The month itself was not short but this review of our month will be because it seems like we hunkered down and got into routines and didn’t do a whole lot of extra stuff. It was the first full month of school and sports and all that those activities entail. Not every month has to be exciting. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself. I’m hoping for some slower days with more meaningful activities sprinkled in. We’ll see what October brings.
What We Did
The kids and Phil helped friends move then went to a deck party with some of our church friends. I was home sick with not-Covid.
Later that same weekend we took our friend David on a shopping spree for his new apartment, thanks to some generous gifts from friends.
My book club friends came over to hang out on the porch so we could plan our getaway weekend (you’ll have to wait for October’s round-up to hear about that).
We attended a bunch of away football games in support of the band (and because our son is really into football right now). Phil and our son went to the Homecoming game while I was on my weekend getaway.
Soccer. Our son is playing; Phil is coaching. These are our Saturdays.
I went to an open house at the high school and met our daughter’s teachers, who all had nice things to say about her, which made my heart full to bursting.
The band hosted a show for other area bands and I worked an 8-hour shift in the concession stand, which was actually kind of fun.
Our last “summer” hike with church friends was at Speedwell Forge. We had a large group and lots of fun conversations.
I Preached. Again. I know. It’s becoming a bit of a thing. Click here if you want to have a watch/listen.
And I participated in the Munro Step Challenge, a fundraiser for Blood Cancer UK one of My Peak Challenge’s charity partners. During the entire month of September, I logged 312,607 steps. Wowza.
What We Ate
I opted for a new meal planning method for the school year because I’m tired of eating all the same things and running to the store so often. So, a couple of times a month I pick a bunch of cookbooks off our shelves, page through them and write down every recipe that sounds good. Then I go to the Google doc that holds our weekly meal plans and I start slotting recipes. I note where the recipe is found and what ingredients we need, which then get transferred to the Google doc shopping list. We’ve eaten a variety of good stuff, none of which I remember to take a picture of because we’re always shoveling our dinners down before or in-between activities.
One that I did remember to photograph was baked eggs in collard greens.
We ate out a few times:
Jersey Mike’s with our friend David.
French fries from Nice Size Fries and ice cream from Lickety Split at one of the away football games.
Five Guys, before one of the football games.
I went to Guacamole Specialist with a friend and had this amazing guacamole bowl.
And soup! Of course. Phil dumped a bunch of leftovers in a pot and seasons them to perfection, and it tasted amazing. Fall is soup season and I love everything about it.
What We Watched
Grace and Frankie. I finally watched the last episode, and it was a good ending to the journey.
Press Your Luck and Richard Osman’s House of Games. Sometimes a good game show is all you need.
Arrested Development. The Bluths are my antidote to despair.
Grantchester. Always up for some murder-solving in England.
Thor: Love and Thunder. I liked it more than some members of my family did.
I’m rewatching Outlander when I can and because I can.
On Labor Day weekend, we stayed home and had a movie marathon of the following movies:
Ghostbusters (the 2016 reboot) Loved it. Funny. The cameos were great.
The Prom (a Netflix movie based on a musical about some washed-up Broadway actors who head to a small Indiana town to help put on an inclusive prom). Tear-jerker. Fun musical numbers. Meryl Streep is a goddess.
Dunkirk. This is one of my favorite stories from World War 2, and the movie is beautiful.
Rise. A basketball movie about Giannis, Thanasis and Kostas Antetokounmpo, Nigerian-Greek brothers who made it to the NBA.
What We Read
Books I finished:
The Queen’s Fortune by Alison Pataki. Everyone knows about Napolean and Josephine, but no one knows much about Desiree Clary, the first woman to capture Napolean’s heart and who eventually became the matriarch of the current Swedish monarchy. Pataki makes a point to write about overlooked women in history, so now she’s on my list of must-read authors.
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper. This one is hard to sum up in a few lines. Here’s what I said about it on Instagram. (If you don’t want to wait a whole month to find out what I’ve read/am reading, this is a good place to find my reading history.)
The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews. A new-to-me historical fiction author that I’m looking forward to reading more from.
Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie. I suspected the murderer early on but didn’t know the how or why.
Books in progress:
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. I read this at school sometimes when I have some free time, which is almost never.
Spy School at Sea by Stuart Gibbs.
Here For It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas. This is our book club pick for the fall, and the author’s voice takes some getting used to but he’s a great storyteller and I’m enjoying it so far.