I live in a bubble

and I do not like seeing what's on the outside

Welcome to my head - a round up of what I have been thinking about, reading and eating.

I almost didn’t write this week because, in a round up of what I’ve been thinking about, there’s been a lot of ennui and angst. Safe to say I am shattered by the outcome of the American election. I am bereft that so many people have turned to Donald Trump.  I am stunned that people can vote for a known rapist, a felon and a man who think it’s okay to speak about women and minorities the way he does. Putting all politics aside for a moment, Trump is a bad man with no moral core. That half of the American population thought to put him on a pedestal again frightens me beyond words.

I have tried so hard to find positive in all of this but the only thing that I have come up with is that I am very lucky to live in a  bubble where no one I know supports Donald Trump. I hate what is on the outside of my bubble.

I feel very sad and distressed, I can only imagine how almost half of America is feeling - the other half I cannot even begin to fathom.

Absolutely loved this ‘apology’ from

shit you should care about

shityoushouldcareabout

A post shared by @shityoushouldcareabout

Reading

I picked up this book after seeing

Jojo Moyes

recommend it, I love her and I take her recommendations very seriously. On the cover the words from Sarah Jessica Parker read ‘so beautiful.’  I was intrigued, somehow I feel like the gap between Jojo Moyes and Sarah Jessica Parker incorporates at lot of women much like myself (with added fame, talent and wealth). I had no idea what the book was about but I felt comfortable that with these recommendations it would be something I could enjoy.

So without finding out much more about it, or indeed its author,  I started reading. I never expected ghosts, quite frankly if I had been told 16^th century poet Luigi Da Porto was one of the main characters in the book I doubt I would have picked it up…. But here I was totally entranced in the life of Vita, a woman with an unnamed chronic illness who lies in bed and talks with ghosts and her goldfish.

It turns out the story of Vita, her illness and her reckoning with the ghosts of her past is absolutely captivating and beautiful reading. Even though the book takes place in just two rooms the worlds it explores are vast and relatable and the 16^th century ghost becomes less of a ghost and more of a guide.

I became so obsessed with the book that I started digging into the real life of the author Kate Weinberg who it turns out suffered from long covid and lay in bed for a long time visiting ghosts of her pasts. I read so much about Kate that I have her and Vita rolled into one person - a wise, compassionate person coming to terms with finding herself and finding love.

It’s a stirring and emotional book that holds much more than I can encapsulate in this short review - but if you have suffered trauma, if you haven’t been believed by your doctor, if you have secrets from your past or if you just love beautiful and uplifting writing you will love this book.

Eating

My sister had her birthday this week and I made this coconut cake with a yummy raspberry filling.

I have also been making this crunchy green salad with apples, cranberries and pepitas on repeat.

Have cooked three dishes from Recipe Tin Eats new book - the vegetable biryani, the crunchy hot honey salmon and the creamy, cheesy spaghetti. All three successes - as I find with any of her recipes.

And now I am going to eat all of my feelings because… Trump.

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Thanks for reading to the end. May next week bring us happier news.

Lana