It also makes me realize how I don't write much about music here anymore, though I'm just as opinionated and passionate about the subject as when I wrote this round-up of songs I never wanted to hear again. Perhaps it could be a subject to pursue more this year - just last week I was texting with a friend about our favorite earworms...consider yourself warned.
But truly, it's pretty fun to be able to look back at 10 years of posts, month by month, and reflect on how much and how little my life has changed. Joel keeps getting on my case for still using Blogger, but it's the beast I know how to control (mostly) - starting with my original blog in 2006 (!!). Maybe that will eventually change.
Well anyway, here's what went down in the first week of 2020 (through Saturday, Jan. 4).
I accepted Joel's invitation to a New Year's breakfast out, with both of us feeling hungover and willing to pay good money for someone else to deliver our morning eggs and toast. I was very pleased we ended up at the Chalet, a Spokane institution on the South Hill.
We perked up later and Joel made gnocchi from a new book, Pasta By Hand, with saffron, ricotta and garlic. If this is what 2020 tastes like, I feel better about life.
Rather than using vacation days to round out two full weeks away from the office, I came in on Thursday and Friday and it was...glorious. I was the only person in my office suite, so I left the main office lights off while I worked by lamplight in my little corner office. I played music and powered through a few projects I'd been putting off at the end of the year. I took breaks and walked around the quiet campus as it prepared itself for the new term. It was fun to set out my new calendars and to treat myself to the snacks that came in my stocking throughout the day: gourmet pickles, cashews, lemon candies and truffles were all joyfully consumed. It was basically a vacation at the office.
Friday was also my first visit to the barre since before Christmas and it felt good to push my muscles to their limit again. I'm soaking in the energy of all who come to class with ambitious new-year fitness goals.
Making:
I am working on socks - always - but I started a new cowl pattern from the fall 2019 issue of Knit Scene. I'm using a dreamy cotton-merino blend yarn that will be soft and not scratchy. I'm already one skein in of five, so I'm making good progress - we'll see if the momentum carries into these next couple weeks.
I'm also thinking about making zipper pouches for my next sewing project. I have some really fun canvas fabric that I bought in Missoula last year that would be fun for this, and I'm itching to make something utilitarian.
Recipes:
I received a copy of Meike Peters' 365 cookbook for Christmas and made my first recipe from it on Thursday, a roasted chicken dish. Leg quarters are marinated in cumin, coriander, cardamom, turmeric and cayenne, then tossed with a can of butter beans (or cannelini) and sliced lemons, and roasted. The first time I took it out of the oven, I took a bite and realized the chicken was still way underdone (blech), even after checking the temperature in several places. I should have trusted my eyes. So we sat for another 10 or so minutes to let it roast a bit more, after which it was a very tasty dish. But leg quarters are kind of unwieldy so I'd probably just use thighs next time. So far the recipes seem just smidge fussy (with fancy ingredients) for most weeknights but they're perfectly inspirational, and I love her ideas for sandwiches. We had chicken sandwiches a couple nights later with the leftovers (on homemade foccacia!) and I wondered why I don't do that more.
As a side-note: I still hate meal planning but had been trying to make friends with it because I thought it was a sign of having your act together and a way to reduce stress. Then for Christmas my mom gave me the book Waste Free Kitchen Handbook and I had an epiphany. Meal planning was causing me to waste more food because it's sometimes it's hard to predict leftovers (including leftover ingredients in need of being used up), general cooking mood and spontaneous evening outings. So I'm done with meal planning as I knew it. I am going to have fun finding one new recipe each week that I can try, and then play it by ear for the rest of the week (I don't mind going to the grocery store more frequently). I'm also done with buying staple ingredients before I need them. This way, our food can be fresher, less goes in the trash, I feel less guilty (and less pressure), we save money, and I live the easy-breezy life of my dreams. Relief!
Reading:
"Once, long ago, she had broken off an engagement only because she had detected in the young man's eyes a look of sensuous bliss as he ate strawberries and cream." - Mavis Gallant, "The Picnic"Mavis Gallant's short stories have been my constant companion these past few days, i.e., the ones in the The Other Paris collection. I've revisited a few of them over the past couple years, and they are all worth savoring, every word. I feel myself drawn into her scenes like I am with quiet movies, where I can just ponder and live in another person's thought process. Her characters are so often sad, disappointed, trying to understand their status in life and those around them, trying to grow, trying to find good. But the detail in each of these characterizations are so on point, they make me think about all the little things I focus on when I meet someone or walk into a room. If you like plot, you should look elsewhere. If you love delicious writing, get to know Mavis Gallant.
Listening:
Last year I listened to a podcast called The Dream whose first season revolved around the origins and continued dominance of multi-level marketing companies and their controversial practices. It was fascinating and complicated and empathetic and humanizing. This season is about wellness the ways self-care has become a huge marketing trend. I just started it and so far, so ... we'll see.
Music-wise, Ramsey Lewis's Another Voyage and Vince Guaraldi's Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus have been nice piano-centric listens that keep the spirits high.
Watching:
It took two sittings to complete The Irishman. I've appreciated it the more I've thought and read about it since, but I couldn't get over the de-aging process of the main characters. It felt so fake.
And since I'm posting this a day later than I would normally, on Sunday we saw Little Women and my heart nearly burst. I loved the character development of Amy the most. And one of my favorite parts of going to see it was how the theater was filled with girls young and old, the younger ones discussing who of them was Meg, Jo, Amy and Beth, or a combination - and the older ones leading the applause at the end.
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