Weekly Good Things 2024 - Week 43
Good Things, and the Weekly Meal Plan.
Hello! Hello! Welcome to another weekly episode of Good Things – your guide to living intentionally and more fully one good thing at a time! I give you a peek into my everyday life during the week, and roundup my good links, ideas, books, and more.
Hello Hello!
Last week I found myself at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum, reading the biography of Isabel Anderson, who, despite the museum being named after her husband, had full main character energy, and made me feel like I need to set my sights a little higher in this lifetime.
While I wouldn’t call myself specifically a “car person”, I’m very much a “collection person” who enjoys any kind of rigorously and lovingly assembled collection of objects and ideas.
In 1881, at the age of 5, Isabel Weld Perkins received a massive fortune in the millions. There’s some major debate whether the figure was 17 million or something more like 5, but either way, it was enough to have the Anderson’s living the high life, which they clearly made the most of. (While the handsome Larz himself did come from money, the bulk of his fortune was made the old fashioned way: inheriting from his wife’s family.)
Isabel was a prolific writer – more than a dozen travel books, 23 plays, 10 children’s books, 6 books of collected stories, which among other things earned her an honorary doctorate in literature from BU.
Locally, she was known to volunteer with sick patients at Mass General, and the Red Cross, as well as hosting events on their estate for young women in the work force. And beyond being a noted philanthropist, she even roled up her sleeves and ended up with rigorous nurse training during World War 1, working in army hospitals at the war front in Belgium and France, and even earned France’s Croix de Guerre during the war. (The only American woman to do so.)
The Andersons were diplomats, and spent a large amount of time traveling the world. Their primary residence was in Brookline, MA (the site of the now-museum), and they built a stately home in Dupont Circle in DC (which I’ve been meaning to take a tour of!)
For decades, the Anderson’s bought a car a year – more than 30 of them! – including the Bailey electric vehicle in 1908 that Isabel herself – the first woman in Massachusetts to earn a drivers license – drove (with 100 miles to the charge!) There are some truly phenomenal vehicles in the collection, including one with a toilet in the vehicle, and another the Gatsby car was modeled after.
After her husband died, Isabel, who hadn’t taken any responsibility for the family finances (despite the money being largely her inheritance) took a new role making strong decisions about where and how the money would be put to use, including giving their houses and grounds to become open to the public.
I was lucky enough to get a tour from the museum director, Sheldon Steele himself, and ended up missing my dinner because I was completely riveted. (Local friends, if you’d like to go with me, I think I’ll try to arrange another group event!) In addition to the range of incredible cars, they have a fun collection of cycling memorabilia, and host fantastic events on the grounds of the property.
👋 If you are new here, welcome! I try to fill these newsletters with a little something for everyone. (If you are just here for the food, it’s at the end! Feel free to scroll, I won’t judge!)
Good Things:
Admittedly the past month has felt like a lot of things happening to me rather than for me, but I’m looking forward to turning that around!
1. Due to a slight color mix-up, my front door has been painted a shade of blue that can be best described at Tardis-Blue. I have in fact, dressed it up as a Police Call Box for Halloween. (Bertram also has costumes - a shark and a bat sweater that he’ll be wearing for walks this coming week.)
2. I had three work related events, one on the Wellesley campus, one at MIT – a supplier diversity fair – in the Walker Memorial Building, which has an unexpected mural (see below). And finally an end of the week coffee catch up with two women, I deeply admire! I also went to a Council on Aging meeting for the city. (The new Active Living Center down my street is being built right now, and will have a walking track!)
Unexpected Murals
A Fall To-Do List from the Archives: 2010, San Francisco
:: Fall To-Do List ::
1. Bake a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt.
2. Go apple picking; make desserts – a tarte tatin and caramel apples.
3. Find fall foliage, drive north through Napa.
4. Make a big pot of pumpkin turkey chili.
5. Fall care packages to friends and family.
6. Clean out refrigerator, straighten pantry. Go through spices, restock, and replace old ones.
7. Flush drains with boiling water.
8. Start thinking about Thanksgiving.
9. Clean out my closet, consign or give away things that don’t fit.
10. Go through catalogs and magazines to recycle, debate new subscriptions.
11. Eat Rancho Gordo Beans. (Use as many beans as possible to make room for more.)
12. Read: biography, motivational, history + pulp fiction. Sookie!
13. Hike the Dipsea Steps.
14. Raw Brussels Sprouts Salad/ Roasted Sprouts with Bacon
15. Give back to my high school, and college, and make a list of donations for the year.
16. Start amaryllis and paperwhites to enliven the house.
🤚 Will you ask me my next good question? ⤵
Slow Drip Gardening
Dahlias are still going! I’m about to cull them back and put them away for the winter, but I still have a handful of blooms and more buds still on the plants! Last year I put the pots away with the soil in them and they wintered fine.
I’ve picked up some (more) crocus bulbs, tulip bulbs, grape hyacinths, and alliums and will work on planting this week for early spring joy. I also ended up getting a little bulb shovel at Mahoney’s because my overflow gardening box in the garage seems to have evaporated into the ether.
A Poll:
I think this newsletter is due for a few new modules to keep things personally fresh! I’d love to hear what you’d be most interested in:
Celebration Corner:
Friends and Acquaintances who deserve high fives:
New Cool Jobs: My friend B got a new job at Scholastic as VP of Business Development and Strategy, School Reading Events! 📚 For all of us who grew up on Scholastic book fairs, this feels like a magical opportunity.
R shifted jobs from a very high stress never-off tech environment to one with (required) end of day shut off and contained work hours. The result? A newfound energy to live life to the fullest, (actual) work-life balance, opportunity for creative pursuits and significantly more recharge. It was so jarring that it was a *very weird feeling*.
E, age 5, decided on her halloween costume as the Silver Banshee and looks SO DARN COOL.
I’m thinking of starting another “mediocre achievement thread” where we just post things we deserve a pat on the back for. Nothing is too small!
Mixed Media:
📖 Reading: After a brief pause in my “Year of Sanderson” after finishing the Stormlight Archive, I picked up his Skyward, his epic series about a girl pilot saving her world. I’m on the final book, Defiant, and need to figure out which ones I have left to read! // Non-Fiction: The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes, The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker // a smattering of books I’ve read 100 pages or less of and am feeling stalled
📺 Watching: we’re firmly back in good watching season. Great British Bakeoff on Fridays // I’m truly enjoying English Teacher on FX - just a few more episodes // I’ve started the first of five seasons of Slow Horses, the British thriller series on Apple+ // Film of the week: I took myself to West Newton Cinema, our local theater to watch the The Substance (body horror/cultural horror). I did see a tweet that said the most horrifying thing was Dennis Quaid eating shrimp in this film, which despite an aggressive amount of bloodshed, honestly was accurate.
🎧 Listening: I listened to a wonderful interview with Dorie Greenspan on The Splendid Table with Francis Lam. (It seemed appropriate that some of this week’s archive posts were in fact from when I used to participate in the cook along French Fridays with Dorie (which is still happening a decade later!)
🛍️ Good Acquisitions: Rechargable LED tea lights for winter coziness that come with a remote control // the book Walking Well: A New Approach for Comfort, Vitality, and Inspiration in Every Step by Michael Gelb // I finally got a frame for my David Shrigley art (60 x 80cm is a standard size across the pond but not in the US.) If I get my act together I’ll use my former gallery-worker skills and actually cut a nice mat for it.
💡 Tackle a Nagging Task: I had a dermatology appointment to do a quick end of summer check, and remove an uncomfortable mole on my back. (I’m a big fan of proactive health care and not putting up with things that bother you!) Get your annual skin checks, friends!
🤣 Memes and randomness of the week: Timothy Chalamet showed up at a pop up Timothy Chalamet lookalike contest in NYC. (Ironically looking least like himself?)
The Weekly Meal Plan:
Why do I do this? I’ll note, my meal plans tend to be more of a directional support for me than what I actually end up eating in my week. (I think a lot of people who do meal planning feel obligated to actually eat the things they come with rather than just using as a placeholder/inspiration. I do not feel so constricted.)
🍒 Good Eats from the Past Week:
A bao-zza (a Pizza Bao stuffed with cheese, sauce and pepperoni) from the Whole Foods freezer.
Bún thịt nướng from a local Vietnamese restaurant (it was.. fine… doesn’t hold a candle to my favorite at Pho So 1 in Randolph, MA.
I tried Trader Joe’s new spicy farfalle with chicken sausage which is totally passable.
Broccoli with a little bit of the new Trader Joe’s White Queso mixed in
An Ellenos Pumpkin Pie Yogurt (totally dessert - delicious!)
Bean of the week: Bye Week
This week’s meal plan:
Sunday: Turkish eggplant, red peppers, tomato, and beef stew over rice (very good!). Used TJ’s thick bold spicy red sauce as an umami base
Monday: Anna’s Chile Verde Burrito (no longer spicy, alas!)
Tuesday: Suzanne Goin’s Devil's Chicken Thighs + Braised Leeks (via Smitten Kitchen)
Wednesday: Rice bowl with tuna, avocado, pickled ginger
Thursday: Bittman’s Corn Chowder (gifted link)
Friday: Brussels Sprouts Salad with Anchovy Tahini and Za’atar Chickpeas (thank you Somchay!)
Saturday: Takeout!
Lunch Options: TJ’s Hardwood Sesame Ahi Tuna is BACK!, Lamb vindaloo with yogurt. Tinned fish and marinated artichokes. Black Bean and Cheese Burrito. Breakfast Burrito.
Snacks: Grapes. Yogurt and berries. Cheese sticks. Turkey Chomps. Good Culture Cottage Cheese. Steel Cut Oatmeal. Cream of Wheat (had a craving!). Red Leicester Cheese. Goat Cheese Log. Brie with Truffles.
Treat options: BerryLine Frozen Yogurt, Ben and Jerry’s Chance Mint Fudgy Brownie, Trader Joe’s Brigadieros, TJ’s Tiramisu, Trader Joe’s Brownie Coffee Ice Cream Sandwiches. Apple Tartines. Key Lime Pie. Trader Joe’s S’Mores. The last straggler pumpkin sticky toffee pudding. Stone and Skillet English Muffin.
What are you eating this week?
Previous Years:
Something I really enjoy doing is flipping back in my journal or my blog to the week of the year over the past several years. When I write it out in a list like this, it feels like a nice accomplishment!
Observing the data this week:
2014: Fresh Shell Beans, Barbecue Beef with Sauerkraut, Kheema
2012: Wellesley Weekend, Culinary Intelligence, Bills 5k Race Recap
2011: Coffee Pudding, Two Ways
2010: French Fridays with Dorie: Hachis Parmentier, French Fridays With Dorie: Marie-Hélène’s Apple Cake
That’s all for now! Hope you have a great week!
xo, Sam
📩 PS: A Few Small Requests!
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