It’s possible that writing about being stuck with post-election stress and sharing our feelings in the comments section of this blog is helping me move on. Or maybe it’s just that the sun poked out through the rain clouds, and the limes in our backyard look glorious.
Like Leonard Cohen, I find that in spite of it all, cheerfulness keeps breaking through.
As I move toward acceptance and begin to rebuild my foundation of what it means to be an American, I expect I’ll have more to say … well .. about everything. Part of me wanted to withdraw from all of it, to be a complete social and political dropout, but I’ve decided not to surrender in advance.
We may be old and unemployed, but our voices matter. And yes, it’s possible to have warm and happy conversations with people who don’t think exactly like us. We must try harder. If all else fails, you can always pour your heart into a journal no one reads but you.
One of my favorite quotes is from the musician Patti Smith. Don’t forget she won the National Book Award, which means she can write, too.
“I’ve survived because I want to live. Even in our troubled world. Even with all the greed and stupidity and terrible things that we’re all facing… I want to be ALIVE. I want to BREATHE. I want to do MY WORK.”
What I’m Reading
I stumbled across a book at the library that combines crime fiction and time travel. It doesn’t get better than that! Wait, yes it does. It’s a series.
The first book is A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong. A Canadian homicide detective visiting Scotland is attacked and wakes up in another woman’s body … and it’s 1869. She finds herself a housemaid to an undertaker who moonlights as a medical examiner. He’s investigating a murder she believes is connected to her attack, and the story unfolds from there.
It looks like she gets stuck in the past, not that we all don’t, but the good news is there are five more books in the series.
What I’m watching
My PBS Masterpiece subscription is holding up over time. I dabble with other streaming services but end up canceling when a show I like is over. I’m looking at you, Hulu.
I just finished the second season of Ridley, which I liked very much and am hoping for another season soon. It’s a British police procedural with Alex Ridley as a former detective inspector who was forced out due to personal tragedy but brought back as a consultant to solve crimes.
Ridley co-owns a jazz club and usually sings at least once per episode. I thought the singing was weird at first but grew to like it.
Last night I watched the first episode of Van der Valk featuring a detective in Amsterdam. I like it, but there was a gruesome finish, and I’m not sure I’ll last long if that’s the norm. As a back-up plan, I’ve been shopping around for another British show. I may give Annika another try. I like Nicola Walker a lot but am not a fan of “direct address.” I believe that’s the technique used where she talks directly to the audience. Still if no throats are slit, I could get used to it.
What I’m eating
Tonight is leftover baked beans with toast from Dale’s homemade bread. Tomorrow I’m giving the slow cooker another run at it and am making beef and barley soup. I decided to use bone-in beef ribs for the meat and was surprised at how expensive they are – like $15 per pound. But it should make for a great soup with at least two servings for the freezer. And we never go out to eat, so I don’t really worry about it.
For Thanksgiving, Dale will do the turkey. He brines it and then stuffs it with a Maine-style dressing made with potatoes, stale bread and assorted seasoning. I’m known in these parts as Side Dish Mama and will be making green beans almondine, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. I make the cranberry sauce from the recipe on the back of the bag. Delicious!
Dessert is pumpkin cheesecake with bourbon sour cream topping. And graham cracker crust … an all-time favorite. One whole turkey breast and most of the cheesecake will go to the freezer. Our freezer food is spectacular.
In the meantime, I continue to enjoy my protein smoothies for breakfast or lunch. Here’s my new favorite.
Cherry Chocolate Smoothie
In a high-speed blender mix:
¾ cup milk (I use soy)
1 cup frozen cherries
A glug of maple syrup
A small glug of vanilla extract
A scoop of unflavored protein powder
A shake (maybe a tablespoon) of cacao nibs
Stay with Van der Valk…it gets better (just like our leadership might after the mid-terms).
I watched the second episode last night, and it was great. The mid-terms — I forgot about those!!
“There are things you do because they feel right & they may make no sense & they may make no money & it may be the real reason we are here: to love each other & eat each others food & say it was good.” by Brian Andreas. For some reason this quote came to mind. I’m not in the movers & shakers circle that influences politics. I can only participate with my vote, for what it’s worth. Some things just feel right; or wrong. Some things are right or wrong. Money talks and some things that make no sense to me transpire, like the outcome of the American election. I can let my moral compass guide me at a grassroots level. I can be kind. I can be of service. I can decide who/what I give my money to. Again, for what it’s worth. Life’s simple pleasure bring me peace in what seems to be a crazy world. I cleaned up 6″ of snow today. Those limes look sublime.!
Very, very well said. I might put that on a poster. Thank you for the guiding light.
Regarding the limes, did you mean to say sublime or was that subliminal?
You named three of my favorite shows. Ridley is good and I grew to really love the singing also. Annika is actually funny and it’s great to see Nikola Walker doing dark comedy. Van der Valk is probably my favorite show of recent masterpiece. Love the team. It isn’t usually gruesome
Must have been that first episode. I watched the second one last night, and it was fine. I like it a lot. He intrigues me.
I hope you continue to blog. I love the quotes about keeping on….and of course your posts in general.
I’m going to try the smoothie as I’m always looking for protein ideas!
Is this the Dale Kelly from Aero? I am honored!! Of course, any Dale Kelly is welcome … but one who knows where the bodies are buried, that’s special.
I bought two books after the election: How to HAPPY dammit – a Cynic’s guide to spiritual happiness (the only self help book that merges Psychology, Biology, Eastern Philosophy, Western Philosophy, Quantum Physics and the Zen of Bazooka Joe); and a book from a favorite writer, Jack Kornfield – No Time Like the Present – Finding Freedom, Love and Joy Right Where You Are.
The first book is a kick to read. It’s also a fast read because of the way it’s set up. The second is thoughtful and useful. I bury myself in a chapter or two after each cabinet pick. Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse or bizarre…
Last week I took a virtual Zingerman’s Bake class called Autumn Treats. It wasn’t as good as their on site classes which I took many of when I lived in Ann Arbor, MI. But I made one of the best gingerbread coffee cakes (made in a bundt pan) that incorporates coffee, orange juice, dry mustard and long peppers (misnomer since it’s not really a pepper) with flavor so outstanding I didn’t get the opportunity to freeze half of it as I usually do. Jon and I kept nibbling at it until poof! It was all gone. I also made a delicious pumpkin cheesecake. The crust was made from a recipe of theirs for Ginger Jump Up cookies which I make fairly often. I like anything ginger. For that I cut 12 slices and froze 8 of them, 4 slices to a pack. I didn’t bother with the caramel apples but watched how to make caramel. Since recalibrating my Cafe double ovens with a Thermoworks Square Dot 2 thermometer (the calibration in discrete degrees is a cool feature of the Cafe ovens), my bakes come out perfect.
Funny story about my trip to Hobby Lobby (you mentioned your trip in your last post). I had gone there to buy some cardboard cake plates for my class and washi tape. Like you, I don’t agree with their philosophy regarding women’s bodies but their store is clean, bright, and has (usually) very helpful people. I live in a small town with a small, dirty Joann’s so I usually pop into Hobby Lobby for some things that I would normally go to Joann’s for if they had a decent store.
The washi tape was 40% off and as I started walking out I realized that my total didn’t add up and indeed, the cashier had not given me my discount so I went back to her (I was using my cane as I was at the tail end of a long day and I keep a cane in the car for such times.) I approached her at the side of her station and told her that she hadn’t given me my discount and she informed me that I would have to go stand in the really long line where they do returns. Without thinking I exclaimed “Jesus Christ, you expect me to go stand in that long line to correct a mistake you made?!” A young man came to my rescue (the overseer of the cashiers). He doubled checked the large colorful discount sheet that’s at every cashier stand, affirmed that indeed, a discount was in order, and told her that when she was through with her current customer, to give me a full refund in consideration and gave me back my tape to keep for free after the refund, apologizing profusely for the inconvenience. My husband said that they would probably ban me from the store for that expletive and I told him that I was just imploring help from above to not have to go stand in another long line for no fault of my own.
I’m sure that we’ll get through the next four years, hopefully with enough rational people remaining in the government to keep the wheels from falling off. Since more Republicans use the services this new administration is hell bent on getting rid of, we’ll see how many people still think that Trump is the second coming by the end of his term. I just hope any damage done to the country can be unwound and that it doesn’t lead to more damage in the future.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Donna. I’ll raise a glass to you and Dale at ours.
The books sound great, but I might need whiskey if we’re monitoring cabinet picks.
I like your stories, and it sounds like you are managing this whole thing very well. We can all learn from each other. I might get Dale to try a cooking class. Not that I wouldn’t benefit, but he’s more isolated than I am.
As I recall, you are a Law & Order fan. Especially if Lenny is involved. We were watching one last night, and it was about white supremacists. It was an old episode and a good reminder that we’ve been through this before.
To our health!
There’s no doubt that writing can help, but I am sure the sunshine plays its part in the ability to move on. And there’s been a lot to move on from, so every single bit will help.
Thank you for the book recommendation – I’ve just grabbed the first in the series. I do love a new author with a back catalogue 🙂
I’m excited that my recommendation hit home. I’m a sucker for time travel. Hope you like it!
Check out Dicte (Danish), Munch (French) and The Wagner Method (German) if you can handle subtitles.
I don’t mind subtitles at all and added these to my watchlist. They look excellent — thank you!!
Glad to hear that writing the blog is helping you move through the pain of the election. I’m learning to enjoy food once again having lost my appetite after the disastrous results. We need Dale’s homemade bread recipe…is it sourdough? The beans and toast sound delish. Another way that I’m moving through the outcome is journaling my dopamine menu. My list of ingredients i.e. activities is getting quite lengthy. When I hit those bleak moments during the day, I pull out my menu and stir something up. Wishing you and Dale a happy Thanksgiving Day. Cheers to you with a really good glass of wine!
This is probably sort of sad, but I had not heard of a dopamine menu. I love that idea and am so happy it’s working for you. Maybe we should all give it a try!
I’ll ask Dale about his bread. It’s his mother’s recipe and makes a pan of rolls and a loaf. It’s not sourdough. I’m actually the sourdough person in the household. We both love it.
Cheers to you and yours!
Donna, don’t feel bad, as I recently discovered this term. I thought I would use it as another name for my “joy list”. LOL
Thank you for the book and TV suggestions. I need all the distractions I can get.
I have a teeny (I hope) request, if you can do it. I have to (and I assume everyone leaving a comment is the same) enter all my info (name, email, website) into the boxes each time I want to leave a comment. I think it’s up to the blogger to set it up that way or have a box the commenter can check so the info is remembered for next time. If you have that option, it would be great to be able to skip that step each time.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Try not to dwell on the election results too much. I’m giving myself a few more weeks of staying in the fetal position, then it’s time to resist and push back as much as possible.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I THINK I fixed it, but I will confirm. If not, I’ll try again.
These are definitely the times that try men’s souls. I agree about giving ourselves a little time and then figuring out what we can do to push back.
Yay! I just commented on your next post and it included the little check box. Fingers crossed that it works!
I enjoyed Van der Walk also, it’s not always so bloody.
Have you seen Astrid? It’s a police procedural set in Paris and Astrid is a neurodivergent young woman working in the police archives who ends up helping the detectives. Wonderful relationship between she and the lead detective, Raphaelle.
I’ve added it to my watchlist. Thank you!