A weekly round up: eats, workouts, watches, and reads. This week I inched closer to the finish line on early retirement, found a good quickie dinner, and DNF'd the hot It book of the moment.
Werk
Two days to go! At 3:00 PM on Friday I will deploy my standard Last Day Procedure: put company laptop back in the box that it came in, walk it down to the Fed Ex office about half a mile away, ship that sucker back, delete Slack and werk email from phone.
Oof it's been a looooong week.
Eats
On Monday when dinner time rolled around I had no idea what I wanted to make, and it came to mind that I had a partial bag of pierogis in the freezer and had seen an interesting pierogi recipe recently. I cycled through my cooking blog greatest hits and found Jo Cooks sheet pan sausage and pierogies.
Next question: could I make it with ingredients that I had at home, because going out to the grocery store would have been a dealbreaker.
The answer was yes, I could fake it with what I had on hand. We had two servings of pierogies, and then I grabbed a handful of Trader Joe's fire roasted peppers and onions and sliced up three chicken sausages. From there I followed the recipe pretty exactly.
10/10 would make again.
Workouts
I've been talking about going back to Mohican State Park forever and this Saturday the planets aligned and Hubs, Doggo, and I hit the road. We did the gorge trail, which is a relatively short two miler. What it lacks in length it makes up for in difficulty.
Our fall colors are much more muted this year.
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The gorge overlook this time last year
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The gorge overlook this year
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Mohican's suspension bridge is a far cry from
the Capilano supension bridge, but still worthy in its own right. Doggo was nervous about the bridge but took to it like a pro. Since the bridge isn't wide enough for two way traffic, we had to wait for a bit before we could cross back, but we didn't mind since we met a woman with two dogs, who buddied up with Doggo.
We got to the ladder, and the other dogs went up first.
Doggo started out on the ladder.
And then switched to the hill.
It's a very difficult hike, but so rewarding. Mohican, as soon as I ditch the job I'll be back to hike the rest of your trails.
Watching
Reading
I'm having no luck with books.
The Joy Luck Club started strong for me, but I never got a good handle on which daughter belonged to which mother and by the last section of the book I was completely lost and couldn't focus anymore. I'll give the movie a try.
I've heard all of the raves about
The Correspondent, so of course I had to try it even though epistolary novels usually don't work for me. After the first letter or so, I was on board but then the letters got me. Too many voices, and I wasn't getting any traction with the characters. I waved the DNF flag at the 30% mark.
Peace out! What's the last dinner you made out of freezer staples?
The next time we talk I will be retired!!!
You are so creative with your cooking. I admire you! I need a recipe to cook....
ReplyDeleteThat trail looks really cool! And good for you for DNFing books. Why waste time with so many good ones!
Stay strong through your last few days of work and enjoy shipping of that laptop!
Thanks Sarah! One more day!
DeleteSo excited for you, Birchie!!!
ReplyDeleteI feel like you should take a bottle of champagne to the Fed Ex office and have a celebratory drink after posting the laptop.
Did you take these two forest photos at the same time of the month? Or have you had unusually warm weather in the past few weeks? The colours last year were truly spectacular.
Thanks Catrina!
DeleteThe photos were taken almost exactly a year apart. We had a very dry summer and a very warm fall, so that had something to do with the difference.
TWO DAYS LEFT!!!!!! I have refrained from texting you daily, but I have been All Caps thinking your countdown with delight and excitement.
ReplyDeleteWhat a bummer that The Correspondent left you cold! But you know what, not every book is for every person, and I'm glad you called it so you could move on to better options. Life is too short to read books that aren't doing it for you.
I am super impressed by your delicious and nutritious freezer dinner! I'm not sure I've made a meal entirely of freezer staples, but I have been shopping my freezer for meat lately. Everything is SO EXPENSIVE OMG I am glad that Past Me stocked up on on-sale chicken and ground beef so I didn't have to add that to the grocery bill this week.
Yay for Past You! I'm looking forward to having the time to slow down and learn which stores have the best prices and to be able to stock up on sales.
DeleteI know, everyone loved The Correspondent. Maybe I'll try it again on audio.
The audiobook was excellent.
DeleteIT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!!!!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy for you, omg, Birchie, IT'S HAPPENING!!
Too bad about the books. I have not yet read The Correspondent but there has been so much buzz about it. Sometimes that is a good sign for me but often not. Anyway, I'm still on hold at the library so I shall report back sometime. Also - I loved the Joy Luck Club, but I did refer to the cast of characters page at the beginning quite frequently.
I've also been very distracted lately and haven't had a lot of time to read, so that could be part of it. I feel like The Correspondent is universally loved.
DeleteIf only we could all meet up at the FedEx DropOff with you for a toast and a party! I'm so happy for you.
ReplyDeleteI hear you about The Joy Luck Club. I'm letting go of who belongs to whom and just reading it as a series of vignettes. It's irking the Perfectionist and English Teacher in me, but I'm dealing with it.
Our fall colours this year are such a disappointment. Mohican is usually glorious. But it's still a nice place for hiking and walking.
I have The Correspondent in my TBR pile. Fingers crossed. Did you ever watch the movie The Age of Innocence? Or read the book? Same time period as The Gilded Age, and I highly recommend both.
I probably read/saw Age of Innocence but it's been so long that I don't remember the story. I've been thinking about checking out some of the fiction from that time.
DeleteI started out with the approach of reading JLC as separate stories, and it worked for the first 3/4 of the book. I just got lost at the end.
Oh no! You had to DNF The Correspondent! But not every book is for every person. I love epistolary novels so they almost always work for me but they are not for everyone!
ReplyDeleteOne more sleep and you are DONE WORKING! Hooray hooray!!
Lisa, I can't wait! Tomorrow!!!
DeleteI'm excited for your last day. That's gotta feel amazing.
ReplyDeleteI am in the same boat with The Joy Luck Club. I'm relieved to know it isn't just me. Like Nance, I'm still reading but I'm just reading each story as a stand alone, knowing it relates back to the rest of the book but clueless on how, because I'm lost on who is who/who is related to who.
I'm a recipe follower and rarely do I try to whip something up if I'm missing an ingredient. I decided a few nights ago that we would have quinoa bowls. We had some Costco rotisserie chicken and peppers and quinoa that I'd already made. (I tend to make a big batch - more than I can use). Oh, then I found some green onions. Plus, I had avocados that were ripe. In very 'unlike us' fashion, Coach and I browned the peppers and onions in a balsamic vinaigrette, and mixed everything together. It was delightful.
That hike in the fall sounds amazing. I love the spontaneous dog meet up.
I feel like the best meals start with "I have a very ripe avocado that I need to use NOW". Note to self that I need to use balsamic vinegar more often.
DeleteI’m not usually a fan of epistolary novels, but wow, I loved the Correspondent. I remember loving Joy Luck Club, but this time I’m not convinced. I also had to give up on remembering which daughter went with which mother. I’m watching the film this weekend. There is one major difference between the two, which I didn’t remember, so I was waiting for it to happen in the book and then it didn’t. In the book, it’s an abortion. No spoilers, but it’s heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteI'll be interested to see the movie, hopefully soon. I've had the experience before of not being able to keep track of what was in the book and what was in the movie.
DeleteI'm with you on The Joy Luck Club. It has definitely been my least favorite CBBC book. I don't think Tan is a strong writer.
ReplyDeleteI am in Michigan for the weekend and I stopped for a walk at a county park that had a suspension bridge and I crossed it, but the whole time I kept thinking that if the bridge collapsed, no one would ever find me. I obviously should have brought Hannah with me because she would never have left me go on it!
I've said it before and I'll say it again - I'm amazed that you can move forward with summarizing and asking questions about a book that you don't like. My brain doesn't work that way. Sure I could probably white board the characters and take notes, but I wouldn't enjoy it and it would be very hard for me to focus.
DeleteWell, don't be too impressed. One of my questions this week is literally "please explain what happened." I refuse to put much thought into it at this point.
DeleteOh, darn it, I literally just commented on Sarah Jedd's blog that The Correspondent seems to be a book that EVERYONE loves... I said I hadn't heard the usual back and forth online where some people love it/ some people hate it... but I guess I spoke too soon! It didn't work for you! That's okay! I will admit the "sound" of the letter format did not immediately excite me, but so many people seem to like it that I think I need to add it to my list and check it out.
ReplyDeleteFREEEEEEEDOMMMMM!!!!
ReplyDeleteI picked up The Joy Luck Club when I was in London because I wanted to follow along with the CBBC, but I just couldn't get my life together. But a good tip to make a character list beforehand so I don't get everyone confused. No idea when I'll finally read it, though.
I haven't read The Correspondent yet, but I typically enjoy epistolary novels so I have high hopes for this one. What a bummer that it didn't work for you!
Just realized I never commented on this post- you're the first person I know who didn't like The Correspondent! I guess it had to happen sometime- there's not way a book is going to appeal to 100% of the population. I'm also having trouble making my way through Joy Luck Club (and we were supposed to have finished it today!) It's not that I don't like it- I do like it, while I'm reading it. But then I put it down and keep forgetting to pick it up again, and whatever other book I'm reading is more compelling.
ReplyDeleteI hope we get to hear all about the big retirement party! (Wait- you did have one, right?) i think I saw in a blog comment that you're traveling right now? Enjoy!
As I write this, you will be retired and enjoying your freedom! That hike looks awesome. I loved The Correspondent, but I can understand that epistolary novels might not be for everyone. I might still try and convince you though to give them another try - have you read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society?
ReplyDelete