Tag: Chess

Seven (+2) Things I Love (11-30-2020)

1. This Discovery of the Fountain of YouthScientists in Israel claim they have been able to reverse the aging process simply using oxygen. GIMME SOME OF THAT!

2. These Cardamom Cookies from Unna Bakery in New York – I found these locally a while back but couldn’t remember where I bought them. Damned menopausal brain fog. I checked to see if I could order them online and yay, I could! LOVE these cookies. They are my favorite treat to have with a cup of tea in the afternoon. A box contains five packets of two, all individually wrapped, so you don’t have to feel obligated to eat the whole package just to keep them from going stale (which is what I tell myself when I do that.) They are just the right amount of spice and sweet. In my opinion, the perfect cookie. The Swedes do so many things right and baking is on that list to be sure.

There are other flavors to choose from too. I ordered some Coconut Oat Cookies to try and they were different but equally good.

3. This Recipe for Sweet & Sour Brussels Sprouts – thanks to my brother Chuck for sending this to me. I’m a big fan of Camila Styles and I’m subscribed to her e-newsletter, but lately my inbox has been inundated so I’m missing a lot.

This girl (me) can’t get enough Brussels sprouts. Sadly, this girl also is on a blood thinner which means she has to pace herself. Well, you know what Julia Child says, “Everything in moderation.” (FYI, the full quote is, “Everything in moderation… including moderation.”) You can find the recipe by clicking on the photo or here.

4. This Book Review (and Interview) of Henry Winkler’s Newest Book by Master Crocheter Jonah Larson – they are all so damned adorable! Note Henry Winkler’s pillow behind him – love it! And Jonah Larson is a wunderkind! You can read more about him here and here.

5. This Cookware from GreenPan – I’ve bought all my GreenPan Cookware from Food52 but it’s available in many places including World Market, Kohl’s, and Amazon. One of my favorite pieces, which I use ALL the time, is the 12-Inch GreenPan Venice Pro Nonstick Ceramic Everyday Pan (pictured right). It’s no longer available at Food52 but they still have it at World Market. And there is a slightly smaller 11-Inch version called the Chatham Nonstick Ceramic Everyday Pan at Kohl’s for significantly less.

From the GreenPan website:

GreenPan is a Belgian brand with an international reputation. It’s the brainchild of two school friends: Jan Helskens and Wim De Veirman.

Upon discovering that traditional non-stick pans released toxins when overheated and used PFOA during the manufacture of the coating, they set out to create a new alternative.

After a long search, they found the perfect material for their range: a ceramic coating called Thermolon™.

With the biggest challenge out of the way, the duo put an expert team together and had a lot of pleasure in designing cookware that looked beautiful, performed brilliantly and made cooking even more of a joy.

10 years later their pans are loved around the world.

6. This Test Flight – I may not be a fan of Elon Musk (I think he ‘s batshit crazy) BUT I cannot deny he has vision and his company is achieving astonishing things. Besides, my nephew works at SpaceX so as long as he’s there I know that they they must be cool!

7. This Music Video (and tweet) – Daniel Stewart is Patrick Stewart’s son. The music video is awesome!

8. This Virtual Chess Game Against Beth Harmon (at four different ages!) – I ADORED ‘Queen’s Gambit’ (along with everyone else) and now I’m obsessed. Chess.com has developed this clever online experience tied in to the hit Netflix series. I finally got brave enough to try to play 8 year-old Beth. It was a draw because we ran out of moves. I thought my brain was going to explode though it was working so hard.

9. These Edible Christmas Ornaments for Outdoor Trees – I’m a Hallmark (and now Lifetime too) Christmas movie junkie. This year Hallmark has an incredible number of new movies. One of my favorites is called, Christmas with the Darlings. In addition to the usual christmas cookie making/baking scene that occurs in every Hallmark movie, in this one they made animal-friendly ornaments and I thought it was brilliant. I will definitely be doing this next year! There are two different links. The link on the photo below will take you to a recipe for the birdseed ornaments pictured. The link at the beginning in bold takes you to an article with a variety of ideas and links.


Word of the Day
(is actually the Merriam-Webster Word of the Year for 2020)

If you click on the graphic below it will take you to an analysis of the use and significance of the word pandemic for the year.

Quote of the Day

I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving and stayed safe!

And I don’t want to rub it in so I’ll let Charlie say for me what I can’t say myself….

Seven Things I Love (10-26-2020)

1. This Short Film, The Magic of Chess – The Milwaukee Film Festival is running from October 15-29 and this year, for obvious reasons, it’s gone completely virtual. Frankly, I’m thrilled because it’s giving me the opportunity to see a lot more movies than I normally would be able to see. Because of that I bought a pass (and I’m a Milwaukee Film member so I got a really good deal 😊.)

I usually see all the film short collections and this year is no different. I also usually start with the kids film shorts. I have about a half dozen favorite short films so far, this is one of them. There is something about all these kids going on and on about chess, with such passion and enthusiasm – it’s amazing!

2. These Cakes, designed to look like shag rugs! Created by a baker in Los Angeles named Alana Jones-Mann.

3. This Fashion Line that used Puppets for a Socially Distanced Fashion Show – Moschino’s Creative Director, Jeremy Scott, is responsible for using marionettes dressed in doll-sized versions of the garments. I’m sure it was a tremendous amount of work but wonder, now that they’ve done it, will it get easier from this point forward to do it with puppets and less expensive than a show with live models? People do love things in minature too!

4. This Letter written by the Attorneys for the Lincoln Project (one of my two favorite Republicans against Trump groups right now) to Jared Kushner & Ivanka Trump’s lawyer. It brings me such joy! The Trump family (as has many other of their ilk) has gotten away with “having their cake and eating it too” for far too long. I hope that their stint in the White House was the straw that broke the camel’s back and that after the election everything crumbles. (November 3rd is ONE WEEK from tomorrow – EEK!)

5. These Photos of Birds in Motion by photographer Mark Harvey – you should click on the photo below or this link to see all the rest. Simply breathtaking!

Blue Tit by Mark Harvey

6. This Recipe for Bread of the Dead – super clever, easy and realistic way to make skulls from mushrooms! I’ll have to remember this for next year when I can actually entertain again.

7. This Bronze Sculpture inspired by the legend of King Arthur for Tintagell Castle, Cornwall by Rubin Eynon


Word of the Day

Did you know there was a word for this?!?!


Have a GREAT week!