Since I’m frequently at the library after work, waiting for Donald to finish class, I came up with a challenge for myself:
I will read a book for 10 minutes, then give myself 5 minutes to write a “first impression.” I think this should be fun!
I choose two books for today’s challenge:
Good Catholic Girls by Angela Bonavoglia
Mastering Sauces: The Home Cook’s Guide to New Techniques for Fresh Flavors by Susan Volland.
3… 2… 1… GO!
Okay…. So, huge caveat – I literally, just skimmed through and read paragraphs here and there in different chapters. A lot of what I read were first- or second-hand accounts of women being sexually abused/manipulated by clergy (among many other issues in the vein of feminism vs. traditional Catholic teaching). She is pointing out all that is wrong and how some people are working towards reform.
TRUE, there is sexual sin and abuse found in the Catholic church. Among its members and those in positions of authority. And that is awful and not to be tolerated.
However, I think that the author fails to adequately explain and explore what the Catholic church actually teaches regarding sex and sexuality and the reasons why the Church is not conducive to the types of reform she envisions (E.g. Allowing women to be priests, etc.).
Conclusion: It is interesting, and compelling writing; however, it does not have a balanced approach to the issues at hand and is a poor representation of what the Church really professes and believes, so I do not think that I would like to continue reading this book.
After work/school, I wanted to take Donald to a restaurant that I had been meaning to share with him for a while, but it was still a bit early. I decided to drive around UM campus for a bit and show him some of central campus.
We got a parking spot on State St. (summer semesters are always lighter volume, but some luck was involved as well), and first tried the Museum of Art, but it was closed. We walked across the street to the Michigan Union, poked around for a bit, and spent the last few minutes in the Tech Center dreaming of our next computing device purchase.
I had gone to this restaurant about 10-15 years ago with my Alpha small group and remembered that it was delicious! When we came back to Michigan, it has always been my intention to take Donald here, but we hadn’t gotten around to it. Until today.
There was a wait for a table, but it ended up being a shorter wait than originally stated, and we were soon seated near the wood-burning oven. So, our spot was a little warmer than other places in the restaurant, but not uncomfortably so. Definitely the best spot in the house for chilly days!
Appetizer
We ordered the Spiedini, which is fresh mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto. So amazingly good!
I’m going to leave you lots of photos, so you get hungry. You’re welcome!
They come on skewers, so we pushed them off, cut them into bite-sized pieces and ate them with the bread. Yum! I wish all mozzarella sticks were like this.
Salad
Here’s where our order modifications started. Donald is a fan of goat cheese, so we added some on to our Mista salad.
There was plenty of salad to share, and everything was fresh and delicious!
Entrée
What pizza to pick? Ugh, this was SUCH a difficult choice! Everything sounded good!
We went with the Pozzuoli (Italian Fennel Sausage, Old-World Pepperoni, Red Onions, Fresh Basil, Portobello Mushrooms, Fior di Latte Mozzarella), and took off the mushrooms and onions, and added goat cheese and prosciutto.
It was amazing!
The crust is thin and foldable and made the pizza very light. You didn’t feel like you’ve just eaten a ton of bread or get over full. It really let the toppings shine. The best surprise for me was the fresh basil – it was so good!
It’s almost lunch-time as I’m writing this, and I am making myself hungry! I’ll add another photo of the pizza, so you can drool over the screen with me:
Kellogg Park
We generally enjoy going on a light walk after dinner, and Kellogg Park was just steps away from Pizza e Vino. It was a gorgeous evening: warm with a breeze. Lots of people were also enjoying the park and the fountain.
We really enjoyed our evening in Plymouth! Donald even tried to get me to agree to making Pizza e Vino a weekly event! If you are in the area, we highly recommend it!
For the past couple years, I have been binge-watching/-listening to stories of aviation disasters on YouTube and Apple Podcasts. I like technical details and analysis and I think, in general, that it is very comforting to know *why* a disaster happened, so that you are more prepared for the next time similar circumstances arise. So, I watch disaster stories to relax. And, yes, I’ve watched airplane disaster investigations while on a flight. (On my phone, with AirPods, and not next to nervous flyers.)
In no particular order, here are some of the creators I have been enjoying:
Mentour Pilot – Petter’s production value is out of this world. Extremely informative with very detailed and easy-to-understand explanations.
Father’s Day weekend started off deliciously! We slept in, then Donald treated us with the most amazing breakfast sandwiches. He basically make a sausage and cheese omelet that he put between two slices of toasted bread. Decadent and yummy! Even Acey wanted in on that action!
While we were finishing up breakfast, we could hear a great clattering outside … and traveling down our driveway. I knew what it was, but wanted to sustain the surprise for Donald. Once the delivery driver had left, we went out to take a look at his Father’s Day present: a new grill!
There was a whole SNAFU that happened (and which took most of the day to rectify), but by 3 pm, we had a brand-new, completely functional grill to use (and bellies full of Baskin Robbins sundaes)! Even better, we had already planned on having shish kebobs for dinner, so we had all the ingredients on hand! We made a quick stop at Mom & Dad’s to get a full propane tank, then Donald went to work!
The kebobs and grilled corn were delicious!
Sunday, June 18
Another leisurely morning and another delicious breakfast! Today, Donald made for us our “classic” breakfast burritos and served it with our favorite salsa in all the world: Desert Pepper Cantina Salsa (red) in Medium. During breakfast, we made sure to call Donald’s dad, Jim, to wish him a Happy Father’s Day, as well as message a few other friends and family.
We went to the 12 pm Mass at St. Anastasia, then had lattes and pastries at Street Sweet Cafe. We borrowed a pen and paper and did our meal planning for the week. We challenged ourselves to stick to ONLY those items which we had added to the grocery list, then walked over to the Kroger Marketplace.
We have been trying for months to find a grocery store here in Troy that we like as much as we loved the Publix in Tallahassee, but it’s a very hard act to follow! We love our Publix! Maybe I’ll do another post some time about our grocery store experiences. Anyways…. We thought this one was pretty good and we may start shopping here more regularly.
We came home and put away the groceries, then took a few minutes to lay down and relax before heading to Mom & Dad’s to celebrate Father’s Day.
They also had shish kebab’s on the menu! But also taco salad, potato (with sweet potato!) salad, and hamburgers, with ice cream sandwiches for dessert.
We helped Dad take the picnic table and grill off the deck (so they could have it re-stained tomorrow) and picked up a few items Mom has been holding for us while our kitchen was under reconstruction. Too soon, it felt, it was time to head home so we could get ready for the work week.
ALAS! There was still some work for me to do before bedtime! Dishes, laundry, shower, insulin pump and CGM sensor change…. I didn’t actually get to bed until well after 12 am.
It was worth it, though! Such a nice weekend! I hope all of the fathers, would-be-fathers, step-fathers, foster fathers, father-figures, and all had a fantastic Father’s Day and felt the love and appreciation that we all have for the love and support and guidance you give your families each and every day!
To my Dad: I can’t possibly thank you enough for all of the wisdom, support, and love you have given Clint and I over the years. I will always strive to be someone you are proud of and I will always think that my Daddy knows about everything and can fix any problem. I love you!
To Jim: Thank you for raising a wonderful son! And thank you for all of your support and encouragement and guidance that you have given us both!
To Donald: Thank you for being the best father to our stuffed animals (Acey and Zoey) and our plant-kids (Buddy and Sport)! You make life a fun adventure every day!
To my priest-friends: Thank you for all of your prayers and love! Thank you for being amazing role-models and staunch supporters. I hope you find particular joy this Father’s Day!
And, as always, my gratitude and love to Jesus and God the Father Almighty. The very definition of “a good father.” 🙂
With our kitchen reconstruction almost finished (!!), we are slowly starting to form morning routines.
First – of course – was coffee in the morning. We dismantled our “morning kitchen” in the bedroom and let the coffee maker assume its rightful place on the kitchen counter. At lunchtime, we clean the carafe and filter. At bedtime, we set up the coffee maker to make a pot about 10 minutes before we want to wake up. Then, some unspecified time after the alarm (and X number of snoozes), we will come out to the kitchen table and enjoy!
With our coffee, Donald catches up on world events with the “Morning Joe,” while I remind us of past adventures using the “Timehop” app. We have our planners at the table in the mornings and evenings so that we can plan and prep for our days together. (At the evening planner checks, we annotate each other’s planner – it’s cute to see what thoughts the other has about the events of our day!)
We like watching something while we have our meals, so my iPad is generally on the table. This makes it easy for me to grab it and dash off a quick post (like I’m doing right now, while Donald makes us some yummy breakfast sandwiches)!
As you can see, we still have boxes to unpack and figure out where things will live in the new space, but we are excited to have a bit of normalcy back in our mornings!
Every year, I like to do the Epiphany Home Blessing, a tradition in the Catholic Church.
Lord God of heaven and earth, you revealed your only-begotten Son to every nation by the guidance of a star. Bless this house and all who inhabit it. Fill us with the light of Christ, that our concern for others may reflect your love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
We weren’t in Michigan last Epiphany, so the last time the house was blessed was 2021. It would be superstitious to say that it’s because it wasn’t blessed in 2022 that we had pipes burst and have to undergo major reconstruction, but…. 😉
This is the current state of our kitchen.
Today is the day we finally checked out of the hotel and moved back permanently into our house! Today, Donald also found the Epiphany Home Blessing card and chalk that we got from church. Together, we blessed the home for 2023.
We are so happy to finally be back home – really home! – and are looking forward to finding new local adventures!
Donald is great at always keeping an eye on the weather for us, so we knew that it was going to snow Sunday morning. I thought it would be a lot of fun – especially for my Florida boy! – to go for a walk in the snow at one of our favorite local nature centers.
We had a nice breakfast at the hotel, then stopped by the house to grab our wet weather boots from one of our moving boxes. Next stop: the Stage Nature Center, where we had previously seen a mink playing in the Rouge River!
Our car parked next to the snow-covered trees! Poor car isn’t used to this cold weather!
The snow was so beautiful on the ground and coating the branches of the trees! It was really good packing snow, too!
After living in Florida for the past few months, this was quite a change for us and we thoroughly enjoyed the scenery. There were a surprising number of people who were also out this morning to take a walk in the snow. We decided to take the Blackbird trail today, and it ended up snowing the entire time.
I don’t think it is possible for me to overemphasize how often one of us would exclaim, “It’s SO PRETTY!” or “Wow! Look at this, babe!”
Even without leaves, the snow-covered branches made for interesting tunnels to walk through.I made this for Donald. I will always give him my heart!
We saw deer, ducks, and birds on our walk, but we’re particularly entranced by the trees. There are a lot of older trees here. (Above, Donald is playing among some of the taller pine trees.)
We love taking photos and recognize the importance of capturing our memories. We are trying to get better at documenting our adventures (and taking more videos!), so we played a bit with slow-mo mode. The clip below shows Donald shaking a branch to have some snow fall on him. This is towards the end of our walk, and you might be able to tell that the branches now have a good couple inches of snow on them – much more than when we began our walk!
Just after seeing some deer in the woods, we came to a hilly section of the nature center. I wanted a photo of Donald in the field, to show the scale of the terrain a bit. I think I ended up making it look like he was tiny and standing on the fence!
There had been a group of kids in a group who were geocaching when we started our walk. We didn’t want to interrupt their program, but decided to catch a few caches on our way out. There are definitely more caches out there, but we just grabbed a quick two. They are not too difficult to find; it is a fun, little “extra” that families can do together while enjoying nature.
There was just enough snow on the ground for Donald to make a snow angel. I think he did a great job!
We were out in it for a good two hours, then returned to our hotel home to warm up. We were so glad to get back to some of the things we love to do: hiking, taking pictures, and seeing the local flora and fauna.
We wanted to pick up a new puzzle to work on, after *finally* finishing the Thomas Kincaid puzzle that was a pastel, fuzzy-edged nightmare to complete. We wanted something brightly colored, easy, and fun. This puzzle of 50 Great American Novels was just the thing! In fact, we started and completed it in one day!
After we finished it, we decided that it would be fun to turn this experience into a challenge. We both want to read more literature and classics, and enjoy reading books together. We also think it would be fun to explore them more academically and Donald suggested that we could even write little book reports on them and discuss the major themes and ideas that resonated with us.
We have each read a selection of the books already, but decided for the purposes of this challenge, we would re-read books and read them at the same time as each other.
Books Jenn has previously read:
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Books Donald has previously read:
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
We love making choices using random methods. For selecting which book to read next (and subsequent books), we took a photo of the poster that came with the puzzle, printed it out, cut each book apart, folded it up and stuck it in a large jar, which Donald then proceeded to vigorously shake around. Then, I picked one without looking, and we unfolded it together.
Our first read is going to be Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut!
Keep an eye out for our review of this book after we have completed it!
Since this is Donald’s first Fall in Michigan, I wanted him to get the best view of the trees changing colors as possible. I had always heard about the Tunnel of Trees at the north end of the lower peninsula, but I’d never made the trip at the right time to be able to see the leaves at peak color.
We are trying to do that this year! Most years, it seems as if it is nearing peak time, but then just before you go out to see the colors, it rains a ton and all of the leaves fall off the trees and you are left with bare twigs and brown leaves to look at until spring.
They are predicting that this year the colors should be more intense, since we are having a warmer than usual end-of-summer.
One of the ways we are trying to time our trip is to look at webcams near the Tunnel of Trees (which extends from Harbor Springs to Cross Village, MI). There is a YouTube feed of the Steeple Cam Live View of Downtown Harbor Springs, MI that gives us a good look around. It seems as if most trees right now are fairly green, but the colors can change fairly quickly. We will check again in a week to see how things are progressing!
Until then, let me know what your favorite spot is to view the fall colors!
I signed up for a Fantasy Football league with my coworkers, having no idea what I was getting into. 30 minutes prior, on the day of our draft, I was frantically combing YouTube and Google for some nuggets of information on what I should be doing. I didn’t know how to interact with the app, much less who I should pick or what stats were relevant.
Draft Time! Donald and I sat down in front of the computer and started picking players when it was our turn. In between turns, Donald would be researching the next position we wanted to fill, to see if there were any leads about who would be a good fit. Most of the time, I just sorted different stat headers and tried to go for the top suggestion. Sometimes it would be the person who scored the most Fantasy Football points the preceding year, or who had the most rushing yards, or the most passing yards, or whatever. To be fair, we really don’t follow football too closely and don’t know most of these people. Draft day was very exciting and we started to get into the spirit of it.
Week 1: We paired off with my boss. We didn’t think to look at any of the games until Monday Night Football. That was an exciting game and we very nearly won our match up! I mean VERY nearly. We lost by 0.04 points. We really wanted our running back to go in for the last 5 minutes of the game, but to be fair to the team, the other running back was having a better night and their goal was to try to win the game, not to help along our Fantasy game. 🙂
Week 2: Currently in progress! This time, we watched the Thursday Night Football game, which was playing on Amazon. Amazon as a place to watch sports was news to us, but there you go. It was also a very good game. Our quarterback was playing against one of my coworker’s quarterbacks (although we are not matched up in the Fantasy league this week). We ended up making over 30 points towards our overall total! I even went into the app prior to the game and changed out a few players to try and give us a better shot at winning our Fantasy match up this week.
Donald and I are “The Winning Grillers”
We are starting to get into it and even think that it would be beneficial to watch more of the NFL games – even the ones where we do not have players – so that we can get a sense of who the real stars are and who are “on fire” this season. Perhaps we will be able to trade for them at some point during the season and help us win some Fantasy games!
We were so surprised to see that Fantasy Football as an industry pulled in more revenue than the NFL itself, but we can definitely see the draw!
Until next time, let us know if you are getting involved in football this season and, if so, what the best part about the sport is.
Paroxysm of Giggles / Critical Mass 