Sunday Praise: What’s been making me happy recently?
Once again I have to report that things have been tough. This lockdown feels endless and with the news this week that Northern Ireland will remain in lockdown until Easter it looks like no change anytime soon.
Still, as always, it’s the little things that have been helping.
- Woodland walks and rope swings…
- The news that there are plans for Paddington 3
- This Irish Times interview with Conor O’Callaghan is just brilliant, as is his new book We Are Not in the World.
- This week Stella and I made Almond, Coconut & Raspberry traybakes and they are delicious!
- I have fallen completely in love with this jacket but the price tag is a little off-putting! Particularly since I’m not going anywhere…
- Rosamund Pike in I Care A Lot is my new style crush.
- These. These are making me far too happy…
- ‘I am not a cat‘ – I mean, come on. Possibly the funniest Zoom incident since this whole pandemic began!
- Willy Vlautin released a gorgeous trailer for his new book The Night Always Comes featuring a lovely new track from his band The Delines. Can’t wait until this book is out in April.
- The beautiful poems of Marie Howe.
- I have been trying to curtail my book-buying a little this lockdown, but was still delighted to get this lovely parcel of bookish goodness from No Alibis Bookstore this week.
- This week I reviewed the gorgeous new album from David Gray for No More Workhorse and can’t stop listening to this new single Skellig.
So, what in your life deserves some praise this week? Let me know in the comments!
Sunday Praise conor o'Callaghan david gray Sunday Praise willy vlautin
Cathy746books View All →
I am a 40 something book buying addict trying to reduce the backlog one book at a time!
The coconut and raspberry combo is one of my favourite traybakes but I’ve never had it with almonds. Must give it a whirl!
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Oh it’s delicious – a BBC Goodfood recipe.
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Nice to hear the David Gray, thanks, good to know he’s celebrating Celtic roots even if he’s from the other side of Irish Sea!
Thinks to be grateful for? Getting thefirst dose of the Pfizer vaccine last week; my partner now off painkillers after a hip op; yesterday’s flooding from the Usk breaking its banks not being as bad as feared; a copy of Le Guin’s The Complete Orsinia (with notes and additions) finally arriving by post (it was apparently being reprinted); and deliveries of some tasty Italian food this weekend from Hay-on-Wye—where else but from a Book Town? 🙂
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Marvellous Chris! I was a really big David Gray fan back in the early 90s but haven’t paid that much attention since. Not sure why because the new album is gorgeous. Good to hear about the vaccine too. It gives us all some hope I think.
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Oh your link to the Youtube with that Cat-Man was so funny. I first watched it maybe a week ago and lolol! Perfect.
I read a really wonderful book called Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson and it was sooo good I got a copy for my daughter.
And I got my 2nd Covid vaccination as I’m older and kind of feeble. The arena was not crowded so it moved fast. I have no reactions or side effects at all – from either shot. In fact feel quite good.
It’s 36º today where a week ago it was -40 or something. (Northeastern North Dakota)
Becky
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Oh Becky, so glad to hear about your vaccine! That feels like a little bit of hope doesn’t it?
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That lockdown is harsh, I’m sorry, although we don’t know what we’re getting here for the foreseeable yet and I’m certainly not planning on easing up that much anyway.
The best thing I had this week was going out for a solo run feeling a bit sorry for myself and running into one friend, over half-way through a pregnancy I didn’t know about, beaming with health, another friend I hadn’t seen all lockdown whose life has freed up a bit such that she can run in the daytime (so we did, together, on Wednesday) and my friend I would have run with if her ankle wasn’t sore with her partner and their super dogs. So lovely in the end!
Also it’s not icy, so that’s something.
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Yes Liz, the lack of ice and snow was a big bonus! I can handle lockdown but the kids were so disappointed to not get back to school. Feels like they are missing out on so much.
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That’s so tricky – kids of all ages are really suffering, aren’t they. I have a couple of friends with very unsocialised 2 year olds!
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picnic in the car in the park the last of the four albums that william loveday has brought out in lockdown coming out have made me happy this week
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Lovely!
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I am not a cat was wonderful wasn’t it? And that traybake looks amazing!!
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They are delicious, but very more-ish!
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I love David Gray’s voice! I’m really excited for The Night Always Comes as well; I’ll be reviewing it for BookBrowse in April so will hopefully pick it up soon.
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Excellent Callum!
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I am not a cat – so funny, not seen it before. Like the look of the traybake but the recipe I found didn’t have almonds. Can you share it?
Good things this week. First time in a year that I’ve been free to lie on my verandah daybed in the afternoon and just read. Bliss.
So sorry you are in extended lockdown. Hopefully you will be out at Spring springs!
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Here you go! https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/raspberry-almond-traybake
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Thanks Cathy. That’s great.
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Thank you for the new David Gray alert! I was supposed to be going to his concert in Melbourne last year… it has been rescheduled for April but I’m sure that won’t be happening! Hopefully it’s not cancelled altogether. I was (am) going with my dear friend who lived in Ireland for ten years. I visited her and we took a three week road trip around Ireland. White Ladder had just been released and we played the tape (!) on repeat for the whole trip. Such great music/place/time memories.
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White Ladder is still the biggest selling album of all time in Ireland, which is mad!
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Can’t believe it beat The Cranberries albums (also one of my favourites)
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Lol!
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We’re easing up on restrictions here in Alberta, though I don’t think we should… I wish we could just ease things up for the kids. I’m going to check out David Grey, I don’t think I’ve listened to him since the mid aughts!
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Same here Laura. I can handle restrictions but it is so hard on kids.
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I am not a cat was JUST the BEST. I love how the cat’s eyes look so terrified, lol.
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Right? The laugh we all collectively needed.
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Hi Cathy – love that jacket – what a great color!
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Isn’t it gorgeous? So tempted!
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Don’t know if it will make a difference but I say, buy the jacket. It’s adorable, a good color, highly versatile and what will you wear when all this lockdown stuff is lifted. You must prepare.
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You are seriously making me reconsider my decision not to get it, but I like it SOOO much!
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Haha, Tommy and Tuppence are baffled by why that cat kept claiming to be a human… 😉
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I love these posts where we highlight what was positive over the week. I love the zoom incident. I saw it earlier this week and laughed so hard, I laughed again just now. I was going to ask for your recipe for the Almond, Coconut & Raspberry traybakes, but I saw you posted it above. Thanks. Have a wonderful week.
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And you Carla x
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