RELIEVED | to be hearing positive, ‘boring’ news out of the White House right now. I feel like I can finally let up on paying attention to the news 24 hours a day. Well, I mean, I am still paying attention to the news, but I don’t have to be outraged at every single instant. Joe Biden has a rough road ahead of him (I am currently reading the chapter in Obamas book, where he talks about how hard the Republicans were making it to actually govern), but I am hopeful that this administration will move us in the right direction.

RELISHING | the morning sun that shines into my window in the kitchen. 

USED | some of my sourdough discard to make these delicious sourdough discard apple-cinnamon waffles. ICYMI, here is the recipe.

SWITCHING | back to baking bread in the Dutch oven again. It makes these beautiful, perfectly round loaves with a beautiful crust, and I am in love.

LOVING | the coffee sock* that we bought for our Chemex coffeemaker. I originally got it as a backup in case we run out of filters (which almost happened a few weeks ago), but we might just switch to the coffee sock permanently once we’ve used up our filters, because it’s a pretty awesome green alternative to single-use filters. 

DRINKING | coffee + tea. 

SHARED | my 2021 Fringe planner last week, in case you’re curious which planner I am using this year. It’s a simple, no frills planner, but that’s just the way I like it.

(still) READING |  A promised land by Barack Obama. It’s really good, but it’s slow going (and admittedly, I haven’t spend a whole lot of time reading this month), but you definitely need to read this book. Put it on your list. So many insights.

LISTENING | to the constant hum of my work laptop’s cooling fan. I know, I am pushing this old laptop to its limits and I am hoping to get an upgrade soon. 

EATING | mashed potatoes with sauerkraut, and I recommend you give this a try. Trust me, it just goes so well together. 

UPDATED | the blog post for my barley soup recipe with this better photo, after someone recently asked me if the recipe was on the blog. It is, and you should make it sometime!

SMILING | because my outdoor run make me happy. We had a few fairly warm days (as per usual in February in California) and I’ve been taking advantage.

WEARING | my favorite running/yoga pants from Old Navy (which I get so many comments on). Yes, I love them, too :)

LOOKING FORWARD TO | my birthday week. I am planning to take a couple of days off, just because I can!

What is currently going on with you?

 

FEELING | cautiously hopeful for the future of this country. Watching the inauguration last week and seeing sane tweets from our new president (and his press secretary) in the last few days make my heart so calm and happy.

LISTENING TO | the rain storm that finally came through the valley last night (thankfully, no damage around here and not power outages in our neighborhood, but more rain to come the next few days!).

ENJOYING | our beautiful California January skies. (We desperately need more rain, but of course, I’ll take a blue sky when I can.)

LOVING | our fake TV-fireplace a little bit too much.

WATCHING | Schitt’s Creek. You guys, we finally started watching this show. I know we’re way late (as we are with most shows, if we get around to watching any shows at all), but so far, we’re enjoying it. I mean, it’s funny. I am not sure I am getting the hype yet, but I am willing to give it a little more time.

READING | A promised land by Barack Obama. Man, he’s a good writer (which doesn’t surprise me). But this book is dense. I am not getting through it as fast as I was expecting, but it’s utterly fascinating.

EATING | a warm, steaming bowl of steel-cut oatmeal for breakfast (most days).

DRINKING | (pots of) camomile-lavender tea. 

LEARNING | to appreciate some of the Peloton yoga and (sleep) meditation content. I am usually not someone who can relax and “do nothing” easily, but these shorter classes have given me an appreciation for just being “still” for a little while.

(super) EXCITED | about my Peloton Century Club t-shirt that I received in the mail this month. I’ve been using the Peloton app since August of 2020 and everyone, even the app users, get a Century Club shirt when they reach 100 workouts in any one category (it was “rides” for me, closely followed by strength classes).

MISSING | a more regular running routine. I currently only run once (sometimes twice) a week outdoors and I am looking forward to early morning runs again when the sun rises earlier and it is light out before I start work.

BUYING | coffee filters for $20. Ugh. Who’s been hogging all the Chemex coffee filters? I’ve been trying to get them for a few weeks now and finally had to order them online for a steep price because they were out of stock everywhere. What’s up with that?

WEARING | sweatpants and hoodies. Don’t tell me you are actually getting dressed these days.

What is up with currently?

DRINKING | Stumptown Coffee again!! Jon got a shipment for his birthday – pssst, it was from me! Totally unselfish gift, of course! Haha, I am glad that he’s always happy to share with me! – and we’ve been enjoying our morning cups of “Hair Bender” over the weekend. It’s so, so good. Oh, and also…

LOVING | the new mug that came with it. Seems like just the right replacement for my beloved “Thinking Cup”-mug that I accidentally broke last week. 

EATING | sourdough Greek yogurt blueberry crumble muffins for Jon’s birthday. I am telling you, it’s worth starting a sourdough starter just to have sourdough discard to use up in baked goods. The texture of these muffins was somewhere between a scone and a muffin, a little chewier, not quite as soft. They were so delicious. 

READING | Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. It’s the first fiction book I’ve read in a while, and it’s a nice change of pace.

APPRECIATING | the week of (use or lose) staycation that I was able to take last week. I hadn’t really planned to take any more time off this year (before Christmas), but I am for sure not wasting any earned vacation time if I can help it. I didn’t really “do” much, it’s not like we could really plan anything or go anywhere, but I was able to sleep in a little, get some outdoor runs in, I took my (road) bike for a ride, and also took a few naps here and there. Glorious.  

WATCHING | Hocus Pocus! It’s Halloween time – what else do you expect me to watch?

LOOKING FORWARD TO | the holiday season. Although I know it’ll be sneaking up on me again (as it somehow always does) and I am not sure yet how we’re going to spend the holidays (probably by ourselves, I am guessing), I feel like it’s always a special time of the year. 

ENJOYING | these extra-warm fall days while they last. It’s not normal for Northern California to have temperatures up into the 90’s and no rain at all by the end of October, but since we can’t do much about it, I am embracing the late-summer feeling for a little longer.

(still) WEARING | shorts and t-shirts. 

FEELING | a little anxious regarding the upcoming election. Just me? I want to be hopeful, I am hopeful that things will turn out alright, but man, I was thinking the same thing 4 years ago and you all know what happened.  But I am…

EXCITED | to hear that so many people have already voted early, including us!

BUYING | a new microwave. Ours finally bit the dust. I contemplated for a minute if it was worth trying to repair it, but I honestly think it was about 10 years old and I was not sure I should be meddling with electric appliances (and getting it repaired would probably have cost as much as a new one). I did the right thing, right? 

STOKED | to participate – or should I say keep carrying the torch? – for NaBloPMo again, starting next week. It’ll be my 15th year. Call me committed. Who’s joining me?

What is currently going on with you?

LOVING | my new spin bike. I’ve had it for almost three weeks and have been on it almost every day (I only skipped a couple of days when I opted for outdoor runs). This will be great to have during the fall and winter months, I already know it!

LISTENING TO | the Peloton instructors’ playlists. Haha. Have any of you guys tried the German rides yet?

ASKING | for some good vibes for a dear friend.  

DEALING | with some heartburn issues again. Do you think this could be psychological with everything going on this year? Ha. I am pretty convinced it’s caused by low stomach acid in my case and it’s very annoying. I was good for a while and haven’t really changed my diet, so I have no idea where this is coming from again. So over it.

READING | Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man by Mary Trump. Have you read – or are you planning to read – it?

EATING | pizza with tomatoes and arugula. So good, you should try that.

DRINKING | hot tea for the first time in a while. We had a couple of days of more moderate temperatures and if you know me,  I’ll take any excuse to make hot tea. However, it’s supposed to heat up again over the weekend. It’s not quite fall here yet.

WATCHING | the sunrise.  I was able to get out for a couple of early morning runs to the river again recently because air quality has finally improved. I hope we won’t get any more bad fires, in fact, we could use some rain soon.

FEELING | depressed about the death of RBG and what this means for the court and the country, and

MIND-BOGGLED | by the fact that so many Republicans, first and foremost Mitch McConnell, have no spine or moral compass. Shameful.

WORRIED ABOUT | what will happen in November. We cannot have a repeat of 2016, and I am just so worried that Trump won’t leave the White House if he loses.

AMAZED | that it’s almost been a year since Jon and I flew to Germany to surprise my parents for the big birthday party. I have no idea where this year went and I miss my family. That’s all. 

LOOKING FORWARD TO | fall. Are you?

WEARING | Jon’s Fitbit in addition to my Garmin, because I want to compare step and heart rate output. Because I am weird like that. 

What is currently going on with you?

STICKING TO | my bi-weekly grocery run schedule, but damn do I wish I could go wander the aisles of Home Goods or Michaels again. Target is my only exception (as I go there for grocery and household items) and it’s as close as I get to just “window shop” the aisles at a store right now.

EATING | peaches. I always forget how good they are when they’re in season. 

DRINKING | smoothies. (Or should these count as “eating “?)

WATCHING | the Democratic National Convention and really liked some of the speeches. I know, Biden/Harris might not be your first pick (or even your second), but we need to elect them. Period. (And yes, I’ll also check out the Republican National Convention this week, but just to see what’s going on. I am not sure how long I’ll be able to stomach it. Did you read that a “half Of RNC’s Planned ‘Key Speakers’ Are Trumps“?)

WONDERING | how people have time to keep up with IG posts, stories, AND now reels. Please tell me your secrets. I feel like I am always ‘behind’ (please don’t put any important information in your stories, because I am afraid I’ll miss it. Haha.)

BUYING | another 25 lbs bag of rye flour because the baking shenanigans are continuing. 

WORRYING | about the fires in California. I don’t know if you can see it on our backyard table in this first picture, but it was ‘raining’ ash in many parts of (Northern) California last week and the air quality from all the different fires that broke out after all the lightning showers was awful. It seems to get worse every year.

TRYING TO | exercise outside when I can. It’s been a little tough lately and being chained to the house by bad air quality on top of the Corona quarantine feels like a double-whammy.

HOPING | that I can take my bike for another bike ride very soon. I got my tires filled up a couple of weeks ago, but the hot temperatures and recent smoke from the fires have prevented me to take it on a ride again. 

ADORING | the beautiful butterflies (and occasional hummingbirds) that I’ve seen around our bougainvillea in the last few weeks. 

WEARING | shorts, tank tops, and Birkenstocks – all day, most days. What’s your quarantine uniform?

READING | A long way home by Saroo Brierley. 

SENDING | snail mail. I’ve had some odd experiences with the Postal Service again recently, but with everything going around USPS politically, I am still trying to support the Postal Service.  Also, real letters and cards > bills and advertisements.

What’s going on with you currently?

Oops, I skipped this post again in May. I am telling you, the world is “on pause” and “time lapse” at the same time. Let’s check in with each other.

WATCHING | my tomato and cucumber plants grow. I should have gotten them a while ago, but I still hope to be able to harvest something this summer.

LOVING | our little patio outdoor space. I said it last summer and I’ll say it again, especially admits the Coronavirus pandemic: I am so thankful we have our own, private little outdoor space that we can enjoy this summer (especially as any travel is put on hold for now). We finally had our first BBQ this week and it was delicious.

READING | White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo (as does every other person right now, I hope?) 

HAVING | some really good conversations with family members and friends about what’s going on with the protests and BLM movement here in the US and I am thankful that people are not shying away from talking about it.

EDUCATING | myself as much as I can, watching videos and IG (live) stories and reading books and articles about white supremacy and racism. It’s a lot to take in, I won’t lie, but there is really no way around it.

FEELING | a lot of emotions right now that are connected with everything that is going on in the world. I am trying to process them and sit with them and work through them as best as  I can. I am sure many of you feel the same right now.

FRUSTRATED BY | the non-existent plan and guidance through this pandemic from this administration. It feels like there hasn’t been any coordinated, thought-through effort to protect the American population at large. The fact that many treat the reopening of many states as if the Coronavirus disappeared is infuriating, especially when you see the rising numbers of cases all over the place. 

HOPING | that 2020 will turn out to be an outstanding year for the history books, even if it doesn’t seem to be so outstanding while we’re “living” through it. 

EATING | Muesli with yogurt and strawberries for breakfast.

DRINKING | my morning coffee on the back porch. If you follow my personal Instagram account, you know it’s been my Corona-quarantine ritual since the beginning.

LISTENING TO | a couple of random podcast episodes that were recommended to me. 

CRAVING | ice cream, because of course. It’s summer.

ENJOYING | my early morning runs. Besides grocery shopping, it’s the only thing I currently leave the house for. How about you? Have you been venturing out more?

(extremely) BUMMED | that my family, who was going to come visit next week, is – for obvious reasons – not coming. We had a whole three-week road trip planned this summer and I am so sad that we won’t be able to spend time together.  The kids had been so exited about the trip! Sigh.

TAKING | this week off of work anyway, even if Jon and I can’t go anywhere. I don’t think I’ve ever taken time off of work without using the time for some sort of trip (visiting back home, or with my family), but since I anticipate that we won’t be able to make any plans for quite a while, I’ll just enjoy being home and puttering around the house and backyard this week.

LOOKING FORWARD TO | my now-regular FaceTime sessions with my family. I didn’t used to be into video chatting, but ever since I knew I wasn’t going to see my family this summer, I’ve been craving this online face-to-face time with them so much. 

TRYING TO | find the silver-linings wherever I can. (Where are my fellow glass-half-full-kinda-people? Raise your hands!)

And tell me: what is going on with you currently?

Another post I have completely skipped in March, because March felt a little crazy. But I am picking up my blogging habits again. We need some normalcy around here (or at least, I do).

ENJOYING | to experiment with the sourdough starter that I got from a friend. I have already gotten two friends to start their own and have seen others online experiment as well. 

EATING | homemade bread baked with said sourdough starter (not be confused with “sourdough bread”). If you’re wondering what the difference is, I will write a post about it.

DRINKING | coffee from my Chemex. Every day – which feels like a treat (and you’ve probably seen my new morning ritual on IG stories by now). Before Corona, I’d have coffee at work from a regular drip coffee maker during the week, and hand-brewed coffee was a weekend ritual only.

TAKING | a few minutes  in the morning to stand on my back porch, sip my coffee, breathe, and enjoy the  flowers and  the birds. I am thankful we have a small backyard during this time.

READING | The Bookcharmer by Karen Hawkins. My reading is still going pretty slow, I have a short attention span these days, but I am just rolling with it.

LISTENING TO | the birds in the morning.

WATCHING | nothing. I know a lot of people are on a Netflix- or Hulu-binge right now (I constantly see requests for new recommendations). Me? Not so much. I didn’t watch (m)any series before, and I haven’t started since *all this* began.

GROWING | all the things. I am trying to regrow leek, green onions, and potatoes right now. Just some little pet projects of mine. 

BUYING | an office chair. Sitting on a kitchen chair for 10 hours a day for 7 weeks hasn’t been the smartest idea. 

REALIZING | how lucky how am that I actually enjoy spending a lot of time with my spouse. Haha. Others might not be so lucky. 

HOPING | that soon going into week 8 of social distancing, people realize that their sacrifices have been worthwhile, that we’re flattening the curve, but that we can’t give up on these efforts quite yet. Isolation is hard, but also still necessary right now. 

LOVING | snail mail (always, but right now in particular). Sending and receiving.

CELEBRATING | my (unofficial) half marathon PR. I finally ran a sub-2 half last weekend, in a virtual race, no less. With so many things canceled or postponed, following through with this seemed like one of the few things I can control right now.

What is going on with you currently?