A picture of my cat's tongue, a movie about laundry, a recording from last February.

Lia Kohl's December newsletter

Hi buddies,

Hope you’re staying warm - it’s been consistently under 20 degrees here in Chicago. I bought myself a floor length puffer coat, which makes me look a bit like a roly-poly, waddling around. I’ve even been biking a bit (no snow, yet) so if you’ve seen a roly-poly on a little red bicycle, its me! I feel both ridiculous and toasty.

This guy is the king of cozy, and he’s been doing a great job impeding my workflow.

I’m trying to rest after such a busy Autumn, and mostly succeeding, but also working on a dance score and editing the recordings and videos from the performance a few weeks ago. Looking forward to sharing them!

Today is St. Nicholas’ day - a man so generous that he’s still famous for it almost two thousand years later. In his honor, here are a few Chicago organizations doing good work to help unhoused folks: Chicago Coalition to end Homelessness, The Night Ministry, and Sarah’s Circle. I’m sure there are similar great orgs in other places; I think it’s always best to be as local as possible.

bits of news:

• Today is the last best day of the year to buy a copy of my record (it’s Bandcamp Friday, which means all the proceeds go directly to the label/artist).

• Longform Editions just released this recording of The Nighttime Ensemble, a structured improvisation by Daniel Wyche featuring Daniel, Brian Sulpizio, Ro Lundberg, Sam Scranton and I. Happy to be part of this league of extraordinary gentlemen.

• A few early warnings for next year: I’m touring on the West Coast in February, Europe in March, and playing at Big Ears in Knoxville on March 29th. More tours on the horizon, and (at least) three records on the way!

tiny recommendations:

1. This butternut squash and ‘nduja recipe from the Lula cafe cookbook, which we made for Thanksgiving and then immediately two days later because it was so good. Less rich than you’d think, and there are few more delightful culinary miracles than making aioli. Two tips: one, roast your garlic bulb in a muffin tin, it saves a lot of oil. And two, Tempesta Market has great and very traditional ‘nduja.

2. This absolutely gorgeous movie about laundry.

3. Ed Ruscha’s picture of a potato.

4. I may have recommended this before: Yabba’s, the Palestinian grocer on Armitage and Humboldt, stocks Middle Eastern staples — from the front it just looks like a regular bodega with a falafel counter. My go-to for olive oil and labne and spices!

5. Speaking of labne: this correctly proportioned cheesecake is my new top dessert (make it with labne and yogurt instead of cream cheese, as she suggests). Ritz cracker crust!

   

6. If you’re looking for a vet: we took Miso to Sploot in Logan Square and had a great experience (he’s fine). I hate the name (sounds like a fart?), but the vets were great.

7. I’m enjoying Letters from Max, by Sarah Ruhl and Max Ritvo.

8. And finally, a beautiful poem for the bleak and cold, by Victoria Adukwei Bulley:

   
   There you are this cold day
   boiling the water on the stove pouring the herbs into the pot hawthorn, rose;
   buying the tulips
   & looking at them, holding
   your heart in your hands at the table saying please, please, to nobody else here in the kitchen with you.
   How hard, how heavy this all is.
   How beautiful, these things you do, in case they help, these things you do which, although you haven't said it yet, say that you want to live.

That’s all, for now.

Lia