It’s been a bit of a week here, with some very high highs and some bumpy, clunky lows. Some of the good bits included connecting with friends and colleagues to catch up on life and share ideas and enthusiasm for the projects ahead of us. Some of the lows included a few medical appointments, including one unexpected trip to the ER for stitches to a nasty cut David got. It threw us for a loop when it happened, and I’m now on double diaper and dishes duty until it heals up a bit more. Everyone’s OK, though, and that’s what counts.
On the bright side, I got to spend time with my sisters to go see Lindy West kick off the Museum of Fine Arts’ speaker series. She was fun and funny, insightful and scintillating, and it felt great to laugh as much as we did. She spoke about the #MeToo movement and the often-talked-about fear that men might accidentally sexually harass someone without knowing it. She had a list of strategies for this, such as “Come on,” and “Don’t talk about genitalia at work.” She went to clarify that some workplaces, like urologists’ offices or piercing studios might actually have to talk about genitals at work, but at this point “you should know if your workplace is genitalia-themed or not.” There were so many other lines I thought I’d remember with clarity to retell later on, but I feel like I can’t quite do them all justice.
Here’s what I’m eating and reading this week:
WEEKLY MENU PLAN
As I said, it’s been a chaotic week, so our original menu ideas had to be scrapped a few times for quicker, easier options. That’s how it goes sometimes.
Sunday: Homemade pizza with caramelized onions, fennel, and sausage
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Store-bought rotisserie chicken, rice, and greens
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Out to dinner with my sisters at Tiger Mama
Friday: Pan-seared pork chops with chopped peaches
Saturday: Creamy pesto pasta with chicken sausage and broccoli
WHAT I’M READING AND ENJOYING THIS WEEK:
An interesting idea: “Spotify for cookbooks”
As recommended by Joy the Baker: Nasty Woman card game
@TheLindyWest’s take on the MFA exhibit
BOOK REVIEW
The Bell Jar (Modern Classics)
Title: The Bell Jar (Modern Classics)
Author: Sylvia Plath
Date:
Format: Audiobook – performed by Maggie Gyllenhaal
I feel like I’m playing a bit of catch up here because The Bell Jar is such a classic, and I can’t believe I’ve never read it before. The audiobook version read by Maggie Gyllenhaal came highly recommended to me, and I’m so glad I had the chance to finally tuck in to this book. I loved it – both the writing, the story, and the delivery. I know by now it feels like a cliched mandatory read for high schoolers, but I’d still highly recommend reading or re-visiting it.
As someone who works in the mental health field and has spent part of my career working in hospitals, including an inpatient eating disorder treatment center, I really liked the exploration and description of Esther’s mental illness. As a modern-day Bostonian, I was interested in the descriptions of the city reflected back across the decades. At times, though, I forgot the story wasn’t Plath’s own and forgot that I didn’t actually know how this story ended.
