my favorites in july

Here's a few things I enjoyed in July -

Hamilton

I didn't pay attention to the news when Hamilton came out a few years ago as me seeing a Broadway show is super highly unlikely.  But when they announced it was coming out on Disney + I was excited - and I LOVED it.  I love the actors, I love the music, I cry every time I hear certain songs.  To my extreme delight, The Girl loves the music too and we often play the soundtrack in the evenings and sing together.

After falling for Hamilton and spending some time googling the show and cast I also fell in love with these 2 albums -

Leslie Odom Jr - Mr.

Jasmine Cephas Jones - Blue Bird

And another album I'm loving -

The Chicks - Gaslighter

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2 Podcasts

Why Won't You Date Me

Nicole Byer is a dang treat you guys.

Natch Beaut

This is an unlikely one for me as to look at me does not make you think of beauty in any way, but this podcast covers a huge range of topics from skin care and self care to mental health, self acceptance and a ton of other categories.  Jackie Johnson is an amazing host and she always has great guests.  This is a podcast that I started listening to at Episode 1 and am still working my way through, but there are a few specific episodes I want to mention from 2019 - Self Acceptance with Jeffrey Marsh made me cry and I now follow Jeffrey on Twitter and Instagram; Gender Dysphoria with Ellen Ford is a great listen;  McDonald's Frappuccinos with Travis Coles; Dancing with Grandma with Atsuko Okatsuka; Brag Better wit Meredith Fineman.

Book Club - A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs

2020-21

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She was both hard and soft, sour and sweet, old and young.  That she could contain so much was what I loved most about her.  Her soul was bottomless.

"Our blood relationships don't often survive the truth."

"The past?"  Paul shook his head.  "Is nothing but an open wound."

Cookbook Cleanup Book 17- So Good

I picked up Food by Richard Blais from the Dollarama for $4 last year without looking too closely at it - I've seen him on some food shows before and he seemed like a good guy, so why not drop 4 bucks on a book?

So Good has all the usual chapters - appies, soups, poultry, seafood, red meat, veggies, sides and desserts.  A further look shows that these recipes go deeper than other books I have on my shelf - goat, squab, rabbit.... Things that don't hit our table.

I started looking for some recipes to try, and found even more stuff that wasn't for us - pasta made with bone marrow, a noodle bowl with pigs feet, Oxtail, Abalone.  There is nothing wrong with any of this stuff, it's just stuff we don't eat.

We tried 4 recipes -

Chicken Shawarma -

Radiatore Bolognese - we used pork instead of rabbit

Buttermilk Biscuits

Honeyed Blueberries

They were all good - the bolognese especially.  Would I make any of them again?  Probably not.  Did I find other stuff I wanted to try?  No.

This book is not staying on our shelf, but I hope it finds a home with someone who can appreciate and enjoy the large variety it has to offer.

Cookbook Cleanup results so far - Bookshelf - 9  Donated - 8

Alton Brown's Hot Crackers

I'm going to be honest - the first 3, maybe 4 months (ie MOST OF IT SO FAR) of this pandemic were very bad for my weight/health.  Verrrrrry bad.  I entered it thinking this would be a good opportunity to work on getting healthier and stronger and maybe drop a few pounds.  Instead I immediately started stress eating everything I could get my hands on, from the time I woke up in the morning until bed.  All day.  Every day.

Right when all of this was gearing up and we knew things were going to change but didn't know in what ways, I went to Costco and dropped $400 on  a big shop for lots of staples (except toilet paper!), including a humongous box of saltine crackers.

I have mentioned before my love of saltines, so if you ever get tired of eating them one after another after another or in your soup, you might want to try Alton Brown's Hot Saltine Crackers.

They take no time at all and you are rewarded with a spicy buttery cracker to inhale by the handful, if that's the thing you're doing.

Book Club - the one by John Marrs

2020-20

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"If you've got the opportunity to love someone as much as they love you, then grab it with both hands and hold on to it for dear life."

"Then I began to understand that being here to see any sunrise was a major accomplishment.  It meant I've lived for one more day."

Garden 2020

I've got my first Garden 2020 photos and they are more than one month old already, so I'll have to do an update soon.

The Mister built a new garden bed in the backyard, very similar to the one he built at our house in Calgary so many years ago.

He and The Boy did all the building, and The Girl helped to pick out what should be planted.  They planted a whole bunch of lettuce, some carrots, cauliflower, zucchini, and tomatos.

All the plants are happy and doing well.  I LOVE all the fresh lettuce for salads and wraps.

My mint is taking over the flower bed, and I'm ok with it.

Book Club - Save Yourself by Cameron Esposito

2020-19

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She hadn't wanted to go to her hundredth birthday party, so she died.  That's how powerful she was, and never a failure.

Women are cultured to not ever take up space.  We apologize, we literally shrink our bodies, we lower our voices, we compromise and try to agree when challenged on a point.

I tried....... the internet breakfast sandwich

Like nearly everyone else I've been glued to my phone/internet more than usual, but for all the gross bad stuff on there, you can occasionally find some good, like when you discover new food people, or recipes, like the one pan breakfast sandwich.

It's pretty straightforward, eggs and bread in one pan, we added some cheese and ham to be super fancy.  I couldn't quite perfect the dunking the bread and turning it over and getting egg on both sides, as you can see from my photo, but it's a small problem that didn't affect the delicious taste of the sandwich.

Here's a little writeup that shares a video too, so you can make your own delicious sandwich.

Adult Summer Reading Club 2020

For Summer 2020 TNRD Library is mixing it up again with a new challenge.

This year you can either mark off a star on the log book for every 20 minutes you read - if you color all the stars you will have read 900 minutes aka 15 hours, or you can complete challenges instead.

Learn all the deets and register HERE.

Challenge runs July 6 - August 29.

What will we do with the rest of 2020?

I gotta say, this year is wild isn't it?  And mostly, truly not in good ways.

The world sure feels like a shit show in a burning garbage can, eh?

People are fighting hard - on the right side and the wrong side of important issues.

We are in a dark place.

I am trying to stay informed while also staying positive, which has become impossible for me.  There is so much craziness to read about, spiking my anxiety and sending me spiraling, but I can't look away from the literal train wreak that is happening out there.

What do we do with the rest of 2020? 

Wear your dang mask.

Wash your dang hands.

Practice social distancing.

Understand that doing these things keep you, your loved ones and people you don't know safe. 

Understand that keeping people you don't know safe is important too.

Support your local businesses.

Understand that Black Lives Matter.

Understand that BIPOC Lives Matter.

Understand that Trans Lives Matter.

Understand that saying these lives matter, pushing their lives mattering to the forefront does not mean anyone else's life matters less, and get your head out of your ass.

Be an ally against racism, systemic racism and discrimination.  Caring is cool.

Read.

Speak up.

Support.

Drink your water, eat your fruits and veggies.

Get some sleep.

Be kind.