October Consumption Report

Don't forget to vote!

Nov 03, 2024

Hello beloved readers and subscribers! Welcome to the latest Crone Life, my weekly newsletter about getting older and wiser. Share, click the heart, comment, we all need the comfort of community in these trying times.

It’s November now, which means October is in the rear-view mirror, and that means it’s time for the Consumption Report! Everything I read, thought, watched, saw and generally consumed in October, except maybe food. My diet is gluten free and dairy free and low FODMAP, extremely boring, sorry. Please do not subscribe to Crone Life for the recipes. I did eat a lot of potato chips, though. I enjoy crunching things, especially in these anxious times. I prefer plain Rippled or Kettle format. The texture really gets me.

What I Read and What I Thought

Help Wanted, Adelle Waldman
Narrated by a crew of characters who work the pre-dawn shift at a big box store in the Hudson Valley. They band together in an attempt to get one of their own promoted. They learn and grow and feel empowered but at the end seem trapped in a structurally hopeless situation. But maybe not!

Margot’s Got Money Troubles, Rufi Thorpe
A heartwarming fairy tale for our entrepreneurial times

State of Paradise, Laura Van den Berg
A tale of sisters, family secrets, a mysterious pandemic and alternate timelines. Set in Florida. Literary fiction meets 1970s speculative fiction. I liked it, but it felt a little stale. Reminded me a bit of The Terrace House.

Journey By Moonlight, Antal Szerb
A classic of 30s Hungarian modernism, this psychologically insightful account of a couple who travel to Italy on honeymoon and quickly discover they aren’t meant for each other is a brooding meditation on the foolishness of youth and love. But also observant, frank, and funny. Szerb, the son of assimilated Jews who was baptized Catholic, died in 1945, beaten to death in a German camp. The first of my reading choices with a WW2 connection—see below for the other.

The Safekeep, Yael van der Wouden
Even though it falls into a category I tend to dislike (WW2 + graphic sex scenes, which always seems kind of faux-intellectual to me; you need to have something really worthwhile to say if you're going to pull in both those tropes) I thought it was very good. Set in 1961. Delicate with a gut punch at the end.

Standing by the Wall, Mick Herron
A collection of Slow Horses novellas. It was more like a collection of unfinished drafts and also that line from “Heroes” is stuck in my brain now.

What I Watched

Michelle Obama in Kalamazoo, October 26. I cried. So did my husband. I am loving her Former First Lady/Badass Black Woman personal style. She is the Queen of the Code Combo.

Friday Night Family Movies

I mistakenly put an October movie in September (Gumshoe) so there are only three on this list.

Vice (2018): Snappy. I do like Adam McKay. I think. Well, I liked this and Don’t Look Up, although both are a bit facile.

A Letter to Three Wives (1949): Tongue-in-cheek, stylish fun! Glad I finally saw it.

Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964): Parts are unintentionally hilarious but basically it’s a D-movie.

Streaming

Slow Horses Season 4: Probably would have liked it better if I hadn’t already read the book and knew the twist. Character development all around. I hope nobody gets too lovable.

Bad Monkey: I’ve already forgotten what happened, but the beautiful shots of Floridian and Bahamian landscapes regularly flash into my brain.

Both versions of Have I Got News For You (UK & US). The UK one can usually be found on YouTube and the US one is on CNN on Sunday nights (I think?) and on Max a day or so later. The US one is surprisingly good, with Roy Wood, Jr. as the permanent host (for this season?) and Amber Ruff and Michael Ian Black in the Ian Hislop/Paul Merton team captain roles.

What I Saw

Whitney Museum–Edges of Ailey (The video linked here is great!)

I’m not a huge fan of Ailey’s choreography per se, but I’m so glad I saw this. The exhibit has a cool immersive design, with performance videos on loop. I loved how it put Ailey in context and in dialogue with Black artists, both his contemporaries and of the present day. A Theaster Gates piece made from decommissioned fire hoses brought tears to my eyes. I can’t find a photo from the exhibit, but I think it was this one.

What I Did

Phone banking for Harris-Walz on Halloween: This was tedious, because so many people hung up on me when I said why I was calling. I spoke to 6 people out of at least 36 calls that went through; 3 who had voted or were voting for Harris; one who didn’t like either candidate and wasn’t voting and who hung up when I mentioned down-ballot races; one “strongly leaning toward Trump” because he felt Kamala Harris was immoral and one old guy who was tickled pink I’d called the fax line in his office and wanted to chat, but not about the election. I would like to do it again before Tuesday but I’m losing my voice so I’m looking into text banking.

What I Bought

(in reverse chronological order)

Seine skinny jeans in black black from Universal Standard. I had wanted these for a while. When I looked at the site and saw they were available in my size for $25 and free shipping (I assume the color is being discontinued) I jumped. The US skinny jeans are more slim than skinny, as they are not tight to the ankle. No one less than Allison Bornstein, internet personality, says this style is still OK! They are a little cropped but I think that will be fine. The 30” version is totally sold out but that’s a little long for me anyway. My perfect full-length inseam is 29 ½”. Final sale so they better fit (I have 2 other pairs in the same size and style, odds should be good).1

Bunch of useful Amazon stuff from yet another “Prime Day”:

NOTE: THESE ARE NOT AFFILIATE LINKS

Non-bump hangers to hang sweaters (as a preppy New Englander, I have so many sweaters) so I don’t have to fold them, which I hate
Set of 72 colored pencils and sharpener
Bathroom space heater so I need not dread showering in winter
Large box of adaptogenic Teecino Tremella Tulsi mushroom herbal tea for evenings and weekends
Non-marking hair clips to style my shorter hair
White crew-neck bodysuit (as yet unworn)
New muslin face cloths to replace the bedraggled ones I’ve had for years
Cat toys, as previously seen in action

Second-hand Jean-Michel Cazabat leopard-print loafers from Poshmark with preppy tassels

Surprise box from Universal Standard. I never want to spend a lot on this stuff. The styles fit well but can be so basic. All the interesting items in interesting colors sell out fast. I have a boring dress in a good burgundy color that I wear when I can’t think of anything else, for example, and it can be accessorized up and down, but it’s not fun and doesn’t fit my style words. Yet I always get lots of compliments. The surprise box contained a top and a dress in the US stretchy cotton-modal jersey and they are very nice, but have a slight feeling of having originated on the island of leftover inventory. I can sense they may come in handy in a pinch, though. So I’m feeling ok about my purchase, though I also think I didn’t need to spend the money. Final sale, oh well. I had a discount code so each piece was $25.

An oval silver pendant from Ebay which is currently not thrilling me but I think it needs its own chain.

In Closing

Next Tuesday’s election is looming over me like a stop-time avalanche. I mentioned this to my son, who tried to cheer me up by listing all the reasons he thought Trump would lose. From his mouth to God’s ear, as they say in Brooklyn.

News from Veronica: She likes me to pet her but then she wants to play by grabbing my hand in her teeth and raking my forearm with her hind claws. She’s not trying to hurt me, but I don’t like it. She’ll probably be in a new phase by next week.

Teeny blep that looks more like An Opinion. But she was grooming herself and looked up when she heard the fake shutter click

Thanks for reading! You are welcome to discuss your own October emotions and accomplishments in the comments. I love to hear from you!