Country Mouse
Falling for the great outdoors.
My mother and my two daughters hit the road Friday for the four-hour trip from Napa Valley to Sierra City — which isn't a city at all, just a cluster of log cabins and the occasional general store tucked into the redwoods, the Yuba River at your feet. We loaded up my husband's new minivan, his dream car, and queued up the Mamma Mia! soundtrack, because ever since watching Meryl Streep sing her way around a Greek isle, Nell can't get enough.
I love a road trip, but I loved arriving even more. That river is magnificent! The girls and I found a swimming hole, and plunging into that icy water is the most alive I've felt in ages. Nobody else around — just us swimming, eating snacks, draping our cold bodies across the hot rocks. At night we ate huge portions of trout at the wood-paneled restaurant, and I felt like John Candy in The Great Outdoors.
Faye is off at sleep-away camp for the next two weeks — white-water rafting, riding horses, scaling a ropes course. I'm thrilled for her and can't wait to hear about the adventure, but Nell and I came home to a very quiet house last night. So naturally, we let the sweet sounds of Super Trouper wash over us.
Butter yellow? Sleeves that beg to be rolled up? Plenty of buttons? Love.
I splurged on this long-sleeved bodysuit two years ago and it’s still one of my better summertime purchases. It tends to ride up my bum, so I wear it with the matching board shorts (sold out) and always feel ready for whatever water activities come my way.
A lighter than air midi dress to throw on during this insane global heatwave.
Road trip snacks are the best snacks and these pistachio butter filled dates are outrageous!!
We’ll see how effective these mosquito repellant bracelets are, but I sent Faye to camp with a stack of them.
It turns out that Faye is not over her salmon allergy… we found out the hard way after forcing her to have a bite of Salmon with Miso & Grapefruit and “Best Rice Ever” but the rest of us thoroughly enjoyed it!
Country People by Daniel Mason
I am undoubtedly a country person. I live in an 1850s farmhouse with slim doors that don’t go anywhere and an old stone cellar that is almost certainly haunted. The cats bring us lizards as gifts and keep the mice away. The dog chases the coyotes that get too close to the fence. Our landlady — and only neighbor — has two horses and bakes us plum tarts just because. I have absolutely borrowed a cup of sugar before.
Wine country is not exactly southern Vermont country, but the feeling conjured in Daniel Mason’s new novel felt familiar in a cozy, lovely, funny way. Honestly, after North Woods, I would read anything that Daniel Mason wrote. A grocery list? A Netflix review? Anything.
Amusing is not a word I use often, but Country People is very amusing! About a listless dad, Miles, and his contented family who move from California to Vermont. Miles has spent the past 14 years working on a dissertation that keeps getting further and further away from him while his wife is thriving as a visiting professor at a prestigious college.
The novel mostly follows Miles around as he fills his days. He hikes. He learns to scythe grass and skate ski. He meets all kinds of characters from conspiracy theorists to a YouTube superstar to flimflam disruptors. It all feels ordinary in the most wonderful way. Nothing really happens and it is everything. Daniel Mason is here for our summertime amusement!
Part of the goop sale, a chunky cable knit sweater is a requirement for Vermont winters.
Tatcha lip balm is the only lip balm that keeps my lips from getting chapped. I wear it every night to bed, whatever the season.
For all of the long, long hikes. This On x Sky High Farm Goods collab is very on brand for Miles.
Classic diamond huggies to add a little polish to Kate’s professor look.
This $55 denim shirt from Gap is giving big time Ralph Lauren feels.
Not that we ever get to see Kate dressed for the college, but in the warmer months, these khaki pants would be dreamy.
I love cross country skiing, though I haven’t done it in years (decades?) and was so into the cross country ski school that Miles and his kids join. Part of the goop sale, this guest in residence polo has flap pockets for storing things and a collar that you can wear zipped up against the wind.
Aside from in the snow, these clogs are the only shoes you’d need in the country. I just wore them to the Sierras and they went from the trail to the river with ease!
From California to Vermont, Kate needs a classic pair of 90s denim. I find sizing a little tricky with AGOLDE — I have to go down a size or two — but once you get it, they’re perfect.
Hope you’re reading something good 💚
Red is your color!
Looks like a fab weekend in the woods! And I'm so excited to read Country People. I saw him talk when he was in Maine last week and it got me even more excited for the book.