Check-In with Lizzy Cheshire
Where are you quarantining? And who are you with?
I’m back in Los Angeles with my parents and brother, in the house I grew up in. It’s like a bizarre time warp.
Cooking / baking right now
Allison Roman’s Herbed Chickpeas, Molly Baz’s Pasta al Limone, and counting on my brother and mom to keep us in fresh bread and cupcakes.
Shows you’re watching right now
My focus has been absolutely trashed by anxiety and stress, so I’m currently only rewatching shows I have seen before. The West Wing reminds me what politics has the potential to be when I can’t stand living in reality. The Office lets me laugh at absurdity. Parks and Rec does both of those. (As part of the time-warp vibe of being home, I’m rewatching Teen Wolf.)
Movie you watched last
Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead.
Movies on your list
The Invention of Lying, Emma, Jojo Rabbit.
Any good books?
For pure escapism and fantasy: The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud; for an academic and timely read: Economies of Abandonment by Elizabeth A. Povinelli; for something that will take up your whole quarantine: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo; and something to introduce your kids/little cousins to: The Warriors series by Erin Hunter.
Podcast to share
Lovett or Leave It is always a go to for me, but the new series Six Feet Apart from Crooked Media seems like it will be a much loved lockdown companion. Of course, My Favorite Murder, To Live and Die in LA, and Crimetown get honorable mention.
Rituals or routines keeping you sane
Baths with Daughter of the Land CBD epsom salts and a sandalwood candle. I find them so relaxing when I work myself up into a panic. Also, working out. Also, eating.
Anything new you’ve done with your newfound time?
Honestly, I have not adjusted to the new normal well. If I can get a workout in, eat on a normal schedule, take the dog for a walk, and manage to fall asleep, I consider the day a success. But I have gotten a bit more reading in than I typically would (mostly YA rereads for now) and a couple friends and I are doing a distanced book club from LA, Boston, and Berlin. We picked The Swerve to start us off.
Quarantine motto?
I don’t really have a motto for this. I do think I have a particularly impressive range of tones with the word, “Yep.” That works as a response to most questions people are asking me, including, “How are you doing.”
When this is over, what’s the first thing you’re doing?
Practically, I’ll be trying to get to all of my things that have been left abandoned in my empty NY apartment while I’m home and moving them out. As far as pleasure, I’m planning to host a graduation ceremony in our backyard so that all my friends and I who are missing out on college graduation can celebrate together and have a very unique memory to hold onto. (Top contenders for this question were: Cholada Thai food with friends, get a massage or a manicure, eat at a restaurant).
When this is over, who’s the first person you’re seeing?
My close friends in LA, most of us have been friends for almost or more than a decade. It’s disconcerting to all be here at once and not be spending our free time together.
What are you never going to take for granted again?
Nature. Getting outdoors has been one of the recommended activities during this time, but LA has closed all hiking trails due to crowding, including the entire Santa Monica Mountain Conservancy lands that I live on the edge of. It’s scary and sad to not be able to climb up the trails I grew up on.
