Week 39

We are waiting as long as possible to turn on the heat. I'm toughening up for the winter months, but that doesn't mean I'm not creating little heat sources, like lighting candles, buying Duraflame logs, and turning on my space heater. I'm also trading style for comfort, wearing my giant fleece under my raincoat and looking like a marshmallow with a fanny pack strapped around my middle (for all my dog-walking needs), and hiking socks overlapping my leggings and peeking out from my Chelsea boots. There's no such thing as bad weather, the Scandinavians supposedly say, just bad clothing. In other words, if you do it right, you can be toasty warm and look as amazing as I do on a rainy day, earning stares of admiration from all your neighbors.

 I've been in productivity mode lately, booking home maintenance, making overdue doctor appointments, purchasing new glasses and contacts, vacuuming the walls, washing the south-facing windows. I like this feeling of prep mode, knowing a new season is coming. I stopped watering the tomatoes and I turned off the automatic sprinklers. I even just ordered something for Christmas time. 

Still, it's always hard to see the days get shorter. It's much more difficult to get up early for a workout and to stay up past 8:30 p.m. I miss our sunset walks after dinner. And yet, the afternoons are still glorious (when it's not raining) and the perfect temperature for lunch al fresco, or a bike ride to the store. 

Making

I got a temporary diversion toward productivity when my mom asked me to make her some new dish cloths. These knit up quickly and are very satisfying to make. Otherwise, I'm still working on my raglan sweater.

 Recipes

This time of year brings many meals of throwing stuff in the pot or the oven. This week it was vegetarian chili, and roast chicken thighs with vegetables and rice. And pizza because of a giant tomato. But I must recommend the concept of crispy leeks. I made these for Melissa Clark's version of colcannon (alongside some roasted chicken sausage for a bangers and mash situation), and those crispy leeks were so good on the mashed potatoes, this morning I crisped up some leeks again for our scrambled eggs. Just slice them thinly and saute them in a little butter and olive oil with a big pinch of salt until golden, then drain on a paper towel. 

Watching

I've finally gotten into Schitt's Creek and am on season 2. Moira Rose, played by Catherine O'Hara, is the very best part. 

I convinced Joel to let us watch Swingers on Friday night, a movie from 1996 that was very influential for some of my college friends. I had only seen it once, back in college, and as you can imagine it feels very dated now, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's music didn't age well. Vince Vaughn sure was cute, though. And the next night we watched City Slicker's II: Curly's Gold. Jon Lovitz replaces Bruno Kirby as the third amigo, playing Billy Crystal's kid brother. 

One night we watched an hour long Dutch presentation from 1953 of that year's Tour de France in black and white. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it - these weren't the super-athletes you see now on their fancy bikes. These were older, legendary riders in their (gasp) 40s, with a few gears, no helmets and normal-guy outfits. Some of the areas they rode through were still recovering from the war.

All this to say, we miss having new movies to watch.

Listening

Nothing much to share here, other than the Bodyguard Soundtrack that helped me get through the end of a work day. I will always love Whitney Houston.

 

Seen on Garland Ave.

Reading

Still Poisonwood, probably for a while. Still enjoying it.

I did read a longer piece online, which is rare for me, but this one was extremely engaging and the writing was particularly moving: Corn Tastes Better on the Honor System. (There's also an audio option.)