Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns
If you think Jesus would have come into your home that day and not issued a strong rebuke to the head of household, you are mistaken. These words of condemnation have been haunting me for days now. They aren’t all that different than the soundtrack I play in my head on an almost-daily basis. It’s…
I am nesting. On Saturday I emptied the refrigerator. Last summer’s homemade pickles in their jars. The bread ends that seem to multiply on every shelf. The eggs. The milk. The fruit and veggies. All of it sat on the floor or the counter as I carefully removed the shelves and wiped them down with…
I’ve heard that life is like a highway. And it definitely seems like that sometimes. The pace of life swirls around me at dizzying speeds. We’re all so busy. In such a hurry. Always somewhere to be, something else to do. I’m a get-to-the-point, get-there-quick kind of girl. I don’t like to waste time on…
November continued to be a blur of kids’ activities but we managed to squeeze in some family fun and good food. If you’re into theater, soups, streaming shows and a variety of books, then keep scrolling to read the details of our month.
The school held a bonfire in the first week of the month. It’s their annual fall gathering, and it’s more like bringing a bunch of kids and parents and staff together in an open field where they’re selling concessions and it’s a bit of a free-for-all. I worked the band concession stand so I didn’t get to see much of the actual bonfire, but it was a fun time. Oh, and there were fireworks.
One sports season wrapped up with a soccer tournament early in the month and another sport began with basketball tryouts near the end of the month. While our son didn’t make the middle school team, he is still going to play basketball in the rec league.
Marching band also wrapped up with championships in Hershey and a banquet at a local country club.
We fancied ourselves up for the banquet.
Puffs! Our daughter was in the fall play, which was based on a very popular set of books that feature a boy who lived and attended a school of magic for 7 years. It was an enjoyable show.
Youth Sunday. Our son participated in the Youth Sunday service, an annual event at our church.
I donated blood again. And nearly passed out again. But I pushed through. I’m learning about what it takes for my body to handle this kind of thing.
The kids and I had a week off for Thanksgiving. I did some organizing and cleaning projects. We also attended the Mayor’s Tree Lighting in downtown Lancaster on the Friday after Thanksgiving. It’s such a fun gathering and really kicks off the holiday season.
I wanted to spend some of the week off in nature, so Phil and I took a hike at Ferncliff Preserve, just the two of us, which was needed time together. Our life has revolved around work and the kids of late, which has left us without much time or energy for each other.
And on the last day of the month, some of my book club friends went out to celebrate a birthday. We had dinner and drinks at Decades, a local establishment that offers bowling and arcade-style games as well as food and beverage.
Early in the month, I met a couple of work friends for a drink and since I’m not currently drinking alcohol, I asked the bartender to make me something seasonal and non-alcoholic. This is what I got, and I wasn’t disappointed.
I got a new cookbook and made a couple of recipes from it that our family really enjoyed:
old-fashioned beans with cornbread;
and oil-poached fish.
We often go out for dinner on Veterans Day to take advantage of the deals for veterans because Phil is one. This year, we hit up Primanti Brothers again.
I almost always get this salad.
And Primanti is known for sandwiches with a knife stuck in them.
As a treat for hanging out at band championships, we ate ice cream from Milton’s Ice Cream Shop at Hershey Park.
This jolly rancher sundae was our son’s choice.
While our son was rehearsing for the youth service at church, we took our daughter out for lunch to Rachel’s Creperie because we didn’t see much of her in the fall.
Coffee and crepe and tiramisu; what could be better?
Soup is unashamedly my favorite season. I could eat it every day. We made the following soups this month: vegetable Tortilla stew;
chicken chowder (not pictured, I guess);
stuffed pepper soup;
French onion soup;
potato leek soup.
And no November would be complete without a Thanksgiving feast.
This year we ate old-fashioned roast pork, mashed potato casserole, cornbread stuffing, pumpkin roll, and apple cider.
At the tree lighting, we made sure to stop by Thom’s Bakery for a chocolate and powdered sugar topped waffle. I thought I took a picture but it’s not on my phone anymore. Trust me, it’s worth it.
While out with my book club friends, I had a flatbread pizza with mushrooms, cheese and arugula.
And I was pleasantly surprised to find they had mocktails on the menu, so one of my friends and I both ordered one.
Yum-o.
Richard Osman’s House of Games. It is now my favorite quiz show.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. We finished it. I loved it. I want more.
Election night coverage. Nuff said. That feels like an eternity ago.
SNL clips. Comedy is the cure for what ails me.
Nailed It! Halloween. Yes, we’re like a month behind on our holiday shows, but that fits our fall.
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Always. I like the music and the Broadway shows.
World Cup soccer. I am a World Cup widow right now.
The National Dog Show. We caught this one on replay because of some big sporting event that’s happening for a month. I love the variety of dogs. Such good puppers.
Slumberland. Netflix tricked us into thinking this was like a fun, feel-good family movie, and I NEARLY CRIED, NETFLIX. If I wanted to feel things that deeply, I’d pay attention to my life. (It wasn’t a bad movie. It just surprised me, that’s all.)
Schmigadoon!. We finally jumped on the Apple TV bandwagon (with a free trial) and started watching this series. I’m not sold on it yet.
The Crown. I finally got a chance to watch one episode. This is not really entertainment for me because I grew up in the Diana era and her life was a tragedy.
Books I finished:
Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li. So much to love about this story. It felt like a combo of Ocean’s 11, Fast and the Furious and Crazy Rich Asians. A lot of twists I didn’t see coming.
Here For It by R. Eric Thomas. This was our fall book club pick. We were looking for something light and not too cumbersome. After reading an essay collection by Ann Patchett, another essay collection seemed appropriate and doable. Thomas’ storytelling is full of honesty, humor and hope (oh, look, I alliterated!) and I enjoyed reading about his journey as a gay, black Christian man.
A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny. I’m looking forward to seeing Inspector Gamache hit the TV series screen in Three Pines on Prime. This was a roller-coaster ride, as is often the case with Louise Penny mysteries.
Poster Girl by Veronica Roth. I needed something different and I got it. I love Veronica Roth’s writing, and dystopia hits different when you live in a pandemic world but I still enjoyed this journey.
The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon. Smart and funny. I can’t wait to read more.
Icebound by Andrea Pitzer. I’m mildly obsessed with polar exploration stories. This one focused on William Barents and his exploits in the Arctic Sea in the 16th Century. Polar bears, mutiny, being stranded by ice … I do not want to experience any of these things but I do like reading about them.
In progress:
Spy School at Sea by Stuart Gibbs. This one is taking us a long time because of our schedule.
Looking for Alaska by John Green. I thought I would have more time to read this at school than I do.
The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews. My current read.
October has felt like a magical month. The weather has been as close to fall perfect as I can remember in recent years, the colors of the trees eye-catching and gorgeous.
It’s been a busy month with a lot of ordinary days but not without its moments. Here are some of those moments in the form of What We Did, What We Ate, What We Watched and What We Read.
I had the amazing opportunity to go away for a weekend with some friends from book club at the beginning of the month. We traveled about 3 hours away to the west and north into the mountains to a cabin on the creek. It was dark when we arrived, so it was morning before I set eyes on the beauty of the place.
I was in love at first sight. I kayaked (you can read more about that here), and we went to an overlook in the PA Grand Canyon.
Now I want to go back and hike some of the park. It was fun just to get away. It’s been a long time since I’ve gone somewhere without my family, and I didn’t realize how much I needed it.
Also that weekend, my friends encouraged me to bring some of my writing for them to read. I went overboard and printed three of my current works-in-progress.
The following weekend, my parents came to visit. We enjoyed the fall weather and the fall sports/activities the kids are in. They helped me with some yard work, too.
Band competitions, football games, and soccer games have been our lives this fall and October was no exception. During one of those soccer games, the boy got a mild concussion, which took him out of the physical activity world for a bit. He’s better now.
One of the marching band activities was a Halloween parade in a small community in the school district. I haven’t been to a parade in a long time, and I don’t think I’ve ever been to a night parade. It was fun to watch kids running for candy in costume.
And we spent a quiet night in for Halloween watching shows and eating our own candy.
Lastly, there were costumes on Halloween for the school day.
Chellas. Peruvian food cooked basically on our block. We took my parents here for lunch during their visit because I like food I don’t have to make.
We also ate at the Nifty Fifties diner in the Philadelphia suburbs before attending a band competition.
It was well worth the experience and the food was delicious.
To celebrate our girl and her band performance, we picked up some Crumbl cookies. We are newly obsessed with these cookies, so it’s good that we can’t get them super locally.
On the one Friday night we opted out of football, the three of us ordered from The Big Five African Cuisine … a smorgasbord of beef stew, chicken stew, rice, cabbage, chapati, beef samosas, and ugali.
And of course, we had some soups. Pot pie soup was a hit from the Cravings cookbook by Chrissy Teigen.
And winter vegetable stew was easy and yummy.
One night, we had Dino nuggets because if you’re going to have chicken nuggets, they might as well be dino-shaped, right?
While the kids were at a Halloween party at church, Phil and I went to brunch. I had shrimp and eggs.
He had biscuits and gravy and a virgin bloody Mary.
We’ve had so much time as a family lately but not enough couple time. It was nice to be reminded that we can still be a couple.
On Halloween night, I made this ultimate 7-layer dip from the Cook’s Country cookbook. It’s the second time we’ve had it this fall. It lives up to its name.
Shows that fill the time:
Richard Osman’s House of Games. Quiz show. British. Low-key. Fun.
Press Your Luck. The new one. I watch for nostalgia and because I’m personally risk-averse but like watching other people take risks.
Saturday Night Live clips. It’s the most wonderful time of the year when SNL returns.
Movies:
The Mighty Ducks. Hits different when you’re a parent/teacher of middle schoolers and our middle-schooler loved it.
Home Team, the story of Sean Payton’s one-year suspension from the NFL and his stint as a coach on his son’s football team. I had mixed feelings throughout but I think it turned out okay.
Shows in progress:
She-Hulk Attorney at Law. Six of nine episodes. Love it.
I Am Groot. We actually watched all of these shorts at once.
The Great British Baking Show. I read a book (fiction) about a baking show like this and since I’ve never seen one episode of it, I decided to start. It’s good company.
Books I finished:
All That We Carried by Erin Bartels. I bought this book on our anniversary trip to Michigan this summer. I liked the memories it brought up of our time in nature.
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. Out. Standing. I couldn’t put it down except when I had to.
The Traitor’s Wife by Alison Pataki. Historical fiction about Benedict Arnold’s wife. Pataki is a new favorite historical fiction author.
Last of Her Name by Jessica Khoury. This is YA sci-fi that reminded me of Veronica Roth, and since I love Veronica Roth, I loved this as well.
The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida. A memoir written by a 13-year-old Japanese boy with autism about what it’s like inside his brain. Fascinating.
Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall. This is the book that led to me watching The Great British Baking Show. Features a bisexual single mom on a baking competition and the love she finds along the way. So much fun.
Books in progress:
Here For It by R. Eric Thomas. Book club read. Has led to some interesting discussion.
Spy School At Sea by Stuart Gibbs. Reading with my son.
A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny. I started this then had to return it to the library, so Inspector Gamace is in limbo.
Portrait of a Thief by Grace Li. I’m only about a third of the way through. It’s like Ocean’s 11 meets Sneakers. I’m loving it.