Right Now We're Watching

Instead of flipping to the State of the Union address last night, we watched another episode of the dark and dystopic Handmaid's Tale. Come to think of it, it was basically the same thing as the State of the Union given the state of this union. Anyway, my bro and sister in law had been watching this Hulu show and highly recommended it. They said it was tense. Real tense. They were real right. 

Back in 2009, I read the book by Margaret Atwood and loved it. Naturally, I don't remember much other than the context. An environmental catastrophe has rendered much of the population infertile and a totalitarian, extreme Christian group has overthrown the government. Women are nothing - their bank accounts are frozen, their jobs are taken away, they're not allowed to read, etc. If you are one of the "lucky" women who can become pregnant you are a "handmaid" to one of the elite couples in power. The sole duty of a handmaid is to bear the children of the men in power. Handmaids wear red and are allowed outside once a day. Wives of the men in powerful government positions wear blue. The serving class wears grey. If you don't fit into any of these categories, you're shipped off to "the colonies." Want to rebel? You'll be hung on a public wall. It's an extreme world that often hits a little too close to home.

The acting, the writing, the directing, the filming are all outstanding. Combined with content that is simultaneously difficult to imagine and also all too easy to imagine, this is tough to watch in a really powerful way. One of the best television shows I've seen in a long time. 

Travel Mugs

There's something super appealing about a kitchen full of matching dishes and cookware. Look at me talking about cookware, that's hysterical. Anyway, I love the look of a uniform cabinet chock full of matching dishes. Or something like my friend Melissa's dishes. She has a great eye for pottery and has amassed a thoughtful assortment of coordinated ceramic dishes and mugs. With similar style and color, she's curated a great collection.

We don't have matching or even coordinated stuff. However, as I was putting away the dishwasher yesterday, I realized that our mugs tell a bit of a story. There are the two yellow and blue painted ones from Castellina in Chianti, Italy, a stop on our first adventure overseas as a couple in 2006. We wandered into a little pottery shop and fell in love with everything. In one of the largest purchases of our young relationship, we ordered a matching set of plates, bowls, and mugs for delivery to our Brooklyn apartment. A lot of it has broken over the years, but those two mugs remain. 

Or the duo of mugs sketched with the Brooklyn skyline. The pair of striped mugs in bold, bright colors we found in Barcelona on a 2012 trip with our buddies Kristi and James. The yellow and orange touristy souvenir mug with "Antigua" splashed across it in postcard-style print from our group getaway in 2016. The tiny terra cotta mug with a red macaw for a handle we grabbed at a gift shop in Costa Rica. The pale blue mug with hand-painted sheep from a local pottery shop in Scotland. The blue and white speckled mug purchased along the mother-daughter road trip through Nova Scotia. A small pale pink and natural clay mug with bits of yellow and black made by an artist in Uruguay. The vibrant, vivid painted mug from Costa Rica that had been a favorite of mine when visiting Janey on the Vineyard. 

I rarely think about this when I sip my morning coffee but a journey through the mug shelf is a little trip through time and places. It's fun to reminisce and remember. So it's a hodge podge and a mish mosh, but it's our little hodge podge of life and journeys and memories and travels and friends and family and love. 

Lucky Number 13

StitchFix sucked me back in. It didn't take much - just an email offer that was too good to refuse. $49 for UNLIMITED fixes over a year. Plus, that $49 gets applied to your order. So essentially, the offer was a free personal stylist for 12 months. Sure, I don't really NEED any clothes...at all. Like I literally have nowhere to go that requires certain clothes. But then I thought about it/stretched way into the ether to find some excuse and realized that with this consulting stuff, there have been some meetings where I've been flummoxed about what to wear. After seven years in the JMBT basement in jeans and comfy sweaters, I didn't exactly have a robust professional wardrobe. Uh huh.

So I ordered a fix. I don't know if they are wrong or if I am wrong (fancy that), but StitchFix said it was my 13th delivery! That surprised me, but I gotta say, JaNae really delivered. More so than with any of my other shipments and stylists, she absolutely nailed my preferences. I really, really liked everything in the box which is pretty unusual. 

The first thing I tried was a pair of black, pull-on, slightly boot cut, patterned pants made by Margaret M. Trouser type things, but in a heavenly stretchy material. They fit great but as I moved around in them, the waistband gapped and they got a little saggy in places. I have a pair of business appropriate black pants that I like, so I didn't think it was worth the $98 for these. On to the green crochet detail top by Skies are Blue. Love it. Totally my thing. So much my thing though, that I already have a few similar tops. And apparently, it wrinkles easily. Back it goes!

From there, I moved onto the open detail cardigan by Bobeau. At first, I didn't get it and the draping seemed weird. Actually, I decided against it, but when I put it back on today to take a photo, I fell in love with it. I found a second button to help get the drape just right and the material is incredibly soft. I can see myself wearing this often. While it's not super warm, I do have to remember that while we have 3-5 months of tundra, it does eventually get warmer here. So I'm leaning toward keeping it...eeek.

The other item that's a definite keeper is this slouchy pullover sweater with contrast detail by Harper Lane. OMG. While I love it and it's something I'm totally comfy wearing, it's also something I'd never pick off the rack to try. Which is what I love about StitchFix. Take me out of my zone...a little bit anyway. The final item in the box was a lovely warm brown tote. The straps on my current bag of choice had become frayed and gross so I really needed a replacement. Unfortunately, while I loved the color and the texture, this one was just a bit too small to be useful for what I envisioned. Very tempting, but not worth $54.

All in all, I was super impressed with the Fix this time around. I'm going to have to employ some major self control to not get fixes up the wazoo. It's so fun though!!!!

Winter Survival Guide

In winter especially, I love reading and I hate to be cold. My fam knows it too, really coming through this Christmas/birthday season to help ensure cozy days and good reads. Manufactured in Denmark, Glerups slippers will change your life. Soft, warm, felted wool encases your feet and a thick padded sole feels heavenly underfoot. I opted for the boot version (pictured above) but they also make a more traditional slipper and even offer a rubber sole. Honestly, I had helped my dad pick them out for my mom for Christmas, but they were slightly too small, so we ordered her a replacement pair and I finagled my way into the originals. Daughter of the year award.

That purple thing up there is a heated throw. Just like one of those old school electric blankets but smaller and more suitable to the couch. Or, if you have the sweetest husband in the world, he can throw it on the bed 30 minutes before his wife goes to sleep so she doesn't have to slip into chilly sheets. This one is made by Sunbeam and is available on Amazon in a variety of colors. Essential for a chilly home and to avoid that dreaded icy bed feeling!

So my feet are warm and I'm encased in electric heat to settle down with my new Poetry Magazine, a monthly compilation put out by the Poetry Foundation, an organization dedicated to making poetry more visible and influential in our culture. Over 100 years old, the magazine has and continues to print excellent contemporary poetry no matter the style, subject, or genre.

Bring it on January and February and March and part of April and who knows maybe some days in May. I'm ready to weather your storms.

Notes From The Travel Journal - Mendoza

Our final stop was the land of wine!!! Malbec has been my recent red of choice and Mendoza is the Malbec capital of the world. Simon learned that Mendoza is divided into three wine producing regions - Lujan de Cujo, Maipu, and the Uco Valley, so we opted for a two-night stay in Lujan then a quick drive into the Uco Valley for our final two days in Argentina. After flying from Patagonia back to Buenos Aires and then on to Mendoza, we loaded into another (crappy) rental car and puttered off to our first stop, Entre Cielos, a hotel just outside of downtown Mendoza.

Sophisticated, modern, and posh, Entre Cielos was a shock after the natural beauty of Patagonia but we suffered through it. HA! We met up with the charming Miguel the next morning for a day of wine touring in the Lujan region. During the morning, we visited Pulenta Estates, Archeval Ferrar, and Luigi Bosco. It's a bit different than wine tasting in the US. At each vineyard, you need an appointment, limiting the number of visitors and sometimes resulting in private tours. The other thing to remember is that "tastings" tended to lean more toward full glasses. So yeah, by the time Miguel pulled into Lagarde for our lunch stop, we were both a little tipsy.

We had no idea what we were in for. A six course wine paired lunch in an outdoor courtyard overlooking rows and rows of grape vines.  By far the best meal of our trip with deliciousness of both the food and wine varieties. Goat cheese crostini caramelized with black pepper and brown sugar, asparagus with fresh peas and egg yolk with crispy bacon and parmesan, a perfect steak with sweet potato puree and roasted veggies, and a chocolate souffle with dulce de leche ice cream and chocolate ganache. With wine. And wine and wine and wine.

Needless to say, we were both even more tipsy upon leaving, so opted to spend the rest of the sunny day poolside back at the hotel. We also learned that "stopping for lunch" when wine tasting almost always equals a six-course culinary and wine tasting experience. This happened twice more during our time in Mendoza. Holy moly!

Before leaving Entre Cielos the next morning, we stopped at their renowned spa to try the "Hammam Circuit." Another example of having no idea what to expect. Hammam is a Turkish method of cleansing and relaxing that involves a distinct six-step path through steam rooms, exfoliation rooms, a warm pool, and a heavenly hot stone. We emerged in a blissful state wishing we could repeat the experience weekly. Another unexpected trip highlight.

From there we drove an hour into the Uco Valley, a slightly more premier wine-making destination within the Mendoza area. Casa de Uco was a great find, impressive upon pulling through the gate, winding our way through the rows of vines, and checking into the ultra-modern hotel at the foot of the Andes. We spent another day in a guided wine tasting extravaganza, beginning with Clos de Siete's Monteviejo winery. The architecture in the Uco Valley seemed almost as important as the wine itself and this building didn't disappoint. We had a one-on-one tour with Luis who sat down with us in the otherwise vacant restaurant/bar to guide us through the tasting. A really amazing start to this day of touring. We lunched at Zuccardi then completed the day at O'Fournier, both super unique buildings and delicious wines.

The next day, we packed up our newly acquired 13 bottles of wine and set off for Casa de Uco's newly opened tasting room where we had booked a wine blending session. What a spectacular send off! We tasted different varietals then experimenting with making blends, each producing our own signature combo. We bottled my blend, corked it, and headed off to the airport to begin the long journey home.

I've gone on and on and on about this trip, but it was truly a once in a lifetime bucket list kind of experience. I had built up Argentina and Patagonia in my head and even those completely unrealistic expectations were well exceeded. Unlike most of our adventures, we returned so in awe that we were revitalized and energized, not depressed and sad at it being over. As usual, I want better words to describe what it was like, how it felt to see these things and experience these places. That's the thing with travel though. You've got photos and memories and maybe a journal, but there is no way to truly capture it for others to understand. It really can only be yours. Thank you, Argentina.

Notes From The Travel Journal - Estancia Cristina

After a quick overnight in Calafate we bussed over to Punta Bandera on the shores of Lago Argentino where a boat bound for Estancia Cristina was waiting. We didn't quite know what to expect in this next part of our Patagonian adventure. 

The Estancia is set in an isolated and completely remote corner of Los Glaciares National Park, accessible only by this once-a-day boat and limited to guests of the lodge as well as day-trippers who purchased one of three excursions. We didn't really understand any of this when we booked our two-night stay here but were drawn instead to the website's photos of vast Patagonian steppe and towering snow-capped mountains alongside the glowing blue water of the Lago. According to those pictures, THIS was the Patagonia of my dreams.

Even before we got to our destination, we were blown away. Yes, by the wind, but also by the picturesque ride across the lake. Mountains. Bright blue glacial water. Icebergs. The Upsala Glacier. It was impossible not to be giddy as we cruised by this plethora of natural wonders.

We disembarked in awe, immediately greeted by a lodge representative who whisked us away to settle in while the day-trippers embarked on their treks. The lodge offered highly personalized service including excellent meals, an array of available guided excursions, and rooms with sweeping views of the steppe and mountains. This is what I envisioned when we were planning our stay. 

Our nearly three full days at the Estancia were full of trekking, trekking, and more trekking.  The "Waterfall of the Dogs," "Canyon of the Fossils," and one un-named, but equally as beautiful hike on our last day. Each walk headed in a different direction away from the Estancia, providing three unique perspectives on the surrounding landscape. The detailed descriptions of the fossils, history of the glaciers, and age of the rock formations have escaped me since the journey, but suffice it to say, it was old, impressive, and in sections, reminiscent of what I imagine Mars looks like.

While the facts and figures have faded from memory, our time at the Estancia won't drip out of my brain anytime soon. A perfect place in the perfectest of Patagonian settings.

Notes From The Travel Journal - Perito Moreno Glacier

I'm really dragging out this blogging about the trip thing. Whereas I haven't done much of anything for the past 6 months, the consulting projects have recently picked up and I'm actually working instead of blogging, reading, and lazy-ing. GASP! Honestly, I like extending the trip by writing about it long after it's gone. So deal with it. Pictures of Merwin and poems that absolutely enthrall you will eventually return.

For now, I present the crown jewel of El Calafate, Perito Moreno (the only jewel really...). This glacier is surreal and well worth the drive from Chalten. We saw a few glaciers in Alaska. They were impressive. But for the most part, the only way to check them out is by sea. Not so with this one.

We got a few glimpses of Argentina's fourth largest glacier on approach through the National Park, but the extensive series of walkways, stairs and platforms made for unparalleled, close up views of her size and beauty. All with a gorgeous mountain background and the greenish-blue tint of Lago Argentino gleaming in the sun. We walked along the paths in awe, catching her "calving" a few times and huddling against the cold breeze coming off the massive slab of ice. We visited late in the day and needed to scramble back to Calafate to return the rental car but detoured slightly to a small walking path that led out to the lake's edge for a different perspective on the glacier.

We were told Perito Moreno was "not to be missed" and almost didn't believe the hype. I'm so glad Simon worked his logistical magic to make this happen. After all, who knows how long it will be there...