Weekly Wrap Up #18
hilarious summer reading, upcoming travels, the beauty of bread
Hello hello!
I apologize for disappearing for so long this Spring. Things got insanely busy just with homeschool and, well, life in general I suppose. We had a slew of celebrations take place with Easter, First Holy Communion for my youngest son, my oldest son's 12th birthday (how is he 12?!) and my husband’s birthday. I’ve been cooking and reading tons as usual and began bullet journaling. As my nine year old says all the time, “wow, the days are just so short right now!” meaning where is the time even going. It feels like a busy season and a dormant season at the same time somehow, where nothing spectacular has taken place except the every day miracles of getting up every day, watching the leaves go green on the oaks and pulling hot crusty sourdough from the oven.
We’re prepping for a very busy summer with lots of travel. I’m heading to the beach in two weeks with my youngest to celebrate our June birthdays! After that, I’m going solo to Philadelphia for the CMEC retreat and right after that we leave for Portugal with Boundless Life for the whole month of August! We have a lot to get ready for and I can’t get to move into our cozy house in Sintra for the month!
In terms of books and recipes I’ve been loving as of late - please tell me you, too, have discovered the hilariously witty Emma M Lion series?! I am currently on book 7 and can’t be stopped! I can’t remember the last time I read and enjoyed a series so much. Maybe last summer? It’s been awhile. These are the perfect summer read and oh, so funny. I admit to actually laughing out loud while reading. I will say though that I wasn’t sure I even liked the series after finishing the first and second book. It really took the 4th book to seal the deal and now I can’t put them down. I might re-read the entire series again when I finally finish - they are that good.
I’m also working on pre-reading all my kids’ school books for the fall and currently deep into Lewis and Clark and Ancient Rome. We joined the CMEC, as before mentioned, and over the past month I have been in the process of procuring all the school books for next year since by the time we get home from Sintra it will be the second week of September. I’m trying to get all my reading and lesson planning done in the next two months so everything will be ready to go. I’m looking forward to next year and really looking forward to the teacher training retreat in Philadelphia that is coming up.
I’ve been baking lots, per usual. Crazy to think this little sourdough starter is now - what - 7 years old? I’ll never forget taking it with me in a little jar in my carry-on suitcase when we moved to the east coast in 2020. I wasn’t sure it would survive the trip but here we are, six years later and going strong. I made the most delicious sourdough Irish soda bread for St. Patrick’s Day this year using leftover starter and I want to experiment with those types of recipes more and more in the future. Right now, porridge loaf still has my heart - as does the OG loaf that started it all. If you want step by step directions on how to get started yourself, check out my blog. I wrote extensively about it and I think it’s laid out pretty clear. I’ve also been brewing homemade kombucha (a new for me!) every two weeks. Wow, it is so good. I got a great starter kit just on Amazon and it’s worked brilliantly. Our favorite combos so far are cherry lime and pineapple. My kids guzzle it. I rarely ever get any myself!
I hope your spring has treated you well and thank you for sticking with me even though I may have been quiet on this front! I do hope to be more consistent this next season and I anticipate having much more time to write this summer, especially during our travels. For now, I wish you a truly happy Thursday filled with strong coffee and good bread with Irish butter.
