Yeast

I've been baking a fair bit through quarantine (and made a blueberry gingerbread cake this weekend!) but today was the first time I've made anything with yeast.

(OK, if we're being honest, I started it yesterday and it rose for forever, but it didn't come out of the oven until this evening.)

The foccacia turned out well enough to share, so I did: I brought some over to two other people. I ate a huge chunk. And I put some in my freezer, where it will hopefully stay delicious for more than two days.

T-shirt

I got a package in the mail today, when I wasn't expecting one. That's always a nice thing. When I opened it, I was surprised to see that it was from my employer -- they made T-shirts to send to us, with a note to say we're appreciated.

And it's a little corny, but they definitely didn't have to do that. So it made me smile.

Time off

Glad that a last-minute request for a day off was granted.

Bread

A friend stopped by the other day with a loaf of bread she made. I had sandwiches for lunch and dinner on fresh-baked bread. Delicious.

Growth

I have some green onions that had been in the back of the vegetable drawer for months. If you peeled off a shriveled layer, there was still enough there to eat!

On a whim, I put the bottoms in water on my windowsill. Mere days later, they've grown several inches. I feel seriously accomplished.

I don't know that it'll work, but I've now done the same thing with the base of a head of lettuce. The internet says it's possible. We'll see.

On this day

Four years ago this morning, I called in sick, hopped a plane, and flew to Cleveland to go to a parade.

The Cavs had won the National Championship earlier in the week, the first time a Cleveland team had won since the Indians took the World Series in 1948. The rest of my family was downtown to celebrate that night -- my brother had driven in from D.C. -- and I felt left out. So I bought a plane ticket.

Getting on that plane -- with hundreds of other people who were doing the same thing I was -- was one of the happiest moments I can remember. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you the joy and excitement were palpable. People cut short vacations to be there. They canceled obligations. We just all wanted to share the experience.

It turns out that parades are kind of a mess. Or maybe it had just been so long since we'd had one? There were more than 1 million people (can you imagine that now?) cramming ever closer to see the local stars and dignitaries. People pressed so close they clogged the parade route. It was slow and hot and really kind of ridiculous.

But it was so much fun.

I was back in time to go to work the next morning, no one the wiser. And I can't begin to tell you what a wonderful choice it was. I felt so connected to everyone else on that plane, in the street. It was just straight-up joy, the likes of which I hadn't seen before and haven't seen since.

If the Browns or Indians manage the same feat, I'm sure it'll be just as crazy. But there's something about that first victory in my lifetime -- in the lifetime of so many! -- that will stand out forever.

Mr. Mac

I learned today that one of my favorite high school teachers died. I had him for at least three classes, and my siblings had him, too. He came to know my family, and he was a sort of legend, at least to me. A jolly Santa Claus-type, with a glass eye and a booming voice, he always had a story (or several) to regale you with. I still remember one about belly dancing and driving during an Atlanta ice storm, and tales of Alaska. He offered to chauffeur students to their weddings in a fancy car.

I was glad to see that we corresponded a little after I graduated. It's been many years, but I have a couple emails in my mailbox. And I learned a little more about him in his obituary -- he liked trains, and had a collection.

I don't know that I ever would have managed to reach out again. But I'm glad to be thinking of him. He had an impact, and his presence in the world will be missed.

Varvar

I went to Ukraine last year, and brought back some alcohol that I (still) haven't finished. Tonight, I had a gose from Varvar, a Ukrainian brewery. And it was delicious. I've liked everything I've had from them -- and I have one beer left. If only I could get it in the States!

Awareness

There's a lot happening in the world, which I know I don't have to tell you. As we see a real-time shift in culture and understanding, I very much appreciate having conversations that let me gain perspectives I didn't have.

Being able to talk to people about their own reactions to social change isn't common. I've been doing it for work and with friends, both.

Today, after some of the work conversations, I got thanked for talking to people and for the questions I was asking. I hope that the articles I write live up to the discussions, and the people who felt like they were benefiting by talking to me are also pleased with the results. It's a privilege to be able to tell others' stories and I'm particularly aware of that this week.

Toes

I went to a Leap Day wedding.

Normally, I wouldn't think to tell you this some four months later, but I think about it every time I look at my toes. And except for slipper season -- which has since passed -- I'm mostly barefoot in my house, so I'm seeing my toes a lot more.

I got a pedicure for the wedding, and though my toenails have grown some, it hasn't chipped or otherwise done the things that nail polish does. It's shiny and lustrous and makes me feel a little bit like I'm at a fancy house in California, celebrating with friends.

So even though I'm not traveling, a little nail polish has made me feel transported.

Something new

Today, I cooked kohlrabi for the first time. And also probably ate kohlrabi for the first time. Someone on the internet described the taste as "like broccoli stalks" and that seems pretty apt.

At the end of the year, I tend to look back and see what was new for me -- where did I go that I haven't gone before, what did I do that I haven't tried. This year's list is going to be much different than others, I presume. So I want to make sure I note that: today was something new.

The past few days

In no particular order:

A COVID-19 friendly art show.

A walk in the woods:

Seeing the face of a friend going through town.

Good news for someone I care about very much.

Correspondence.

Ice cream.

In-person conversations from a safe distance.

Buds

Y'all! My tomato plant is flowering! And it is a giant, but the flowers are the best part. Because, in theory, they mean that I will have tomatoes.

I am very excited.

Garlic scapes

They came in my CSA box today, and they make me smile.

Mom got a CSA. They're in hers, too. Maybe we can cook together, across the distance.

You know what's good?

Warm cherry pie and chilled ice wine.

Sharing is caring

I had a socially distanced picnic this evening, and there was another group doing the same in the same park. They were kind enough to walk over to us with a bottle of margaritas, ice and glasses and offer to share their bounty.

We chatted a little, and it's the first time I've *really* talked to strangers -- at least in a non-work setting -- for months. It was a nice gesture in the midst of continuing madness.

Strawberries

I go strawberry picking every year, and I was disappointed last year to learn the patch I had been going to planned not to plant any more. So between that, and the coronavirus, I had low expectations for my strawberry options.

But then! I saw a story about some places that were doing socially distanced fruit picking. And strawberries came into my life again!

I went yesterday and ended up with roughly five pounds of berries. I've given some away, have eaten a couple handfuls and my make something out of them. But it was nice to get out and do this thing I'm used to doing in some form or fashion.

Tayari Jones

I went to an online discussion with the author Tayari Jones tonight. I'd heard her speak before in person, and she was so thoughtful and funny. I expected that today, and got it -- but got another surprise, too, when she shouted out a coworker in response to a question.

So I got to send my coworker a note to tell her she'd made the bigtime, which made her laugh. It feels good to spread happiness, especially this week, which is hard for so many.

Plus, if you haven't read An American Marriage, it's a great time to do it. It's a nuanced, thoughtful story.

Fans

My windows are open, the fans are on and it's 84 degrees in here. So it's probably my last night without air conditioning, since I'm basically covered in a constant sheen of sweat. I wish it was cooler in here -- just a touch! But I'm savoring the quiet of not having the A/C kick in and enjoying feeling like I'm a little closer to the outside world (what with being separated just by a screen). While it lasts.

Great Lakes

I keep forgetting about alcohol. I know, I'm doing this lockdown all wrong.

But last night, I remembered I keep wanting a beer. And I remembered to put a couple in the fridge! And then I drank one. And... the beers I have are a little old, so it wasn't the most delicious thing in the world, but it was cold and refreshing and all was well with the world.

And it was Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold, too, so I got to have a Great Lakes, which cannot be gotten in these parts. Hence the age. Still, a good thing.

I am so looking forward

To spending a little time before bed reading a book.

Leftovers

Cooking took too long today,  but it was tasty. So I'm glad there's enough of it to eat later, so I can get the benefits of new concoctions without the annoyance of standing in front of a stove when it's so warm outside.

Old friends

Through this whole global pandemic thing, three friends and I have had a weekly phone call. We started out taking a Coursera class together, and as the class wound down, we started asking important questions of each other. It's led to long, thoughtful, winding conversations with people I respect and trust and know I can be vulnerable and wrong around, and I really appreciate that.

A heavy rain

How nice to stand outside for a few minutes, covered on a balcony, during a brief, intense downpour.

Jeopardy!

How neat to see a kid I went to high school with on Jeopardy! today. And after a bit of a rough start, he ended up doing quite well. I felt like I could have succeeded, by proxy. (Even though I would not have, not at all.) A nice diversion on a Thursday night.

Deliveries

Today, I accomplished two things: I got produce and I got a new windshield.

My windshield has had a crack in it for way too long, and I have basically been ignoring it because that's easier than doing something about it. But last week, I made an appointment (and discovered a company discount!) and today, a man came to my house and put a new windshield on my car. And that it fabulous!

Then, while he was working on my car, a CSA box arrived. I'd wanted to do a CSA years ago, but never was home often enough. And now things have changed! So it's a thing I can do to get a variety of produce (and today, some bread) and figure out how to experiment with things that I didn't often use.

I'm excited about both things! Probably more the food than the car, if we're being honest, but the next time I drive somewhere and don't have a pit-of-my-stomach worry that the windshield's going to shatter will be wonderful, too.

Matching

I have this ridiculous pair of pants I picked up last summer in a south Georgia CVS on the way to Florida. They're bright and colorful and patterned and loungey and I don't really know how to match them. So I put a black T-shirt on top.

Today, I pulled them on with a blue shirt that I was instructed to wear for some other thing I'll probably tell you about later this week. And lo and behold, that shade of blue was in the pants, too! It matched! They looked OK!

It's really the silliest thing, but it's like it opened up a whole new world of acceptable lounge wear to me. I just kept marveling at the pants' blue stripe, thinking of the many other things I might be able to wear together.

Tomatoes

A friend gave me a tomato plant this weekend, and I repotted it today -- a first for me. I tend to have bad luck keeping things alive, so here's hoping.

Birthday party

Sitting in a park today with a nice breeze and three other people, celebrating one of their birthdays from across an open field.

Buttercream

I made (raspberry) buttercream frosting for the first time today. It went on top of lemon(ish) raspberry cupcakes. And most exciting of all, it was an experiment in combined recipes. I brought them to some friends and they seemed to go over well. So I'm declaring it a success!

Check's in the mail

It never hurts to get an envelope of money, does it? This one come from FPS evaluations, even though it took me forever to send in my tax forms. Hooray for being a little richer, especially since the normal gig that would have started this weekend is taking the year off.

The Price is Right

In the Before Times -- all the way back at the end of February -- I went to Los Angeles for a wedding. It's a long flight from Atlanta, so I stayed a couple days. And one of the things I did while I was there was go to a taping of The Price is Right.

It's a ridiculous experience -- the whole thing took four hours? Six hours? -- but it was so neat to see everything up close, to hear the background banter, to see them pause everything after a light bulb exploded. (A light bulb exploded! You wouldn't know that from TV.)

The episode aired today, and I got to watch myself high five someone in my row who got called down, and scream and cheer (and also look insufficiently enthusiastic when I didn't know the camera was there). I wasn't a contestant, but I was there, and it was such a thrilling thing to see myself enjoying it.

That same day, I went to a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live. That aired immediately and I could only see myself if I knew I was there. On The Price is Right, if you know me, you can definitely see me. It was a cool vestige of Then. My last one, probably, though maybe something else will float down. In any event -- it was great to see.

Brussels sprouts

Back in March -- do you remember when it was March? -- I went to the grocery store and bought a shopping cart full of potential-quarantine food that soon turned into real-quarantine food. Like many others.

I planned to share much of the bounty with my sister and her roommate, and they took some of the shelf-stable things I bought. But a lot of the produce, dairy, etc. ended up in my refrigerator for the long haul.

Which is how I came to finish, tonight, a bag of Brussels sprouts I bought in March.

And they were good! I roasted them; they browned. I had to peel off a couple leaves that had yellowed, but other than that, my two-month-old Brussels sprouts were perfectly delicious.

I'm just so impressed that they lasted as long as they did. And I appreciate them for it! I still have some apples from March, too, but I think that will spell the end of the Original Produce, as I have taken to thinking of it. Still -- quite a feat.

Donuts

Can I take a moment to tell you how excited I am?

A box of donuts showed up at my front door today. A dozen of them! With a note that said, "If I have donuts, you have donuts."

A friend and I have made donut tours of our respective towns the last two times we've visited each other. So when she found a donut delivery near her, she sent me a picture.

And then she sent *me* donuts!

It's kind under normal circumstances, but under pandemic circumstances it's literally the most thoughtful thing in the world. And it totally made my week.

And then I got to call her and tell her how excited I was and we talked for an hour and that *really* made my week.

It's a pretty exciting day, is the long and short of it.

Panagram

My spelling bee obsession knows no bounds, and even extends into a spelling bee that is not a bee at all. It's a puzzle, published by the New York Times, that derives its name from the fact that letters are in a hive shape. And you have to make words.

A friend and I have been doing them pretty religiously through quarantine (she is better than me). And she's particularly better at finding the long words. My eye tends toward the short.

Every day, there's (at least) one word that uses each of the seven letters -- the panagram. For me, either you see it or you don't. And I usually don't.

But today! Today I saw it! It was my friend's name! And I was so excited to send her the screenshot of her name, using all the letters that were on offer. We're both keeping it for posterity. (No, it wasn't really the panagram. There were no points for it. But it was the best panagram that ever was.)

And, between us, we got all the words today. So we were pretty proud of ourselves.

For the birds

I was sitting outside this afternoon, watching the squirrels jump from branch to branch when I saw two winged creatures that made me smile: a hummingbird and a cardinal.

It's the second time in the past few weeks that I've seen the hummingbird, and at around the same time -- so maybe it's a regular occurrence? The cardinal makes me smile with its bright flash of red, and because it reminds me of home.

Seeing Newnan

Over the past few years, a friend and I have created what we call adventure club, where we look for interesting things to do around town. As you might imagine, that's a little harder in a pandemic. But today, we found a way.

Several of us went to see a public art exhibit, Seeing Newnan, of 17 portraits of residents taken in the town. May I just tell you: it was fabulous.

On their own, the pictures are well-done portraits on the side of buildings. But this was so much more than that.

The artist spent two years in the city, getting to know people and taking pictures. And the context for her project is really interesting; Newnan is a city of about 40,000 that's about 60 percent white; it was also the site of a neo-Nazi gathering in 2018. But as this story will tell you, the perception of the city hasn't kept pace with the population of the city. And that's where Mary Beth Meehan came in. Her website has really fabulous biographies of everyone she shot, and the context made for a really wonderful experience -- particularly, for me, in some of the placement of the portraits.

In this one, a fifth grader in her Cotillion clothes is on the side of a building she wouldn't have been allowed into in another era. And that's just one.

If you're in Atlanta, it's worth the field trip.

For me, the other thing that was so great about it was the humanness. No, I couldn't give my friends hugs, but I could walk around town with them (an acceptable distance apart) and have a picnic (same) in an empty park and share one of the only social experiences I've been able to of the pandemic.

Plus someone brought houseplants, so now there's something green (and alive!) in my house. Not shabby at all.

Dragon

I quite love a Kinder Egg, and they've come to be a sort of pick-me-up on days that aren't the best. There's nothing particularly wrong with today -- but I learned (not unexpectedly) that I'll be working from home all summer (and, I think, likely after that too). So I broke out a Kinder Egg.

The chocolate is fine, but the toys are really the best part. And today's toy is a dragon who flaps its wings as it flies. It's pretty swell.

Other good things today: an accidental phone call from a friend that ended up being a long conversation. A text that led to buying a ticket to the drive-in to see Clue. Knowing that berry-picking might still be an option.

Wine

I opened my first bottle of quarantine wine yesterday, amazingly. It turns out wine can be tasty! Especially when paired with chocolate.

Kismet

Finding out a friend was thinking of me at the same time I was thinking of her.

Reading

I'm a library kind of gal, and I've been a little thrown by the inability to check out books. True, there's Overdrive and electronic options, but without an e-reader, it seems like a lot -- to try to read a whole book on my phone.

So I'm trying something new -- audiobooks. So far, it's been really neat to hear the tone and voices change. I don't know that I'm processing as well as I would if I were reading... but I'm trying something new. And that's never a bad thing.

Home Fire

I just really loved this month's book club book, Home Fire. It was elegantly written and thoughtful and interesting and really just a joy to read and discuss. Even more amazing because it deals with serious topics and issues, which is not where my brain has wanted to go during this pandemic. But it was gorgeous. I'd highly recommend it.

Letters

I've been sending letters lately, because why not? They're wonderful, and it's felt really awesome to put stamps on things and put them in the mail.

It's been equally nice to learn that they've arrived! And one friend -- whose birthday is this week -- told me she planned to save the "happy holidays" card (who just has a stash of appropriate cards laying around?) as a memory of what weird times we're in.

It's meant calls and texts and maybe some pen pals to be? We shall see!

Smash cake

At an online first birthday party today (my second of quarantine), the guest of honor was presented with a lovely cake, covered in sprinkles, for eating and smashing and smearing frosting (in this case whipped cream) all over everything.

So what did he do? The first thing every child does when presented with a cake, of course. He stuck his foot in it.

It just made me giggle. He figured out the hands part, too. Eventually.

Slipper socks

I finally had to close my windows the other night because my heat kicked on while they were open. Which is far preferable to 90-odd degrees, I think.

I left one window open and turned off the heat, because I've liked having a breeze. I pulled my blankets tight. But I was still cold! And then I had an aha moment.

In the back of the pajama drawer, I found an old pair of socks with grips on the bottom, purple with green frogs. They're old and holey and kept my toes warm and made me grin.

Long conversations

It's very easy to feel separated right now, but there are a few things that make me feel connected. Namely, long mostly meandering conversations with people who mean a lot to me. I got to have two of those today, and I feel richer for it. Phone calls are the best.

Winchester Mystery House

I've long wanted to go to the Winchester Mystery House, a wacky, sprawling mansion in San Jose. But I've never been there, and have never had plans to go, so it's just been on a someday list.

Until tonight!

The house has a 40-minute video tour that I watched with some friends, and it was kind of amazing -- I mean, it solidified my desire to go (even though someone who has gone called it a tourist trap) instead of making me feel like I'd seen it. It was weird and interesting and made no sense, all in the best way possible.

And it made me feel like there's a way to do at least some of the things I like doing, even if I can't actually get to them.

The height of fashion

I pulled a pair of sweatpants out of the drawer that I had apparently not worn for a very long time, because I could feel the elastic cracking and crumbling as I pulled them on. The waistband was soon far too large, and with no elastic spring, they were suddenly eight sizes too big.

What's a girl to do? I suspected the other pants in that drawer were in a similar condition; after all, these were the ones on the top of the pile! But wait -- there was a rubber band. Perhaps that could solve my problems.

I gathered the extra waistband (into a very unflattering silhouette), wrapped the rubber band around the excess and voila! I had pants that fit!

It's absurd and mostly functional (I did have to re-wrap the rubber band two or three times today) and saved me from doing laundry for another day. And luckily, when I forgot I was holding my pants up with a rubber band and went outside anyway, there was no one else around to see me. Success!

Friends forever

Haaaaave I mentioned I'm watching Project Runway? (Yes, yes I have.)

It's a nice distraction in the midst of ::gestures wildly:: But I guffawed recently when one of the designers -- who I happen to like quite a bit -- walked into the workroom humming a song from Saved by the Bell.

It's catchy, isn't it? You can't go wrong with Zack Attack.

(Also -- if you're looking for a wonderful novel depiction of the rockumentary, I can't say enough good things about Daisy Jones & The Six. Super refreshing read.)

Peanut butter M&Ms

Yeah, I know, there's a lot of food on here these days. What're you gonna do? It's how we're all spending a lot of our time.

Among the snacks I got to get me through quarantine was a giant bag of peanut butter M&Ms.

They've long been my favorite M&Ms because they are delicious (first of all). They remind me of a friend from high school, who would always let me borrow money to get some from the vending machine when we we stayed after school (as long as she got to eat the green ones). And the Bee's social media team has gotten in the habit of bringing all the interesting M&Ms flavors to the workroom, so they make me think of that, too.

I had a long meeting to watch today (four hours!) so I rationed a handful of peanut butter M&Ms to help me get through it. They did the trick.

Favorite teachers

I came across the name of one of my favorite teachers today -- he's on the board of an organization I get emails from (apparently). While normally the names of the board members aren't part of the correspondence, there was something about the latest COVID-19 update that got a list of names at the bottom.

I texted a friend who'd also had him, and she told me she'd been thinking about him yesterday, for unrelated reasons. It was nice to have that moment of connection.

And it made me think about the on-a-piece-of-paper lectures he'd hand out for us to read, and the one time they came with cake. Plus the time he broke a desk by banging on it to wake someone up, and the story about dyeing his hair green and plenty of instances from As I Lay Dying or The Old Man and the Sea.

Recipes

I'm a decent cook, but I definitely am not used to doing it seven nights a week. While there are things about it that can be frustrating, I'm trying to think about the parts that allow me to be a little more creative.

Normally, if I saw a recipe that looked interesting, I'd send it to myself, save it for many months and maybe remember to try it at some point in the future. Now, the things that look interesting are getting made much faster -- especially as I eat my way through ingredients.

I had a bag of spinach that wasn't going to make it much longer. I'd normally make lasagna (but I have no ricotta) or a salad (so few things to put on it) or a tofu dish (just not in the mood). Ah ha! That recipe I'd opened just a few days before for a vegetarian version of carbonara had spinach in it.

I didn't quite have everything I needed, but it was close enough. Add some homemade bread with a lemon chive butter and it felt like a fancy lil meal.

Curdled milk

I was heating up milk for hot chocolate tonight when it began to separate into curds and whey. The milk didn't taste spoiled when I put it on my cereal this morning, so I wondered if there was something I could do.

To the internet! I did some googling to see if there was a way to reconstitute it (not really) or if there was anything else I could do with it (why yes).

So I boiled it more, drained off the liquid, pressed the curds and added sugar and a dash of vanilla. I wouldn't tell you to rush out and do the same -- it was just fine -- but it was exciting to turn what I had into something I could enjoy.

Kindness

Over the last week, I've been the recipient of four types of cookies, one loaf of challah, two face masks and some Purell. I'm so lucky to have some wonderful bakers/sewers/sharers in my life.

You're so vain

Because how great is this, from a story about a town overrun by peacocks?

"He showed the crowd a photo of a city employee’s Toyota Prius that had deep scratches on all sides. He said the peacocks see their reflection on the side of the car, mistake it for a rival and attack with their beaks."

Heating pad

One of my assignments at my first job was to go to a school where students were studying something to do with entrepreneurship and had created products that they would sell to their classmates. I don't remember if they used real money or fake (my guess is the latter), but I remember perusing the various items that the elementary or middle schoolers had made and not really seeing anything that I, an adult(ish) person, needed.

And then! One kid had made those microwaveable heating pads that are basically a sock filled with grains. His were cloth rectangles that he (or a relative) had sewn together and I immediately knew that I wanted one. Mine was fuzzy blue material and this kid was so excited that I was getting it from him. I wish I could find the story, but I still have -- and use -- the heating pad. I did last night. And I think of the smile on that kid's face and I wish I could tell him these (12? 15?) years later that I still use this little thing he made. He's probably a college grad now, maybe is deciding what adult(ish) things he needs. I love the thought that he's got one of these, too, and there are a whole group of us from this classroom sale still excited about these heating pads (which have held up so well).

Yum

My sister brought me dinner, which was such a nice surprise.

It was delicious, too, which was no surprise at all.

You're never fully dressed

You know, I din't go very far these days. So the temptation to work in pajamas wins out ... quite a bit. I think I do feel better when I'm wearing real clothes, but that doesn't stop me from not doing it.

Today, I took a mid-afternoon hot shower (which was also pretty wonderful) and then pulled a dress from the back of my closet. It's not the fanciest dress -- it's the kind that I'd wear to a casual brunch wedding (and have!) but haven't put on recently. Maybe it's out of fashion. Maybe it's not the most flattering. Maybe my style has changed. At home, it's the right outfit for the occasion!

I'm going to a (Zoom) birthday party tonight, too. So I'll look a little fancier that my PJs.

The group text

My family's group text is making me laugh out loud tonight. My parents sent a Jeopardy! question that my siblings all got right, then they pivoted to ask us what wrong answer the contestants gave instead. It became a rollicking conversation about what constitutes a Midwestern city and whether James A. Garfield has anything of note named for him. (Is it a cat? I think it's a cat.)

Slippers

My freshman year of college, a friend got me these adorable, ridiculous Winnie the Pooh slippers. (They're not exactly like that, but giant heads are the point I'm trying to make.)

I like Pooh! They were really sweet. And I wore them very occasionally because they're juvenile and cumbersome and it's easier to slip on flip-flops or walk around barefoot. Y'know?

But in working from home -- windows open, a cool breeze -- I have worn them so much more than I used to. And they are snug and warm and I see a giant yellow head every time I stretch my legs. So great.

Book club

I've been going to the same book club (practically) every month for nine years, so it was a bummer when it looked like that whole staying-at-home thing was going to put a damper on it. But lo and behold, Zoom. We were still able to meet.

I most appreciate the thoughtful, intellectual (and often not) conversations we have about characters and choices and motivations. And especially working alone in a room, I was really glad to be part of a long, windy conversation with a bunch of smart women.

And amazingly, we (for the most part) didn't talk over each other and conversation just flowed.

Plus, a friend (who I hope also enjoyed it -- if not the book) was able to join, too, from another state. It was great to see her face and to hear her weigh in on the book, too. So I feel a little closer to her and to the group, both.

FPS

I've participated in the Future Problem Solving Program since I was in fourth grade, and I'm thrilled to have been an international evaluator for the past few years. As part of it, I've been reading stories written by students about what they think the future might look like, good and bad. They're wonderful. And it's been so nice to see their creativity and their attempts to use big words properly. Plus, it's given some direction to my weekends for the past little while, which I have very much appreciated.

Such a Millennial

Why have I never thought of this before?

Also, a delicious roasted cauliflower dish from a recipe sent by a friend.

The breeze

It's gotten warm lately, but there's a chill in the air today and it's so nice to feel the breeze through my open window, even though I'm still indoors.

Also - I don't know that this is happy, per se - but I was really pleased to see this well-deserved takedown of the company line at The Plain Dealer. The owners are doing some really lousy things right now, and getting away with it. I'm glad it isn't also going on under the radar.

A beautiful day in the neighborhood

Sitting outside in a park on a gorgeous day, a more than acceptable amount of space between my sister and I, makeshift masks on our faces, a three-dimensional conversation.

Greek

You may have never heard of the TV show Greek (or maybe you love it!) but I was so happy to rediscover it last night on Hulu. I used to love it, but for some reason never watched the last season. I'm doing that now, and it made me laugh out loud. Which was such a wonderful thing.

Orchestra

One of my old co-workers tweeted out a link to a Cleveland radio station that's playing an hour of music from the Cleveland Orchestra over lunch each day. I was able to listen for about 30 minutes. And let me tell you -- it just made me exhale.

I don't think a lot about classical music (it's fine!) but I love the Cleveland Orchestra, one of the best in the country. It was so refreshing to listen to. And it reminded me that at least once when I was working in Cleveland (and maybe more than once?) I was able to sneak out of work with some coworkers to listen to one of their rehearsals. It was a great experience, watching them work toward perfection.

If you also want to listen at lunch, do so here.

For the birds

A receipt from the olden days, when you used to go to restaurants and eat food, that had the server's name on it. His last name was Cockatiel. I don't know if it was real or make-believe, but it made me smile.

Cavaliers

Cleveland sports teams, historically, collapse. There is a laundry list of moments where one team or another had victory in its grasp, only to collapse spectacularly and leave fans -- and a city -- heartbroken.

Then, in 2016, the Cavaliers won the NBA championship. And whatever words I use to tell you how amazing that was will be insufficient. It was a moment of joy I honestly never thought I would experience. You may think I'm crazy, but if you're from Cleveland, you understand.

I had saved the final game of the series on my DVR and would watch it when I was having a bad day -- as a reminder of that moment and a reminder that what is in front of you is not necessarily forever.

I know I'm not the only one, but it definitely made me smile today to see that in action in my Twitter feed, where someone posted the final seconds of the game and the ensuing celebration.

Oh, it lifts my mood and makes me smile. And as so many people are missing sports right now -- for the sports themselves, for the connections they create, for so many other reasons -- I was so glad to see 30 seconds of a four-year-old basketball game. Happier than I would have expected such a thing to make me.

Work

My job has periodic weekend shifts and I worked one of them today. It was quiet, as far as those things go. But I'm thinking today more about gratitude than happiness. And in the midst of this ridiculous time, I'm grateful for my job, even after a Sunday shift.

I talked to another reporter friend today whose employer is laying people off and I've seen plenty of it in the industry. Journalism is not steady and likely won't be for some time -- if at all. But for the time being, I'm not worried about losing my job each day and that really means a lot.

This evening, I interviewed someone who's seen a lot of impact from the coronavirus. We talked for an hour and we'll talk again. And I'm grateful to her, and plenty of others over the years, for trusting me with her story.

Lost in time

Remember how I told you I was thinking of Billy Pilgrim coming unstuck in time? I am apparently not the only one who is having a hard time with when we are.

As such, I was very amused to learn I am not the only one who needs help with when it is. (Watch the clip! Then go to the thread and watch the next one! Day Two is even better than Day One.) Thank you, TV news, for that assistance.

I don't know that they're representing Cleveland well, but they are representing Cleveland. And it gives me a fabulous excuse to link back to this, from the same station, about a neighborhood bear sighting.

It never doesn't make me laugh. Thanks, TV news, for some levity (at least mostly intended).

Sharing stories

I love to read, and I love talking about the things I read (and want to read). Lucky for me, a friend has been indulging my desire for book (and other!) discussions in email chains for some time now. He sent me a fabulous short story several weeks ago, and I suggested another one in return. I was thrilled to see in an email today that he liked it.

Even more thrilling is that he's working on his own writing -- and asked me to read it. I'm so stoked to eventually see what he's been working on and really honored to have been asked. (I may have responded in all caps. I won't tell if you don't.)

Spellbound

I've been to the Scripps National Spelling Bee eight times, and I somehow had not seen the documentary Spellbound until tonight.

If you, too, haven't seen it, it's available on Tubi for free and documents the path of eight students to the 1999 Bee. It's, uh, more casually racist in the beginning than I would have expected. But then it's a delight. And knowing that I'm not going to the Bee next month (like many other things, it's not happening as originally scheduled, if at all) it was really spectacular to see it in action 21 years ago. The film cameras! The hair! The clothing choices!

There were a few things in particular that delighted me, having been a part of the program for the better part of a decade:

• The calming tones of Mary Brooks, the head judge, and glimpses of other judges.
• Dr. Bailly, then the associate pronouncer and now the head pronouncer, asking "What's a Corolla?" in response to a speller's question. (This is totally in character.)
• The eventual 2000 winner, George Thampy, as an 11-year-old who went by "Georgie." He's also a judge now.
• Seeing the childhood bedroom and rivals of Nupur Lala, the winner, who I became friendly with after meeting her as an adult.
• The amazing, incredible, brilliant kids trying so hard and with such verve.
• The words! Zwieback was in an alphabet book I made in fourth grade; I swear I heard xeropthalmia (which also has a fourth grade reference for me); and of course kookaburra, he of the old gum tree.

(Dr. Bailly more recently, gettin' jiggy with it.)

This was not my favorite day of the quarantine, so those smiles were more appreciated than they would even have been on other days.

I've also been listening to Fountains of Wayne after learning that Adam Schlesinger died today. You probably know Stacy's Mom, but there's so much more that he did -- including writing That Thing You Do! and many of the songs from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. It's a loss and I'm bummed about it, but glad that I'm able to listen to his music and that a little bit of him can live on.

The best kind of petty

A friend was lamenting that her boss is making people write up short bios for daily updates that are getting sent out. They include hobbies, something the employee is grateful for and an inspiring read.

While well-meaning, my friend reports that it's actually awkward and inauthentic.

One of her coworkers, similarly frustrated with the edict, decided to troll the boss with her book pick.

She thought about Lolita. 50 Shades of Gray. The Bible. But her ultimate pick of A Little Life was so much better than all of those.

If you haven't read it, A Little Life -- which sounds like it could be an inspiring read! -- is pretty much the darkest book I've ever read. It's absolutely gorgeous, with wonderful statements about friendship and how people grow. (Like, so good that I took pictures of paragraphs and sent them to people!)

It's also absolutely gutting, and not in a Nicholas Sparks kind of way. It's an inspired choice.

But please don't read it to feel better about anything. Unless other people's (fictional) misery somehow makes you happier.

Runway

I've been watching episode after episode of Project Runway, which is an excellent distraction from, you know, the world.

Tonight I finished season nine (and no, I did not start from the beginning). But I paused it midway through the finale to Google the woman who eventually became the winner, Anya Ayoung-Chee, because of an off-hand comment one of her brothers made during the family-visit-check-in.

He mentioned that people used to tell him how beautiful his sister is, but now they comment on her talent, too. I thought it was strange. She is pretty. But would people really stop you to tell you that your sister is gorgeous, they same way they would if she was a talented designer on a TV show?

Turns out the answer is probably yes if your sister is Miss Trinidad and Tobago and a contestant in the Miss Universe pageant. So.

It made the earlier comments from some of the (jealous) designers make more sense, too. But I was super impressed by her and amused to know more about her background. Plus, it looks like she's still designing clothes! The season eight winner is now a consultant. Bleh.

More family time

How refreshing to have a Brady Bunch-style Zoom screen filled with 25 siblings, cousins, in-laws, spouses and children (though not in 25 pictures, and not all 25 at the same time). We talked Tiger King (which I apparently really need to get on) and healthcare workers, how well the kids were walking and how the work-from-home was going. We saw cartwheels and a race. And we agreed to do it again in a couple weeks.

Game night

Today featured a four-hour family game night (that started in late afternoon) where the highlight was a monster dating game where you had to text participants to try to get them to go out with you. My family members swapped names (mostly) in previous games, so it was particularly hysterical to send messages to name-shuffled family members trying to get them to spend time with you...while also not telling them about your particular monster-like tendencies.

In the end, I ended up on a date with my brother, just as I predicted. (In the past, when the two of us have been out with our parents, he's been given the check as if it's a double date. He is horrified. I think it's hysterical.)

Plus there was a brief appearance by a very cute child. And I slept til noon, which I so desperately needed.

Sing Street

Luckily, my friends have better memories than I do. Because one texted me tonight to tell me that a movie she'd told me about before was finally streaming and I should drop everything and watch it. (OK, she didn't quite say that, but it was definitely implied.)

The movie was Sing Street; it's Irish and about a boy who forms a band to impress a girl he thinks is cute and it made me smile so big. It takes place in the '80s and the characters try on all these '80s music personas, which is adorable. And the songs are good! Which is great.

Anyway, if you have some free time (and perhaps you do, what with not leaving the house), it's worth a watch.

I'm so good at yoga

(This is actually veryyyyyy far from the truth.)

But the most exciting thing to happen today is that a friend who teaches yoga decided she was going to livestream classes. The timing worked today for me to hop on. And it was so nice -- it was nice to do it, but also nice to feel encouraged by a friend! I've never taken her classes before IRL, but she was great.

And then we started an email exchange when I thanked her for doing it. And it's been a long while since I've seen her, so that's great, too.

Other positive things today: what's become a weekly dinner date with some friends. A walk outside for the first time in forever. Grey skies and crisp air. A Crazy Ex-Girlfriend meme. Cooking real food (of a sort) for the who-knows-what-time in a row. Peanut butter M&Ms. (They're sure to make a repeat appearance.) Various forms of contact with various people.

And it was yesterday, but I made a super tasty martini (or two) with some hazelnut espresso vodka I brought back from Portland last year. Yum.

It does matter

Text from a friend today:

"Just read an article you wrote ... and it made me unreasonably happy to see your name on the byline."

It's a stressful time (you may have noticed) and work is kind of crazy right now. So it made me unreasonably happy to know that stories were being read, and read by people I know who are appreciating the work. Thanks, friend. It meant a lot.

Downpour

I'm enjoying lying in bed, listening to the rain. It sounds like a rainstick in the middle section, when everything is going at full force and you wonder how it manages to make that much noise.

Spellebrations

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist has been making me smile for a few weeks now. But it gets a bonus post today because of a plot point that involves not one but TWO characters being past winners of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

You already know how much I love the bee. So you know I was amused.

Happy birthday!

Sure, it's a weird time to celebrate. But what a nice distraction to get an email from my cousin suggesting we gather online to celebrate his son's first birthday (a month late)?

Some of us ate cake, we all sang, we argued about things we have no control over and most people failed to notice my sister's friend popping in and listening for a few minutes. Just like any other family party!

A weird way to celebrate turning one, perhaps, but at least we got to celebrate.

Cassata cake

I thought it would be a good time to clean out my freezer, and what did I find in the back of it but two Tupperware containers filled with cassata cake -- a Cleveland specialty that features fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

(This is my sister's homemade version.)

They've been there for years, so I pulled them out to make room for something more practical.

I left them on the counter, assuming they were freezer burned. But as they defrosted, they looked.... fine. Good. Like they were edible.

And then they were.

If I knew that, I might have left them in there for when things get more dire. But they're defrosted. So I ate a piece (it was delicious), and stuck the rest in the refrigerator. They'll lift my spirits over the next few days. And now I've got room for another loaf of bread in the freezer. You know, the necessities.

Letters

Well, now. This blog started in the depths of the Recession, then has gotten precious little use in the subsequent years. But global pandemic and the anxiety that comes with it seems like a pretty good time to dust it off and find those things to smile about again -- no?

I can at least try to be more active here.

On day eight of working from home and day seven of not leaving the house (and if we're being honest, before that) I started to think about Billy Pilgrim, and how he came unstuck in time. I wrote an essay on that book (it was bad) and in trying to find it, I pulled out a box of letters I'd saved.

One was from a friend from high school upon my graduation, telling me about the first year of college and telling me if we didn't keep in touch, it had been nice to be friends. Luckily, we still do -- and I could send her a picture of the card so she could marvel at how neat her handwriting had once been.

I also grabbed a stack of letters from a camp friend who had become a middle school pen pal. We'd fallen out of touch in high school, but reconnected a decade later -- give or take -- when I moved back to Cleveland. I sent her some pictures, too. We may try that pen pal thing again.

It's nice not just to have the jolt of nostalgia, but also to have a reason to reach out to those friends (both of whom I'd been talking to in recent days anyway). It made me smile to see the evolution in each of them, and I hope it made them smile to see them, too.

Red handed

I just had to share this story, about how Genius Lyrics coded its apostrophes to track when someone (in this case, Google) copied them elsewhere online. It's just fascinating, and the choice for Morse Code translation made me smile.

Around the world

One of my favorite things about Atlanta is the diversity -- and the diversity of food, which lets me eat my way around the world.

On Saturday, I had tamales at a Mexican restaurant, followed by cream buns at a Korean bakery. I stopped at a Polish grocery store to restock my freezer with pierogi and ate Japanese food for dinner.

And none of them on Buford Highway!

I usually don't hit that many in a day, but what fun to cross continents in that way over just a few hours.

Racing stripes

On the way in to work this morning, I heard a song that made me smile. It included the lines "my dog has racing stripes" and "I named my dog Springsteen, cuz it was born to run."

Of course, I tried to find the song when I got to the office. But the internet isn't cooperating, and it's nowhere to be found! Do you know this song? Can you find it for me? I'll be forever grateful.

Swearing in

I came across this tweet:
https://twitter.com/emilynussbaum/status/1082336816412454913
which asks what book one would be sworn in on, if not a religious text.

I love the variety and thoughtfulness of the answers -- from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (it says "Don't Panic" in big letters right on the cover!) to "A Tale of Two Cities" to "Everybody Poops."

Mine? "The Phantom Tollbooth." Easy.

It's a game!

It's so nice to see old friends, and I was so glad to get some quality time with one friend over the weekend. It's been too many years (years!) since we've seen each other. And while time alone is enough to make me smile, this made me grin even bigger:

That's right. It's a Kinder Egg board game. I'm thrilled that it exists, and that I know people well enough that they will see weird things and thing of me and save them for a year until they can hand them to me in person.

(For the record: The word game is a bit of an exaggeration, but it was still super.)

Washboards

Nearly a decade ago, I dragged my friend (hi, friend!) to see the last remaining washboard factory in the United States.

She was at first resistant, but then loved it. We learned that the primary customers tend to be musicians and people who live off the grid, and we both went home with a lot of washboard paraphernalia.

I sent her this picture over the weekend, of washboards from the same factory in a south Georgia home I was touring. It made me grin to see it, and to share it.

(She replied with a long line of hahahas, and that made me grin, too.)

New life

It's a warm February, and the leaf debris that had gathered in the crease of my car's trunk apparently had some seeds in it. With sun and some rain, they've begun to germinate, and now I have a tiny garden in my car.

This isn't the first year this has happened. But I was delighted last time, and I'm delighted this time, too.

I did not realize

That it's been this long since an update.

But over the past several months, I've noticed hearts. On telephone poles.

They're roughly the size of a piece of bread and tacked up, seemingly at random, around Atlanta. Sometimes I zoom past them, and sometimes I inch closer to them as I'm stuck in traffic.

They make me smile every time I notice a new one. So I'm sharing with you.

It's a good day

When I get an email that begins "Dear Depraved Sickos."

(But no, for real. I laughed out loud.)

Abstract Sunday

Hi, Internet.

I make no promises that I will visit with more frequency, though lots of people will be looking for more things that make them happy in the coming weeks and months.

I'm happy to share with you something that pleased and amazed me today, though, as I'm sitting in the office the day before Thanksgiving, waiting for my phone to ring.

I've long been a fan of the artist Christoph Niemann, who I first discovered through his NYT columns. He hasn't published them in a while. But I stumbled across him today somewhere else, and it led me to his Twitter feed, and man, is it a delight.

Click through to see some amazing illustrations, as well as interviews and other fun things. It made me smile. I hope it brings you joy, too.

The left wing of a goose

The Olympics always manage to capture my imagination. I can't help but be fascinated and amazed by the work, the drive, the effort that goes into getting to the games -- regardless of the outcomes.

And while I've been fast-forwarding through a lot of the pre-packaged video pieces, I've been reading a fair bit about the games. (Let's be honest -- I've always liked reading more.) In doing so, I came across this gem related to the creation of badminton shuttlecocks that I just need to share with you:

The shuttles themselves are intricate creations. Yonex orders thousands of goose feathers a year from China. The feathers are then trimmed to size and matched by color, flexibility and other factors. Only feathers from the left wings of geese are used in the tournament shuttles. Satoshi Yuza, a promotion manager at Yonex, chalked that up to aerodynamics.

Can you imagine? Only the feathers from the left wing of a goose go into competition-level shuttlecocks. What a weird, beautiful thing.

Keys

Do you see this?

This is a tiny piece of paradise.

I spent the early part of the week in the Florida Keys on the invitation of a friend who I love to pieces, and hadn't seen in too many years. Being there made me smile, of course -- I mean, that was the back porch. Look. It's gorgeous. -- but it was the invitation that made me happiest. It's so nice to know that connections are kept, through distance and time.

We swam, and swam, and swam. We talked. We explored. We ate delicious things. And, I like to think, we refueled a friendship that I hope will last a long, long time.

Also, she shared this with me.

That's a book recommendation by Judy Blume. Who owns the bookstore. That we were standing in. (I've read the book and loved it. Judy and I are essentially BFFs now.)

We missed seeing her there, but being in her space was pretty awesome, too.

Downtown perks

My office is in the 'burbs, and though they're densely populated 'burbs, they're not very walkable. And while there are some things that can lead to grins in suburbia, you'll notice that I was a much more prolific writer when I was working downtown. (Albeit in another state.)

So a change in job duties has led me to spend more time downtown. And that's led to a couple things that I want to share with you.

First, taking public transportation to work means more time with books. And more time with books always makes me happy.

Second, I saw someone rolling a Coke machine down the street on a dolly yesterday. Just pause for a minute and imagine a vending machine walking down the road. It's a beautiful thing.

Third, I ran into two people I know on the street last week -- both in the same day, at that. One was a new friend who was also working downtown, and we'll hopefully grow closer and see each other more after running into each other. The other is my future sister in law, who was downtown to get license plates for her car.

Unless you work in the same building as someone, you're just less likely to run into them on the street in suburbia.

Today, 10:30 a.m.

A white-haired man driving by in a red convertible, top down, the seat next to him covered in a bouquet of bright flowers.

It was a weird day

And it ended with an email from an FBI agent that read, simply:

:)