The Quiet Zone

It's been pretty quiet around here. Bittersweet. Both Chunky and I are introverts with loud thinking so it's not unpleasant, just a big change.

Sassy moved out to a rental house across town with her boyfriend and another good friend a week and a half ago. It's a right of passage, sign of maturity and frankly the right time. Our home is on the market so all of us moving is inevitable. I bought Sassy her own Keurig and gave her a bunch of kitchen stuff (pans, bowls, gadgets) I don't use. She took her cat, Mittens, and I had her take my cat (or at least she pretends to be mine when someone she favors isn't about), Sookie, too so Mittens isn't lonely and Chunky's cat, Kenny, doesn't beat up on her more than he already did (good thing he's the cutest little mouser).

Hubby has also moved out - he's been in a hospital and rehab facility for almost six months and we've made the decision to move forward with our lives separately. I am very much at peace with this - it's been a long time coming mostly due to temperament/values vs care needs. The logistics are murky and cause the most angst, but the separation has been very enlightening and healing for me.  

So for now I'm down to one kid, one cat and one dog in a big house.

Better late than never

You can ask the universe for all the signs you want, but ultimately, we see what we want to see when we're ready to see it.

Links and loves

Along with the rest of the free world I am obsessed with Ed Sheeran. In my mind (and in the shower) I dance as well as everyone in this video to his latest single :)

I recently attended a presentation featuring former MA governor and presidential candidate Michael Dukakis. Here's the video as well another featuring Richard Dreyfuss' on the importance of civics (he spoke at last year's City Club which I attended, but no video of that one).

I am loving PBS' new series Spy in the Wild - a unique perspective on animal behavior.

Speaking of "behavior", if you haven't watched Good Behavior on TNT, get on it!

I've seen over half of this year's Academy Award best picture nominees - I think that might be a personal record. I rank Arrival as my favorite of those I've seen with Hidden Figures and Lion as close second/third. La La Land was good, but I'm not gaga over it like the rest of the free world. Manchester by the Sea was meh for me.

Monthly Book Review: Jan 2017

I got down to business this month.

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom - follows an Irish immigrant girl as she straddles the worlds of slaves and "big house whites". This was very thought provoking and a good fictional perspective of an era I'm not as familiar with - slavery; a very sad mark in American history with repercussions that can still be seen/felt.

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly - I love me a WWII era book and this did not disappoint. The lives of three women intersect - east coast socialite, Polish prisoner on a mission to grow up too fast and German concentration camp doctor.

You by Caroline Kepnes - Whoa! Narrated in the first person about an intense infatuation. Takes "stalker" to a whole new level. Witty, disturbing and clever. I'll be reading the follow up. Note: explicit so not for the faint of heart.

The English German Girl by Jake Wallis Simons - a German girl is sent to England to pave the way for the rest of her Jewish family. I enjoyed the first half much more than the second - it never ceases to puzzle me how the Nazi regime was allowed to vilify an entire race of people no matter how educated, loyal or affiliated with their religion they were. Sad - this is why we must pay attention to international atrocities and mind our biases at home.

Next up:
Everybody Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes

Morning Glory

I have a new breakfast addiction - avocado toast. I know the rest of the free world has already discovered this but we've established I am not an early adopter (nor likely a fast follower).

Here's how I love mine:

Toasted sprouted grain bread (I will never go back to traditional sandwich bread - I love the texture and health benefits over whole wheat which are amino acids and bioavailability of vitamins/minerals)

Spread with avocado half - split in half, twist apart, slice half without pit a few times lengthwise, scoop out with spoon and spread on warm toast (save the other half face down with pit in water and/or lemon/lime juice)

Salt and pepper (I add balsamic vinegar sometimes)

Onion slices

Tomato slices

Enjoy!!!

MLK 2017

“If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” –Martin Luther King, Jr.

Monthly Book Review: Dec 2016

I did not do a lot of reading this month. Rather, I spent most non-working waking hours listening to Christmas music (duh) and watching two series on Netflix - The Gilmore Girls (all seven seasons plus new episodes) and Parenthood (the last two seasons not seen on cable Mondays since September). I still can't believe I didn't watch Parenthood when it was on - this is the best of the 90s Thirtysomething and the new series This Is Us.

Even with a full month of musical and television festivities I managed to read two books:

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton - soooo long (20 hrs!), but soooo worth it as there's always a twist near the end of Morton's books that you would never have thought of

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan - not sure how I got this in my queue; I would have not only stopped reading but returned it had I not found the author's writing and reading engaging. This is a true story of the author's (New York Post writer) experience with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis (initially misdiagnosed as schizophrenia).

In addition, I did a bible study on the recommendation of another blogger for Advent and enjoyed it more and more as the month went on.

Next up:
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
The English German Girl by Jake Wallis Simons
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Relly
You by Caroline Kepnes
Hidden Bodies by by Caroline Kepnes