Things I'm Loving (v.1)

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Things I’m Loving. I’m still playing around with format, so let me know what you think!

Something to buy:

If you have cats, you have to take a look at this.

Cat Dancer: the original interactive cat toy.

This toy is incredible:

My brother and his boyfriend first introduced me to this toy, which they used with their two Manx cats. I’d never seen cats go so wild for a toy that wasn't a laser pointer.

Lily, Freya, and Callie Jo all approve.

They are entranced!

This toy is wire and cardboard. That’s it.

Something to read:

Crys Wood wrote an essay that’s a love letter to all the tall poppies. I’ve dropped my favorite line below so you can get a feel for the piece.

“Overcoming our lifetime's aversion to meet a long-held desire is no small thing; it's daring and courageous and totally insane.”

Friends in New Zealand and Australia taught me about Tall Poppy Syndrome. It’s the idea that by standing out amongst other poppies, you end up getting attacked, torn down, alienated.

Something to watch:

I have several movies I've been saving for this spot. For now, here is one ‘don’t miss’ recommendation.

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Michelle Yeoh is amazing in Everything Everywhere All at Once. If you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for?

If you combined I Heart Huckabees, Little Miss Sunshine, and your favorite sci-fi movie, you might come close to something like Everything Everywhere All at Once—oh, and fight scenes that look like they're from a classic Kung Fu movie.

Yeoh's character, Evelyn, is a middle-aged Chinese-American woman who runs a laundromat with her husband. The movie occurs across multiple timelines and examines topics like aging, mother-daughter relationships, immigrant life, and more.

Here's the trailer:

Something to help you relax (sound):

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg shared this site in her newsletter, and it is a soothing site. You can listen to random forests from across the world. If you select the button below, it takes you to a world map where you can choose what forest to listen to or add your own to the database!

Something to help you slow down:

As the temps drop here in Maryland and the leaves change, quick-bread season descends. The other week I pulled out my overripe frozen bananas and used them to make this recipe.

Photo by Jeff Siepman on Unsplash

I tweaked the recipe (shocking, to anyone who knows me) and did the following:

• I added ground flax seeds (a handful and a half whole, and then ground using my mortar and pestle)

• I decreased the sugar by eye, and put in half and half white/brown sugar.

• Heavy pour of vanilla

• Extra spices: allspice, cloves, nutmeg. A dash of each, by smell.

At the end, I poured the batter into one bread loaf pan, and two circle pans (cause I only have one bread loaf pan). I mixed nuts in randomly— I added pecans and walnuts to one, pecans to the another, and only walnuts to a final.

Y’all. This was delicious.

This concludes the inaugural edition of “Things I'm Loving.”
Categories will probably change as I play around and as I find different things I love. If you enjoyed reading this, please do share with others. And, let me know what you'd like me to keep an eye out for!