Week 50

Silly me, I thought there were only 52 weeks in the year, but the way 2020 has turned out, there will be a Week 53 post this year, since the new year starts on a Friday. Of all the years. 

Back in the olden days, this would be the time we'd start gathering at peoples' houses and around the office for Christmas parties, drinking festively and exchanging gifts and cookies. In 2020, this month has been dotted with Zoom happy hours and text threads, lots of package deliveries, and me getting really sick of being in the kitchen and running dumb errands. The thrill of the week was taking part of Monday off to get my snow tires put on and drop off a package at the post office (a J. Crew return from a month ago). 

On certain days I get excited about Christmas, and how unusual this one is. We can make it special and fun. In some ways, we are. In other ways, I'm having a hard time finding the energy for it. I'm trying to shake it off. 

But I will warn you that this was, nonetheless, a pretty blah week, so this report is short.

Recipes

We ate a lot of soup (Mama Leone's with the leftover chicken) and other easy dinners. The best recipe of the week was Melissa Clark's rum balls, a no-bake concoction with gingersnaps, pecans, cocoa powder, maple syrup, spices, and of course, rum. They keep getting better as the days pass. 

Reading

After finishing Zadie Smith's Intimations: Six Essays (loved it), I started on Circe by Madeline Miller. I had a book club Zoom this week and my friend joined the dozens of others who have told me they devoured this book. Greek mythology (i.e., any mythology) is a huge blind spot for me, and this is the first time I've read something about it that has actually captured my imagination. I think this is the perfect way to wrap up my reading year. 

Watching

I finally watched The Family Stone this year. Several friends have told me it's a favorite, and it got me in the Christmas mood. A month or so ago, we watched Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise, and this weekend we followed it up with Before Sunset, which follows the same characters ten years later, in true Linklater fashion. Now we just need to finish the trilogy with Before Midnight. 

And we hopped on The Queen's Gambit bandwagon, too. She is such a captivating character. 

Listening

The album that powered me through my first round of Christmas baking was The King's Singer's "A Little Christmas Music" album. I am not ashamed to say that there's something about men singing in spritely falsetto that just feels like Christmas to me. 

Making

Secret stuff.