Win a Hello Kitty Tamagotchi Nano! If you’re in Spain you’ll want to participate in this contest. Bandai Spain has parented up with Safta to commemorative the 50th anniversary of Hello Kitty and back to school! Safta sells school supplies, stationary, and gifts for children in school since 1908!
To participate simply follow both Safta and Bandai Spain on Instagram, then like the contest post, tag two friends in the comments who love Hello Kitty! For extra points, share to your story! Contest is open to residents of Spain, and it ends on Monday, September 2nd, 2024. Full terms and conditions can be found here.
We all know that bubbies are brilliant, but this bubbie has universal wisdom that could change your approach to everyday life. Whether or not you are a bubbie, have a bubbie, met a bubbie or adopted a bubbie, Jane's reflections can impact your perspective if you let them. This ELI talk is generously sponsored by The Covenant Foundation.
Take a good look at this man. His name is Alon Shaya. Maybe you’re a fellow restaurant geek and know about his beloved restaurants in New Orleans—formerly the eponymous Shaya, now Saba. In a city of etouffees, po’boys and gumbo z’Herbes, Alon Shaya made the hottest restaurant in the Crescent City one that served Israeli food. (Watch episode five of Netflix’s Somebody Feed Phil and see why.)
Ok. Y’all.
You think you’ve had hummus? You haven’t. Really. That Sabra s&%t you get at the store? NOT. HUMMUS.
This, my lovelies, is hummus. Hummus like it’s meant to be.
Do you think it looks daunting? Well, can you boil water? Then you can make this. I promise.
“But there are...INGREDIENTS.” Yes. Don’t be afraid. The only ones you probably don’t already have in your pantry are dried chickpeas (garbanzos) and tahini.
Chickpeas are cheap- like- a buck a bag. Two at most. And you can get them at 99% of the grocery stores out there.
Tahini is not so cheap, and a bit harder to find but GET THIS. It is perfectly acceptable to make hummus with PEANUT BUTTER instead of tahini. Trust. Yeah yeah- the purists will squeak and holler, but screw them. If you’re broke, it just makes more sense to pay $2 for good old creamy peanut butter instead of $8 for tahini. It. Is. OK. But promise me you’ll make it with tahini some time, because it does taste good. (and get the best and most natural PB you can afford. No honey roasted!)
“But I don’t have a food processor!” Do you think EVERYBODY has a food processor? People have been making hummus for CENTURIES. Use some elbow grease. Get something heavy and get to smooshing. If you cook the peas long enough, the hot water will do most of the work for you.
The best part about hummus, beside its taste, is that it is packed with nutrition. According to Healthline.com (https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-hummus-healthy) hummus is “...Super Nutritious and Packed With Plant-Based Protein...” “...Rich in Ingredients Proven to Help Fight Inflammation...” and “...Has a Low Glycemic Index, So May Help Control Blood Sugar Levels...” among other things.
I made dat ^^.
TL;DR: Hummus is the bomb. It’s inexpensive, good for you, and easy to make. Here’s a recipe.
had such a gloriously rain-&-fire-&-poem-filled time in knoxville. thank you to erin elizabeth smith for inviting me & making sure my stay at the farmhouse was everything i needed it to be & more. thanks erin for the terrific meals & the terrific company.
so glad to have spent time with some amazing writers: fellow residents emilia phillips, hannah rego, tessa mellas, tasha fouts, bailey hutchinson, plus everyone who came for the weekend retreats. thank you each for sharing work & meals & brilliance.
hannah, the conversation we had about queerness & poetry will be staying with me for a long, long time. tasha, the conversation we had about asianness & your eggs with rice breakfast dish—a literary & a life influence.
thanks also to sundress staff for all your work & support; thanks especially for bringing me up & down that (treacherous! beautiful!) hill during the retreats.
& thanks to simon the cat, subject of this, my favorite picture from knoxville, & subject of a strange new poem i wrote during the residency.
Sometime in the next week or two I will be a grandma. At 32. A step-grandma, but still.
I’ve started buying books for the little nugget for when she comes to Papa and Safta’s house. The first one just arrived and I’m excited. Grandparents should always have fun, strange books that the children can only find there.
The Mr. is practically vibrating with excitement. It’s the first grandbaby, a little girl. He’s been dreaming about the baby lately and is arguably just as excited as the kids are.
We’re cautiously optimistic that we’ll be able to see the tiny little nugget from 6ft away when they get to bring her home. Here’s hoping.
I'm late to the party in posting about this. I've been without internet for a while. Now that my connection to the outside world is more stable, allow me to inform you that Twende Season 1 has been nominated for an award!
The SAFTA award results should be announced on the 25th/26th of October. I'll be sure to post about the results then.
Expect reminders of this nomination in the meantime.
Watch Twende on Showmax if you've not done so already!
I'm excited to have received a Residency Fellowship that allows me to spend two weeks at the Sundress Academy for the Arts at Firefly Farms in Knoxville, Tennessee. The quiet—punctured occasionally by the bleating of sheep—is supporting my work on a longterm book project, as is shared space and conversation with fellow residents Jazmin Witherspoon and Stella Lei.
