I kind of had forgotten how hard it was to go back to work after vacation though I tried, quite unsuccessfully—through the purchase of several losing Powerball and Megabucks tickets—to avoid it. So here I am, back to real life and back to the general busy-ness of the 9-to-5, though with no shortage of stuff happening during the non-working hours.
Where to start?
What I’m reading…
Well, before I get to that, on the subject of books, I am completely enamored of my new bookshelf. I needed to optimize my home office’s small (like Lilliputian-small) footprint. It’s an amazing addition. My “to-read” pile looks so much more sophisticated now! (Though truth told I have read some of these titles.)
Anyway, I set aside Bono’s book because a) it was too heavy to bring on vacation, b) it hadn’t captivated me such that I was willing to take on the extra weight in my backpack, and c) Bono has repeatedly ignored my invitation to play an acoustic set in the backyard at The 220. So I guess you could say we’re at a standoff, Bono and I are…and I’m sure when he learns of it, he’ll concede, we’ll schedule the “concert”, and I’ll finish his book. But for now it’s on hold while I stand firm on principle.
I did start and finish a book my mom raved about that was available for checkout (Kindle version) at the library and thus was my prime choice for a vacation read…and it did not disappoint. Horse by Geraldine Brooks is the horse story you didn’t know you needed to read. A bit of history, a bit of horse racing, and a bit of more contemporary stuff, all connected by a single horse. Absolutely fascinating. Emotional. Interesting. Highly recommend.
The next book I (re-)started (and am midway through) is Nick Offerman’s Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside. (What a long f-cking title.) Anyhow, I wrote about it here once before, as I had started it on my Kindle…but I just could not get in a groove with it. But then I got the hardcover for a birthday gift (thanks, friend) and immediately upon receipt I knew why I couldn’t get into the e-book—so much of it is about being outside, about being one with nature and one’s surroundings, that the “high-tech” nature of the Kindle read made me feel inauthentic somehow, if not subconsciously hypocritical. So when I started reading the book book, on that dock on that lake in Canada, well, not only could I read the words, I could feel the words. I was one with the book, and the story (stories) clicked with me. Since I’ve been home I have enjoyed some of my limited free time reading it out back. A natural-enough setting, though suburban backyards hardly qualify as “pastoral”. Either way, it trumps the Kindle version for this title. It’s a good read. Insightful. Fun. And funny. Fair to say that Nick Offerman will definitely be invited to the Bono acoustic set out back when it happens. I hope he likes U2.
I haven’t been reading much else, though this Modern Love piece from the NYT that was shared with me recently (thanks, friend—I have great friends!) made my eyes leak. It’s worth a read, highlighting the beauty that’s left when prejudices and biases and bigotedness are forgotten.
What I’m watching…
I said goodbye to two old friends on the small screen lately, namely Mrs. Maisel of Marvelous Mrs. Maisel fame and Ted Lasso of Ted Lasso fame. On the Midge Maisel front, the last time I talked about it I noted that I had some issues with the final season but I wasn’t convinced it had jumped the shark…and I’m glad I stuck with it. I got some resolution, the open questions I could live with for the most part, and—despite my annoyance with a few plot points (namely including the Joel jail bit and not exploring the Susie-Hedy connection further, to name two particularly sticky wickets for me)—it wasn’t an unsatisfying end. So there’s that. Regarding those Richmond Greyhounds, well, despite the negative commentary I had heard on the final season, I loved it. It wasn’t as funny as the previous seasons, but the seriousness of it felt right to me, gave so many of the characters some much-richer (and much-needed) dimension, and it gave me all the feels. Yes, they rushed a few things, wrapped a few things and tied them up in too-tidy of a bow with superhuman efficiency, and left a few open questions, but overall, I felt good when it ended. If it had to end. Which apparently it did. Sigh.
Other than that we’re elbows deep in Charity’s season of The Bachelorette (apologies for calling her Chastity, repeatedly…not sure why I have that mental block going). I still can’t believe that Kerri is fully in on one of my own bachelorette guilty pleasures, but we sure do have a lot of fun watching together. Neither of us was sad to see Adrian go, or to see Brayden follow in his footsteps. Dramatic pot-stirrers might make for good ratings but they don’t make for good husbands. And, like every season, there have already been several moments when the contestants seem overwhelmed with the idea of proposing in such a short time…when that is the whole point of the whole show. Not ready to propose to a stranger? Stay away.
Speaking of guilty pleasures and reality TV, I did give the revamped season (all-new cast) of RHONY a go. After one episode, I miss the old, crazy bitches. I tried to research some of the new characters as I watched to figure out why they are there, and stopped when I Googled Jenna Lyons…and all of the suggested queries were about whether she wears dentures and why…WTF? But I’ll keep watching. Like Heath Ledger’s character in Brokeback Mountain, I can’t quit you. And yes, apparently Jenna Lions does wear dentures. The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind.
Been watching the Sox, of course (in fact I watched them go down in a triple play in the third inning last night, an 8-3-5 triple play that hasn’t happened since 1865) and also caught the USWNT’s first World Cup game, with the second on tap for tonight, albeit abutting my bedtime. All good just the same.
But the piece de resistance of my small-screen viewing of late is this: Wham! the documentary on Netflix. I hate to encourage you to stop reading this but so be it—go watch it right now. It’s that good, like better-than-this-blog good (😂). It will give you new appreciation for their music, it will blow your mind how good of a dancer George Michael was, it will break your heart that he is no longer among the living, and it will give you a new appreciation for Andrew Ridgeley, who seems to be the kind of amazing, supportive, and protective friend you can only dream about having…unless you’re actually so lucky to have those kinds of friends, which I do. Even so, I felt the regret-tinged pain in George’s voice when he said, “I was too young and too immature to know that I was sacrificing as much as I was.” Long story short: watch it…and don’t ever give up the smallest part of yourself to meet the expectations of others.
What I’m listening to…
No surprise here but of course I am listening to Wham! I’ve got a total case of Whamania. They have way more great music than I even knew, and I can assure you that if you drive by me when I am out walking and “Club Tropicana” is playing, I will look like I’m taking some weird sidewalk Zumba class, probably like Sam and Joel look in the garage in Somebody Somewhere (that show on Max formerly HBO Max formerly HBO that I have been urging/begging you to watch). Their music is great and after watching the documentary I have a new appreciation for their commitment and talent, especially at such young ages.
I’ve also been listening to a lot of Mumford & Sons coming off the concert in Ottawa. They’re just fantastic. And the other listening pleasure of late is this old (broken-up) band from Maine called Knots & Crosses. I was listening to T. Swizzle’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) on July 7, the day it was released. And for some reason, so deep in my subconscious that I’ll never be able to surface it, I thought “I wonder if Knots & Crosses is on Spotify yet?” And honest to God didn’t they drop their first album from the early-mid 1990s on Spotify that very same day, July 7. So of course I listened…and time traveled. If you like angst-y but soothing folk-y stuff, they’re worth checking out.
What I have been eating and drinking…
If you’ve heard about the TikTok trend “Girl Dinner,” you know it’s essentially eating whatever you want, by yourself, taking pics or vids of it, and getting relatively Internet famous for eating it. Girl Dinner is all I ate for all three meals (and snacks!) from, say, 2003-2013. And I still eat the occasional “Girl Dinner” but usually for lunch. In my case it isn’t a magazine-ready charcuterie plate but rather something like some olives, string cheese, and Hippeas chick pea puffs. So be it.
I’ve also been snacking on these amazing snacks. Get some. They are so good. (Missing from the pic is the Dark Chocolate + Blueberry variety.) Relatively healthy, gluten- and allergy-free, and delicious. The things you can do with kwee-NO-ah. I mean Joaquin. 😂😂😂 (Got these one day in the mail, as a treat—thanks, friend! See, I have amazing friends.)
And for my drink fascination du jour, well, I finally got a smoker. And I have created a monster. I always enjoyed the practice of making a tasty and well-measured cocktail. This takes it to a whole new level. So far I have smoked an Old Fashioned and a Blackberry Margarita. Five stars. Highly recommend.
I’ll be making both again, and I’ll be researching other experiments to try. Side story: I needed to get some bitters and the good cherries for the Old Fashioned and so at the liquor store I was in line, a situation with one line for two registers. This old guy with a greasy white Amish beard wearing cargo shorts and shoes with socks, carrying two handles of Jack, tried to cut. I nicely called out, “It’s all one line.” As he glowered at me, a guy at one of the registers buying a pack of Marlboros invited me to put my stuff on the counter behind him, saying he’d be quick. He was a rough kind of guy, the kind who looked like he was about 50 when he probably was only 32, bringing to mind the old classic line “it’s not so much the year as the mileage.” Anyway, I put my stuff down and he gave me a semi-toothless grin and said, “I wish I could take you with me for the rest of the day. We could probably teach a few people a few lessons.”
I also saw a recipe for and thus had to try a frozen espresso martini. We had my sis and bro-in-law for dinner last Friday night, busted out the Margaritaville machine, and served these for dessert. They did not disappoint. Oh. Em. Gee. My sis and Kerri cleaned all the dinner dishes but even so we woke up Saturday and the kitchen looked like a frat house. 😂 The sign of a great night. In any case, the drinks were a winner!
What I have not been eating…
The fruits of my labor, aka veggies from my garden. I keep telling myself it’s going to be a late crop this year. The cucumbers look like they finally caught, 4 of 5 tomato plants have little green growths on them (one of which actually has a few tomato-y colored tomatoes), and the peppers (both hot and regular) have started to sprout. Mint looks good too—time for a bourbon smash?
In summary: life is good.
Thanks for sharing it with me, as usual.
Love you too.
LOVE Geraldine Brooks writing -- I just finished March. Have you watched The Bear? If not you MUST watch it -- I can't imagine you and Kerri will not LOVE it. I just finished season 2 which just came out a bit ago and I'm going to go back and watch both seasons 1 and 2 again -- it's that richly layered. And season 2 expands in a way I didn't see coming and it's one of THE BEST shows on TV. (rant over) Those drinks look amazing. XO