A weekly round up: eats, workouts, watches, reads, and whatever else comes to mind. Starting with an absentminded brownie cooking adventure.
But First, A Quick Snapshot
I've been up to a lot of stuff and not keeping up with blogging, so here's a quick rundown to set the context:
Oct 2nd to Oct 4th: long weekend trip with Hubs and Stepson #2
Oct 6th to Oct 13th: whirlwind North East road trip, details to come
Oct 14th-16th: back at home with a houseguest, details to come
Eats
Some friends threw a Harvest Moon party back on the Harvest Moon, which fell on September 26th this year. I've been hearing the phrase "Harvest Moon" all of my life, but until they hosted the party and we went out into their backyard, which happens to be several acres out in the country to look at the moon, it never really clicked.
It was an "everyone bring something" kind of party, and I found two dessert recipes that were calling to me, but I couldn't decide which one to make. I don't need that kind of conflct in my life, so I simply made both.
First up: these pumpkin oatmeal cookies that Sarah wrote about (I don't remember which post but just go there and I'm sure you'll come away with something good). My verdict is that there is nothing wrong with these, but I kind of wanted something else...like a pumpkin oatmeal cookie with white chocolate chips and maybe some pecans and no frosting, so that's what's on my baking to-do list.
Second up: frosted brownies. These are the easiest thing in the world to make, but because my attention was divided between the pumpkin cookies and Life Thoughts, mistakes were made. (1) I wasn't paying attention, so I dumped the flour and cocoa powder mixture in when I should have added the sugar and (2) the recipe uses an 8"x8" pan, but I couldn't find mine. All I had was a 9"x13".
My workaround was to pretend that I had the correctly sized pan. I shaped the parchment paper to approximately the correct size and hoped for the best.
Sure enough, the best happened. The brownies came out to the correct consistency and thickness, so no one except for you and I are aware of the incorrect order of ingredient addition and the wrong pan size. Shortly after this I found my 8"x8" pan hiding in plain sight.
Speaking of food, I was amused to see that the Dinner Struggle is not just real, it's making the news. In the Wall Street Journal no less! I don't know what the solution is, but I can relate to the problem so well.
Workouts/Wellness
Nothing besides the same-same to report on the workout front. The Cool Blogger's Walking Club is back in session. Doggo asked me to remind everyone that you don't need to be a blogger to participate.
Sleep wise, things continue to be good. I've been tracking my sleep for the past few months by both the sleep time on my Garmin and by my opinion of the quality (my ratings categories from worst to best are: sucked, meh, good, and Yes!). Time wise my average is consistently 6.5 hours per night, but the number of "sucked" nights are down and "Yes!" nights are up. I only took a melatonin once in all of September and haven't bothered with magnesium since I don't know when. I took both nearly every night from sometime in January to sometime in August, and I do think they helped and if my sleep gets bad again I would go back to taking them in a heartbeat.
One tip off that my sleep has changed is that I'm starting to have dreams again, and I'm not sure how to feel about it! I had a very vivid dream the other night that my undergrad degree was invalid and that I had to drop everything to go back to school to "fix it" even though I never used my undergrad degree for work and, duh, I'm retired. If it's an option to go back to having no dreams and still get good sleep, can someone sign me up for that?
Watching
Regular TV stuff: mostly Traitors! I watched the Canadian edition, which was fun because it was a split between reality TV stars and normies. I didn't like the host as well as the UK one, but the traitors were very good! In Hot Couple's TV, Hubs and I started UK Celebrity Traitors, which is fun for us since a lot of the same people have been on 8 Out Of 10 Cats.
I finished season 1 of La Casa de Las Flores and started season 2, but I think that the show might have jumped the shark. I'll keep watching for now since the episodes are short and I can always use the exposure to Spanish.
And finally, cliche though it is, Thelma and Louise has been coming to mind a lot recently thanks to the Birchie and Kyria Road Trip, so I decided to do something about that. Just because Kyria wasn't around didn't mean that I had to watch it alone! I saw it with another Cool Blogger, but since I'm behind on blogging, you'll have to wait a post or two to get the deets on that.
Reading
Reading has been slower lately, and yet somehow I still have many bullet points to blog about:
- It is going to be a long, long time before I read another celebrity memoir. I was left with a sour taste in my mouth after the last one, and I tried another Hot Memoir of the moment and only made it 10 minutes before I bailed. From what I understand it's hard to be a celebrity, and I'm sorry for that but not sorry enough to listen to someone whine for six hours. My advice if you're a celebrity is to spend a bit of time reading "normie" memoirs about folks who have lived through difficult situations and see if there is possibly another way to express yourself.
- My next book is most likely going to come from the titles that were discussed on this episode of Sarah's Bookshelves.
- Since the unnamed celebrity memoir didn't work for me and I needed another audio book for my most recent road trip, I picked up Off the Clock by Laura Vanderkam, which was a much, much better use of my time.
- Both SHU and Jenny put Fellowship Point on my radar, and I've been reading it...for a while now. For so long in fact that my Libby loan is about to expire so I've put my Kindle in airplane mode so that I can finish it. Usually I need a book to fully engage me in order to keep reading, so I can't explain why I'm still here except that I've got low n'slow vibes with this one. Stay tuned!
- Oops, the next round of CBBC kind of snuck up on me and Convenience Store Woman was only available on audio from Libby, so I started listening last night. I had sampled the book back when the selections were announced and it didn't really catch my attention back then but now that I started listening "for real" I'm not having that problem. I don't think that I've read any Japanese fiction until this year, and judging by how I felt about What You Are Looking For Is In The Library and how I feel so far about this book...it seems like I need to read more Japanese fiction.
The second update is that my plan was to do "me stuff" for the first year of retirement and to add in some volunteer work in year two. Guess what, time flies so it's time to start thinking about year two!
I did my first volunteer gig at the end of September, which was to hand out shirts at my local marathon. It was a ton of fun, so you can expect more race volunteering in my future.
I've also signed up to start volunteering at an animal shelter, and that could start as early as next week. The idea here is pay forward what others did for Doggo, and also to hopefully learn a bit more about dogs in the process.
A Quick Trip
Stepson #2 had a Friday off school recently, so Hubs and I took advantage and went to see him and then took him to New River Gorge NP.
You know the beauty of NRG from my previous visits (here and here), but to save you the trouble of clicking the links, let's do a quick review of times past:
This is the view that awaited us on the most recent trip:
The punchline is that my third visit to NRG gave me a view that I had never gotten before, which was no view. But we had a great time hiking, an epic dinner at Secret Sandwich Society in Fayetteville, and the odds are that the next time that we visit we'll be able to see the scenery.
We were also entertained by the very explicit warnings at a lake/waterfall on the way to NRG. That's something that you just don't see every day.
Before We Go
Speaking of breaking Wall Street Journal news, I know that in recent years most of my viewing is random stuff on Youtube. I always knew that I wasn't the only one, and now thanks to the WSJ I can confirm that I am in good company.
I don't think that there are enough dog pictures in this post, so let's drop another just in case. Someone is judging my brownie baking skills.
Peace out! Are you behind in blogging? Have you had a cooking snafu that turned out to be just fine? How's your sleep? Are you a Youtube watcher? Tell me everything!
I am behind on blogging; I have 2 trips to recap and so many random thoughts. Both Garmin and my energy have been telling me my sleep is trash, so I’m about to try magnesium for the first time (after a
ReplyDeleteconsult with the amazing Anne) which should be an adventure. I am a YouTube watcher… to the point I’ve had to start alternating “real” shows with my fave YT channels. I’m desperately jealous of everyone who gets to watch this current season of Celebrity Traitors as I’m a long time James Acaster fan and also am appreciating Michael Sheen’s sphinx-like approach in the clips I see…
FWIW I really think that magnesium helped me. I used to take it 10-20 minutes before bed and then chase it with a melatonin at lights out. It made me very drowsy, and I was able to fall asleep pretty quickly. Staying asleep was of course another story, but one thing at a time. BTW that's just what I did, not "the one and only way to do it". Also I use my Garmin to get my sleep time, but I ignore what it says about the quality of my sleep and go with my feelings/energy level.
DeleteI am also listening to Convenience Store Woman, and I'm enjoying it. Hearing how the Japanese words and names are pronounced is a great benefit of listening, because I wouldn't pronounce them right in my head while reading print. I enjoy YouTube. Craft and sewing and art videos are my favorites. I also enjoy funny pets, song parodies, and songs that aren't parodies. I try really hard to avoid negativity and news - but it always tries to "feed" that stuff to me. My sleep has been a bit better lately, but holy cow, my dreams are weird. I would sign up for the good sleep/no dreams program too!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't sure what to except with Convenience Store Woman, but I'm really liking it and I'm going to finish it today. Youtube is great! In the opinion of me, you, and Warren Buffet! I don't think that's too shaby.
DeleteI seem to be the odd woman out on not liking Convenience Store Woman. I can’t remember why I didn’t like it but I remember wishing I had DNF’d it. I am glad it’s working for you!
ReplyDeleteThe brownies look so good! I love a good brownie and they are easy to make GF since the point of brownies is that they are dense, which is how GF baking typically turns out. So it’s undetectable that they are GF usually.
I rarely read celebrity memoirs. I will if there is something interesting about them. But I can only think of one that I’ve read in the last several years (Matthew Perry’s - and after reading it, I was sadly not surprised that he died of an overdose. He was so very ill and addicted to drugs and there wasn’t much space between when he got sober and when he wrote that book… nor was it anywhere close to his first time getting sober. It’s really quite sad.)
I’m reading ‘The Shampoo Effect’ right now which is brain candy and goes down easily. I can’t wait to get my hands on American Hagawan by Min Jin Lee, especially after listening to an author interview. She is so smart and witty.
I've been the odd woman out plenty of times. I'm about an hour from the end so I will almost certainly finish it today, and then we'll compare notes.
DeleteI had the benefit of listening to Matthew Perry's memoir after he died, but even so I can't think of a stronger example of a cry for help. I read The Many Lives of Mama Love around the same time and couldn't help thinking about the example of someone who had all the money in the world to deal with his addiction and someone who had to get clean on $0. My beef isn't with Perry so much as it is with the system.
Well, I actually quite like that view of the Gorge with the bridge and the fog/clouds! It creates a completely different kind of atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteThe small-talk thing is exactly what scares me about online lessons! I know small talk is an important skill and serves a purpose, but having to chat to a stranger about random things in another language feels very scary.
Does your teacher come up with the topics? Or does he ask very open questions ("how are you") and leave you to find things to talk about?
I think I’d prefer a “topic plan” so I know what’s on the agenda and can look up and learn some "specialized" vocabulary beforehand.
It's a mix of off the cuff conversation and prompts. The prompts are all simple questions, but tedious to answer, so I'm motivated to study so that we can move on to other things.
DeleteI'm enjoying Convenience Store Woman so far. I'm hoping to get a chance to sit down and read a long stint of it today! It's quirky so far, which I like.
ReplyDeleteI think making a good brownie is an art form and those look like a Picasso or Renoir, my dear friend. In other words... SO GOOD.
Sigh. Foggy views. Ask me how well I can empathize after our castle adventure in Germany. :(
My sleep is hit and miss. I had a week of horrible sleep (period + full moon = HORROR), and then was so tired and needed to nap so much and I'm still not back into a good rhythm. I've had good luck with magnesium in the past but have gotten out of the habit of taking it.
The first thing that I thought of when we got to the gorge was your castle day!
DeleteI really like CSW and the chances are pretty good that I will finish it today. Normally I try to stick with the assigned reading for CBBC and to not read ahead, but I don't know when the break in the audio book is and it's so short so I feel good about finishing ahead of schedule.
Wow you were NOT kidding about the fog! That is quite a different view!
ReplyDeleteConvenience Store Woman hasn't become available on my Libby yet, so I will be late to the CBBC party.
So glad you are having a spate of good sleep! I am too, which is LOVELY. Good sleep makes everything more manageable!
I love every photo of Doggo. She is a beauty and there can never be too many pics of her!
I was really surprised that the audio book was on Libby, and if not for that I might have skipped this round of CBBC because I wasn't sure if I would like the book.
DeleteYES FOR A GOOD SLEEP STREAK!!!! Let's keep it up!!!!!
Ditto for Lenny!
The best celebrity memoir I ever read was Trevor Noah's "Born a Crime". Quite possibly the only other celebrity memoirs I have read are by politicians. But I do think "Born a Crime" is quite good.
ReplyDeleteI can't think of a cooking snafu that turned out fine for me. There was the time I set the kale chips on fire in the toaster oven. The kitchen didn't catch fire, which should be considered fine, but the kale chips were not fine.
I won't say I'm behind on blogging because I long ago abandoned any metric for my blogging, but this month I have fully fallen into the deep hole of mindlessly watching youtube videos in the hopes they will either lift my spirits about the real world or make me forget about the real world. I hate for the WSJ to be right, but in this case I think they are.
Sleep? Ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Sob.
I love ALL your photos of the NRG. I haven't been there. I guess I had better make my plan to do that.
Yes yes yes, Trevor Noah's book was great!!!
DeleteAlso yes to abandoning blogging metrics and just writing when you want to write.
I am on page two of Convenience Store Woman, so I need to get my butt in gear before tomorrow. I know it doesn’t matter, we can catch up, blah blah blah, but I really like to be on time with my assignments.
ReplyDeleteI like that misty view, though the juxtaposition with the old one is great too.
I love Thelma and Louise. I like how innocent Thelma is at the beginning, pretending to smoke, saying “I’m Louise”, and then by the end she’s all tough and tan and gritty. Great movie.
I’m so behind on blogging. I’m not going to bother catching up until I get home, but then life will get in the way so maybe not then either.
Travel wrecks havoc on blogging and reading schedules! But it's so worth it <3
DeleteI AM behind in blogging, thanks for asking! And in blog visiting and commenting! And in reading, but THAT'S FINE. I have a couple of cooking snafus that turned out okay that I think I will use for a NaBlogPoMo Post (assuming I remember), but how funny and awesome that the brownie thing turned out so well (and how relatable that the other pan was right there in plain sight).
ReplyDeleteWOW New River Gorge, sewage notwithstanding, how knock-your-eye-out spectacular.
Behind in Blogging Bloggers Unite!!! Someday our online lives will catch up with us.
DeleteWhat a great and ingenious brownie save! And thanks for volunteering at the marathon. Runners like me appreciate ALL the volunteers!
ReplyDeleteAs for cooking snafus...I have plenty, mostly because I always try to change the recipe the first time. My husband tells me not to do that if I want a true test of the recipe, but I do it anyway, to my shame.
Sleep is not terrible, but could be better. I take magnesium every night.
Levi Kelly tours and Babish cooking shows make their way into our YouTube feed most.
Look, there are times when it's not possible to follow the recipe as is. My most common reason is not having the exact ingredients and having to make on the fly substitutions. Either it works or I get a great story out of it, so either way it's a win.
DeleteI'm not behind in blogging, and I think that corresponds to the fact that I haven't been doing anything interesting lately! No trips or exciting events to write about here. I'm definitely looking forward to your latest trip recap!
ReplyDeleteFellowship Point... I know SHU struggled in the middle, and it did slow down for me. I really liked the last third of the book, but if you decide to take a break from it I won't be mad at you.
That biohazard sign should effectively scare people off! I wonder who came up with that. I can just imagine them designing the sign- "let's put a picture..."
Fellowship Point paid off!!! I was never sure where the story was going, but it got there in the end.
DeleteI am always behind on blogging, but you know what I think about that? I think that means that I am ahead on living! Or I am just being lazy! Haha. Its hard being retired. Actually, TBH, I currently have most things on hold and am not blogging, reading, or watching YT, as I am organizing, prepping, planning and transitioning. I just got back from a hike, had to put everything away, and then get ready for the next go around. It is not hard, but I am taking this time to also downsize a little more (scanning some old planners and getting rid of them, next up, photos, but this is a much bigger project) and organizing my computer files. Sounds easy, but these things sometimes take forever!
ReplyDeleteMy take on your Spanish lessons is that they will progress! Before you know it, you'll be telling Juan all about your innermost problems! My plan for learning more Spanish is to...go to a Spanish speaking country and try not to always talk to gringos! Update coming soon.
I am looking forward to all of your recaps, and hey, if they are in three months or a year, I will still enjoy them, so go and live your life! (Or be lazy! It's your prerogative!)
Behind on blogging, ahead on living! It's a good life.
DeleteI am just now trying to catch up with reading and commenting on blogs. It was a busy time with blogger visitors (and a very happy one, too)!
ReplyDeleteYour dog is precious and she has it all: looks, charm, and good manners. If she has to get a little judgy about your baking once in a while, then so be it. My granddog Zydrunas gets really judgy and disdainful about a lot more than that, and I still adore him.
Great moody and atmospheric photo from NRG this time. I'd enlarge and frame that one, seriously. And that sign? Coming Soon to a CLE beach near us.
All I can say is that you and I are behind on blogging for the best reason possible! Story coming soon!
DeleteI am FOREVER behind on blogging. I'm always so impressed by people who comment on my blog posts the same day because I cannot get my life together enough for that. I want to be one of those people, though!
ReplyDeleteOMG, Karine from Traitors Canada is BONKERS. Her style makes no sense lololol. At one point, she's wearing a pool float as a top and I just don't get it. Did you ever watch Revenge? She was in it! I clocked her immediately even though I haven't seen that show in a decade+.
I zipped through Convenience Store Women yesterday since I did the audio and it was only 3.5 hours. So quirky! I loved it!
Ha ha all of my commenting is same day or it doesn't happen. And more often then not lately it is not happening.
DeleteI love a really great, short book and CSW delivered!
Yay for the brownie fix! And I didn't read the WSJ article but deciding what to eat every day SUCKS.
ReplyDeleteAww dang for the foggy views on this trip!
That's exactly what the article said: it sucks!
DeleteBummer re: the fog, yay re: the diversity of, well, "stuff" in this post. You are Living Life, my friend, and it shows. Yay.
ReplyDeleteI try!
Delete