Hello July! When I look at the calendar, I can't believe you're here, but if I step outside of the cushy air conditioned confines of the house even for a few seconds, it's pretty clear you've arrived in full force.
Please stop by Jennifer's blog to see what she and others are up to currently.
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| Great Salt Lake |
loving - being able to take multiple trips and catch up with good friends lately. We may not have a large social circle outside of my family in AZ, but it's much easier to visit friends who live on the West Coast. Added bonus that two of these trips got us out of the desert heat for a few days, which makes a big difference!
savoring - summer salads, sandwiches, and other easy meals. It's way too hot to turn on the oven, and boiling water for pasta or rice is about as much cooking as I want to do these days. I've been eating variations of the same sandwich for lunch for a couple of weeks now--turkey and cheese on sourdough w/ mayo, mustard, romaine, and some kind of pickles or tapenade. I'm calling it the Black Turtleneck after Steve Jobs' go-to outfit. 😂
celebrating - Hoping that Keizo will be feeling back to normal (see last bullet at the end of the post) by his birthday on Friday. He even has the day the off of work, so it would be nice to be able to go out and do something.
remembering - as I stepped onto my yoga mat and started paying attention to my breathing yesterday, I remembered the outdoor yoga classes I went to last summer and how I much I enjoyed being outside and practicing in a group (mosquitos and all). It made me feel a bit nostalgic for the green grass, big leafy trees, and yes, even the humidity of a DC summer.
trying - coffee, lots of different ways. Keizo has been getting very into coffee lately, watching a gazillion YouTube videos, acquiring new coffee making instruments, and getting serious about storing the whole beans in vacuum sealed containers (quite the departure from our large tins of the pre-ground Kirkland house blend we've been loyal to for years). I too have been learning some things along the way...maybe namely that I prefer ease and convenience of our boring old drip coffee maker over detailed experimentation. Also that espresso + milk drinks are a nice treat, but not something I want to have on a daily basis.
Best of May and June
- Las Vegas trip - Long weekend to meet up with friends and attend The Chicks concert. Stopped at the Hoover Dam and Clark County Museum (highly recommended) on the way, had a great time, but I came home with covid. Thankfully, Keizo stayed healthy and was my lifeline to the outside world even more than usual while I was housebound for almost 2 weeks. Finally leaving for dinner with my parents felt so good!
- Arrival of niece #2 - She arrived healthy a few days before her due date at the end of May.
- Visit from DC friends - We got a surprise visit from two of our DC friends over Memorial Day weekend. We spent some time in downtown Phoenix, ate good food, took a day trip to Sedona, and hung out at my parents' pool. Super fun weekend; thanks for visiting O+S!
- Seattle trip - Our long anticipated trip to Seattle to celebrate Keizo's work award took place in the middle of June. I tagged along for the free lodging / breakfast and worked from my company's Seattle office for three days. I enjoyed being in an office again, and transportation planner that I am, kind of enjoyed the walk to the park-and-ride and bus trip to and from downtown each day. I also got to have a lovely dinner with my best friend from 3rd grade and meet up with a college friend for brunch at the end of the week. Keizo had 3 jam-packed days of activities, and while the end of the week did not turn out as planned and we came home a day early, the extra day was much appreciated, since five days later we were on our way to...
- Salt Lake City where we met up with my college roommate, her husband, and three sons (8, 5, and 1). We explored downtown a bit, went hiking, and dipped our toes into the Great Salt Lake. All in all, a very fun trip, but the dreaded covid hit again; this time Keizo came home with it and is not quite out of the woods yet, though thankfully is feeling better today than a few days ago.
