Well, the world gets a little crazier every day, doesn’t it? Good grief. That’s why I do these Friday roundups: I’m always in search of a few bright spots in the bleakness. If you have any that you’d like to suggest for future newsletters, please let me know!
Photo by Mitchell McCleary on Unsplash
1) For me, October has come to mean putting together lists of things that help me channel some autumnal goodness despite the fact that I live in Endless Summerland. Next week, I’ll post this year’s list, but in the meantime, I’ve collected below all of my past posts, just in case you need a fall-ish fix right away. (Be aware that any self-referential links within the posts below broke when I moved my archives to Substack.)
Octoberish: 31 Books for the Season
My Top 13 Overlooked Creepy Movies
Thirteen Octoberish Pilgrimages
13 More Octoberish Books
An Octoberish Playlist
All Things Dark and Beautiful: 2016 Octoberish Edition
In Dreamful Autumn: The 2017 Octoberish Lists
Octoberish Music—Classical Edition
2) I really don’t want you to get sick during this pandemic. But if someone in your house does come down with coronavirus, learn from my best friend, Annette Lyon. Her husband and daughter got sick a few weeks ago, but Annette and another daughter were able to avoid catching the virus by being meticulous about masking, hygiene, and distancing. Read Annette’s wisdom in this terrific article.
3) The year we did Airbnb, we had mostly fabulous experiences. Unfortunately, a few bad apples spoiled the whole affair for us, and we eventually took our guest house off the market. After one such occasion, I called my oldest son, at that time a recent veteran of four years of stinky dorms and student apartments. “Do you know of any way to get rid of the stench of weed?” I asked in desperation. He told me about the miraculous Ozium, which eliminates instead of merely masking odors. I bought some and was thrilled with the results. Now that everyone is in closer quarters with the potential of all manner of bad-smelling results, you might need some, too.
4) There won’t be trick-or-treating in our neighborhood this year, so I promised the kids I’d buy some candy for our Halloween family movie night. Last week while at ALDI, I almost passed over the Haribo Trick or Treat Mix, thinking it was just little packets of Gold Bears. Don’t get me wrong; I love those, but it seemed like a lot of unnecessary packaging. But upon closer examination, I discovered that there were also Twin Snakes, Happy Cola—some of our favorite Haribo—plus the mouthwatering Sour Vampire Bats and Ghostly Gummies in the mix! Readers, I bought it.
5) I have three favorite memories of our family singing in France. One is ad infinitum rounds of “Suivez-Moi” and “Ah, Poor Bird” as we drove through the night from Courseulles-sur-Mer to Neauphle-le-Château in 2009. Then there was the time five years later that we sang “Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee” in parts in an empty 12th-century village church outside of Brançion. Finally, on that same trip, anytime we went anywhere “echo-y,” the kids would spontaneously break out into Leroy Robertson’s “How Beautiful Upon the Mountains,” which we’d performed in our church choir a few weeks earlier.
I miss singing with friends. I miss singing with my kids who have left the house. It hurts me that choral singing is one of the most dangerous things we could possibly do these COVID-ridden days. To comfort myself, I look for recordings of people singing beautiful pieces in spontaneous-seeming places. So to close out this week, I give you the haunting “Ubi Caritas” by Ola Gjeilo, one of my favorite living composers, sung in a stairwell by the lovely King’s Return. Have a wonderful weekend!
I love the things you love! Thanks for writing this every week. I look forward to your lists.