Week 2

Our living room is a snow globe right now. The snow arrived right on schedule on Friday, and it's continued off and on ever since. For now, it's fun. It's bright and white and fluffy - things haven't crusted over yet and the dog enjoys bounding around. I came home early from work and Joel made me a bicerin - an Italian layered masterpiece of drinking chocolate, espresso and milk foam. We made a fire that night and all went out for Luna's last walk of the night by the light of the snow.

This week also saw the repacking of the Christmas decorations, a sad Wednesday night activity. I bought some new storage containers to replace the tattered bags and boxes I've used for the last decade, so that made it slightly more enjoyable.

Watching:

Jeopardy GOAT (Greatest Of All Time): A friend predicted that when this ends, the champion will become the next Jeopardy host, or it will be the end of Jeopardy. I love you, Trebek.

Is it wrong to fly? (20 minute episode from Glad You Asked by Vox) This feature helped me visualize my impact as a human being on the climate crisis when I fly, drive my car and eat meat. In the end, we're still going to fly, and until we come up with alternatives, we must find more ways to cut back our impact. I've also been trying to learn more about carbon offsets and how they work. This is an interesting site.

We're continuing our "Seattle in the 90s" theme with more Frasier, but also a viewing of Sleepless in Seattle. I realized how much that movie influenced my life in unusual ways, like how Annie's kitchen inspired my Browne's Addition kitchen paint job.

Recipes:

Kenyan coconut chicken: This recipe came in my new issue of Milk Street Magazine, in the Tuesday Nights section. This section of the magazine has become a go-to as almost all the recipes have been winners. It's not just that the recipes are simple, they're simply written, which makes a difference. (Mark Bittman is the king of this.) And this is another good recipe I will make again. Browned chicken thighs are added to tomatoes and coconut milk, with ground coriander, garlic and fresh cilantro and lemon juice. We ate it over rice.

Mocha-ricotta puffs: Because we had ricotta left from last week, and this recipe in Dorie's Cookies was the perfect solution. These are unexpectedly light for a chocolate cookie, thanks to the ricotta, and I love the toasty hints of cinnamon and coffee. Probably not one for the ages, but fun to try.

Making:

Progress on Bass Straight cowl! Projects like these make me look forward to knitting each night.

Reading:
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. I feel my millennial-ness reading this. So far it's easy to read but depressing. The main character is trying to pass an entire year under the effects of anti-anxiety and sleeping drugs, thus setting her bills to autopay, having her laundry delivered, and living off of trust money from her deceased parents. But then she starts doing things in her sleep, like ordering take-out, conversing in chat rooms (it's the year 2000), and who knows what else. Her friend, another basket case, is unrelenting in her calls and visits to check in on her. Her therapist who prescribes the drugs is another odd but hilarious character, perhaps the best part of the book thus far.

Listening:

Bonnie Raitt, Give It Up. I love any Bonnie era, but early Bonnie is good for very specific times. Like when I put away Christmas decorations.

Johann Johannson: His music is beautifully instrumental for the office (a pro tip from Dana when they were here for Christmas). You may know his work from movies such as Arrival and The Theory of Everything.