Currently May 2020

Currently | 5.27.20

Life in the Age of the Queen

[Explaination of the name in April's Currently.] 

It has now been 90+ days since we have sheltered in place in our new home in the Raleigh-Durham area. I feel blessed that our confinement is in a large home, that we had done major food and pantry stocking and that we are surrounded by nature and green. When we want fresh air we walk outside in our community which has miles and miles of space with woods and paths. We have gotten up to just under 10 miles never leaving our “neighborhood” and for that we are lucky.

North Carolina has just entered a restricted phase 2, but we are keeping up our isolation at least through mid-to-late-June. We can keep food going by ordering from our local CSA every week – what a joy, supplemented by Instacart runs. No judgment for those who choose to do otherwise, but I will not be getting on a plane, train, or a boat for a very long time. We canceled our 4-week trip to France for this October, actually postponed it is more accurate, until October 2021 and we will see where the world is at and how the hunt for a vaccine proceeds month-by-month and make our travel decisions based on how we feel about the progress.

We have medical grade masks, but I did pick up this one from Anthropologie (NOT affiliate) in gingham, also known in French as Vichy print. The town my mother-in-law lives in Auvergne, France. I imagine as masks become a more regular part of life, lots of colorful options will become available. Funny, it is a conversation I can remember having with my Japanese friends in 2003 when the SARS pandemic appeared. On business trips to Japan, my friend and I would discuss face masks and we would always find really fashionable ones while shopping in Tokyo.

And…P.S.

Now, onto May and what's been going on in the Misadventures world!

Watching | Madam Secretary 

> Was thrilled to have the sixth and final season of Madam Secretary hit Netflix. That immediately led to deep disappointment. It was like a brand new show, so different from the previous 5 and with a slashed cast. I adored this show, we have re-watched several times when we get tired of real-world politics and I was totally bummed. Luckily there are a few shows on the horizon that I am more hopeful about. I cannot wait for Space Force! I am a fan of Steve Carrell (even when his character is darker like in Apple's Morning Show) and I for one could use a little levity.

Also, this past weekend the National Geographic channel released Barkskins, a historical fiction about New France (French Canada). My uncle lent me the [massive] book from Annie Proulx a few years ago and I devoured 713 pages that spanned multiple generations. My only critique was that I wish the author had spent more time and detail on the later generations as she had in the early ones. I will be checking out the show for sure!

Reading | The Bruno Chief of Police Series  

> Last month I started this series written by Martin Walker and now I am on book 9 (number 15 coming out at the end of this month)! I love murder mysteries (one of my favorites is the “in Death” series which up to 50 books from JD Robb) I would call this series “light murder mysteries” that take place in or near the fictional town of St. Denis in the Périgord region of France. Bruno is a very simple man with a troubled past and complicated love life, he is easy to like. Plus the descriptions of this part of France are beautiful, I learn new things about France's history in every book, and the man loves to cook! My list of Périgord dishes that I have to try (above the famous black truffles they have) is growing very long!

Once I complete the Chief Bruno series I will be picking the highly anticipated Code Name Hélène, which I first spotted my friend Kristin Luna raving about on her Instastories (she also just listed it in her weekend vacation reading guide. Anne Bogel also included it in her Summer Reading Guide on Modern Mrs. Darcy. Sometimes it pays to be patient and not but right away. I put the book on my Amazon wishlist and lo' and behold it was featured in the Modern Ms. Darcy daily picks. Instead of paying $14.99, I got it for $3.99.  I have mentioned this daily email plus the one from BookBub in years past and I pick up hot bargains all the time!

Lastly, now that we are out of the food desert of Arizona and into a very fertile farm area in North Carolina, and with our membership to the local CSA we have access to a lot more seasonal foods. We would prefer to eat seasonally, so we want to take advantage of the berry and tomato season to do some preserves for the winter. It is something that Mr. Misadventures and I have always wanted to do and now we can. We have been scouring the new book Preserving the Season: 90 Delicious Recipes for Jams, Jellies, Preserves, Chutneys, Pickles, Curds, Condiments, Canning & Dishes Using Them (gifted) from Mary Tregellas planning what we will start with first! There are so many great recipes to choose from with lots of tips and tricks, we may need to clear off pantry space to house all the preserves we are about to make!

Best Bite | Homemade Pizza

> That may not sound like much of a big deal, but Mr. Misadventures do not eat a lot of pizza. In fact, the last time we did was in October (2019!) in Cottonwood Arizona on our way to camp at Dead Horse State Park. We purchased pizza dough from our CSA and added artisanal pepperoni, arugula, basil and, tomatoes also from our CSA then black olives, and shredded mozzarella cheese. It turned out pretty good. By given our low carb diet, not something we would do all the time. It was a nice treat!

Working On | A Blog Project

> Starting yesterday I began a 30-day challenge working through a book called Traffic Secrets by Russell Brunson. With travel blogging taking a hit and my continued confinement, I thought it would be a good time to take a look at some of my practices, and given my close to 12 years of blogging, bad habits, associated with my strategy. You never stop learning and this paid project will give me the opportunity to test out someone else's theories. You can follow along daily on Twitter with the hashtag #mwaTS and I will be writing about my thoughts on the material at the end of June.

And of course, I am working on old material and new!

Published in May:

• Paris Profiles – 13th Arrondissement with Lena of Salut from Paris
• White Pocket Arizona – Guide to the Best Wave Alternative (epic update)

Feeling | Confused

> It is our first spring in North Carolina and it is a doozy! In the last 2 weeks we've had a few warm days, mornings with frost, and a whole week of rain and thunderstorms bookmarked by 2 weekends with 80-85 days! I am not sure it was our 2 years in Arizona and now we are wimps, but we are now cold at 65 degrees! We've turned the fireplace or heater on a few times and have now tested out the A/C – all in the same month! We are holding off turning on the A/C more frequently as neither of us is a big fan. I know I am not technically going anywhere, but I struggle on how to dress for work (I am on video most of the day) and often find myself changing clothes at lunch because the weather has shifted so wildly!

Planning | Future Trips

> What else can we do!?! Two travelers in the house that are Type-A planners, there is bound to be lots of planning going on, even if we can't actually go anywhere. I have determined that just in France alone we will never see everything, let alone the rest of the world. I've got PTO days burning a hole in my pocket! And while most people are not going to be traveling, I hope the others like us will be planning and hopefully reading travel blogs to help them with that!

Loving | Tranya Rimor True Wireless Earbuds

> I wear headphones all day for work. I am on lots of conference calls (and video) and after a few hours I get tired of wearing them. Comfort is key, also the functionality. Mr. Misadventures bought me some noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones from a very big brand, but honestly, they were not that comfortable! Then I received a pair of Tranya Rimor True Wireless earbuds (gifted) and the first thing I noticed when I put them in my ears was how comfortable they were. I don't listen to a lot of music, but from time-to-time, especially when I am working on reporting for my job, I like to listen to some tunes, these are perfect. I am now switching back and forth between my USB headset and these so that I can give me ears and head a break.

I spend a lot of time at my desk, in my chair doing calls, so I am re-examing everything about my office set-up! I recently got a footstool, because I am super short and I have to raise my chair for the video camera and after a couple of hours on the phone my legs hurt. I am also considering a pillow for my chair.

My Favorite Photo | White Pocket

> Hmm, you can see where my priorities are! While I have enjoyed peeking in on everyone on Instagram and Instagram Stories, I have not shared a lot myself. I did post some previously unpublished photos from White Pocket for my new post. I love that spot so much, it's the only thing that makes we wish I was still in Arizona, that is one place where social distancing is entirely possible! Also, I added a new video to the post that really depicts how magnificent this spot is!

That’s my month, what’s CURRENTLY going on with you?

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