summer reading

Summer is off to a … start. I refuse to say whether it’s a good start or a bad start because mostly I’m just grateful for another day, another season of life. A work friend once described June as the “Friday” of summer because school just ended and you’re still getting used to the idea of time off, whereas July is like the Saturday of summer. You can fully relax into “weekend mode.” School ended in June, and it has definitely taken some time to adjust to our new schedule. So here’s the round-up of what we did, what we ate, what we watched and what we read in June.

What We Did

First and foremost, we finished the school year. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. It was a year that felt like a decade and while it had its high points, I’m just glad it’s over. To celebrate, we took a quick trip downtown and bought ourselves some sweet treats at Central Market. (And visited my husband and his co-workers.)

One virtual adventure and the topic was Pokemon. We learned about some of its origins and where it’s headed.

The kids and I joined the public library summer reading program. Because if there’s one thing that’s certain about our summer, it’s reading. My daughter and I also printed out reading challenge logs from our local bookstore Aaron’s Books. Not that I need an incentive to read, but I do love a good list.

I ran 5 miles for the virtual Red Rose Run. It was a muggy morning with an air quality alert, but I did it and that’s all that matters.

Started planning our summer road trip vacation. We’re driving back to Illinois this summer, and we’re taking a couple of days to do the driving so we can stop and see some things along the way. The plans are coming together.

Shots and sports physicals. With one child going into 6th grade and the other a teenager playing sports, our first week of summer break was full of medical appointments, all of which we’re thankful for. And glad to be done with so early in the summer. Our daughter also got her second COVID vaccine.

We hosted my brother for a day visit to Lancaster!

He flew in to Philadelphia for a few days because travel is back, baby, and took the train out our way so we could hang out for the first time in 18 months and the first time in Pennsylvania. I took him to my favorite coffee shop. We fed him a smorgasbord style sampling of foods from Central Market. (See more in the What We Ate section) Then we gave him a driving tour of the county featuring the schools we attend and work at; Amish farms; Intercourse, Pa.; Lapp Valley Farms for ice cream and the cows that provide the milk for the delicious treat; then to downtown Lancaster city for a tour of market and some shops for souvenirs. We ended our day with dinner at Luca, a walk around our neighborhood, and a sampling of whoopie pies for dessert.

My son and I played a game of Battleship.

A day earlier my husband had taught him how to play solitaire the old-fashioned way with a deck of cards because there are certain hours of the day that I need to focus on work and other tasks and I cannot entertain. But I offered him a game on a rainy Friday. He chose Battleship and it was a close battle.

Our kids attended a youth group kickoff event at our church on a Saturday night, which meant that Phil and I took the opportunity for a date night. We checked out this new beer garden in downtown Lancaster hosted by Wyndridge Farm (one of my favorite hard cider companies), and it was magical. A mild summer night with refreshing adult beverages and live music. It’s my new favorite hangout. I can’t wait to bring friends there! And our kids had a great time at the youth event. They made friends, which always makes my heart full.

An early morning bird-watching walk with my bird-watching husband. We’re in this phase of parenthood where our kids are more independent so Phil and I can do more things together ourselves. We saw a bald eagle because we heard a duck quacking loudly and repeatedly. The duck was not happy with the eagle’s presence. Numerous other birds spotted. (We later saw the eagle again on a morning run.)

Graduation parties. We’ve lived here long enough that we know graduates from high school and college. It’s fun to be included in these kinds of celebrations, but we are now firmly in the “friends of my parents” age group at parties.

Lacrosse camp. Four full days for our son. He came home sweaty and tired every day but he loved the extra time to learn and practice his skills.

Friend dates! I’m finally back to seeing friends in person. I spent a glorious 2 1/2 hours in the park with my friend Alison.

We’ve been using Voxer religiously to stay in touch since the pandemic hit, but it’s so different to talk all things writing, vacations, families and life changes in person. It was wonderful, even when the waterfowl got a little too close and when I was distracted by a gaggle of giggly girls taking pictures near the pond. Then we were able to gather with our good friends, the Stevensons, who now live in Arizona.

We were only together for an evening, but it was a refreshing reunion and a much-needed time of in-person catching up on our lives. I also had a breakfast date with my friend Carol at Panera, and we had a good couple of hours of catching up on life.

Field hockey. Our daughter is participating with some classmates in a summer league and attending optional turf practices. It’s fun to see her so excited.

On one of the lacrosse camp mornings, we took a walk in downtown Lancaster to a friend’s place, then walked with him back to a coffee shop for a drink treat. We then ordered lunch to pick up at Jersey Mike’s and took it to Long’s Park for a picnic. There,  we walked around the pond and the park for a bit.

Ice cream Wednesdays. We’re attempting to create a definitive ranking of our favorite ice cream places in Lancaster County. We took my brother to Lapp Valley Farms. The next week we went to Hayloft. And now we have a system on the side of the fridge to rank our favorites individually because we cannot agree as a family and that’s okay. You can read more about our flavor choices in the What We Ate section below.

Science!

Our first experiment was making an acid-base indicator out of red cabbage, then we tested various substances in our house to see where they fall on the acid-base scale. It was a fun morning diversion.

Shopped for Father’s Day gifts at Building Character. If you’re local to Lancaster and have some time to shop, I highly recommend this place. You’re never sure what you’re going to find, but it’s sure to be unique.

I visited a local used bookstore in a barn that I didn’t know existed. Phil drove us past it on our way back from a graduation party. I would go to this book barn just for the smells.

I gave blood for the first time. It would have been a memorable experience without any added excitement, but I fainted after giving blood and subsequently (or simultaneously) lost control of my bladder so when I came to I was lying in a pool of my own urine. (Ew.)

I was nervous about the whole process from the beginning. I haven’t tried to give blood since I was in my early 20s and was considered ineligible because I had lived in England for just long enough during the “Mad Cow” disease era. Sometime in the last decade, the Red Cross changed the dates that had made me ineligible to donate so I was no longer unqualified on that basis. Mostly, I just didn’t want to do it, even though I have O blood that I know can help people. I passed all the screenings with flying colors and the donation process itself was practically painless and speedier than I expected. I thought I had it made but when I sat down at the snack table, my vision blurred and I started to feel foggy. “I’m feeling lightheaded!” I announced to the staff. The next thing I knew I was on the floor lying in my urine, looking into the faces of a friendly Red Cross nurse and my husband. It took me almost an hour to recover enough that I could change my clothes and leave on my feet. While I’m not eager to repeat this experience, I know that it’s something I can do. And honestly, now that the worst has already happened, I can be more prepared the next time.

Flew home to Illinois for my grandmother’s funeral. We had not traveled by air since before the pandemic, and honestly, it’s not that much different now. At the funeral I was able to reconnect with cousins, friends and other family I haven’t seen in a while. There is a lot more I could say about this but I don’t have the words yet.

The kids drove and rode four-wheelers all over my parents’ yard and had a blast doing so. They finally look like they fit the machines they’re steering.

And of course, we had an adventure on the way back to Illinois. Our drive to the airport took double the usual time because of heavy rain and a traffic accident. Our flight was delayed multiple times for a total of nearly five hours, but we finally boarded the plane about the time we were supposed to arrive in Baltimore. We landed in Baltimore around midnight then waited for another near-hour for our bags to come off the plane. Finally, we made it home to Lancaster around 2 a.m.

The kids and I visited Longwood Gardens.

Before I knew we would be making a quick trip home, I made a reservation for Longwood Gardens, to keep using the membership I got for my birthday. It was the Monday after our trip home for the funeral, and ungodly hot, but we went for a few hours. The kids got soaked in the 12-minute fountain show, which was part of the plan. We had hoped to grab some ice cream as a treat afterward, but the place inside Longwood that sells ice cream wasn’t open on a Monday. So we stopped at Rita’s instead.

Hiking! We made our Wednesdays in the Woods return on the very last day of June with a short hike at Climber’s Run Nature Preserve, which just so happens to be the location of our favorite local birdcam. It was quite the adventure. We tried to cross the creek at an unauthorized spot and I slipped and fell into the creek. We successfully crossed the creek twice after that. There’s often a lot of complaining when we prep for these adventures, but my soul needed the time in the woods.

What We Ate

Sushi and poke bowls for our Pokemon virtual adventure.

Taste of Market. For my brother’s first-ever visit to Lancaster, the kids and I shopped at Central Market on a Tuesday for a lunch smorgasbord for Wednesday to give my brother a taste of the area’s food. Selections included: emapanadas, pierogies, bread, goat cheese, whoopie pies, smoked fish, and deli meats.

Luca. We had three appetizers and five pastas and I wish I could describe them all to you as deliciously as they tasted. The fried squid appetizer was cooked so well our son tried it and liked it. We also had a burrata plate with focaccia and another topped bread selection that I don’t remember the name of.

There were five pasta dishes on the menu, and we all chose a different pasta and shared a few tastes but each one suited our personalities. We didn’t have a bad dish among us. I drank a dry cider with peaches. Phil had a lemon beer that tasted way better than I just made it sound. What we love about Luca is the seasonal menu. If we went back now, the offerings would all be different.

Pulled pork french fries from Holy Smoked Meats at the beer garden.

Ice cream. At Lapp Valley we had cookie dough, cookies and cream, maple walnut, black cherry and raspberry. At Hayloft we had orange creamsicle, lemon bliss, triple chocolate earthquake, and Mississippi mud. At Good Life Phil tried the dill pickle ice cream with peanuts mixed in (on the recommendation of the ice cream server), Isabelle had pink lemonade with chocolate sprinkles mixed in, Corban had banana ice cream with marshmallows mixed in, and I had nutella ice cream with peanut butter cups mixed in.

After another field hockey match, we tried Son’s ice cream in East Petersburg. Our daughter had sour berry Italian ice, our son had a root beer float, Phil had Budder Brickle (yes, that’s how it’s spelled) and I had chocolate raspberry chip.

Nachos. This was the lunch Phil requested for Father’s Day, and I was happy to comply.

At home in Illinois, we ate Culver’s: burgers and cheese curds and custard–oh my! It’s one of our favorites from the Midwest. As is Arthur’s Garden Deli, our hometown deli. One of my mom’s co-workers ordered sandwiches, salad and fruit for us to eat for lunch the day of the funeral. Post-funeral, we ate at the restaurant my friend runs with her husband. Pizza and pasta and salad and breadsticks. Comfort food, all of it. A Midwest speciality is taking care of people with foods and I am grateful.

Chicago mix popcorn from Nuts on Clark. A tradition when we’re flying.

Rita’s Italian ice. Two of us mix it with custard, and it’s a refreshing treat.

What We Watched

When Calls the Heart. I finished season 7 and I had so.many.FEELINGS. And a dilemma about how to watch season 8. I bought the boxed set through season 7 to share with a friend and then discovered season 8 is not available till September on DVD. But it was available digitally for a low, low price. I hesitated, but only momentarily. I am two episodes away from catching all the way up. Who can be my When Calls the Heart therapist when I finish?

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. We watched one episode before our Saturdays got full with other things.

Olympic trials: gymnastics, diving, swimming. 

LegoMasters, season 2. Fun, as always. The creativity and patience amazes me.

Kim’s Convenience. A few more episodes.

Lots of baseball. Even when the Cubs are breaking our hearts, we turn on the game.

What We Read

Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny. I finished this one in a matter of days and I’m just in awe of how she weaves multiple plots and stories together to leave readers both satisfied and wanting more.

Truman. I pick this one up every now and then and try to make progress, but I haven’t made a lot of progress.

Miracles and Other Reasonable Things by Sarah Bessey. I’ve been meaning to read this one for years. I finally bought myself a copy last year, I think, and now seemed like a good time to read it.

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. I know this is a recent PBS show. I have not seen any episodes of this but heard it was a book. I need a book from every continent for my summer reading challenge, so I picked this one up for Europe. (Really, there are so many choices for Europe, so I just had to choose something.) From the very first line of the book, I was hooked. Herriot is a gifted storyteller. I really enjoyed this book.

The Castlemaine Murders by Kerry Greenwood. Another Miss Fisher mystery for my Australia pick for the summer reading challenge.

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander Mccall Smith. A friend recommended this one to me years ago, and I picked it up at book sale. I read it for my “Africa” selection for the Read Around the World summer reading challenge at our library. It’s delightful.

How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope. A gift from a coworker at the end of school. I don’t read enough poetry.

A Murder by Any Name by Suzanne M. Wolfe. This is tagged as an Elizabethan spy mystery and the first line of the book made me laugh out loud. I love a good first line, and I enjoyed the setting and intrigue in this story.

Showing Off (Upside-Down Magic #3) by Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Miracle and Emily Jenkins. This started as a way to help our son calm down and go to sleep during the week of my grandmother’s funeral. We’ve been reading aloud this series off and on for months.

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Well, there you have it. A full month of doing, eating, watching and reading. What have you been up to in these areas?