Week 51

Reality hit me pretty hard this week. I think I've held it together pretty well, all things considered -- the isolation, the working from home, the getting along with my partner despite close quarters all the time, the Zoom meetings and FaceTime happy hours, the health precautions to reduce the spread of COVID. But Thursday was my dad's birthday. It marked a milestone for me - a year since I've flown in a plane. A year since I've been to Boise. A year since I've seen my mom and dad. I've never gone this long without any of those things. In the meantime, both Joel and I are both experiencing health issues that are, at least (hopefully) temporarily, taking away some pleasures of eating and drinking, at the height of revelry, just as we enter vacation time that we've looked forward to for months. I have no doubt that what we're experiencing is, to some extent, a result of what we've been through this year.

I keep reminding myself how much worse things could be. Regardless, it's been a year.

Listening: I filled my week with music, because I needed it. For Christmas spirit, a little Dave Brubeck. For general mental health, classical music. A newsletter I follow shared a list compiled years ago by public radio's "Performance Today" of their 50 recommended classical music CDs. I'm working my way through them on Spotify. I had never heard John Adams' "The Chairman Dances" before, and loved it. I listened on my walk and it made me feel energized. And I've spent a lot of time with Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. What can I say, the harpsichord lightens my mood.

Reading: I'm still digging Circe.

Watching: We spent 20 bucks to watch Wild Mountain Thyme (trailer), and it was the best $20 we've spent on a movie in a long time (and first in maybe a year, since going to the theater for the last time was around Christmas time). It was set on two neighboring farms in Ireland, featuring two attractive neighbors (Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan) who have known each other since childhood, with a little Jon Hamm (playing the American cousin) and Christopher Walken (playing the Irish father) thrown in for good measure. I would happily live on location of this film, and in Emily Blunt's wardrobe, rain and all. 

We finished The Queen's Gambit, which ended on just the right note. I loved watching Beth's fashion and hairstyles change over the years - she was absolutely gorgeous, and the lighting throughout each episode was well suited to her look. Still, it was strange to watch a show about chess without knowing anything about how the game works -- I still have no clue.

Recipes

Nothing of note here. I've been making things up on the fly with a pantry full of canned soup and saltines when necessary. This week I made things I've made before - crispy marinated tofu with rice, pizza, sheet-pan chicken. Mark Bittman's black bean burgers were probably the best and simplest version of bean burgers I've made. Otherwise, I've paused the Christmas baking. Except for the pumpkin-peanut-oat biscuits I made for Luna (recipe via Martha Stewart). She was very appreciative. And I used leftover pumpkin to make some basic whole wheat muffins, which have been a nice treat at breakfast. 

For the love of the dog

On Saturday night, we brought in takeout -- a Puerto Rican Christmas meal of arroz con gandules (herby rice with green pigeon peas), pernil asado (slow-roasted pork shoulder), and ensalada de coditos (macaroni salad), with a side of coconut rice pudding, and to drink, coquito, a coconut nog to which we added a little spiced rum. It was such a treat.

Making

I'm done making gifts and am now revisiting abandoned projects, like socks. I'm also developing spreadsheets for planning my 2021 makes, budget, reading, house plans, etc. I love spreadsheets. And I'm trying to figure out what to do with this blog, too. It can't live on Blogspot for much longer, as I hate the platform, even though it's free. I'll be sure to keep you posted on my next moves in future posts.

Until then, please join me in enjoying what we can to the fullest this week. It's almost Christmas!