Toasters on the Counter
Good morning you (looks at calendar) IS IT STILL EFFING AUGUST i’m so tired.
I wrote awhile back about this Familial Phrase we have: Toasters in the Basement. Briefly, a “Toaster in the Basement” is one of those errands or tasks that’s juuuuuuust a bit too big or daunting to do spontaneously. And because they take a bit of planning - or you’ve convinced yourself they do - they tend to just HANNNG around day in and day out, haunting your free time like an old ghost. We say things like, “This is the weekend I’m going to tackle that junk drawer” or “On my lunch break today I’m finally going to call the insurance company and see what that fee was for.” And rather than actually doing it, we ruin the free time we have by ALMOST doing it. Toasters in the Basement weigh you down even before your feet hit the floor first thing in the morning. They’re INSIDIOUS.
But, this past month a new Toaster Bombshell entered the villa.
Backstory, I have VERY limited counter space in my kitchen. I’m constantly having to negotiate, Tetris and shift around my culinary items. Or at least that’s what I told myself. Because one morning as I was making my smoothie, my eyes slid over to the ACTUAL TOASTER on my friggin’ counter that I never use. That little shit was hiding right in plain sight.
Why was something I hadn’t used in months gobbling up such prime real estate? And moreover, how had it taken me this long to even notice?
Right then and there, I unplugged the toaster and put it up into a cabinet. And then the inevitable happened - and I think you can guess what that was - because what inevitably happened next is one of those sub-conscious reasons we DON’T see the Toasters on the Counter in our lives: I started really looking at the counters and noticed SO MANY other unused items just hiding in plain sight: A Kitchen Aid mixer? SINCE WHEN have I needed a Kitchen Aid mixer so regularly or urgently that it should be just lazing there on my counter at the constant ready? What about that old weird yellow vase that held all the cone incense I got really into and never burned again after that first time? And why God why did I feel it necessary to keep all the detritus for making matcha smashed into the one inch square of counter space where my coffee is set up? In a fugue state of beady-eyed resolve, I put things away in cabinets, drawers or in a bag for donation - a task that will inevitably become a Toaster in the Basement, of course.
For me, the lesson was a haunting one. We are all too aware of the Toasters in the Basement within our own lives. Hell, we list them off throughout the day and wake up to them every morning: The drawer we want to clean out, the piece of art we want to create, the new hobby we want to start, the boundary we know deep down that needs to be re-established. But, what shocked me was how I didn’t even NOTICE the Toasters on the Counter: the things, situations and people that haven’t worked for months or years, yet I just habitually bend and contort around them as if they’re not completely impinging upon my life.
And what I got was that it’s not the Toasters in the Basement we should be wary of, it’s the Toasters on the Counter that you don’t even see anymore. The familiarity of something not working to the point of oblivious resignation as it makes your daily life harder and harder in the process.
Toasters on the Counter are quintessential examples of “easy for you, hard for me.”
My challenge to you is to REALLY LOOK at the metaphorical counters in your own life and see how many unused toasters are just hiding in plain sight.
Each month, I’ll gather:
🤩stuff to watch, read and listen to
🤝great follows on social media
🌈 music to soothe
🥑 good food and great places to eat and drink
🕯calming things
*****
🤩
I’ve been obsessed with Victoria Monet’s song, On My Mama for awhile. But then the music video came out and now IT’S A PROBLEM. Also her WHOLE JAGUAR II ALBUM is incredible.
I’ve been trying to find something to watch that’s cozier than mysteries (especially before bed.) This YouTube Channel follows a really good camper (and storyteller and filmmaker) as he goes out for one night of camping in every type of weather. It will make you want to camp (not me, but you maybe) and everyone will fall in love with his dog. Make sure to turn on closed captions as that’s where he puts all his dialogue. THIS was the first episode I started with and it’s still my favorite - the meallllls he makes for himself? Dear lord.
Also, this new music video for Jungle’s song, Back on 74 is EXTRAORDINARY. The choreography! The dancers! The song! The vibbbbbeeezzzzzz.
I’m still on my walking tour video thing and I found THIS YouTube channel - that is just the right level of informational, non-intrusive and Rick Steves adjacent (iykyk). I started with THIS one on Charlotte Brontë’s house.
Also, SZA’s SOS album continues to be my favorite of 2023. And her new MV for Snooze is truly perfect.
🤝
Follow the choreographer for the Back on 74 MV (and many more) Shay Latukolan
Follow the choreographer for Victoria Monet’s MV, Sean Bankhead.
Follow Bricks and Disorder for pure joy in watching two friends renovate their flat.
🌈
🥑
The big story coming out of Trader Joe’s these days is that their kimbap is apparently PRETTY good - so therefore, it’s becoming impossible to find.
Also, everyone needs to go get peaches right now. They’re SO GOOD and taste like summer.
🕯
My mom and I have been talking all about monarchs and milkweed (as you do) because she’s growing some in her backyard and the monarchs have been EATING IT UPPPPP. For those who don’t know, milkweed is essential for monarchs. So, I bought THIS KIT for a neighbor who gardens (I just WATCH gardening SHOWS) to get their own patch going. But, if this kit is too costly - just planting milkweed in your yard will help monarchs!
Jennifer Xiao is one of my favorite artists and a friend urgently alerted me that she now has THESE amazing stickers. I bought so many. But also, everyone should also have their very own Cheeto Tiger.