weekend wrap up

Happy Memorial Day. It’s a gorgeous day and I’ve got a few things planned. I’ll visit Punchbowl Cemetery where my dad is buried. On Memorial Day it’s an incredible site with the flags and leis decked out honoring veterans. I’m doing some yoga, baking some banana bread, and Marc is making his famous chocolate souffle for dessert. It’s the one thing he makes and if you can only make one thing, chocolate souffle should be it.

My dreams are getting much more vivid. Last night I had a long nightmare which eventually woke me up and when I went back to sleep, the dream continued on! How bizarre. I know it’s a common symptom of PD but I wonder if it gets progressively more intense. I do notice that on those nights that I have them, I wake up later. Does that happen to you? I hope you enjoy your week. Here are a few things to eat, read, and watch.

Netflix has two new movies that I enjoyed this week. The Lovebirds is a romantic comedy with Kumail Nanjiyani and Issa Rae. It’s not heavy lifting but a cute movie about a couple who accidentally ends up at the scene of a crime and are afraid that they will be blamed, so they try and find evidence to exonerate them. Uncut Gems with Adam Sandler is the complete opposite. It’s an unrelenting look at the life of a guy who sells jewelry in New York and has a severe gambling problem. It’s one twist after the next and very intense. You’ll either love it or hate it but I enjoyed it. If you watched The Great British Bake Off, you may remember Nadiya Hussain. She has a new cooking series called Nadiya’s Time to Eat and it’s delightful to watch all the tips and hacks she has for making things easier in the kitchen. I love her personality and her colorful kitchen.

For podcasts, A Way with Words is fantastic. People call in with words and sayings and the hosts, who are incredibly knowledgeable, talk about the history and meaning of them. You learn a little culture, history, and new words. Home Cooking with Samin Nosrat is a four-part series of cooking during the quarantine. She has the best laugh. If you’re looking for some deep and inspiring talk, you’ll want to listen to Unlocking Us with Brene Brown. I’m a big fan of anything she writes and hearing her conversations always makes me feel good when I’m done.

I’m reading Five Finger Discount by Helene Sapinski. A memoir set in Jersey City, Helene describes with affection her family which included swindlers, bookies, embezzlers, and mobster-wannabes. Another memoir I just finished and enjoyed was Notes from a Young Black Chef from Kwame Onwuachi.

And I can’t forget my favorite part of the day is when I’m eating. In Hawaii we eat butter mochi which is an addictive sticky and chewy dessert. For dinner I made this super easy and delicous Chicken Shawarma Sandwich with Greek Salad. I read a good comment that you can freeze the chicken in the marinade and just pull it out and bake. As Ina says “how simple is that”. xo