Driving for the Holidays

 I recently upgraded my phone to an Apple which came with a choice between using Google maps like on my old phone or returning to Apple Maps. I decided to give Apple Maps a try because I struggled with Google GPS. I truly prefer Apple Maps. The timing of delivering information is more in sync with my natural speed. They tell you if it’s a light or a stop sign. They present and repeat information in a way that increases my confidence. I’m feeling some of that old sangfroid from the introduction of GPS. It feels like a real step forward.

Psych To Go: Steps Gently

 

Psychological information can be very useful and hard to come by. The Psych To Go channel brings handy topics within easy reach. The videos are brief and focused. They are often ideas I haven’t found in any other source. The format is soothing. Triggers are avoided. The conclusion is generally positive. They offer a bibliography for their sources. Most of the time if there is a Psych To Go video in my feed I’ll watch it. You might enjoy them too.

Fight or Flight

 

Watching the original Hunger Games movie triggered a fight or flight. I could run and never look back, or I could watch/read/write about all things Hunger Games until it was just a piece of furniture in my mind. I chose the second approach. I don’t regret it. I have not yet read The Ballad Of Snakes and Songbirds. The price of the book still exceeds the budget for contemporary fiction and I don’t visit the library as often as I should. The movie ticket was right on point, and I needed some time out of my house, but relaxing. 

I enjoyed the show. The violence was more nuanced and I appreciated that. I loved the characters even the ambiguous Mr. Snow. The music was a nice touch drawing on the success of Hanging Tree and bringing more Appalachian music out into the world. It is not a compelling peace. Where Hunger Games made its point strongly Snakes and Songbirds is more about a return to a world we are fascinated by. I wish the themes had been clearer. Everything else was just right.

(M)iTunes

 I like collecting things. Before I recognized that impulse and started trying to limit and repurpose it, I often ended up with groups of things just because they belonged together and for no other purpose than it had been fun to find them all. You can waste a lot of time and money that way.

I do not want to know what I’ve spent on iTunes. I enjoy music like any good Appalachian, and iTunes is willing to meet a large swath of my musical curiosity and curatorial impulses. It started with a slightly naughty need to listen to all that music that was the devil’s tempting and thus not in my adolescent collection. I decided I do like Cher and The Beatles and Elton John and a lot of other music. My interest has now come full circle and I’m gathering up the hymns of my youth. It’s fun to choose amongst all the different artists and time periods for these classics. I wish we still sang them at church. 

It is a collection that doesn’t clutter, is large enough to reward organizing efforts, and soothes the savage beast as someone was always saying when I was young. I get my money’s worth out of every $1.29.

Faux Pho

 In the evening I often find myself short on calories. I need something with dinner’s gravitas and a snack’s calorie count. Costco has an answer. I was walking through the aisles minding my own business when a sample station with little cups full of noodles caught my eye. The noodles tasted as good as they looked, so I bought a box. I’m really enjoying it. It’s like Ramen only less work to prepare. It’s also a chance to practice slurping noodles like the actors on Asian TV shows do. If you like noodles this is a great, quick snack.

Holly is Back: MO River Soap Co.

 

I love watching soap making. This is no news flash, but one of my favorites has been on the sidelines. Holly is so calm and confident with everything she does, and it is incredibly relaxing to watch. Her soaps are fun but in a measured way that sets them apart. Her designs are classy without being stuffy. I buy them for the people I love. One day I’ll get my own box from MO River Soap. 

This is the other miracle of Holly, her box packing videos. After a big release she pulls up the camera and chats away while putting together beautiful box after beautiful box. I find them truly addictive and watch them with tea or hot chocolate nearby.

Holly had been missing for a while because she was following her dream to live in Montana. Roughing it in her lovely fifth-wheel, she just finished building her soap studio, and is now ready to tackle their log cabin. I wish her all the best.

https://www.youtube.com/@moriversoap/videos

American Girl Dreams

 With six children traditions go a long way in keeping things fair. For birthdays we started at Build-A-Bear when they were three returning each year after to buy new clothes for the bear’s birthday. By the time we got to Jimmy the whole family had bets on what kind of animal he was going to pick. 

At my oldest’s ninth birthday it was obviously time to switch gears. I was looking for a new tradition that would carry more weight and responsibility, but would have the same pleasure of growing a collection a little every year. We began with Josefina, and had such an excellent experience. American Girl even replaced the doll’s head when the hair proved defective. We bought an outfit and small accessory every year and everything was heirloom quality. I did hope that the doll would be loved and passed down.

The problem started when Rosie chose Samantha. There were rumors about changes, but they had recently made Samantha’s movie. It seemed silly for them to make a movie to sell a doll and then stop selling the doll. Surprisingly that’s what they did. All the nice things we did for Mea could not be matched for the others as historical doll after historical doll was “retired.” It was truly sad and the end of so many plans I had for my American Girls and their daughters. 

The new dolls are nice, but they can’t touch the nostalgia, collectibility, or simply the weight of honoring American Girlhood as it has evolved. This was supposed to be a very special tradition in our family. Instead it’s a broken dream.