Hello from Tim Walz country! We’ve finally slowed down from the initial burst of “Christine, do you know anything about this guy??” (Yes, you don’t live in a community this size without someone going to church with someone or playing soccer with someone’s kid.) But if you want me to do a Tim Walz or Minnesota AMA, I am game. Seriously, I will talk your ear off about Tim Walz and why public school children should have access to menstrual products and food. And I will have you saying uff da in no time. As in, “uff da, that other vice presidential candidate is a real human barf emoji!”
Not only that, I will also talk your ear off about Peggy Flanagan, our lieutenant governor, because I am her number one secret fangirl. Exhibit A:
(They should.)
Anyway, this summer was supposed to be Summer of the Hammock. I was supposed to lounge around reading, ensconced in the scent garden I’d so carefully planned out—fragrant stocks, heliotrope, rose thyme, lemon verbena—but the hammock is still in the foyer in its unopened box due to mosquitos, biting gnats, and rain, and all my herbs and flowers got scraggly and went unenjoyed, at least by me.
Judging by the open tabs on my phone I’ve had a very ADHD summer. And I have, in fact, found a limit to how many books I can read at once. It’s particularly bad when the books are on your phone, where they can disappear behind Duolingo and the New York Times Spelling Bee, and not sitting in judgy piles on the coffee table or at the end of the chaise longue. Now, if you want to know about the etymology of mushroom, the history of Marc’s discount drugstores, or this corpse flower durian brandy, which I found while googling “what smells worse corpse flower or durian” to prove a point to my 17-year-old nephew (who I shall henceforth refer to by his code name Lord of the Rats), hey I’m your gal! Otherwise I have been a real bump on a log.
If you are looking for something to watch, here are some things I’ve enjoyed recently:
Scavenger’s Reign This one came to me via the aforementioned Lord of the Rats. Cargo ship stranded on planet inhabited by flora and fauna out of an acid fever dream? Yes, please.
The Change is the British menopause comedy by Bridget Christie that, let’s face it, you knew you needed. Bonus: you will learn a lot about eels.
Toradora! Christine, this is a anime rom com. Are you feeling ok? I mean, the answer to that is probably fairly guessable to my other women friends in their late 40s. No, sometimes we’re not ok and that is precisely why you need to block off an entire Sunday once in a while for a random hard cry. (Whatever works; you do what you gotta do.)
If you are looking for something to read, you will have to wait until next time, which I promise will not be five months from now.
—CB