Welcome. At Home was born in March 2020, as part of The Times’s effort to help readers lead full and cultured lives at home during the coronavirus pandemic. We replaced the Travel section in the Sunday newspaper with an At Home section and launched this newsletter, hoping to be of service, to offer ideas for how to pass the time and make sense of a world that seemed, too often, wholly senseless.
As we move, day by day, closer to resuming something like “normal life” (or closer to figuring out what “normal” means now); as the vaccine permits people to go outside, see friends and family, dine in restaurants and even travel; as home once again becomes, for many of us, a place that we return to after spells of being out and about, it makes sense for At Home to evolve, too.
And so, this weekend, The Times will publish the final print section of At Home. And starting next week, this newsletter is getting a new name, “At Home and Away.” I’ll still write to you a couple times a week with ideas for things to watch and cook and read (and I hope you’ll continue to write to me with your own recommendations), but we’re widening the aperture, taking in a little more of the world.
In the meantime, it’s Memorial Day weekend in the United States: the unofficial beginning of summer. You could make Roxane Gay’s take on Melissa Clark’s chicken Milanese for dinner tonight. Or give one of our Food team’s favorite summer dishes a whirl. You could try a fizzy Txakolina, a beer-flavored ice pop or a low-A.B.V. spritz. (Or try a zero-proof cocktail — Wirecutter has a guide to choosing one.)
We’ve got release dates for all the summer movies (I’m marking my calendar for the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-winning “In the Heights,” June 11) and a guide to summer reading. There’s a “Friends” reunion on HBO Max, if that’s your bag. And here are five new horror films to stream.
If you’re feeling socially creaky, we’ll help you tune up your gossiping skills. Perhaps this is the year you start gardening in the nude. You might try to figure out the secret to magic’s greatest card trick (good luck on that one). Or work a little magic on your productivity with self-mesmerism. You could just lie in the grass and listen to the latest episode of the Modern Love podcast, about a meet cute at zero years old. There’s no way to do it wrong this weekend (or any weekend).
A reader recommends.
Tiffany Hall in Coventry, Ga., recommends some rituals for finding peace of mind.
My Southern Hospitality candle, from Southern Elegance’s Jubilee collection, is bringing me joy. Lighting it after each home cardio-workout session signifies a state of victory, followed by calmness and peace. The meditation program guided by Alicia Keys and Deepak Chopra has also brought joy into my life. I’m usually asleep before each meditation guide ends, which signifies to me that it’s doing what it’s designed to do.
P.S.Tell us.
What are your plans for the summer? Will you lay low, close to home? Will you reunite with people you’ve not seen in a while? Take a trip? Tell us: [email protected] We’re At Home (for now). We’ll read every letter sent. More ideas for how to spend your weekend at home and away appear below. See you next week.
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