Bookmark This - Volume 69

Musing: Setbacks - Bounce Backs

I feel fortunate to live a life where I encounter very few “bumps”, where things pretty much go as planned. So when our house sale fell through 17 days before the closing date, I was thrown for a loop. I got mad, I got sad; I felt it viscerally like the rug was pulled out from under me and I hit the ground hard. So much physical packing up and emotional packing up had already taken place. Vendors/services were scheduled to be terminated and we were all set to move into a temporary rental. And then we pivoted - for which the Covid pandemic was great preparation. Renewed energy was mustered toward canceling appointments, breaking leases, re-hiring service providers. I told the kids who had said their last, teary good-byes that actually, they can return to their child-hood home. It’s still there for them! I take a deep breath as I acknowledge that this is just a small setback in the scheme of life. And when 245 Woodward Street does finally sell, our little “fire drill” will make moving a breeze.

Doing

Rehab at the Brewery

Last you heard from me, I sold my house and had surgery. Well, one out of two actually worked and I am recovering rapidly from the ACL repair. Thanks to my great surgeon and friend, Tom Gill, and lots of PT, I felt so good 4 weeks post-op that I found myself dancing with friends last Saturday at Cisco Brewery on Nantucket (brace on of course). Though my knee is making great progress, my daily vodka and sodas may require a different kind of rehab post-summer, but for now I am feeling fine!

Cooking

Shrimp New Orleans

With a kid at Tulane, this dish is an ode to Ruby. Simple, savory, yummy and perfect for summer. I recommend using Kerrygold as good quality butter is vital to this dish. I have heard that cooking the shrimp in their shells adds more flavor but haven’t yet tried that as more work for my “customers”. Serve with salad and rice or baguette to soak up the sauce. For more heat, add red pepper flakes like I did. Cook HERE

Reading

“Beneath a Scarlet Sky”

A shout-out to Susan V. for this great recommendation. Mark Sullivan writes brilliantly in this novel based on the life of Pino Lella, a young Italian hero of WWII. First he helped Jews escape via a treacherous route through the Alps into Switzerland. That effort was followed by Pino’s role as the driver for a senior member of the Nazi party, while simultaneouly acting as a spy for the Allies. There is fascinating historical information as well as deeply moving relationships embedded in the pages. The epilogue of the latter years of this WWII hero is just as compelling to read as the main story. The kindle version of this book appears to be free if you are a Prime member. Read HERE

Watching

“Ricky Gervais - SuperNature”

It seems that the best stand-up comics (or at least the famous ones) are really crossing all the politically correct lines these days, and happily insulting every “group” out there, be it the trans community, females or simply white men. But, there is something in the way that Gervais communicates his truly biting insults that make you (me) laugh really hard. On stage, he’s dressed like a slob and barely moves from his one marked spot, thus it is his incredibly cunning comedic writing and subtle delivery of the humor that lights up the stage and makes “SuperNature” a really great way to spend an hour. On Netflix. Watch HERE

Listening

Summer Hunks on Smartless

I’m torn between recommending the episode with Bradley Cooper or the one featuring Chris Pratt so I’ll just say listen to both episodes. The thing about Smartless is that the 3 hosts talk more than their guests, but they are FUNNY and constantly ribbing each other so guests are almost unnecessary. BUT, to hear the back stories of how Cooper and Pratt rose to their Hollywood heights is fun and they seem like very decent guys (inside and out). Cooper HERE and Pratt HERE

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