ONE – A YEAR OF CLAUDE

It’s been just over a year since I found Claude Hopper on the internet and brought him home. We started with a seven-day trial, as if I could bring a dog into my home, snuggle him for a week and then return him. He’s definitely got his shit, and the first weeks were not without some scuffles between him and Luke, some growls thrown at me and one or two escape attempts. But now, a year later, I can’t imagine my life without Claude. He belongs with me.

When I first met Claude, I was immediately impressed with his curly, chaotic whiskers. And then there’s the freckles, the way he aggressively snuggles, the way he piles his feet together when he naps, the way he woos at me when he needs a walk or a meal or just needs me to get my attention. He is a good, good dog.

He’s also got a bit of Sadie in him. Sometimes it’s the attitude, the way he looks at me just like she used to, and then there’s the snoring. Sadie was a champion at snoring. It was an art form for her, and when Claude first moved in, he wasn’t much for snoring. But, the longer he spends here, the better he gets at it and I can’t help but think maybe it’s just a little bit of Sadie showing up in him to let me know that she’s still here, still part of the family, forever and always.

TWO – AGGRESSIVE UNSUBSCRIBING

In the first days of 2023, I whittled my inbox down to nearly zero. I kept my upcoming campsite reservations, the shipping confirmation for Luke’s pain pills and little else. I deleted a few thousand emails, and then, as new ones started to storm in, I went on the offensive. I aggressively unsubscribed and I relented, realized I probably wasn’t going to get better at reading daily newsletters in 2023 and purged with wild abandon. If I unsubscribed twice and still got emails, I marked the offending email as spam, told google to never, ever, ever let it darken the doorstep of my inbox ever again and here we are, nearly through the first month of 2023 and still, my inbox is a better place, a cleaner place.

THREE – THIS JEWELRY BOX

I don’t have a ton of jewelry. I’m a girl who mostly wears stud earrings with an occasional dangle thrown in there when I’m feeling fancy. Until recently, I was storing most of my jewels in this little tin I’ve had for 10 or so years, with my more dangly earrings hooked over the coffee cup I keep in my medicine cabinet with various implements of beautification. It wasn’t safe, it wasn’t smart, so finally, I bought this little jewelry box and now all my jewels are in one place, which is really such a simple, easy thing, but one that has already improved my life.

FOUR – HOMEMADE NAAN

One of my goals for 2023 is to try new recipes and when one of those new recipes called for naan or pita bread, I was like, fuck, how hard can it be to make naan?! Turns out the answer is NOT VERY. First, you mix the ingredients, then let it all rise for an hour or so, divide the dough, roll it out flat, throw them into a dry cast iron skillet, cook for a few minutes and that’s it and friends, the result is delicious.

(Naan pairs very, very well with the tzatziki from this recipe.)

FIVE – POMEGRANATE PUZZLES

Not all puzzles are created equal, that’s just the way it is. I am a lady of some distinguished tastes and there’s just something extra good about these puzzles. The pieces just feel better, prettier, smoother, higher quality. This is one of my favorites.