on…you know the average person would have pitched that tube a good 10 days ago.
Gotta take the wins wherever I can get them!
I know part of the pressure I’m feeling comes from this time of year, and I think another part of comes from all the “Best of…” lists that come out as 2023 comes to a close, lists which inevitably lead me to measure myself against each one and agonize over how I am (not) stacking up. (When honestly who cares??? Though when there is overlap between my life and these lists, I do feel a little shock of joy! I’m with it, in, perhaps hip? Fa-la-la!)
Anyway…here’s What I’m ______________________ on this fine mid-December (gasp!) Wednesday.
What I’m reading…
Big (big!) (BIG) (BIG!) news. After more months than I care to go back and count, I finally finished the Bono book, Surrender. On page 474 (of 557), I felt like I was justly (and finally) (finally!) rewarded for my persistence. His recounting his interactions first with Prince and then Johnny Cash made all the slog worth it. I stand firm on my assessment—starting out, the book was a beautiful read, the sheer artistry of it, Bono’s brilliant use of words. And then it took a turn for me, too many details that mired me in Bono’s ego. But based on several recommendations and my personal inability to stop reading in the middle, I am glad I pushed through—I found the end of things very gratifying. Side note, one thing I know but don’t actively remember is the fact that the U.S. President before Trump was Obama. The sociopolitical arc that this country is currently on scares the shit out of me way more than any swinging amusement park ride.
I also finished Tom Lake (an Amazon Editors top 20 of 2023! Joy!), which I continued to enjoy up until the end. Despite some of my low-level annoyances with it occasionally reading like it was a Little Women-era story, ironically what I did in fact like most about it was that it told a very current story, and set in an area of MI that I’ve visited to boot.
I’ve started two new books, In the Form of a Question: The Joys and Rewards of a Curious Life (by Amy Schneider aka Jeopardamy) and Think Like a Monk (by Jay Shetty).
First, In the Form of a Question… well, I love it conceptually because Kerri pre-ordered it for me on Amazon before I’d even heard of it. So thoughtful, right? And I also love it conceptually for the 12 lessons I learned from her appearance and wrote about here. It’s interesting getting some backstory on someone who launched a very visible one-person assault on our (Jeopardy watchers) collective consciousness, but there are pieces of the backstory I wasn’t necessarily interested in and thus could have done with out—TMI! But I can overlook those things. The book’s a microcosm of life in that way—something for everyone. What I can’t overlook is the overused and distracting footnote convention, sometimes over two dozen in a very short chapter and few—if any—add value. I squint to see the number, say, “23” and go to the bottom of the page to learn that the content of the footnote is, “ish.” That’s it. Now I find my way back up the page and try to get into a reading rhythm again, but no such luck. Useless footnote 24 is just a few words later, and traveling back to the bottom of the page reveals gems like this: “well, in my opinion anyway.” (That’s a made up example but very reflective of the footnote content and disruptive experience it creates for this reader.) Overall, I am enjoying reading it because I think what she has accomplished is something well beyond admirable, and she is using her celebrity for good. (She’s using footnotes for evil but that’s a whole other matter. We all have things that annoy other people. Maybe if the book had been titled In the Form of a Footnote, I’d have managed better. But I doubt it.)
Jay Shetty’s book is the one I’m reading for personal growth, thus the notepad in the picture below. I would never (never!) (NEVER!) write in a book so I have my companion notebook at the ready when I’m reading That Kind of Book. Annotation isn’t for everyone, ok? OK? I’m not too far into this one, but already I know I need to do a better job filtering out external noise. For instance, I feel judged when I am asked what we are up to for the upcoming weekend and answer, “Nothing.” Why I react like that when I’m staying home and watching Love Actually, doing something important (to me anyway), baffles me. Same goes for taking my favorite long walk or watching sports alone out back. Those are things I want to do, I enjoy doing I find peace and happiness doing…but there I go, buckling under the expectations of others…🤦🏼♀️. I know that it’s important to get out and specifically to get out of my own head, but even so, sometimes it’s my favorite place to be.
I read, and was incensed by, this article in Monday’s Boston Globe. Bottom line: there’s a loophole in the gun-disposal laws that essentially allows disposed guns to not be disposed of and re-sold. The rules that define what’s required to constitute “disposal” also allow what’s left to be sold as a gun kit, and often without a serial number (because that piece is part of the allowable disposal). So gun disposal companies are making millions “disposing” guns and then making millions selling the remains.
Am I the only one this sounds wrong to? Also, buying gun kits often precludes the need for a background check. In summary I’m pretty sure this all of this is not “just” a Second Amendment “thing.” The forefathers did not foresee such gun violence or such a secondary market, I am sure. True blood money in this “industry.” Which is all perfectly legal. Jesus H.
And of course I read—and loved—Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” article. Haters gonna hate…and I say haters just need to calm down. Don’t judge. Just read it. And if you can’t be bothered, at least watch some of these videos of people trying to recreate the infamous cover’s “cat pose.” 😂 (Wonder if she’ll be at Gillette Stadium this week watching her beau catch the pigskin…)
What I’m watching…
Saturday was so nice out that I decided to watch the Bruins and the Army-Navy game out back. It’s all about carpe-ing the eff out of the diem when you get days like that, so I was all in. When midway through the football game I started to get a touch chilly, it was a Comfy and a small electric personal space heater to the rescue.
We also watched a Bruins game IRL two weeks back. It’s always fun to be in the city and catching a W adds to the fun.
LA Law. When I read that the reruns of the show that I religiously recorded on the VCR so as to never miss a scintillating second (yet hadn’t thought about since it ended) were on Hulu, I immediately tuned in. In my time travel back to the 1980s, the thing that hit me hardest was how the characters who looked so old to me when it first aired look so young to me now. So I did some digging:
Seriously. I’m not really sure what else to say given that I’m old enough to be Abby’s (young one, far left, top row) mother and am only 5 months away from turning Leland McKenzie’s (“old” guy in glasses, bottom row) age. (I just had to throw in the pic of Patrick Swayze’s brother—I did a real double take when I saw him, and IMDB confirmed the double-take was warranted.)
Bottom line? Perspective. Blessing and curse. 😂
Golden Bachelor. (Spoilers ahead.) We watched until the end and I’m still mad at my local ABC affiliate for spoiling the finale on the 6pm newscast the very next day, without so much as a mild caution, let alone a full-on spoiler alert. There’s only one thing I want to talk about here: Leslie. Didn’t care for her from the start, didn’t think she was right for Gerry, etc., etc. Based on nothing substantive, mind you. Maybe because she used to date Prince I thought she was too out there for Mr. Golden Bachelor. Who knows? But Gerry did her dirty, and how she responded completely changed my opinion of her. (Side note: if you haven’t read Adam Grant’s great book Think Again, do yourself a solid and have a read. I wrote about the book when I read it, a few years (gulp) back, and I consult my notes on it often.) Anyhow, when Gerry finally grows a set and breaks it off with Leslie (too little too late) and she gets (understandably) upset (I don’t think being told “I think you’re the one” is ambiguous, other than the “think”) he tells her not to think about things that way. And if she hadn’t led with “no offense” her response would have been 100% perfect (but still it was close): “No offense but I can think whatever the f-ck I want right now.” And she gracefully heard and equally gracefully did not accept his (lame-ass) apology. Now, how she’s embracing herself and in general giving off mad “girl power” vibes, it’s strangely inspiring.
Bachelor in Paradise. (Spoilers ahead.) If you watch, you’ll get this, and if you don’t just skip to the next section that interests you; just don’t skip to the end please.
Anyway, closing thoughts as Paradise is shuttered until next time:
Kudos to Aven for holding his ground and not proposing to Kylee. But Aven, buddy…do you seriously wanna be with someone so desperate to have a ring put on it? Bottom line: would you rather find life-long love or have a televised engagement that (most likely) ends? Neither here nor there because—gasp—they broke up before they could get engaged.
Shame on Eliza for accepting a proposal she knew she wasn’t ready for. Bottom line, if you’re not ready to accept a proposal, don’t accept a proposal. Guess what? They broke up too.
John Henry and Kat? SMDH. As the old song goes, “love is strange.” But then again, John Henry should have trusted his gut. They split per news reports earlier this week.
It’s fun to watch but clearly it’s not the right format for lasting love. The finale aired last week and the news of all three breakups broke between now and then. 🤦🏼♀️
Survivor. I like this season, but I’m not sure who I want to win.
Amazing Race. Three likable teams in the Top Three, and two of the three are infinitely likable. That said, there is one team I would prefer not win, one team I’d be happy for, and one team that I am rooting for wholeheartedly and suspect I will need a tissue if they pull it off!
Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. What an absolute train wreck.
The Voice. I ❤️ live music. And the world is full of talented people. That is all.
Flora & Son. (A runner up on one of the top movie lists, partial joy!) A very fun watch. And Bono and Ali’s daughter is quite a talent. It’s a sweet one. (And short—bonus!)
Love Actually and Christmas Vacation. Saturday night we had a double feature. Started with the main event, pizza, wine, a fire, and Love Actually…followed by some belly laughs. Maybe it was the wine but that whole squirrel scene was funnier than ever, and thus had me laughing harder than I remember.
And saving the best for last, Fellow Travelers (a top TV show on almost every list—more joy!). It’s so well done, and it challenges my heart to keep beating and my lungs to keep breathing while I watch. It may not be historically precise though I am sure it is directionally accurate. And it pains me retroactively to think of what people went through then, that society can effectively squeeze people’s souls out of them due to some fabricated sense of propriety (fear masking!). The fact that society thinks it’s ok to let small groups of people decide what is right and wrong, acceptable or otherwise, and to make and change the rules as things go continues to be the undoing of our underpinnings. I am a few eps behind but it is soooooooo good.
(In terms of TV watching and all that, I can’t be the only one so pissed off by the fact that we have to pay to watch shows and movies on platforms that we’re already paying pretty dearly for. This whole notion of paying for access to paid content fires me up maybe even a little bit more than tip culture. I mean, I have to pay only to pay more‽ When is enough enough? Tax deduction for subscription streaming services?)
But let’s change the mojo here…because I also can’t stop watching this:
That face. That sheer wonder and joy. That baby *is* Christmas.
What I’m listening to…
Oh, Spotify Wrapped. I’m predictable if nothing else. (But that video from TSwizzle wasn’t just for me?) Top 12% of listeners worldwide? Top 6% of listeners of Taylor Swift? Can I make a career of that???
I’ve been enjoying Green Day’s resurgence with “The American Dream is Killing Me.” Right? What a grind this dream is lately. I haven’t had a life-anchor of a song like this from Green Day since “Wake Me Up When September Ends.”
The Killers greatest-hits, Rebel Diamonds, dropped Friday, and I’ve been loving that—some great songs that I’d lost in the Spotify shuffle described above. Like “A Dustland Fairytale.”
And speaking of fairytales, when I heard Shane MacGowan died, I went immediately to playing “Fairytale of New York,” wondering aloud (hoping!) whether he and Kirstie were singing the song together again in some great beyond. This version sung at the funeral gave me chills. Enjoy it if you haven’t seen it yet.
I also don’t know what kind of listening you’d call “putting on noise-canceling headphones, turning them on, and not listening to anything” (non-listening?) )which I first talked about here), but I also have been doing a lot of that lately too. It’s like the auditory version of breathing exercises. For me anyway.
What I’m cooking…and drinking…
I’ve been cooking a lot lately, it seems.
The other night neither of us really wanted to go to the store so I suggested we make something that has long been on my list and had also been recommended by a few trusted sources. So Cheesy, Spicy Black Bean Bake it was. We ate it as a dip because we had tortilla chips in the house and nothing else we could have subbed. Next time I make it I’ll make sure we have tortillas and toppings and probably will make burritos with it. Delicious. And oh-so easy.
I read about these Gochujang Caramel Cookies and I was intrigued by the strange (very!) combination of ingredients…but since I happened to have gochujang paste and everything else I needed in the house, I made them. They were unlike any cookie I’ve ever had before, but strangely delicious. And Kerri liked them too, so it wasn’t just me.
Since I feel like *everyone* is getting COVID these days, there was one night when I thought maybe I was getting sniffly and panicked…so I researched it (I felt like putting hot honey into a hot today might be a thing but needed to validate my hunch—which was on target) and then made myself a Mike’s Hot Toddy, which is pretty much my standard hot toddy only with hot honey. It was delicious. And I still feel fine. Highly recommend even when you feel good, but a bit chilly.
Here’s a collage of some other things going on in the kitchen, top row, L-R is jambalaya soup*, roasted eggplant parm, chicken gnocchi soup**, Bottom row L-R is Nutella brownies, The Lockheed***, and Blondies (with salted caramel chips and chocolate chips).
*The jambalaya soup recipe is no longer available online, so ask me if you want that one.
**Next time I would use skim milk where the recipe calls for cream or half and half (I used half and half).
***The Lockheed is a variation on the linked recipe, the Paper Plane. Sub Buchanan’s Pineapple Whisky for bourbon. Enjoy. And cheers.
Oh, and speaking of bourbon, a slug of it is perfect in this homemade hot cocoa, thanks to Alton Brown.
And here are some (but not all of the) other things I’ve been doing that don’t fit into any of the previous categories…
My mom’s awesome, but her texting style poses some challenges, so this week found me decoding text messages, including this doozy:
Gross aa is not a TJ’s product I am familiar with!
I was walking so I ignored it, but shortly after she texted she called me twice, back to back. So I called her, figuring she needed something urgently. While both calls were butt dials she did tell me she had figured it out: she was looking for the recipe for this Dumpling Tomato Salad with Chile Crisp Vinaigrette (one of NYT’s top recipes of 2023–even more joy!) which I made this summer, to rave reviews (mine included). She would not tell me what she meant by “gross AA” but in any case the salad is delicious (and a crowd favorite) so I am going to re-recommend it now.
(Maybe she meant “gyoza”?)
And, as I just noted, of course I’ve been walking. Always walking. Took advantage of amazing temps on Saturday, overdressed, and headed to The Esker. (Also got in a nice walk on Sunday (in shorts, learned my lesson), but other than the weather that walk wasn’t particularly noteworthy. Unless you consider the back-to-back unseasonably warm days in mid-December newsworthy…which, they well may be. Global warming is not to be trifled with. For the climate, she is a-changing.)
Got this crystal-clear reminder about perspective too. Check out this picture, well two pictures side by side. The pic on the left I took first and then the second pic I took from a different point on the route, maybe 10 minutes later. The white X in the pic on the left is where I stood to take the pic on the right. The white X on the right is where I was standing when I took the pic on the left. So I’m looking at the same thing at pretty much the same time from opposite directions.
The point? It all depends on how you look at something. Because the same thing can, in fact, be a very different thing, or even an entirely different thing—at the same time.
I also got this visual reminder that sometimes you need to be a lone bird on your own wire. And that’s ok.
(But if you’re in the big group on the main wire, make sure that lone bird on the bottom right is doing ok.)
These two things I noticed while walking provide great reinforcement about the importance of looking up, and always with open eyes, minds, hearts, and souls.
There’s some pretty amazing (stuff) out there!
(Also, if that was you with the leash around your neck while your bounding big dog rammed my knees, that was the stink eye I gave you. The “Dogs MUST be leashed” sign is fairly clear. And don’t get me started about the guy following not far behind with the two unleashed cat-dogs yapping and nipping at my calves. I didn’t feel the need to warn him about the big unleashed dog ahead—his choice to play with fire is not my responsibility. Plus the big dog wasn’t *that* big. (I’m just not a dog person.))
So that’s it. But it was a lot. (A LOT!) I know. Though in my defense I told you that from the jump. It just so happens that there’s so much activity lately…and that’s the way it goes sometimes.
All I can say is if you’re reading this, thank you. Your presence here with me is a gift I cherish greatly. Like, you have absolutely no idea how much it means to me.
I need to go write over there (check it out if you haven’t and subscribe if you’re so inclined) now, which means some of you will hear from me twice today—and I thank you doubly for your double attention..
Have a great week.
Love you too.