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Happy Friday! Today I crossed off an item on my 2022 to-do list by donating blood for the first time (I plan to become a regular donor, and urge you to consider it as well, especially since the whole country is in short supply these days.) Hope everyone is feeling well, and if you aren’t, I hope you will be soon. Here are a few links you might enjoy:
OMG: Chinese woman stuck in lockdown with blind date:
“I’m getting quite old, so my parents arranged more than 10 blind dates for me,” she said in this post. She wrote that her fifth date had said “he was good at cooking, and invited me to his house so he could cook a meal”.
However, during the meal, she discovered that her date’s community had gone into swift lockdown due to cases of Covid-19, and ended up being unable to leave his house for several days.
Ms Wang told media on Sunday that she had been stuck for four days at her date’s house, and that the situation was “not ideal”.”
My Daughter’s Married Boyfriend Shouldn’t Join Us on Vacation, Right?
I could not imagine doing this, but kudos to making it work for the kids’ sake: Our Kinder, Gentler, Nobody-Moves-Out Divorce
Did you watch “The Lost Daughter”? I tried to but found it really super boring and only made it through the first half before I bailed. I did appreciate, however, the focus on mom rage, which is something I felt for, like, the first 9 1/2 years of my motherhood experience. I know a lot of folks really enjoyed the movie, or, like me, didn’t really like it but related to the idea that being a mom is hard, and so you might like this think piece: The Perpetual Rage of Motherhood
Why Making Friends in Midlife Is So Hard
And if you’ve already got the friends: We Should All Be Doing Friendship Check-Ins Right Now
And, if you missed it, this comment on the “Plantation Wedding” post from earlier this week.
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Kate January 17, 2022, 12:20 pm
I just tried the KFC Beyond Chicken nuggets 😭. They’re totally not bad. My husband was prepared to hate them but he said actually pretty good. They are firmer and less juicy than a regular nugget, but nice and crispy and fairly tasty. Expensive though! A 6-nugget combo with a side and a drink was $9.99.
I’m not vegetarian but I eat very little red meat and often get us the vegetarian meals from Hello Fresh. I am down with plant based, I just never want to have to eat bugs.
Dear Wendy January 17, 2022, 12:43 pm
I saw a commercial for the kfc beyond chicken nuggets yesterday and wondered how they taste.
Kate January 17, 2022, 12:48 pm
I saw the same commercial, haha!
Rangerchic January 17, 2022, 1:37 pm
@Kate – how do you like HelloFresh? I’ve been thinking about using one of these services. I did a long time ago – 6 or so years ago. But never started back up when we moved. But I’m tired of all the energy it takes to plan, shop, then cook. I don’t recall the one I used to use but it might have been HelloFresh. Just wondering if they are still pretty good!
Kate January 17, 2022, 1:43 pm
I love it! Unlike a few years ago, they now have like 22 meals every week to choose from, including vegetarian, fish, low carb, gourmet/premium, and fast prep. I have been using it for a few years. Before that I tried Blue Apron and didn’t like it as much. Too heavy on the kale (at that time).
Kate January 17, 2022, 3:38 pm
And if there are people in your household with simple tastes, they have burgers, pizzas and flatbreads, “takeout favorites,” tacos, pasta, stuff that’s family friendly. And special things like an apps & ribs box for game day, or a fancy valentines meal.
The portions are enough for a hungry person, but reasonable calories if you’re watching your intake.
ktfran January 17, 2022, 4:20 pm
I’m considering ordering a few weekly meals from Kitchfix. Their headquarters is about 1/4 mile so I could easily pick up on Monday’s.
I might try them next week.
Rangerchic January 17, 2022, 4:31 pm
Thanks Kate! All those options sound lovely. I’m going to have to pull the trigger and give it go.
MaterialsGirl January 17, 2022, 6:13 pm
ktfran: kitchfix is amazing. SOmeone got me a meal plan there during my first maternity leave and i had no idea it was dairy-free. Like. none. It’s nice because it’s all already made for you. no thinking. just eating deliciousness
ktfran January 17, 2022, 7:39 pm
Good to know @materialsgirl!
MaterialsGirl January 17, 2022, 6:12 pm
we just received our first HelloFresh box today after sitting on a gift card for over a year. I’ll let you know what I think!
Kate January 17, 2022, 8:11 pm
Oh shit, I didn’t realize they made the book Station Eleven into a limited TV show. I just watched Episode 1 and it seems really good. It’s on HBO Max, so if you have that, I’d say check it out.
ktfran January 17, 2022, 8:40 pm
My Pilates instructor told me about it last week. And then it was in NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour. It’s on my list to watch.
Did you read the book? I have not.
Kate January 18, 2022, 5:34 am
Yes, years ago, and liked it.
anonymousse January 18, 2022, 8:49 am
I adored the book and reread it many times. I reread it again before the series came out. I watched the entire series over the past few weeks. At first I was a little put off by some of what I thought were big storyline changes, but I actually understood and liked the changes. They did a really good job with the series, and improved the story a in a way, I think. Anyway, it gets my full hearted endorsement, and I am such a book lover I am rarely happy with the move to movie or tv. It’s great. Somewhat weird and depressing as the story unfolds because it begins with a worldwide pandemic. If you can get through the first two episodes, you’ve made it past some of the hardest pandemic scenes.
anonymousse January 18, 2022, 8:55 am
Has anyone read Louise Erdrich’s The Sentence? If you haven’t, it’s magic. It takes place in a bookstore which is being haunted by their recently deceased most annoying customer. It takes place within the last few years so if you aren’t ready for that, skip it for now. There is the pandemic, and George Floyd’s murder and the hard things we’ve all gone through. It’s beautiful, funny, poignant and also difficult at points. I made myself slowly read it to really savor it.