Channon Hodge 's Blog

The garden is starting to wither, leaves are yellowing with less sun and breaking down. And the beds are getting covered in a warm winter blanket of leaves. The raking begins and I'm piling the leaves in the back under soil to break down instead of throwing them out with the trash this year. But a few stunners just embrace fall like women who love skinny jeans, high boots and sweaters: Roses persist as roses always do. And this guy here, called 'silver dust' or 'dusty miller,' says, 'Come cold, come shivering rain, come muted sky, there's someone who welcomes you, too.' #gardening #browngirlgardening @blackgirlswithgardens (at Park Slope) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHSi96NF80R/?igshid=lhpfc9wv05xu

Perfect vacation recipe: 1) Don't leave your house rental before 1030a. It's vacation, not "Amazing Race." 2) Get a rental house with a hot tub. OR... just stock up on red wine so you can come home and feel WARM and fuzzy inside. 3) Make sure your vacation mates are at the same activity level you are. Me = Sheila = hiking everyday = Glee reruns every night = ♡♡♡ 4) Pick up local magazines... if anyone knows the publishers of Maine's 'Down East' magazine, CALL ME so I can get a job there and quit the NYC grind. 5) Wear your mask! Don't bring your germs to another state. (You can take it off for photos) Would it be weird if I lived in New York City but only subscribed to magazines from Maine and New England and California (Sunset!)? Is this is a sign? What am I missing here?! (at Acadia National Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGr_QmGFU33/?igshid=1u67h0m3qpwnz

Life. (at Eagle Lake - carriage road) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGpjNLbFr21/?igshid=nwkhagtcoxmy

Acadia National Park is a group of large islands that have these long 'fingers.' The popular (and often crowded) spots are on the East Side where the famous village of Bar Harbor is and where the mountains are taller. But National Parks are massive and you can always find quite spots in the surround. My friend Sheila and I are staying in the ridiculously affordable Southwest Harbor which, as you can see, has its own serene and colorful hikes. Also met some lovely locals (not pictured) here who shed light on all the things to know about the area (also named Sheila!!!) New friends are everywhere! #acadianationalpark #fallcolors #fallcolors🍁🍂 @cnntravel (at Southwest Harbor, Maine) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGms-Ail1Dt/?igshid=1tsnwb9ivlwlp

I got to spend some time trying out a few recipes from some new cookbooks for this awesome little review. Thanks to my fellow editors for finishing this off and for their stellar reviews as well. What a joy during a pandemic to find some time to make some good food. First.. you MUST get Chrissy Teigan's book "Cravings". It's easy easy tasty stuff but also half Thai food (cause she's Thai...duh) Have to give a special shout out to Xi'an Famous Foods cookbook -- apparently noodles ARE really damn easy to make at home (even when you screw them up... still chewy and delish.) Alsooooo... I'll never go straight vegetarian but I do know that if we eat more vegetables and less meat, we help the planet... loved the Vegetable Kingdom cookbook.(damn... parsley is delicious. Poor thing has had a bad reputation for too long...) Link in my bio! #cooking #pandemiccooking #recipes #cookbook (at Park Slope) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGcrEpDlYbP/?igshid=vpek4dgskswl

You may be super duper special. You may be super duper smart. But you will never be special or smart enough to ignore the rules that are there to keep us all safe. You will never be special enough to forget that the innocent suffer when security fails. Let's use 9/11 and all the other terrible stuff happening now to remind ourselves we are in this life thing together. #911 #neverforget #nevergiveup @passengershaming https://www.instagram.com/p/CFCeacxFf6k/?igshid=g2caws7w2c9m

My sincerest apologies for sharing content beyond the paywall. But I think if we see brilliant journalism helping dispel myth, it's okay to share it these days. If you read really good, science-based stuff, it'll actually EASE your fears instead of heighten them. The NY Times has an amazing piece out today about air circulation. I've taken the subway maybe 5 times since March as I've embraced biking everywhere. Still, great to know the circulation is not terrible ESPECIALLY IF EVERYONE WEARS MASKS. I don't care if you're sitting by yourself, it goes OVER THE NOSE. Now, mostly, I've seen people adhere, but as you'll note in the last photo, it's sometimes a mixed bag. I get it. You just want a cool breath. ME too. But you'll feel so much worse if you catch Covid and later realize you were being a jerk about wearing your mask properly and infected others before you showed signs. (Thanks NyT, this is why I've been a subscriber for 10 years) to find the article, Google "nytimes subway ventilation" #coronavirus #covid #covidfacts #covid19 #covidiots #facts #nyc #gonyc @nytimes (at New York, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDtdGYPF9ZR/?igshid=rift1zns9w1y

This week's mantra. #quotestoliveby #inspirationalquotes #motivationalquotes #writersofinsta #inspiration https://www.instagram.com/p/CDeBBlYFwy-/?igshid=1v6n2fx2tgla7

We truly are just ants scattering around .... I've heard people jog here in the morning up and down the steps. Some just stare out as it's just killer people watching. But more often than not, everyone is just trying to get the best selfie. #hyperlapse #hudson #travelphotography #nyc (at Hudson Yards New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxzaan_Fv5t/?igshid=lm4h92u27rzl

To continue... Many Basque people came to Boise and the US from Europe because only the firstborn inherits everything. Siblings got nothing and therefore would seek out land and professions in other places. I wonder how many other non-firstborns were the ones who made their way to the US? With @ddiroy and @lilitgoes Link to the CNNTravel story is in my bio. #boise #Basque #Idaho #travel #instatravel #wanderlust traveladdict #travelpics #lonelyplanet #travelphotographer (at Basque Museum & Cultural Center)

Made it! That little Kititian girl is in 5th grade, taller than me and has way more apps on her tablet than I do. #schooled - Nevis for 1 day, then left while they have their once-every-five-year elections, on to Calypso in Saint Kitts. Courtesy of @cnntravel #travel #instatravel #wanderlust #caribbean (at Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis)

At the Noguchi museum, we fell in love with the natural art of snow on trees. Also learned a lot about this Bi-racial NYC Japanese sculptor who voluntarily entered the Japanese internment camps in WWII. “I might have also said that a haunting sense of unreality, of not quite belonging, which has always bothered me, made me seek for an answer among the Nisei” Hr write that in 1942. We never quite as human beings get over this lack of belonging, do we? #nisei #nyc (at The Noguchi Museum)

Work day: 1) Stood in the back of a bike trailer to film Andrea Todd biking around Burlington, 2) hung out in an apple brandy cellar, 3) swam in Lake Champlain 4) who knows!? Hopefully some cider with Hetal and Michelle (at Burlington, Vermont)

I love seeing what some determined ladies can do. They cultured and packaged over a hundred pounds of homemade Vermont butter in one day and they were sweet enough to let us nosey @cnntravel people watch. Story soon. Get thee some butter! ( find it at Eataly!!!) ahhh. Farm life. Guys, should I try it? Where would I source ramen noodles from? (Also you can order this hat on Ploughgate's website) #vermont #farmlife (at Vermont)

#911 - I remember just arriving in NYC a week earlier to start a life I'd always dreamed about while watching 'Fame' and '227' and 'News Radio'. I remember how many people abandoned the city after September, cancelled events and conferences, and split. But fear is a luxury most people cannot afford to live in. Today I remember the responders, the fighters, the rebuilders, the New Yorkers who stayed, and the young people who, like me, decided on that day to never live a life in fear but to go forward every single day with courage and dignity and hope. #photooftheday #nyc #timeoutnewyork #oneworldtrade #oneworld (at One World Trade Center)

Loving the Catskills. These windows have stayed the same while the rest of Main Street also pretty much... stayed the same. #catskills #hudson #travel #instatravel #wanderlust #travelphotography #travels #adventure #traveladdict #travelpics #lonelyplanet #travelphotographer #travelporn (at Saugerties, New York)

A rainy picnic turned into an awesome food buzz at the mall with D&A and friends. Mango ice cream, condensed milk in egg cups. We ate the outside ones first. #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodie #foodoftheday #foodphotography #foodstagram #asianfood #asianfoodporn (at Food Court at New World Mall)