Weekend Reading: Trying to Hold on to Normal Edition

I has a nice rollerblade outing today. I really do feel better in every way when I get my Friday afternoon rollerblade. It was a bit chilly at the start, though. I have never bought winter workout gear, so I rollerblade in my crop workout leggings, a long sleeve shirt, and a sweatshirt. Maybe I should buy some full length workout leggings. But by the time I get around to doing this, it will be warm enough for the crop leggings again.

My cold shins are such a trivial thing. There is so much non-trivial news these days. I find it a bit overwhelming sometimes. Yesterday, as I drove home from work, I was struck with the thought: "How will I stand to watch the election returns on November 3?" I will need to watch them, but just the thought of watching them fills me with anxiety. So that's going to be fun.

I think I'm experiencing a low-level sense of dread most of the time these days. It is quiet, so much so that I can forget about it most of the time. But every once and awhile a stray thought or a news story or something will make it surface. It sucks for me, but I hate it even more when I think about my kids growing up into such an uncertain future. Will we get our act together on climate in time to avert some of the worse scenarios? Will we manage to beat back the anti-democratic (little d) forces in this country? Ugh. I don't know. I try to tamp down the anxiety and questions and hold on to normal, for my own sanity and for my kids. And then I write some more postcards or make some donations to try to fight for our normal.

Anyway, on to the links.

Dana Milbank on John Roberts being forced to face the mess he made is really, really good.

Josh Marshall argues that it is Senate Republicans who are really on trial. I hope voters are paying attention.

If you haven't watched Adam Schiff's closing argument from Thursday night, I recommend taking 8 minutes to do so:

Every American should watch @RepAdamSchiff’s closing at Thursday’s session. pic.twitter.com/N5ulp0bL7Y

— Justin Amash (@justinamash) January 24, 2020

Mary Ruefle's essay on menopause is... I don't know. Delightful seems the wrong word, but I really enjoyed it. I have not (so far) experienced perimenopause with such extreme emotional symptoms, but I have noticed emotional disturbances along with the bursts of migraines and the screwed up sleep.

In recommended listening: Krista Tippet's interview with musician Joe Henry was really good. I almost didn't listen to it, but I'm so glad I did.

This thread is really worth your time:

Thread time!

Meet Mary Burchell, one of the most successful romance writers EVER. Over 110 Mills & Boons to her name.

Got an image of her in your head now, right? Bin it.

Because Mary is a Righteous Gentile.

She wrote books to fund her efforts to help Jews escape Nazi Germany pic.twitter.com/MB1tOEmfFM

— John Bull (@garius) January 24, 2020

We tried quinoa tacos this week and really liked them! I boiled the quinoa the night before so the prep and cooking time the day of was only ~30 minutes. I also made some quinoa seasoned with just salt and pepper for the kids to try. Pumpkin said it was "tolerable" and Petunia said it "tastes OK but has a weird texture." SIGH. If you're trying to cut down on your meat consumption, though, check this recipe out. I agree with the author that it could be a filling in a lot of different things.

Bunny!

pic.twitter.com/0s1BP0YDfD

— うさぎ島の写真bot (@rabbit_isle_bot) January 22, 2020

Happy weekend, everyone. Hold on to normal and fight for it.