:Lisa Birnbach and Annabelle Gurwitch

:Lisa Birnbach and Annabelle Gurwitch

Our guest this week, Annabelle Gurwitch joins the small – elite – 2 timers club.  This is her second visit to the pod.  In the year since she was last here, she has written a new book, launched a successful podcast, and been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.  That’s a lot of things.  In her new book of essays, You’re Leaving When?  Adventures in Downward Mobility, Annabelle talks straight about a tightened belt and novel ways she’s discovered to make money.  Her honesty about her life and the life of her non-binary child glistens.  She’s working relentlessly – her drive, energy, and stamina are admirable, and her humor and intelligence are gifts to us all. 

Did March end yet?  It’s just a fact that it is too long.  I noticed that last year, as we locked down mid-month.  It is confirmed in 2021.  Why don’t they make February a little longer?   Make Leap  Day Feb 31, then March could end earlier.  Let me know what you think about that.

No one I know who celebrated had a proper Passover Seder – except Alan Zweibel from what I saw on Facebook.  Ours was fragmented.  Two were recovering from their second vaccines.  My mother wasn’t feeling up to it.  We were all hither and yon.  Still the soup and brisket were on the table, along with matzah and wine, and my family was speckled on my computer screen like so many little postage stamps.  It was unforgettably forgettable.

 In puppy news, Sheila is now an untrustworthy sneak – poking into shelves for yummy treats like face masks, face mask filters, bottles of nail polish, and always – Kleenex.  She is under house arrest now and wait – where is she?  Oh good.  Gnawing on something, but within my sight.

 I mind but I don’t mind because spring is also poking out, and that is reason to smile.  I’ve already spent as much time walking in the last 10 days as I probably did the last 5 months. Just moving feels good.

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Here are my five things:

1. Perspective.  Everything is not going to hell.  Some things are pretty bad for a lot of people, but we still have hope.  I didn’t get COVID, and I have healthy #exhibits.™ People are getting vaccinated at brisk rates, and for the most part, we are surviving a giant and deadly plague.

2. “Russian Doll”.  I’m a late adapter to this Netflix series that I’d heard about last year.  A starring vehicle for actress Natasha Lyonne, we binged it after the first Seder, and finished it on Sunday.  It’s smarter than I am, so at first I just found it baffling.  Now I’m obsessed with it and can’t wait for the second season. 

https://www.netflix.com/title/80211627

3. Mark Bittman’s recipe for Creamy Vinaigrette.  Upgraded my asparagus.  Upgraded my whole repertoire.  Made me less dependent on Paul Newman’s Own dressing in the bottle.  I loved those for years, (maybe it was his picture on the label?)  but I’ve finally advanced.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1012696-creamy-vinaigrette

4. Maya Rudolph, who hosted SNL last weekend.  I enjoy her so much – when I watch her, I feel like I’m watching a friend, which is different from how I feel with the other cast members, current or past.  Is that weird?  She seems like a good person.  How she balances four children and her career seems like human Jenga.

5. Shtisel is back.  Shtisel is back.  Shtisel is back.  Shtisel is back.

https://www.netflix.com/title/81004164

Annabelle Gurwitch’s 5 Things:

1. Young Jean Lee - Korean American playwright and her musical: We're Gonna Die

2. Say My Name - the power of hearing your own name out loud,

3. Primo Levi's Quaestio de Centauris,

4. TikTok books that make you sob videos

5. The Handshake

The 5 Things That Make Life Better podcast is recorded and produced at The Field in NYC. My team is Shpresa Oruci, Michael Porte, Sam Haft and Boco Haft.The Field in NYC.

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