doing

reading
Sara Roahen’s delicious stories of New Orleans foodways in Gumbo Tales have me constantly craving crawfish boil (with super juicy kielbasa and incendiary fresh corn cob chunks). Raphaella Barker's Summertime, a follow up to Hens Dancing, provides much-needed light reading. And, I'm hankering to start a new book. Here are some options from the pile that towers over my reading area: Alexander McCall Smith's Friends, Lovers, Chocolate (borrowed), Rivka Galchen's critically acclaimed Atmospheric Disturbances (something new), or Rebecca Stott's Ghostwalk (my book group's December selection).

watching
On Sunday night, John and I had a marathon movie session late into the night. It's been a long time since I've been awake past 1 a.m.—by choice. We finally saw Knocked Up, in which Katherine Heigl's character is celebrating her promotion from "E" producer to on-camera presenter and has a one-night stand with Seth Rogan's slacker character and gets pregnant. She decides to keep the baby, though it's hard to say why except to justify the plot. I thought it was charming and funny, and though the ending was utterly predictable, there was something extra winsome about the Rogan's character. We also saw War, Inc., with John Cusack, which is basically Point Grosse Blank, but in a fictitious Central Asian country (full synopsis). Cusack reprises his role as a spy whose cover is chair of a bogus trade mission to Turaqistan. Wars are waged between corporations rather than governments, and the trade fair is meant to improve the PR of the corporation, Tamerlane, leading this war. I love John Cusack and will see every movie he's in or behind. Hilary Duff is hysterically funny as an over-the-top oversexed teenage pop star, and Marisa Tomei is beyond cute and intelligent as a journalist for an Atlantic Monthly–type magazine.

knitting
Both the front and back of John’s roll neck sweater are done. I love working with Lopi. It’s such a forgiving yarn, and since I’m knitting on size 10 needles, it’s going pretty quickly. The next step is to (neatly) sew the shoulders together so that I may put the stitches lining the armhole back onto a needle. Then, the sleeves will be knitted directly onto the sweater, from the top down, a technique that has intrigued me for some time, but that I've never tried. Also, I am attempting to knit mittens for the boys. Honestly, I'm struggling with the mittens and really haven't progressed more than a row or two. The mittens are knit on three double-pointed needles, and, because the needles are short and tiny (size 5), the whole endeavor is really awkward. I'll give it one more try before surrendering to a class (which would be fun, don't get me wrong). Anyone have any tips for this kind of knitting?

eating
We’re gorging on sweet and tasty and local Honeycrisp apples while supplies last. On Sunday night I braised beef shanks, which resemble veal shanks but for a fraction of the price. Plus, beef shanks have less connective tissue than other bone-in cuts—I’m looking at you short ribs—which the boyfolk prefer. Eaten over potato puree with disturbing amounts of half-and-half and topped with a horseradish-spiked dollop of crème fraiche, not diet food but utterly soul warming.

drinking
Bell's Brewery Best Brown Ale, a winter seasonal beer that is vibrant and nutty and sweet. Newcastle Smewcastle. Trust me when I say that this brew will convert you if you aren't already a beer lover. We'll be drinking as much as we can, again, while supplies last. And tea—I'm drinking loads of decaf English Breakfast (yes, I know this is an oxymoron), taken white, with the least amount of sugar I can get away with.

planning
Earlier today I booked our flight to the East Coast for Christmas. Because neither John nor I are beholden to an employer (at the moment), and because the boys have two weeks of vacation around the holidays, we’ll be in Princeton for a solid week. I can’t wait—I need out of Dodge. At least one day will be spent in The City. We’ll take the train in, eat bagels boiled in NYC tap water and visit the Natural History Museum.


what are you doing?