• sad unicorn

    No longer a unicorn

    February 18, 2024 / 3 Comments

    After four long years of being what my boss astutely described as “covid cautious,” I’m a novid no more.

    Society may have decided to say screw it and just get sick, but I continued to avoid crowds, wear a mask in public, maintain my vaccinations, etc., in order to avoid catching this illness. Alas, the latest variant is highly contagious, and so after several days of caring for my sick husband, I became infected. Ironically, M contracted it at the gym while trying to stay healthy. So frustrating!

    My symptoms began showing themselves on a Sunday, and by early Monday morning, I had collapsed into my chair, unable to even make it upstairs to bed. I remained positive for eight days, suffering from all of the usual symptoms (coughing, sneezing, sore throat, exhaustion, foggy thoughts) and then that blasted blue line finally disappeared from the test strips. Oh, I’m still coughing my brains out and my voice is trashed. My lungs feel like they’re filled with cement. And after hardly sleeping at all last week, I crashed hard this weekend. But, I am finally on the mend.

    Also, I’m thrilled to say, the vaccinations worked! My fever didn’t climb too high and my O2 sats never dropped below 92 so I didn’t have to go to the hospital, for which I’m very grateful. I’ve only just finished paying off the medical bills from last fall and I really didn’t want to add more to the pile.

    M and I haven’t decided what to do with our new, albeit temporary, immunity. We’ll probably grab a meal in a restaurant, an activity we haven’t experienced together in years. I may even hold a book club meeting in person (in addition to our twice-monthly Zoom gathering), especially since exhaustion meant I missed the last one. If you have any other suggestions, let me know in the comments.

    In the meantime, please take care of yourselves. Stay safe, stay healthy and stay well!

  • Red tulips front garden

    Quote of the day

    January 20, 2024 / No Comments

    “I have seen women looking at jewelry ads with a misty eye and one hand resting on the heart, and I only know what they’re feeling because that’s how I read the seed catalogs in January.” –Barbara Kingsolver

  • A selection of various colorful spices on a wooden table in bowls

    The spice of life

    January 15, 2024 / 3 Comments

    A recent article in The Wall Street Journal claimed that you don’t need dozens of spices in your kitchen. You just need eight.

    Which eight, you may ask? The writer suggested: sumac, mint, cumin, coriander, pepper, aleppo pepper, cinnamon and aniseed.

    Of those, I probably use three on a regular basis and I literally make every meal at home.

    For the ordinary person, someone who cooks several meals a week and bakes once in a while, I’d say you need 25 basic spices: basil, bay, cajun, cardamom, cayenne pepper, chili powder, chipotle powder, cinnamon, clove, cumin, garlic powder, garlic salt, ginger, Italian seasoning, lemon pepper, nutmeg, onion powder, oregano, paprika (smoked and sweet), pepper, red pepper flakes, rosemary, salt and thyme. These will serve you in making just about any recipe, from barbecue to babka.

    But if, like me, you do a lot of cooking and baking, buy whatever spices suit your fancy. Experiment with spices unique to different cultures. Try using the spices you already have in new applications. Or be adventurous and combine some of ’em — you might just create a great new mix.

  • 2023: The Year In Review

    December 23, 2023 / 4 Comments

    Each December, I take the time to examine the ups and downs I experienced over the past year. What follows is my personal and professional review of 2023. I:

    * Landed a job as a contract overnight curator of local news for Apple. My contract was just extended.

    * Relaunched A Bit Of Good News.

    * Penned at least 17 journal entries. Must do better next year.

    * Maintained two Instagram accounts: @thejadewalker and @catsofjade, and The Written Word quote service.

    * Read 58 books and completed the 2023 GoodReads reading challenge.

    * Subscribed and read numerous magazines, including Cook’s Country, Cooks Illustrated, Bake From Scratch, Smithsonian Magazine, Scientific American, The Saturday Evening Post, The Writer and TeaTime Magazine.

    * Watched at least 116 TV shows and 61 movies, and listened to many podcasts.

    * Participated in The Society of Professional Obituary Writers, the New Hampshire Writers Guild, the New York City Writers Group, the South Florida Freelancers Group, the Authors Guild, the Writers Guild of America East and the Silent Book Club – Manchester, NH chapter.

    * Launched The Forgotten Books Project and helped to save more than 200 books.

    * Nursed my husband through COVID-19.

    * Planted a large container garden and a wildflower garden (both of which melted in the constant rains and brutal heat), then spent the fall filling our borders and raised beds with 800 tulip and crocus bulbs.

    * Hunkered in the basement during a rare New Hampshire tornado.

    * Spent months searching for our next home, but between the rising interest rates, the lack of stock and an increase in prices, we had no luck. The search continues.

    * Mourned the death of our eldest cat, Georgina Walker-Weir, and my grandfather, Art Carlton.

    * Ended The Blog of Death after 20 years.

    * Finally completed the decades-long payoff of my student loans.

    * Continued to wear these damn braces (and miss the process of enjoying food). Also underwent implant surgery.

    * Finally entered menopause after nearly 3 years of perimenopause. Started taking medicine to deter hot flashes.

    * Suffered from at least 23 migraines and lost 35 days of my life to pain. Average headache duration: 37 hours. (Note: That’s about 10 fewer migraines than last year, so thank you, menopause.)

    * Discovered I have both high blood pressure and low iron. Lots of hospital visits and stabbings ensued as well as a disastrous attempt at an endoscopy/colonoscopy. Now on meds for both conditions.

    * Decorated the inside of our house for Halloween and dressed up as a baker on “The Great British Baking Show.”

    * Decorated the front and inside of our house for Christmas and mailed 40 Christmas cards.

    * Tried many new recipes. New favorites include: mini waffles, chicken saltimbocca, melted butter pound cake with a chocolate ganache glaze, Key lime pie bars, a sausage and potato breakfast bake and a lemon-olive oil tart.

    * Worked my 33rd year as a journalist.

    * Celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary.

    * Turned 50.

     

    End of the year

     

    Goals for 2024

    * Purchase a new home with at least 5 acres of land.

    * Improve my baking/cooking skills.

    * Work on my fiction.

    * Write more blog entries.

    * Continue to grow A Bit of Good News.

    * Read at least 75 books.

    * Sleep at least 7 hours a night.

    * Win the lottery.

  • 2023 sign

    My top 10 favs of 2023: A year spent reading, watching and listening to stories

    December 19, 2023 / 5 Comments

    Ok, my friends. It’s time to share my annual list of pop culture wonders. Over the past year, I consumed 58 books, 116 TV shows, 61 movies and many podcasts. These were my favorites:

    (Note: Not all were released during the past 365 days.)

     

    MY FAVORITE BOOKS – FICTION
     

    Lessons in chemistry book1. “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus

    2. “Cult Classic” by Stephen Blackmoore

    3. “Holly” by Stephen King

    4. “Drowning” by T.J. Newman

    5. “Going Zero” by Anthony McCarten

    6. “Hate Machine” by Stephen Blackmoore

    7. “Double or Nothing” by Craig Schaefer

    8. “A Plain-Dealing Villain” by Craig Schaefer

    9. “The Killing Floor Blues” by Craig Schaefer

    10. “Harmony Black” by Craig Schaefer

    (Honorable mentions: “The Castle Doctrine” by Craig Schaefer, “You Are Home” by Catana Chetwynd, “Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting” by Clare Pooley, “All Systems Red” by Martha Wells, “The Maid” by Nita Prose and “Starter Villain” by John Scalzi)

     

    MY FAVORITE BOOKS – NONFICTION
     

    1. true tails of baker and taylor book“The True Tails of Baker and Taylor: The Library Cats Who Left Their Pawprints on a Small Town . . . and the World” by Jan Louch and Lisa Rogak

    2. “National Trust Book of Scones” by Sarah Merker

    3. “What the Dead Know: Learning About Life as a New York City Death Investigator” by Barbara Butcher

    4. “American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century” by Maureen Callahan

    5. “Yours Truly: An Obituary Writer’s Guide to Telling Your Story” by James R. Hagerty

    6. “A Pocketful of Happiness” by Richard E. Grant

    7. “Knave of Spades” by Alan Titchmarsh

    8. “My Hygge Home: How to Make Home Your Happy Place” by Meik Wiking

    9. “Clean & Green: 101 Hints and Tips for a More Eco-Friendly Home” by Nancy Birtwhistle

    10. The Art Thief” by Michael Finkel

    (Honorable mentions: “Kitty Cornered: How Frannie and Five Other Incorrigible Cats Seized Control of Our House and Made It Their Home” by Bob Tarte, “Disappearing Ink: The Insider, the FBI, and the Looting of the Kenyon College Library” by Travis McDade, “Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath” by Ted Koppel and “The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power” by Deirdre Mask)

    Overall reading ratio: I read 18,034 pages. Books were split 70% fiction to 30% nonfiction and 55% female authors to 45% male authors.

     

     

    MY FAVORITE TV SHOWS
    GBBO1. The Great British Baking Show

    2. Julia

    3. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

    4. Escape to the Country

    5. Ted Lasso

    6. The Diplomat

    7. The Repair Shop

    8. Grand Designs

    9. Britain’s Hidden Villages

    10. Reacher

    (Honorable mentions: Homicide Hunter, Cook’s Country, America’s Test Kitchen, Gardener’s World, Last Week With John Oliver, The Reluctant Traveler, Men in Kilts, Poker Face, Staged, For All Mankind, Foundation, Welcome to Wrexham and Lessons in Chemistry.)

     

    MY FAVORITE MOVIES
     

    Three Thousand Years of Longing movie1. Three Thousand Years of Longing

    2. She Said

    3. Elvis

    4. Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

    5. John Wick: Chapter 4

    6. The Old Guard

    7. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret

    8. No One Will Save You

    9. Jim Gaffigan: Dark Pale

    10. Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool

    (Honorable mentions: A Man Called Otto, Being Mary Tyler Moore, The Fablemans, Plane, Ghosted, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Call Me Kate, Mike Birbiglia: The New One, 65, Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3, The Leftovers, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, The Gray Man and Bullet Train)

     

    MY FAVORITE PODCASTS
     

    The Vinyl Cafe1. The Vinyl Cafe

    2. Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe

    3. GrimmCast

    4. Small Town Dicks

    5. Naked Lunch

    6. BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Podcast

    7. Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!

    8. Christmas Past

    9. Dear Hank & John

    10. Mobituaries

    (Honorable mentions: Clear + Vivid With Alan Alda, Sidedoor, Something Wild, David Tennant Does a Podcast With…, The Christmas Stocking, Sue Perkins: An Hour Or So With…., Nocturne, Criminal, Death, Sex & Money, Awards Chatter and The Anthropocene Reviewed)