Some Happy Scribbles...

covid viewing, books, and coastal grandmothers strike back

Hello! I hope you’ve had a good week!

After I got the dreaded Covid, Sadie got it too, so half our family spent a few days avoiding the other half…

Now that I’m out of isolation, I am very grateful to feel energetic again after the tiredness, headaches, sore throat, and the mildly depressed feeling I get whenever I’m sick and can’t function at full-strength. Which is ironic, because recently, after hearing about a friend who had Covid and was isolating away from her family for a weekend, I felt a pang of jealousy. I thought, “Oooooooh, a weekend by myself to do whatever I want, that sounds lovely!” But of course, when this exact thing happened to me, I did not feel thrilled at all.

I spent most of the time watching TV in bed with the dogs splayed over my legs, too unfocused to do much reading. The Lincoln Lawyer was trashy but somewhat addictive; Dan Stevens and Julia Roberts are both exceptional in Gaslit and I did not want it to end; and I watched Something’s Gotta Give for comforting OG Coastal Grandmother vibes.

Gaslit: that is Sean Penn above playing John Mitchell - he is unrecognizable!

Speaking of Coastal Grandmothers, a friend forwarded me this piece from the Atlantic, which is just so clever - and hilarious. In contrast, another friend is very turned off by the whole thing, as she feels she lives an “urban and youthful” lifestyle. Now, this friend has the full range of Ina Garten cookbooks and wears striped tops like a uniform, so in the course of a text exchange where we discussed what tank tops and white jeans to buy this summer and the joy of “vanity sizing,” we realized that she may be “Brooklyn-non-grandmother-Nancy Meyers-adjacent.” It’s always important to shun trends and be who you are!

If the Coastal Grandmother piece didn’t make you laugh, I follow F*** Jerry on Instagram for a regular dose of ridiculousness and this video of a very dramatic toddler had me shrieking!

After canceling everything on my schedule for a few days, I’m back to one of my favorite pastimes: looking forward to things, and I loved this piece in the NY Times which details beautifully (and with science!) why anticipating something is almost as happiness-inducing as actually doing it, and lists ways to boost your mood by planning “mini-thrills.” “I get equally as excited about the clothes I’m going to wear on the trip as I do about the trip itself,” [Ms. Pierce] said.” Same, Ms. Pierce!

Here are some of the things I am gladly anticipating:

Both kids will be finished with school by the end of next week and I’m looking forward to the change in schedule (ie: not having to get anyone up early in the morning and, most thrillingly, no homework!).

I can’t wait to read Jean Hanff Korelitz’s latest book, The Latecomer. The Plot might have been my very favorite book of 2021 and I also loved The Undoing, the series made out of her book, You Should Have Known.

And we’re getting chickens! The baby chicks are coming the week after next - would you believe they are shipped via the US Postal Service? They will take up residence inside our house (!!) for 6 weeks before moving outside to their coop, where hopefully they will begin happily laying plenty of eggs!

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

Thank you so much for reading and have a wonderful weekend!
Oh, and if you’d like a good-news-only horoscope for June, click here!
xo
Amelia

PS: I have not cooked anything this week, but am planning to try these no-bake chocolate mousse bars ASAP!
PPS: Father’s Day is coming, and I found this list from The Thoughtful Curated a very helpful start for gift idea.