lillibet

According to this article from NPR today, 20% of Americans suffer from a single health issue.

It's mental illness. Does that number seem high to you? In the EU, that number is around 40% according to other stories I've heard recently. But even at twenty percent, that means that at an average party of fifty people, ten of them have mental illness of some kind.

And yet we don't talk about it. We're ashamed. We feel alone. We worry that it may affect our careers and make other people think that we're weak, that we're crazy. We self-medicate rather than seeking treatment. In many cases, even among those insured, treatment is covered minimally, if at all. We may find that others don't understand--they don't know that they know many people with mental illnesses, they don't know what to think, or what to say. They might think that if we just kept busy, or weren't so self-centered, everything would be ok. They're wrong.

I have suffered from depression. I am lucky that mine was an acute, rather than chronic illness. It was triggered by fertility woes. I was drowning in my own pain. I was suicidal. Fortunately, I had a great deal of support and I got help quickly and eventually I did get pregnant and I got better. But I think that depression is a door that once opened, can never be shut tightly. Especially this fall, as I've been struggling with back pain, I've also noticed myself having episodes of depression again.

There are many kinds of mental illnesses. Maybe you have one of them. I'm sorry to hear that and I hope that you get the treatment you need. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But if you do, you can talk to me. We need to talk about it. We need to know that it's happening, to many of the people around us. We are not alone.

Occasionally I wonder why I read The Amateur Gourmet, especially now that he's living in LA. And then he posts a totally game-changing recipe like this one for Roasted Hamburgers. So easy, so much less mess than any other method, scalable, and delicious! Hamburgers have been a rare occurrence in our household, but I think that may be changing.

I paired them with this recipe for Duck Fat Hash Browns, which were also very tasty. I doubled the recipe, which may have been unnecessary, and think I didn't use quite enough fat, so further experimentation may be in order. On the other hand, when I've already got a 475F oven, maybe I'll try roasting the potatoes instead.

Wow, it's been a long time since I've cooked something new, or at least since I've recorded it.

Tonight we had friends over for dinner and tried:

( #10 - Duck Ragù )

( #11 Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries )

I've just spent a couple of hours scrolling through this post on Charles Stross' blog, getting book recommendations from answers to his question of what's the most important novel of the past ten years (given his audience, there's a strong SF bent to the answers). He followed up with this post, narrowing the field to eliminate men.

My to-read list is burgeoning and I'm excited to know about many books I'd never heard of and have others I've glanced at bumped up the queue.

Enjoy!

A few weeks ago, one of the youth at church performed Taylor Mali's What Teachers Make. It's made the round on the net before and I'd seen it then, but this time it stuck in my head.

Going back to YouTube to watch it again, I noticed that he has a number of other videos of him performing his poems, and I began to watch them. They vary widely in subject matter. Several are about the joys and sorrows of teaching, others about the suicide of his first wife, others about love and about sex and several meta pieces about poetry itself.

I haven't watched all of them yet, nor delved very deeply into his website, but since I've mentioned his work to several people this weekend, I thought I would provide a few links.

I particularly love Like Lilly Like Wilson and Depression is a Kind of Fire Too and Tony Steinberg, Brave Seventh-Grade Viking Warrior. But I haven't listened to any one of them without finding something to admire in his turn of phrase, his connection of ideas, or his powerful delivery.

A couple of days ago, a friend posted a link to an amazing story about a man who responded to a mugger by not only giving up his wallet, but offering his coat. The story of where his radical love led is a powerful one. I do not often have that greatness of spirit toward strangers, though I have received its grace, and I struggle toward it in fits and starts.

Another friend recently posted about the suicide of a former acquaintance, a man of talent, wit and intelligence who had shone at Harvard Med, Stanford and Northwestern, becoming a surgeon before killing himself at the age of 33. As she commented, "The world of medicine can be a grueling one, and though you care for a stream of patients, it is no one's job to care for you."

Last summer I finally got to see Timon of Athens, one of Shakespeare's worst scripts, about a man who glories in generosity and finds no reciprocal support when his own fortunes fail.

And so I'm thinking about balance, about the need to put yourself first, but not only; about the need to care for others without thought of recompense, and the immeasurable rewards that come from pouring out your self into the world; and about the ways that self can be exhausted without attention to its own nourishment.

On and on, the rain will say, how fragile we are, how fragile we are.

We had an incredible meal tonight at All Seasons Table in Malden. We had a very hard time choosing from all the amazing-sounding things on the menu, but finally narrowed it down to the following, with lots of sharing:

Seafood Scallion Pancake - this was easily the best I've ever had of this dish, crispy and holding together, but filled with tasty shrimp
Spicy Soft Shell Crab Tempura - I'm not crazy about crab, but the crab-lovers at the table ooh'd and aah'd
Hot & Sour Soup - quite good, though not as dark and rich as my favorites
Hot & Sour Shrimp Soup Thai Style (Tom Yum) - slightly different from the usual, but with the lemongrass and chili flavor one expects, and the snowpeas were really noticeable and delicious
Beef Tataki - an excellent exemplar of one of my favorite dishes, with crisp, fresh veggies
Broiled Yellowtail Collar (Hamachi Kama) - two enormous cheeks with crispy skin and lots of moist meat on the bones
Lobster Tempura Maki - lobster and veggies, wrapped in rice and then tempura'd, served with wasabi mayo--so good we ordered a second one
Mongolian Lamb - lots of flavor, lots of meat, delicious!
Thai-Style Duck with Basil Sauce - lovely skin, very flavorful duck, wonderful zucchini and broccoli
Filet Mignon with Garlic and Black Peppercorn Sauce - the star of the entrees, a perfect balance of flavors

We really splurged, but the prices are quite reasonable and you could make an inexpensive meal of it if you were trying. There are so many things I'd like to try another time. The dining room is spacious and lovely, very modern, but not chilly. The jazz trio was a little loud, but not overpowering. The service was a little wacky tonight, but I'm told it's been better on other visits. Definitely a place to go back to--early and often!

About a week ago I got email from Cirque du Soleil pimping one of their protégé groups. The fabulous muffyjo had been begging for a playdate with daily_alice and was free for the evening, so I went ahead and made a plan.

( Read more... )

Can you think of a meaningful conversation that we've had?

What was it about? What did you learn from it? Was it a difficult one? Was I a jerk? Did I say something that has stuck with you? Did you say something that has stuck with you?

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