I’m writing this at the beginning of May and it’s finally starting to feel a little more like spring. The weather has fluctuated as much as my feelings these past weeks. As I’ve looked back on the month, I can hardly believe some of the things that were part of it (and that’s why I write these posts, so I remember the good things). You know the drill: what we did, what we ate, what we watched, what we read.
What We Did
Track meets; lacrosse matches. Sports parent life. The month started off with cold, windy weather. Not a fun sports environment but we do love watching our kids participate. The month also ended with cold, windy weather. Spring sports season has been brutal thus far.
An afternoon out with book club friends. We wandered through Building Character searching for odd/quirky gifts around $5 to exchange later, then stopped at The Lancaster Pickle Company to sample some pickles (a pickle on a stick!) before heading to Maize, a Mexican restaurant for margaritas and appetizers.
Our daughter attended the high school musical with her middle school play castmates, so Phil and I had some time with our son, who opted to play video games with us: Jackbox 8 Party Pack. Admittedly, these games were mostly fun and not too thought-provoking for a Saturday night.
Game night with our small group from church. We played some new and familiar games. Bohnanza, which is a bean-planting game; Dominion, which is a deck-building game; Code Names and Apples to Apples. It was a fun night of hanging out.
Spring break! For the first time in recent memory, we had a full 5-day break for Easter weekend. It was busy with the best kinds of things: a massage for me, a writing presentation to my online writing group, and delivering and distributing the lacrosse fundraiser stickies to those who ordered. We had a video call with our Illinois family on Easter Sunday as well.
The Franklin Institute and Philadelphia. We gifted our daughter with tickets to The Harry Potter Exhibition at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.
It was our first outing to a city since 2019, so we were a little out of our usual travel element. After finally finding some parking, we ate our lunch near a fountain in Logan Square across from the Franklin Institute.
Then we wandered through the science museum for a couple of hours before our tickets to the exhibition took effect.
Our kids loved the immersive experience of the exhibition. It was super crowded. I loved some of the historical exhibits in the other parts of the Franklin Institute.
We ended our day at H Mart in Upper Darby where we ate dinner at the food court and then perused the grocery store for the snacks and ramen we’ve been craving since my last trip to H Mart with the book club friends. Overall, it was a fun day that makes me want to get back to day trips to cities.
More video games with our son. Our daughter went out with some friends to the roller rink, so while the three of us were home, we played more video games together.
Writers brunch. A couple of very dear writer friends open their home every once in a while to host a bunch for local-ish writers, and I got to attend for the first time this month. It. Was. Amazing. I keep forgetting how life-giving it is to be in a room with people who write, to talk with them about writing and just share our collective struggles and joys. I already can’t wait for the next one.
Indie Bookstore Day! I visited a new bookstore in Lancaster. Pocket Books is in a house with a porch and has tall shelves full of beautiful reads in a variety of genres.
So charming. I can’t wait to go back.
What We Ate
Chick-fil-a. We needed to eat out after a full day that ended with a lacrosse match.
H Mart food court food: pork fried rice, soup, sushi, Korean chicken.
Grilled stickies. After all the ordering/delivering, I was pleased to learn that they lived up to the hype.
Easter dinner: Grilled ham steaks, cheesy potatoes made with goat milk gouda, green beans with fig vinaigrette, crescent rolls. Dessert: Cheesecake bites and mini-eclairs.
Our daughter’s cooking inspiration is back so one night a week, she’s choosing and making the meal. Her first offering was crispy rice topped with imitation crab, avocado, cucumber, green onion and jalapeño. Then she made meatloaf from a TikTok video and it was spicy and delicious. A week later, she fed us a five-cheese baked mac and cheese. She either loves us or is trying to kill us.
Thai. Phil and I went out for lunch while the kids had a youth group hangout at church. We added Thai iced tea to our meal and it was worth it! A non-alcoholic drink with an umbrella that was sweet and refreshing–what’s not to love?
What We Watched
Moon Knight. I have no idea where this is going but I’m along for the ride. And what a ride it is.
SNL Clips. Angelo clips crack me up. And Bowen is my current favorite cast member, although there are a lot of contenders to choose from. We showed our kids the Angelo clips and for a couple of days our son said, “Tonight” in a high-pitched voice repeatedly.
Outlander. Season 6 is brutal and also contains some unforgettable scenes and lines from the book. I’m itching to re-read the series now.
Bridgerton. Anthony’s story is one of my favorites. I know everyone is missing the Duke from season 1 but I love the electricity between Anthony and Kate. I enjoyed the way this played out, but I think I might need to re-read the book this one was based on.
Show Dogs. This was a ridiculous, sort of dumb movie but it was good for some laughs.
Around the World in 80 Days. We finished it. It was fabulous. I want to watch it more times.
Sanditon. Season 2 is growing on me.
Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library. I enjoyed the book. The movie was so-so. Like Willy Wonka, but in a library.
What We Read
Books I finished:
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. Mixed feelings about this one. It’s written by a white man who apparently researched by talking with a former geisha but it still left me feeling confused and unsettled (and not in a good way).
Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon. Writing a story set during westward expansion and pioneer days is no easy task. So many of these kinds of stories make the white man out to be the victim and the native people the aggressors. This book paints both cultures as complicated and culpable when it came to conflict between them. It was so well-written I had disturbing dreams one night after reading a couple of chapters because I was so immersed in the story. Amy Harmon is one of my new favorites when it comes to historical fiction.
I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai. I took time on my lunch break to read a little bit of this book each day, and while I’ve always been inspired by Malala, reading her story and the background of where she grew up in Pakistan added to my admiration of her. She is more than just the girl who got shot by the Taliban.
The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny. The last couple of Inspector Gamache books were a struggle, but this one is back to what I love about the series: the suspense of not knowing who committed the crime with some underlying backstory that is unsettling and may continue to play in future books.
When Stars Are Scattered by Omar Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson. This is a second read-through for me but my book club at work is reading it this month, so I’m re-reading. It was just as or more impactful the second time through.
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton. I was off to a slow start with this one because I didn’t understand that it was a historical fantasy (I guess?) with lady pirates and flying houses in Victorian England. But it didn’t take long for me to be thoroughly engrossed and entertained. It was a fresh twist on some of the usual genres I read.
Books in progress:
The Eternal Current by Aaron Niequist. Aaron spoke at our church this month and I was curious about his book. I’ve only just started it.
Spy School Goes South by Stuart Gibbs. Each one gets better than the last one.
Subpar Parks by Amber Share. While we were waiting for a digital version of Spy School Goes South to hit my email, we read a few selections from this funny and informative book.
These Precious Days by Ann Patchett. Our next book club read, and after one essay and the introduction, I have decided I love Patchett’s writing.
Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman. This is some powerful poetry. I wasn’t prepared to process my all my pandemic feelings, but Gorman gives words to all those things I’ve sort of avoided for the past two years.
Fish In a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. My next lunch read at work about a girl with dyslexia who has fooled her teachers and parents for years about her disability.