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Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Summer

Wrapping the end of summer: Our monthly round-up

September 6, 2022

Honestly, I thought September would never get here. August felt like a really long month. Here’s our monthly round-up of What We Did, What We Ate, What We Watched and What We Read. (Spoilers: it was A LOT about food this month.)

What We Did

Band camp. One night I helped with uniform fittings, so it was fun to meet some of our daughter’s fellow band members.

Backyard book club get-together. We brought our own dinner and just hung out in person. (Book club takes a break for the summer.)

I gave blood again, this time without any embarrassment. 

My son and I took a day trip to Cupboard Maker Books in Enola, PA. They have cats! And books. But cats! We enjoyed our adventure.

I am in LOVE with independent bookstores

Lititz Craft show. A nearby town has a huge craft show. We wandered through a small portion of it and were there to visit a friend who had a booth. It was a fun outing.

Our daughter wanted to see her friend perform in a musical put on by Servant Stage, a local theater company that offers pay-what-you-will shows. This one was Rock Around the Clock, a musical medley from the 50s and 60s mostly. It was a toe-tapping good time.

Girls’ night!

A couple more Long’s Park Music concerts: Terrance Simien and The Zydeco Experience is basically a party in the park. So upbeat and fun.

Try to stay still while listening to zydeco, I dare you

And the last concert of the season was Devon Gilfillian, a Philly native whose renown is on the rise.

He put on a great show, and his merch offered a cat T-shirt that our son just had to have. So, we stuck around for autographs and a CD purchase and it turns out Devon and his band are beautiful human beings as well. Such a great unofficial end of summer.

He made our kids’ night!

After finishing my freelance project, I broke out the Jane Austen puzzle, which put me in the mood for reading historical fiction.

Such a dreamy puzzle

We had a Friday night hangout in Lititz with some of our small group friends. We browsed the record store (Lititz Record Co.), went to the bookstore (Aaron’s) then grabbed ice cream at Greco’s. We love our small group so much and miss them when we’re on a break so hanging out is fun.

Phil’s birthday! He decided he wanted to do something fun and a little bit out of the ordinary for us, so we went to a go-cart track.

This is my attempt to take one of those cool selfies from inside the go-cart.

Because Phil wore the family birthday sash, he got the fastest car and we all got a little bit of extra time. It was surprisingly more fun than I thought it would be. It was a hot day so we followed up with slushies from Sheetz.

After almost 3 years, we finally made it back to Washington, D.C. and it was for a very good reason: Hamilton!! At the Kennedy Center!

Another just-us-girls event

Two years ago, Phil bought me tickets for my birthday, and then Covid canceled the show and this year was our first opportunity for take two. Our daughter paid her way to see the show with me since in the last two years, she’s become a Hamilton junkie, too. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. Even though we’ve seen the recorded performance on Disney Plus, there’s something magical about being in the room for live theater.

The interior of the Kennedy Center is GORGE!

I laughed. I cried. I had goosebumps every time a song started. A dream come true.

While we were at the show, the boys went to the United States Botanical Garden near the Capitol. Highlights for them included: “Big Mike,” the banana variety from which all artificial banana flavors are derived; a Venus flytrap; and the tropical section. I’m not jealous we didn’t get to go this time, but I do want to go sometime.

First Day of School. The girl went to high school. The boy started middle school virtually. It’s a long story, and it’s a weird way to start the year.

They posed like this on purpose. Also, who are these giants that live in my house?

Nintendo Switch Sports and other video games. The boy had half days of virtual school which left us some afternoons to hone our gaming skills.

First high school football game of the year. Our daughter is in marching band, so we’re supporting her (and entertaining our son, who loves watching football) by going to games.

A four-mile hike with our church at Kellys Run Nature Preserve. It was beautiful and challenging. I fell in the creek, but no regrets.

If you told me fairies lived here, I would believe you

What We Ate

A bing wrap (scallion pancake burrito thing) and sweet potato fries from Silantra Asian Kitchen for our bring-your-own takeout backyard hangout with book club. I was so hungry, I forgot to take a picture.

Sandwiches from Route 66 diner. Phil took our son out to lunch while running errands one day so I could have some time to work at home and because he wanted to.

Non-alcoholic beer from Athletic Brewing Co. Yes, this is technically a drink, but it’s an important addition to our month.

We have a bunch of varieties to try, which excites me.

Phil and I both are taking medications that prevent us from drinking alcohol right now, and we both miss beer a little bit, so we tried out some offerings from this company and for near-beer, they’re quite good. I’m one of those weird people who actually likes the taste of alcohol so to drink it without the effects is okay by me.

Jambalaya. We took it to the park for the Zydeco music night and then ate it all week because apparently you can’t make just a little bit of jambalaya.

Was it jambalaya? Was it gumbo? I need to learn the difference.

Ice cream. I took no pictures but we had some unique flavors.

Cake! A Costco cake to share with our fellow family ministries’ volunteers at church on Phil’s birthday.

Mexican food from El Paisano, a food truck on the west side of Lancaster.

Phil chose this for his birthday. It was filling and affordable.

Chimichanga used to be my go-to order. This is by far the best one I’ve ever eaten.

College Park Diner. Our stop after our DC day where we all had something delicious. Diner food rarely disappoints.

Breakfast–a LOT of breakfast–for dinner

Our back-to-school week meals included some new favorites: jalapeño tuna noodle casserole; ultimate 7-layer dip; noodle bowls (it’s a soup).

Ultimate 7-Layer Dip
Noodle bowl packed full of veggies

I got a jump on meal planning using the cookbooks in our house and these were some of the highlights.

Philly Cheesesteak pizza.

Mmm…

I love our son’s creativity and this was delicious. It came together better than I thought it would.

What We Watched

Because the kids are older, we’ve started introducing them to more of the movies Phil and I watched in our younger years. This month, those included Happy Gilmore, Men in Black, and Talladega Nights, all for the subtle and not-so-subtle comedy. We also watched the new movie Uncharted, which is based on a video game and was not the best movie ever made.

Together on the streams, we’ve watched episodes of Is It Cake? (still funny and the tension is increasing); Phineas and Ferb (now I know where “doofenshmirtz” comes from); Richard Osman’s House of Games (British game show); Press Your Luck (the reboot; it’s so stressful watching people gamble away money they’ve earned but didn’t have when they walked onto the set); Generation Gap (boomers and their grandkids or grand-nieces and nephews see what they know about each other’s generations. As a Gen X’er, I know a lot about both); and The Simpsons (Our son was curious. He likes it.).

We also viewed The Barkley Marathons, a documentary about this redonkulous ultramarathon trail run held annually in Tennessee. I read about it in The Empathy Exams (see below) then we talked about it while hiking and Phil had watched it, so we watched it the same night. 

On my own, I watched Grace and Frankie.

Phil and I are still logging episodes of Arrested Development. It was kind of a busy month with some later nights for the kids, so we didn’t do a lot of adults-only viewing. Plus, there’s always sports for Phil and books for me.

What We Read

Speaking of books … I wrapped up my freelance reading project which meant I devoured library books and books in my house.

The ones I finished were:

The Unhiding of Eljah Campbell by Kelly Flanagan. Kelly and I went to school together. He’s written some life-altering non-fiction and this is his first novel, releasing in October. You can see what I said about it here (link to Instagram).

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien. I did it! I finished the second volume. It was a slog in parts. I’m taking a break before I finish the series.

Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne. Literally pulled this one off the library shelf based on the cover. Stayed because of the premise. Thought it was funny and heart-warming. 

The Jasmine Project by Meredith Ireland. I follow this writer on Twitter because she’s so candid and funny about the writing life. This is her debut YA and it’s like what would happen if a multi-racial family decided to host a “Bachelorette” type competition for their recently dumped family member (Jasmine) without her knowing. I think I’m in a women-realizing-their-worth phase right now. Both this one and Second First Impressions had that going for them.

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald. While shopping at a used bookstore, I pulled this one off the shelf because of the title. (I’m susceptible to books about books, bookstores, reading and writing.) And I ended up really liking it. Here’s what I said about it after I finished. (link to Instagram)

The Greatest Beer Run Ever by John “Chick” Donohue and J.T. Molloy. An ad for this movie came on during something we were watching, and at first I thought it was for a ridiculous buddy comedy, but it turns out, it’s based on a true story and there’s a book! Chick Donohue, at the urging of a bar owner in his NYC neighborhood, used his merchant marine credentials to hitch a ride to Vietnam during the war to bring beer and good tidings to guys from the neighborhood. It’s a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction kind of story and so intriguing. I’m interested in the movie now.

The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison. I don’t know where I heard about this book but I’m doing some research on empathy and kindness. This is a book of essays and some were more interesting to me than others. (Like the one about The Barkley Marathons, this ultra race in Tennessee that’s Wild (capital W intended). 

Books in progress: 

The Queen’s Fortune by Alison Pataki.

With the kids:

Spy School Revolution by Stuart Gibbs. We finished this one and have only two more in the series before we’re caught up! What?!?

We rolled right into book 9 in the series, Spy School At Sea.

Filed Under: monthly roundup, Summer Tagged With: back-to-school, band camp, birthday celebration, cupboard maker books, go-cart, hamilton in dc, meal planning, servant stage

How we spent our first month of summer vacation

July 18, 2022

Rolling in a little late with this monthly round-up. We prepped for vacation and left for vacation at the end of June, so some things got pushed to the side. Better late than never?

Anyway, June is usually a transition month from school to summer and this June was no different. School ended early in the month and then we filled our days with some fun. Here’s a quick peek at What We Did, What We Ate, What We Watched and What We Read this month.

What We Did

Our son finished his sixth-grade year, and his elementary school holds a “clap-out” for students moving on to the middle school. I went to the clap out then collected our daughter so we could meet our son’s friend to play mini-golf. (We ate before and after. See below).

Mini-golf meeting

Later that night, we went to a high school graduation party in the city. I love a good backyard party in the city. It was the perfect night for it.

We put our garden in, finally, and planted some flowers. The improvement to my mood because of this is unmeasurable. I’ve spent the rest of the month weeding said garden and hoping we weren’t too late.

One day in early June we went strawberry picking at a local farm because I couldn’t remember ever doing it before. The kids had fun.

Fresh from the field strawberries … there’s nothing like them!

Family video game night. We played some games on Jackbox.Tv and a partial round of Golf With Friends on the Switch. Actually, this has become a little more regular. I’ve played MarioKart and Golf With Friends with my son several times. I’m not the hugest fan of video games but when I spend all day reading for my freelance job, it’s an okay way to unwind.

Haircuts! The kids and I were all overdue and got some fresh summer cuts all on the same day.

The girls’ haircuts

I preached a sermon at our church. What?!? Then the following week, Phil shared on Father’s Day.

I was afraid of the faces I would make while preaching

Hiking has returned! On a Tuesday morning, our friend Odette accompanied us to Texter Mountain Preserve so I could write about it for a blog post.

We fear no creek crossings

Later in the month, our family led our church’s first summer hike of the year on the Rhododendron Trail at Susquehannock State Park. it’s been so good to get back out into nature.

Our dear friends who live in Arizona now were back in the area so we had a short visit with them.

And late in the month, I woke up before dawn to see the moon and planets in alignment.

I didn’t capture them all in one shot. It was mesmerizing, though, and I didn’t have to leave my driveway to see it.

We got back to Long’s Park for summer music, too, although our second concert had some rainy weather that sent us home early.

We had the pleasure of having family visit us this month also and our time together was packed with the following fun events:

A free outdoor concert in the city by Haitian band Lakou Mizik. The band was formed after the Haiti earthquake, and there was so much joy and energy exuding from them into the crowd. I love a good outdoor music option, too.

So much joy and energy

Our weekly visit to Central Market was enhanced by music from the Street Beans Band playing fun tunes outside the building.

Again with the joy and energy. This whole experience made me smile

We took the whole family to PrideFest this year. (Last year Phil and I volunteered at our church’s table.) It was another joy-filled event.

I can’t take a good selfie but I CAN love.

Our family wanted to check out the Turkey Hill Experience where one of us ate more than 7 scoops of ice cream. (Free samples? You might want to rethink that, Turkey Hill.)

Yeah, those are OUR nuts
Do you like my new hat?

Then we had a picnic lunch at the Columbia Crossings River Trails Center which had an amazing view of the Susquehanna River.

Have I mentioned how much I love rivers and bridges?

We also took a day trip to Delaware. We started in New Castle where we got a tour of the courthouse there as part of the First State National Historic Site.

We learned a lot about Delaware’s role in our nation’s independence. New Castle sits on the Delaware Bay, and I insisted we walk toward it so I could see the water. I’m drawn to big water.

We walked out onto a pier and discussed our lunch options (see below). After lunch we drove up to Wilmington to the Dupont Environmental Education Center which had a boardwalk path through the marsh. It was a lovely day of exploring.

On the days when we weren’t out having adventures, we hung out around the house, playing board games or basketball.

What We Ate

When we played mini-golf on the last day of school at Scoops in Mountville, we ate tasty food like burgers and fries and a salad before golf and ice cream after golf. 

Our end-of-school year celebration meal was at 3 Sisters Park. I took no photos. I had pad Thai. Others had various create-your-own noodle and/or rice bowls

Strawberries. Lancaster Central Market had a strawberry festival early in June and we ate some delicious treats. I had waffles topped with strawberries and fudge. The kids had strawberry crepes.

Chicken shawarma over mini-naan, potato salad and ice cream at Long’s Park for our first trip to the Long’s Park Summer Music Series.

After our hike at Texter Mountain, we stoped at Kountry Korner Drive-In in Reinholds, PA for diner food and ice cream. Club sandwich. Fried foods. Burger. And flavored soft serve. My salted caramel was DELISH. 

I can still taste this in my memory

At the outdoor concert in the city, we wanted takeout so we ordered from Norbu, a Bhutanese/Nepalese restaurant nearby. It was close and available and everyone enjoyed their meal except our son who ordered spicy noodles that lived up to their name.

At PrideFest, we ate spicy chicken sandwiches and fries from Blazin’ J’s, another local restaurant.

I already mentioned the unlimited ice cream samples at the Turkey Hill Experience. Cotton candy was a flavor I didn’t expect to enjoy but it definitely tasted like cotton candy.

It was so colorful, I couldn’t resist

Our son loved the Graham Slam flavor that had chocolate and marshmallow and graham crackers.

More ice cream! I’m sensing a theme here. We had some friends stop over while our family was in town and they brought a couple of half-gallons of Fox Meadows ice cream. Brown Butter Almond Brickle might be my new all-time favorite.

In Delaware, we picked Nora Lee’s, a French-style Cajun bistro, and everything we ate was amazing.

If you’re ever in the area, check out this place

I had a crawfish salad that was worth every penny.

Generous portions much?

Phil had a fried oyster Po’boy.

The kids had some cheesesteak style sandwiches.

What We Watched

SNL clips. The season is over now, so this was our last laughs from Saturday Night Live for a while.

Ms. Marvel. Whoa. We’ve only managed one episode so far, but I think I’m gonna like this.

Space Force. End of season 2. Sad there won’t be more.

Jan. 6 hearings on the news. Uh … I vacillate between angry and sad.

All Creatures Great and Small on PBS. I read James Herriot’s book about his adventures as Yorkshire veterinarian and convinced Phil to start watching it, too.

The Lost City. It was no Romancing the  Stone, which is one of my favorites, but it was enjoyable. Sandra Bullock is always a treat. Channing Tatum is eye candy for some, but I thought he was kind of funny in this.

Richard Osman’s House of Games. This is a British series whose episodes are on YouTube. It’s a more chill version of game shows that we have in the States.

Grace and Frankie. I’m laughing my way through this last season. 

Spider-Man: No Way Home. We’re trying to catch up so we can watch the new Thor later in the summer. 

What We Read

Books I finished: 

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. A YA book I finished just after school got out that helps inform my attitude toward my students.

The Optimist’s Daughter by Eudora Welty. Ann Patchett writes about Welty in her new essay collection. I’d never read an Welty, so I tried this one. I have mixed feelings about it but mostly enjoyed it. I think it would make a good stage play.

A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole. This Reluctant Royals series is fun, and this Scottish one is a favorite.

We Were Dreamers by Simu Liu. Celebrity memoirs are like chocolate for me–I can’t resist! This was moving and honest and makes me appreciate Simu Liu even more than I already did after watching Shang-Chi. 

Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith. These cozy mysteries set in Botswana are just light and fun.

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley. Another new favorite. Set in Scotland with some contemporary and historical threads. Outlander fans will probably enjoy.

Books in progress:

Spy School British Invasion by Stuart Gibbs. Spy School in Britain? Fun!

A Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole. Another of the Reluctant Royals series.

Filed Under: monthly roundup, Summer Tagged With: delaware travel, end of school year, family visit, garden, long's park summer music, outdoor concerts, summer break, turkey hill experience

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Photo by Rachel Lynn Photography

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Hi. I’m Lisa, and I’m glad you’re here. If we were meeting in real life, I’d offer you something to eat or drink while we sat on the porch letting the conversation wander as it does. That’s a little bit what this space is like. We talk about books and family and travel and food and running, whatever I might encounter in world. I’m looking for the beauty in the midst of it all, even the tough stuff. (You’ll find a lot of that here, too.) Thanks for stopping by. Stay as long as you like.

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