Week 24

I have to keep reminding myself that it's not technically summer yet. But it sure does feel nice to not realize how late it is because it's still light out, to smell the barbecues around the neighborhood, to know the neighborhood ice cream shop is open later, to quickly slip on shoes to leave the house, to turn on a fan at night.

Something I wish I took a picture of in Italy: all the crimson poppies growing everywhere along roads and train tracks. I'm seeing them blooming here in Spokane now and they're making me feel all wistful. I am also having little flashbacks of other discoveries in Italy, like the public restrooms that had single tissue dispensers instead of toilet paper rolls. I was into it.

Recipes: On Sunday I made Mom's slow cooked pepper steak (I changed it into an Instant Pot recipe with great success. In case you didn't see, I posted both versions). This week I also received an order of Penzey's spice blends, and I immediately put them to use in flavoring yogurt for veggie dip, and rubbed some Florida on chicken for a skillet dinner. And on Saturday night I stir-fried some shrimp, snow peas, onion and garlic stalks with Mai Fun rice noodles and Trader Joe's Soyaki sauce.

Watching: The World Cup. I enjoy it enough. We watched the Steve Martin & Martin Short comedy special on Netflix. I have no problem with declaring my love of Steve Martin - he's widely respected by many people - but I do feel kinda sheepish about how much I love Martin Short. Don't ask me to explain it. But this clip has long had something to do with it. Also watched Ibiza on Netflix and it was a long, drawn-out version of the trailer. Just thinking about this movie annoys me. (Why did I watch the whole thing?)

Reading: While in Italy, I read the second book of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan series, The Story of a New Name. I'm into book three now - Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay. As I'm reading these books I can't help but think I'm reading something significant. Ferrante's writing is magnificent - her detailed character explorations never feel belabored or unnecessary.

For something completely different, I also read  Swearing is Good for You. I'm not necessarily trying to find excuses to swear, or validation for when I do, but it actually was kind of an interesting study of the brain as well as sociology. I was trained to avoid swearing, but as I've gotten older, I've found it to be a healthy outlet, and now it seems there's actual scientific proof that it is.

Listening: Spotify has been delivering all kinds of good stuff to me lately. Kamasi Washington's epic rendition of "Clair de Lune" is joining the ranks of Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments," Horace Silver's "Song for My Father" and Ahmad Jamal's "Poinciana" as stuff I want to listen to at the end of a long day and the beginning of a stiff cocktail.