Week 11

At the risk of making an obvious statement, we're not going to Europe anytime soon. Even before the new travel restrictions and widespread measures began sweeping the U.S., we knew that whatever travel we'd be doing would not feel like a vacation, and more like dealing with the same thing in a different, less familiar place. As we watched Washington state's situation rapidly evolve, and as preparations escalated at my workplace this past week, I couldn't imagine going anywhere. As of now, our flights are canceled, one's been refunded and the other (the one booked with miles) might be a travel credit. 

So yes, I'm sad we're not going anywhere for awhile, but at this point, it's really less about the sadness one feels when exciting plans are called off. This pales in comparison with everything that is happening around me. Weeks ago, we were watching this happen from afar, and over the last couple weeks, days and even hours, we've seen and felt the effects in our own community. I am emotional over the loss of gatherings, the risk to small businesses, the vulnerable populations who don't have access to the things they need. I am trying to look optimistically at this, knowing that in times of crisis, humanity prevails. Seeing videos of people playing music together across apartment balconies, hearing about my neighborhood Buy Nothing group rallying together to provide supplies for each other, and friends offering to go in on grocery orders are all reminders that we can come out of this as a stronger community even as we are so distanced.

I am also grateful to have such a rich life at home. I have hobbies to keep me busy and great company that puts up with me (mostly), and I love my neighborhood.

A few actual fun things that happened this week:

It was nice enough last Sunday to ride up to Manito Tap House for all-day happy hour, stopping for groceries on the way home. Earlier that day we took Luna for a hike on the bluff and saw a bald eagle.

On Friday afternoon, the snow arrived. We watched fat robins try to figure out what to do with themselves. Luna pranced in the park.

Saturday was Pi Day, and our friends hosted a small get-together. We greeted each other with a warm, "I'd hug you, but..." and did as much distancing and hand-washing as we could.

Reading

I finished The Dutch House and highly recommend it. I do wonder if I'd enjoy the book as much as the Tom Hanks audiobook. It was such a good story.

I'm starting on my next audiobook, The Library Book, read by the author Susan Orlean.

I'm very sad that our libraries are closed for the foreseeable future.

Making

The Bojagi shawl provided a much needed distraction mid-week, as I found that complicated lace patterns require 100 percent of my attention.

Watching

On Friday night we watched an Argentine romantic comedy, An Unexpected Love (El Amor Menos Pensado), about a couple who's been married for 25 years and decide to separate as their son goes off to college. It was delightful.

Recipes

I made a chocolate silk pie from the Smitten Kitchen cookbook for the Pi Day party. It was decadent. The other pies at the party included black-bottom banana cream, coconut cream, and frozen key lime. (We also ate pizza and mini vegetable curry potpies.) It was a heavenly time.

Pizza returned to our table this week as well, with spring-inspired toppings of fresh peas, new potatoes and mint, with prosciutto.

Joel made his signature chicken risotto, and I made one of my favorite sheet pan meals of harissa chicken with potatoes and leeks from Melissa Clark.