Week 40

Where do I even begin with this week? I don't know how to write about the small bits of activity in my corner of the neighborhood when political and pandemic news is so unbelievable. One major headline after another.

Back over here, I got up early every morning to exercise my body, breathe in deeply and prepare my heart for whatever fresh hell might greet us that day, remembering that progress is still being made somehow and somewhere. At 3:30 every afternoon, I peeled myself away from my desk to breathe deeply again, but outside, along the bluff trails where I could take in vastness of everything and remember that I am but a tiny speck wearing inadequate shoes. These moments are also tiny specks in the vastness of time.

These are comforting moves in trying times.

I am thrilled that we have reached October. It's almost always one of the loveliest months of the year with its weather and colors and the buttoning-up of it all. I continued my winter preparations by purchasing new gloves, a Stanley thermos and two insulated mugs for winter walks. I'm almost looking forward to it. 

And some dear friends got married on Saturday. Further proof that the world keeps turning.

Watching

On Saturday we watched Juliette Binoche and Catherine Deneuve, together at last, in The Truth. Gotta love a complicated French mother-daughter relationship story. This one had many layers (and Ethan Hawke!) that made for good conversation afterward. 

Reading

I feel like I am reading all the time but making no progress on Poisonwood Bible. My Kindle says I'm 60% of the way through. A character has just died. I am dreaming of snakes and diseases. One of the character's names is Anatole, which makes me think of the song Amapola. It's an engrossing read though once I'm done I think I'll be in the mood to read some short stories. I just ordered myself some new (to me) Mavis Gallant collections. 

 

Making

I sent off the dish cloths and am back to knitting in the round an hour or so each night, making slow but steady progress on my raglan. 

Listening

To my Boise readers, I am with you in spirit each Saturday morning when I listen to the Private Idaho show on KBSU. When I started listening to that New Jersey jazz station a few weeks ago, I realized I could and should also be listening to my favorite long-running program in Boise as well. Though Victor, the original host, has passed on, the show still brings just the right eclectic mix of music that feels like my hometown. 

Sucking out the dust

 

Also, the annual turning on of the furnace produced this annual earworm.

Recipes

 

Pouding Alsacien

We can't travel these days, but we can use new recipes to provide different experiences and tastes. One night I made Ethiopian Doro Wat, a succulent chicken dish made with a berbere spice blend (recipe from Milk Street). Another night was a Vietnamese inspired noodle dish with peanut sauce and daikon radishes and cucumbers (recipe from Melissa Clark). And on Friday, I took the day off from work and made an Alsacian apple dessert (recipe from Julie Child). These were delicious distractions from the news of the world. 

Doro Wat

Stay ready for anything, friends. We are getting good at this.