Have a Fun Weekend.

Totally agree. We had the same smoke from Canada the week before and usually a lot of July and most of August is full of smoke. I also don’t understand why someone would be rude to a city bus driver because of smoke from Canada. Seems like we should be mad at our legislatures for doing nothing to combat climate change

*here

I grew up in California with wildfires (I had no less than 5 friends lose their houses in wildfires, and was used to my schools being closed for at least a week every other year or so while the fires raged and not only was everything covered in 2 inches of ash, but also they needed the schools for the hundreds of fire trucks and companies that would come from other counties and states to help. President Bush landed on my high school football field in his helicopter one year as part of his sympathy tour.) Now I live in NYC.

What’s interesting is the only conversations I’ve had with people in person have all, every single one of them, included some kind of “I feel so badly for the folks in the west and other places who deal with this all the time, and whose kids are stuck inside, or are dealing with asthma and the smoke, etc etc etc.” The attitude “on the ground” in NYC has very much not been the “me me me” attitude it seems like you’re feeling from the media. I have struggled to get my in laws to take it seriously and turn on their air purifies and close the windows (it’s not that hard!!!), but that’s pretty much it.

What was also interesting was when Los Angeles had the cold snap that came with the blizzard warning a few months ago, I didn’t hear anyone in NYC saying “they need to get over it, we get blizzards all the time.” Everyone was saying how strange it is and how they hope people take it seriously and if there is a blizzard, no one gets stuck in the snow.

We also see in the news when y’all are covered in smoke…my parents are in Colorado and often I’ll text them about it before they even know about it because I’ll have seen it on the news before they wake up.

It’s tough. All of this is tough. I have visions of my daughter playing in a gas mask or something with yellow air behind her. I thought when I moved to NYC I would never again be plagued by the nightmares I used to have about my neighbors speeding up our street, all blaring their horns because the wildfire had reached the houses at the bottom of the hill and we hadn’t yet gotten the evacuation call, and they were trying to wake everyone up in the middle of the night. I know the fear, and I still think we should resist this competition, or pitting coasts against each other. I love California, I love NYC. I’m not sure why we need to pretend like New Yorkers should wake up to such a rare event and what…say nothing? For what?

Tina Dey’s Bossy Pants made me laugh so hard. Sending y’all comfort 💗

Betty white’s biography “here we go again” is very light, fun, and entertaining

I would like recs too. My husband was going through cancer treatment last year & I was looking for books that were light & joyful, and I felt like they were hard to come by. Still would like some!

Dear KML. I am sorry that your mom and you are dealing with this heartbreak and anxiety. How thoughtful of you to make a care package for her. As far as books go, I would recommend My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. It’s been around forever, but is still one of the funniest and most diverting books I have read. Take care of yourself too! Xxxooo

Oof, that sounds tough. Sending lots of love to your family, and I hope your care package brings your mum some much needed joy :)

On the books front:

I just read THE OFFING by Benjamin Myers, and it was lovely – set in an English between-the-wars summer you can get lost in, a young man sets off to seek his fortune(ish) and stumbles across an old(ish) lady and her mysterious past. One of those lovely unexpected friendships stories.

THE ENCHANTED APRIL is also very escapist – three grumpy(ish) ladies who don’t know each other decide to spend April together in Italy. It’s an oldy but a goodie.

LEONARD AND HUNGRY PAUL is just really the story of two very chill, nice men’s friendship. Not much happens, it’s a lovely book to hang out in.

WE ALL WANT IMPOSSIBLE THINGS by Catherine Newman is a) lovely and b) relevant – there is a lot of very justified love for it here on CoJ but in case that’s passed you by, it’s a story about a woman caring for her friend in hospice through the end of her life, and it has no right being as light and uplifting as it is.

THE SWITCH by Beth O’Leary is about a 20-something Londoner who swaps lives with her grandmother in Yorkshire for two months. It’s also lovely (there is a romance in this one, but also a village fete and some curmudgeonly neighbours)

xo

Oh gosh, that sounds hard, KML. I will second the Thursday Murder Club books. I also read Emily Henry, Jenny Colgan, Jasmine Guillory, Linda Holmes and Beth O’Leary when I am in need of some comfort. I recently finished Still Life, by Sarah Winman and found it very endearing (plus it transported me to Florence!). I also really enjoyed Maame, which addresses grief with hope and a completely charming protagonist. Three Women and a Boat by Anne Youngson is another enjoyable book that I got from the library after seeing it recommended in CoJ comments last summer. Hope you find something that suits. Wishing both you and your mom comfort.

Hi Corrie, fellow historian here! Have you watched the BBC living history / documentary series ´Victorian farm´ ?

Oh, thank you for the Caroline rec! I love the Little House series and, as an adult, kind of thought Pa was problematic in the way he was constantly like “Hey I’m bored so I have this new idea and we’re going to uproot every 2 years”. Made for a good series though! Have you listened to “Gold Rush Brides” by 10,000 Maniacs? Your comment reminded me of it.

I agree – it would be powerful to see more of this conversation happening.

Agreed, I am surprised there is no mention this week of climate change from my favourite blog written in New York.

Yes to this. I agree so much. That is a topic that I really miss here but isn’t it the elephant in the room when we think about our future lives and our children‘s? This is a great community of caring people – would be great to discuss if we could do more.

Agree Amelia! I also relate to Elsie. Living in Vancouver, with family in the interior of British Columbia, we’ve been dealing with “smoke season” and the upheaval that comes with severe wildfires for years. I can feel the dynamic shifting now that friends and family in the Eastern parts of the country and in the US are experiencing this. Not that I would wish it on anyone – it’s awful! I just hope it leads to more productive dialog and broader action.

It’s great that Kaitlyn Teer is on the CoJ team. The story about the atmospheric river was evocative, and that flooding was the flipside of the extreme heat and fires of 2021 on the west coast, with damage exacerbated by loss of forest and compacted soil. I suspect that she’s contributing here in ways that seem subtle now – some of the greener house and closet tours, and so on. Here cheering Kaitlyn on in the hard work of climate change communication.

I like them with ginger ale, but the more garnish the better! Strawberry, cucumber, slices of lemon, lime and orange, sprigs of mint and basil!