October in Review

Reading, Watching, Writing and Cooking

The year is accelerating as it is nearing the end.  We are scarcely past Halloween, and the Christmas decorations are already filling the aisles.  Some stations have already begun playing holiday music. I want to slow down and enjoy these final two months of the year instead of leapfrogging over Thanksgiving right into Tinsel-town. 

Thanksgiving is the best holiday.  You can fight me over it.  Seriously, it’s the only holiday dedicated to pies.  Sure, it has the turkey, but the bird is largely ceremonial.  I can skip the dry poultry I need to saturate with gravy to swallow down and dive right into the pie – except pumpkin.  Not a big pumpkin fan.  Sweet potato pie is far superior.

In this newsletter, I’m trying something new – a roundup of the previous month.  I will share what I’ve read, watched, any newly published work of mine, and anything else of interest. Hopefully, you will feel inspired to share your own recommendations with the rest of us.

What I’m Reading

As I’ve been re-working my memoir, I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of comparative titles.  This led me to these fine books: 

Maid by Stephanie Land - Available here

Class by Stephanie Land - Available here

Both of these books are about a single mother’s struggle to rise out of poverty while cleaning houses in the first book and attending college in the second book.

Pathological      by Sarah Fay - Available here

This book is about the author’s journey through the mental health system and the over eagerness of doctors to assign a mental health diagnosis and prescribe corresponding medications.

Daughter of Three Gone Kingdoms by Joan Kwon Glass - Available here

This is a beautiful book of poetry which tells a heart-wrenching story through the use of the Korean mythology of Hungry Ghosts. I will probably dedicate a full post to the book in the future because it’s that good!

Substack links for each of the above authors: (I subscribe to all three)

Stephanie Land

Sarah Fay

Joan Kwon Glass

What I’m Watching

“Rings of Power” on Amazon. Two full seasons are available. It’s based on the Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien, but it’s very loosely a prequel to the Lord of the Rings.  If you liked the movie trilogy, you would like this.  Four out of five stars.

“Only Murders in the Building” on Hulu.  This is the fourth season.  Great cast with Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez.  Smart writing, funny actors.  Steve Martin is still as funny as he was forty years ago.  I give this series five stars.

“Agatha All Along” on Disney+.  It’s a spinoff from WandaVision which was a Marvel movie spinoff from the Avengers lineup.  The original WandaVision was funny and campy and I enjoyed it, but this take relies too much on the campy side and seems a little contrived.  It feels like a show for pre-teens, which is probably the target market since it is part of Disney.  This was a “did not finish” series.  We might go back and watch the last few episodes eventually, but I did not feel drawn into the plot or the stakes.

Recent Publications

Two of my poems have been published in the Rat’s Ass Review.  (Isn’t that a perfect name?)  My poems “Mistleheart” and “Wetland” are featured in the Fall/Winter issue. Poems are in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. Read them here.

The Raven Review published my poem “On a Dark Horse Riding” in Volume V, Issue IV, October 2024.  Perfect timing for Halloween.

Intangible Magazine published my poem “42 Scars.”  It is on the second page of the virtual magazine after the table of contents.

Bonus Days Magazine is dedicated to stories of inspiration and resilience written by and about members of the transplant and chronic illness community.  I had the honor of interviewing Dr. Brittany Clayborne and writing an article for the Autumn issue.  This magazine is print only and is available for order here.

Pink Panther Magazine is a celebration of women’s art and writing.  I am honored to have my poem “Lillith’s Bloom” in the current issue.  This magazine is also print only and is available for order as either a physical copy or a downloadable pdf at this link. 

What I’m Cooking

With the coming fall chill, I harvested all of our tomatoes whether or not they were ripe.  Placing the green tomatoes in paper bags with a couple of apples will speed up their ripening.  The tomatoes closest to the apples ripen first, so I can pull out a few at a time and use them up in recipes like spaghetti and chili. 

Green and ripe tomatoes from our final harvest.

Spaghetti and chili are pretty much the same base recipe.  I plunge the washed tomatoes into boiling water until the skin splits then into ice water before I peel them.  The peeled tomatoes go into the food processor for a quick whiz then into the soup pot.  For the spaghetti, I add onions and garlic plus standard Italian spices and let it simmer for about three hours.  For the chili, I add onions, garlic, and minced jalapeno peppers plus chili powder and beans and let it simmer for three hours.  It takes about two dozen tomatoes to make a pot of either one.

Spaghetti simmering in the pot plus a bonus picture of a sprig of oregano with pretty purple flowers.

Chili simmering in the same pot plus my secret ingredient - masa harina flour to thicken the chili in the final half hour of cooking.

Now it’s your turn to tell me what you’re reading, watching, and cooking in the comments below.  Maybe you’ll turn me onto my next favorite book or movie or tickle my tastebuds with a new recipe. 

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