Have a Sweet Weekend.

He did WHAT now?!?

Just a note to say I love this. Thanks for sharing. I want to go fill my tin.

Avigail, that’s nuts! (No pun intended!) it could actually be partly based on a photo of you if they used A.I. to create that “drawing” (and they probably did…)?

I think Anni might be right, if the photo is available online, it could have been used by an AI to generate a “fake” drawing

I’m almost 40 now, my teen years were before FB and MySpace etc so I doubt I have pics online from then. Maybe if someone put pics of us up and I don’t even know. The clothes, haircut, glasses, and even the shape of our teeth is identical. Our neighbors kids were the first ones to notice years ago. Their mom texts me a photo and says ‘my kids are going crazy you’re on the cereal box!’ 😆 it’s fun and I’m not mad about it but I HAVE QUESTIONSSS!

Apparently there are Salmon Cannons now! Can you ask your therapist if we can just skip the ladder part and go straight into hyper resolution? :D https://www.youtube.com/shorts/aTNrK-BkU40

Staying within the genre of life advice derived from the life of salmon (who knew?!): a quote that I regularly return to from Jeanette Winterson’s autobiography ‘Why be happy when you can be normal?’: ‘“….as I try and understand how life works – and why some people cope better than others with adversity – I keep coming back to something to do with saying yes to life, which is love of life, however inadequate, and love for the self, however found. Not in the me-first way that is the opposite of life and love, but with a salmon-like determination to swim upstream, however choppy upstream is, because this is your stream…’

I like your name! It’s very unique.

I’m sorry for your loss. What a fun way to honor his memory.

I had to stare at it for a verrrrry long time before identifying it as a dog nose, haha!

right?!?! i wanted to breathe into a paper bag when I read that, clearly something I need to work on–go, Joanna, go! double-agree, lady friends, so thankful for them!

I’m cracking up. So relatable! I hope and the campers had fantastic weekends, whatever you ended up doing!

I understand !! I think Claire Zulkey from Evil Witches expressed the same sentiment last year, when her preteen son’s baseball team did not make the playoffs ahahahah. I hope you have good snacks and reasonable levels of noise today !

Ragan! I won History Day display board division for my (tiny) state when I was 13. My three best friends and I worked on it for months. We painstakingly bricked our display board to look like Constitution Hall. Ask me anything about the Constitutional Convention! I will definitely not know the answer! :) Hope your daughter did exactly as well as you wanted her to and that she feels proud.

Hahaha 😂

Great feedback — we usually do and I’m sorry for this misstep!

+1 for this comment!

I had a similar thought Vishakha… appreciate the tip, the recipes look great.

Be really honest, do you always make sure to get your Italian recipes from an Italian run blog, or a Chinese recipe from an authentic Chinese website? Joanna (and everyone else) is really just doing the best they can. This kind of cultural policing is becoming so exhausting.

Thanks Joanna for your grace, and Gina, I think I tried to word this quite politely and not at all like I was culturally policing. I am not sure if you mean to come across this way but your comment came of a bit aggressive and rude. If a well read publication is posting something, I simply would hope that they attempt to feature authors from that culture when possible, and that is quite significantly different than how one personally chooses to source recipes.

Vish, I appreciate your comment and follow up comment. Thanks for the link to MyHeartBeets! If anyone is looking for vegetarian recipes, I recently picked up “Sabzi” by Yasmin Khan and am loving it!

Vish, your feedback sounds respectful to my ears, and I also kinda get where Gina is coming from. Please, can we have a CoJ post on how to navigate between what is appropriation vs inspired? For example, I love yoga and have invited friends and colleagues to do a session with me (for free). When I mentioned it to a few Indian friends, I also gently asked if it felt like cultural appropriation for yet another non-Indian person teach a yoga class, one nodded quietly yes, while the others were happy for someone to share joyfully what she loves to others. At the same time, all appreciated that I tried to engage and understand. So when is it OK to go, hej, I am super inspired by this art form or practice or cuisine or language or , have spent years to do well at it, and want to share my knowledge with others despite how I look…

I haven’t watched this show specifically because it stinks from a mile away…how sad that my intuition is spot on. But serious kudo’s to Daryl H for elucidating so clearly what so needed to be said! I hope she sues for defamation. If they need plot friction they could just make up a person, not use an actual person’s name! Wow. She will win her case and she should. Thank you Daryl, for speaking out!!

I didn’t watch JFK/CBK and probably won’t, but I adored the first season of the show about Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Of course, I’m also writing novels set in the Golden Age of Hollywood/on movie sets, so I ate up the visuals (was immensely helpful to see the sets and how movies get made).

I agree, I don’t get it–it feels like the worst elements of the past 30 years are roaring back, including the obsession with Carolyn and JFK jr and it just seems profane and like, let them rest, you know? am okay with being a buzzkill about this!

Thank you, Joaquina. I agree! I haven’t watched it but consider it cringe-worthy. Leave the poor Kennedy family alone.

Oh Kristina. What a comment. I’m so glad you and your mom had each other. How beautiful.

Sob!!! As a mom, I feel this so deeply and I’m glad your mom experienced that euphoria again in those final moments.

My mom was taken to the emergency room via ambulance in mid-2021 when Covid restrictions were still in place. When I arrived I ended up waiting for almost 6 hours before a nurse who so resembled a 20 years younger me that I did a double take came out and said she’d sneak me in. She set me up in my mom’s area and told me to lay low and not engage anyone if I could avoid it. Right away my mom said did you see that nurse, she looks like she could be your twin sister. So much so in fact when I got here I saw her from a distance and thought it was you but I knew you couldn’t get here that fast so it couldn’t be you. I said she was right she we did look almost alike (and didn’t mention she was at least 20 years younger than I was). My sweet mom passed away two days later but because of this angel, we were able to have a few hours together when my mom was still in good enough shape for us to really talk. It didn’t occur to me until later that even though I was 65, my mom still saw me as a pretty and fresh 40 something through her eyes of love. What a gift!

Oh my goodness 😭

The layers of love in this comment are so beautiful. It’s practically a poem. Thank you for sharing your mom with us, Kristina. A big hug to you.

<3 that's beautiful Kristina!

My heart. Thank you for sharing this beautiful, loving story from your life.

Hahahahaaha

Same !!

Haha, same Kay! That website is $$$ though

Ha, I thought the same!

My head went to Reese Witherspoon’s book club too!

Me too!

Same here !

hahahah SAME. Didn’t think twice until I scrolled to the comments!

lol – same!

Same!

Same!!

Same, Kay. Same.

Me too!!!

Hahah

Honestly love this idea.

But make it Signal, WhatsApp and the whole Zuck universe can suck it.

I’m so in! I’m from the northeast but living in Germany. I’d love to start a group!

I would adore this! I long to find like minded people to meet up with! It’s been a lonely few years since moving 30 miles outside of Tulsa to be near family. Anyone game???

seconding SIGNAL, I love it. Still looking for a therapist that will use it for sessions!! Drop exploitive apps like What’s App, or anything Google, Meta, etc …

This has happened before! Somewhere, from a few years back, there is a spreadsheet that was created for this and whatsapp groups.

During Covid there was a Google spreadsheet that went around here. People could put their name, city, and contact info. Some cities had meet-ups. Not sure if that’s something that would work here?

Hi, I second this from the Boston area. When I was traveling with my family recently I thought how fun it would be to meet-up with, &/or make, a new COJ friend in a new place (on my own). I remember the google list someone else referenced below, and even have peeked at it once since, but never took the next step of reaching out to people, because of all the reasons, young kids, time, getting distracted. It would be really cool if there was some kind of a text chain or messaging group in created on whichever platform suits everyone & maybe organized by area? I love this community & would love to extend the connections made here, in a way that is feasible for people- recognizing this isn’t an easy lift & could ebb and flow based on so many factors.

The Van Gogh museum blew me away—my husband and I went because of course you’re supposed to and even though I don’t travel a ton, I’ve considered going back to do it again! We went at the very end of the day and I don’t know, it was just so moving. I’ve talked to other people who didn’t feel that way so of course everyone is different, but seeing all the layers of color and learning about his life was sad but beautiful. Though if you go at the end of the day, know that they close ON THE DOT- they weren’t even really letting people use the bathrooms at closing and it was honestly kind of hilarious to see the famous Dutch precision in action.

I personally love the Van Gogh museum and also think a canal tour is a great chance to give your feet a break and enjoy the amazing architecture from the water. Enjoy!

The Van Gogh museum is great. It’s the perfect size for me— not too big and overwhelming

YES Katie! That would be great!! How wonderful. Make yourself a google map and fill it with anything and everything that stands out for you, then when you are wandering and find yourself wondering what else you can do, you can check the map! There’s lots to discover in that cool city! The Van Gogh museum is great but be sure to book in advance!

Did this in January! Rijksmuseum was amazing, full of masters and so easy to do solo. Everything is nearby and accessible in Amsterdam. Eat a pickled herring sandwich (just do it).

I was in Amsterdam in May 2025. My favorite museum we went to was the Pianola Museum. But we are classical music lovers so maybe it won’t be up your alley. I found the Holocaust Museum to be poignant and impressive. The Diamond Museum felt a little like an advertisement, but still enjoyable. Of course the Museum Quarter museums are a big deal for a good reason. I hope you have a fun, safe trip!!

Make sure you have some poffertjes (mini pancakes) – they are soo good!

If you’re tight on time I would prioritise some of the house museums depending on your interests: Anne Frank house Rembrandt House Museum The Willet-Holthuysen House Its a great city for walking The Rijksmuseum is of course, amazing, but its very big and extensive, not one for a short visit

I can highly recommend the rijksmuseum: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/visit. Or Anne Frank House: https://www.annefrank.org/en/.

The Van Gogh museum there is awesome! One of my favorites! Also, get the chocolate chip cookies from Het Koekemannetje – there’s a location at the airport even (pink box/tin of cookies). You’ll smell them – they are really good! And enjoy the fresh produce/bread/cheese/meat at Albert Hejin grocery stores everywhere. Gah, I miss grocery shopping there! Have fun!

Van Gogh is great, but buy your ticket online. FOAM is a nice small photography museum on the canals. Also: EYE museum has a great Tilde Swinton expo and you get to take the free ferry across the river. Enjoy!

I hope you went to the Rijks museum!

I’m going to Amsterdam in May before a Holland America sailing. I’ve already bought tickets for the Van Gogh museum. I have to see The Bedroom painting as I’ve seen one of the renditions at The Art Institute of Chicago and it’s a fav.

It will be! For museums it all depends on what you like, but if you like modern art: my favorite is Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. FOAM (photography) is small but also good. Enjoy your stay!

I recently spent two days in Amsterdam and it was amazing! Your plan of walking and eating is a good one. I visited both the Ann Frank House and Van Gogh Museum and highly recommend both. The Ann Frank House is truly exceptional – the most moving museum experience I’ve ever had by far.

As a former Amsterdam resident, this is my all time favorite museum in Amsterdam: https://opsolder.nl/en/museum-our-lord-in-the-attic/ It’s a tiny old church in an attic in an old house on the canals that is exactly as it was in the 17th century. It’s truly a hodden gem!

The Van Gogh museum was great – one thing I hadn’t realized when I went through it was that the floors are chronological – as you go up the floors, it’s later and later in his life. Seeing the museum through that lens is really interesting as you see his descent into madness. The Anne Frank museum was really moving and I saw some scary parallels with what’s going in the US today.

Ahhh thank you all for the recs!!!! I searched CoJ before this trip and a small number of things popped up – this is an absolutely wonderful amount. Halfway report, as I sit on the corner of Staalkade & Zwanenburgwal during golden hour, watching river and life pass by. Also eating what I think is ham & cream cheese rolls, and tomato/olive tapenade and crackers from the supermarket. – have walked A LOT – went for a run this morning to what I thought was a big garden. Turns out, it was the zoo. 😀 – thoroughly enjoyed perusing the supermarkets; for some reason it’s not just confectionary & baked goods I enjoy the variety of, it’s seeing what the ratio of pads v tampons is. – went to Reijksmuseum this morning. Interesting but not mind blowing. VERY cool to see some really old things! – Ingrid, the Pianola is PERFECTLY up my alley, I will add that in – thank you! – I’m finding more international cuisine (we have plenty of that at home) than Dutch! Have been eating stroop and do love poffeetjes (we have them at home) – there was a huge women’s rights march yesterday. People of all genders supporting and it felt very safe. I later witnessed a man yelling horribly at a women – it was a scary/tense situation – and other men started shouting at him to stop. Possibly “de norm”, but I hope & wish it because men are respectful of women here. – a guy in a car did slow down and talk to me – I thought to say “you can’t sit here”. I panicked and said “no anglais”, then no Dutch, and he said French? I said oui and he said bon appetit and was on his way. These gentle manners – not what I expect or experience as a default! Thank you, lovely CoJ family xxx

Ok here is a very swoon/sweet update, post work-events! I met someone. He’s sweet, lovely, patient, kind, and very skilled and calm. I have a crush; he doesn’t know it yet. But I have begun plotting my wooing plan, made a little more difficult in that we live on opposite sides of the world. *smitten*

Excited to watch it BECAUSE I am an academic! Nothing will be as true to life as Sandra Oh in The Chair, but still excited.

Absolutely! I’ve also always said that smart people are the ones who choose to learn when they don’t know something. You don’t know a word? Look it up! You have a question? Ask it! It’s only the unintelligent people who are content to remain in ignorance.

Awww thank you Sam!!

I hopped on here to say the same thing to Joanna! So proud of you, (and me), getting after cooking at last! And we were “very rarely to never cooks”, not “bad cooks”? Have a fun and flirty time on your date in that killer swimsuit!

Maybe has something to do with copyright? I’m in NZ and raced to the website to see if it is available, and it is, but only as part of a “bundle” which I find too annoying, otherwise I would give it a try on behalf of us all. We don’t even get regular Reeses’ chocolate here as far as I know.

Totally agree! LIB Ohio was very interesting and seriously makes me question the youth these days lol!! But omg Vic and Christine made this entire season worth it!! Absolutely loved them.

She deserves way better and the universe knows that so that’s how it played out.

Hi, Kim, agreed with nearly everything you said and this Chris guy sounds revolting. But (and assuming you meant “size-ist”) lumping his height in with other negative traits is, indeed, sizeist, and plays directly back into rigid gender norms that damage men and women alike. Since I’ve been with my spouse, who is well below the average male height and in fact shorter than me, I’ve noticed how casually we throw insults about men’s height around and proclaim men undateable solely on the basis of height. Being short is not a character flaw, nor is it a marker of lower ability, romantically or otherwise. So yeah, this guy sounds like a grade-a ding dong, and good riddance for that doctor he dumped. But his being 5’0″ has nothing to do with it, and commenting on his height weakens your argument in a way I’m sure you didn’t intend. And if anyone out there has been hesitating to date a shorter guy, let me tell you what my husband said the first time I asked him about his height: “I don’t really worry about it because when we walk around together I just pretend I’m a rich old Italian man with a supermodel on my arm!” (He is neither rich nor old, but he is Italian). You too could be likened to a supermodel simply for being slightly taller than a dude! Give it a try!

There’s plenty to criticize about Chris without mentioning his height. It’s just not okay the way people insult the height of short men. We can do better!

LIB is the most “meh” men trying to date exceptional women. That’s it (with a few rare exceptions).

Awww Charlotte! Just what I needed. Right back at ya.

Good idea thank you! Hang in there, Laura xoxo

Laura, I hear you. I’m in the same boat. It seems all the jobs I get announcements for from LinkedIn are for AI companies wanting me to train AI to replace people like me.

Plus one for this idea! I left my job 5 months ago (once a terrifying prospect since I derived so much self worth and validation from my job). The impacts of this break on my kids, health, and even career prospects have been surprisingly positive.

I second this. I finally found a role last year after 6 months of unemployment and a substantial pay cut. In the role that I’m in now, there are active efforts to replace my team’s workflow with AI and leadership are not subtle about it. At the same time, there are little up skilling opportunities – we are not involved in the Ai work to replace my team nor involved in other technical opportunities. I’m worried about how I’ll be competitive in the market again when leadership finally does make my team redundant.

Yes! My husband has been unemployed for a while. He took a sabbatical and has started reapplying to get back into the work force. So far he’s applied to over 200 jobs and has had maybe 6 interviews total. It’s absolutely brutal out there and takes such an emotional toll.

Yes Laura, great idea! I’m looking for ideas on how to support my partner who has just lost their job at 55 and sees absolutly no professional future, feels like a failure. Our family feels in shock. Helpful ideas would be so appreciated.

Good luck to you both, Laura and Liz!

I’m so sorry. Our government is not protecting workers – it’s not your fault ❤️

Also 1+ year unemployed here, and would love to hear different perspectives (from different countries?) on this experience at the present moment. I don’t live in the US, but also feeling this uncertainty in Europe.

Did I write this? Minus the child part. Fellow perfectionist here. My manager has had to tell me to let it go, it’s good enough, while working on a ppt before. I can’t help it. I see one thing off and I’m fixated until it’s perfect. I’ve tried knitting, only to restart because of the tiniest misstep. I need to learn from your nine year old.

Lauren O, even your mistakes are perfect. I seek out your comments, always!

Lauren, we ALL have so much b… Hugs all around.

The school girls in Iran 💔

yes, the school kids our government killed in Iran, and so many vulnerable civilians in Iran and the region, who live exposed, without bunkers, and are at risk. 200,000 displaced people in Lebanon. 6 US service members and an 11-year old girl were killed in Kuwait, the list goes on, and will continue to grow. Meanwhile the people in power hide in bunkers, or escape and remain untouched.

Those little girls, and the hundreds of other Iranian civilians killed this week, have been very much on my mind, too. And my (UK) government’s support for yours. This reel seems very important: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVYob4rDT8d/?igsh=MXh1ZWt5Nml5eTlvdw==

I’m thinking of those girls and their families too. Trying desperately to hold on to hope that we’re not on the brink of dropping a nuclear bomb.

I feel the same. Heartbroken and shocked but not surprised that this is not front page news daily. It all makes me so sad and scared. I agree that local work is the antidote to hopelessness. I try to make a difference in my classroom.

Those school girls in Iran…. Is this an appropriate time to remind everyone to turn out on March 28 for another No Kings march? Larger and greater than ever! Let’s show that SOB and his scary sycophants. Got your sign ready? See you there!

The Christmas tree Reese’s are far superior to any other, in my opinion! Higher pb to choc ratio :)