Sorry-character limit made me unclear. Certainly not anything about Helen! I meant that, while I empathize with her, she is prickly & misanthropic, so she doesn't have other connections. So Helen being her "one person" is somewhat self-inflicted (although her backstory explains lack of family ties).

I 100% agree, and sad to see all the hate here. In the show's world, it's only been 12 days since she lost the only person she loved & trusted. Did she bring that on herself? Sure. But it's a fascinating exploration of grief...her burying Helen's body & then protecting the grave was gutting.

Ah, NOW it's the holidays!

I'm doing that tonight for my niece's birthday, and I both can't wait and am a little intimidated 😂

I have many, many foot issues, and Vionic slippers whenever I'm in the house have been a huge help:
www.vionicshoes.com/women/slippe...

Watched the first episode of S2 last night, but am going to try to ration them so the good vibes and comfort get me through the holiday family madness!

I was grading papers at a coffeehouse in September and had a lovely discussion with 2 seniors in private school about their summer AP lit reading (Atonement, Their Eyes…) and remembered those days fondly— my district banned summer assignments @10 years ago, including reading.

I love brussels sprouts, but my husband is not a fan, and yet whenever I make Anne Burrell's recipe from her Cook Like a Rock Star cookbook, he devours them:
livewithkellyandmark.com/recipes/anne....

All junior teachers at my school still do it, at least for now. I've actually had several students every year say it's their favorite text we read, which always delights me when it happens.

While it's not necessarily his best movie, A River Runs Through It is my favorite film of all time. It is achingly beautiful.

It's just so humane--basically decent people just doing their best to do their jobs as well as they can. That's why, even though it's intense and grueling, it was still ultimately the right show for the moment; it felt good to be reminded each week that people like that exist, even if it's on TV.

New York, Boston, Burlington--get yourselves there! I was at the DC event, and it was such a balm. And "And. But. Ugh. Yet. Y'all. Mmm. Yes" from the collection? WOW. A Vibe Check "Modern Scripture" for sure. Thanks so much for this gift!

She popped into my mind right away too, but might be the exception that proves the rule?

Mike Schur? (scared to investigate in case its not true!).

I owned both that "Live from Long Island" VHS and that Attila cassette, and your last paragraph made me tear up--I've been listening to the early records nonstop all week, surprised/not surprised that the lyrics still flow so easily as i sing along. Superb review--thanks.