Friday Faves 4/3: Running, Shetland, Handmade Pasta, Hans Zimmer, Karate Kid, Irish Tea
Best Activity
I’ve written about running here before, but golly is it something I am glad I have in my Pandemic Quiver. My days haven’t changed all that much in the last three weeks. We have no kids, so that added wrinkle doesn’t exist. Both Tiff’s job and my part-time gig are easily done from home (mine more than Tiff’s). The rhythm to our days has not been altered drastically, but the distractions and fog of uncertainty knock on the door each and every day.
Like everyone else, the freedom to come and go doesn’t exist. No quick trips to the grocery store. No more spending a few hours every morning at Starbucks writing. No more last minute decision to skip making dinner at home and walking down the street to have dinner at Monument or another Charlestown restaurant.
But I still have running. However, I have noticed that the lead up to my runs is drenched in lethargy. It would be easy to skip a run and watch something on TV or do a bit more work or read or sleep. It would be easy to tell myself I’ll go tomorrow because I know I’ll have plenty of time. Then, I get my stuff on and I tell myself, I’ll see how I feel and do a shorter run if I’m not up for it. Every time I get to the fork-in-my-running-road, I pick the longer route and head down the Charles River.
The act of getting out the door is hard and I’ve even noticed the act of running is hard right now. My body feels tired, and I’m dragging myself to finish the run. It reminds of the the physic energy it takes to stay inside all day. When I do finish and arrive back home I’m glad I did it. I’m glad I laced up my shoes and left the house for an hour. I’m glad I have the ability to run. I’m glad it’s something that allows me to press the reset button, no matter how hard it is to push that reset button right now. I hope you all have some sort of reset button to manage your mood and find positivity in each day.
Best Watch
Shetland: This show is like a warm blanket. The Shetland Islands are way up in the middle of the North Sea, north of Scotland and east of Norway. We were poking around Amazon Prime and noticed there were two seasons we had not watched. A Brit Box membership was required, so we signed up for the free trial and jumped back in. The show follows Detective Inspector Perez as he tries to fix every freaking problem on the island while also solving murders. The scenery is beautiful, and the stories are always interesting.
Let me put it this way… we tabled Tiger King and watched Shetland night this week instead
This video….
Best Read
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng: A perfect quick read. I devoured this one in a weekend and really enjoyed it. I wrote about it on the Book Club page if you’re looking for a bit more info.
I Spent A Day In The Coronavirus-Driven Feeding Frenzy Of N95 Mask Sellers And Buyers And This Is What I Learned: I think I was naive to how mass medical emergencies were handed in the USA before this pandemic hit (or maybe it was our federal government that was naive…) I assumed PPE like masks would be given to hospitals by our federal government. Or at least there would be some system in place to help. Instead, it seems like a frantic live auction where millions of masks from New Jersey end up in a foreign country and we’re at the mercy of Robert Kraft’s private jet to fetch masks from China. Forbes.com
Best Listen
Work from Home with Hans Zimmer: Spotify is rolling out a “Work from Home with…” series and this is a great one. It’s a good listen if you’re looking for something that won’t distract you form your work (or should I say, it’s one less thing in your house that will distract you.).
Rewatchables - Karate Kid: I love this movie and I’d listen to a four hour podcast about it. Some great behind the scenes stories and observations. It might change your mind about who you think is the good guy because Daniel san was kind of a whiney brat.
Best Eat
Home cooking: It’s been a week of homemade dinners, and it’s offered a bit of structure to the day, along with a challenge in how to construct something that’s delicious but also contains ingredients we have because nipping down to the grocery store is not an option right now. Some of what we made this week:
1) Homemade pasta (from scratch!) with garlic sauce and sautéed tomatoes.
2) Pantry Soup (chickpeas, chicken broth, a parmesan rind, and onion)
3) Chicken Sausage Jambalaya - I had to be somewhat creative with this because of the whole grocery store issue… but it' was great and lasted us two night. NYTimes cooking
4) Loaded Sweet Potatoes with black beans - This is the easiest dinner you could make. Sweet potatoes are delicious and filling. You cut it in half, rub it in oil, add some salt and roast it for 40 minutes. Add beans and cheese (or whatever you want). Voila! You’re done. - NYTimes Cooking
5) Black bean quesadilla - Used the left over black beans from the sweet potato dish, heated them, mashed them, spread them on tortillas with cheese and poblano peppers, folded them, and hit them with the broiler for 2-3 minutes. Serve with some salsa.
Best Drink
Twinings Irish Tea: I have picked up on one of my mom’s habits. Over the course of the day, once I’ve finished my morning coffee, I’l fire up the kettle and have a cup of decaf tea. The one bag remains in the cup most of the afternoon, and I’ll just keep pouring hot water over the tea bag. By the end of the day, I’m just drinking hot water with a bit of tea flavor. But I enjoy the tea, maybe it’s the Irish weather we’re having, but it gives me a method of drinking water that isn’t cold. Right now, cold water is rather unappealing.
Best Plug
The Imperfect Game: This week Both and I talk about one hero and one villain at West Ham United. West Ham United had three players on the pitch for the 1966 World Cup Final. Those three players were responsible for all four goals. Bobby Moore captained that team and his 16 years at West Ham United earned him legend status. He's described as a "National Treasure" and "Imperial Defender" on a statue outside of Wembley where he won three different trophies in three successive years. The man was a force and the topic of our hero portion of this episode. On the villain end of things, Both outlines the role that ownership has played in the last decade at West Ham: a new stadium, poor results, and pissed off fans. Two adult entertainment moguls, David Gold and David Sullivan, have not covered themselves in glory as local owners. On the cusp of relegation, these two men are villains at West Ham.
Listen on iTunes…