~1~
Summer is my favorite time of year, and I am looking forward to being outside more and enjoying longer, slower days. I love everything about summer, even the heat and the humidity. Bring. It. On. And I do love a good watermelon carving, which is why I brought this basket of fruit to an event with friends last weekend.
This year, we joined a pool for the first time, and I can’t wait to see how that adds to the season. I’m hoping to do some summer reading by the pool while my son and his friends keep the snack bar in business.
Hooray for summer!
~2~
The other day I was chatting with our sons about how important flexibility can be in a job when you’re a parent. I said, “For one thing, I like to be able to cook dinner.”
And our younger son said, “But Mom…” and then he stopped. But I knew, and he knew, that what he started to say was, “But Mom, you don’t usually cook dinner.” Because of all the evening activities and work obligations of May, this is definitely not a month when I do my best cooking.
But this week, I made one great meal. It was so good that my husband couldn’t wait to eat the leftovers. And that is a good sign because he’s not always a fan of leftovers.
A friend made this dish, posted photos on Instagram, and shared the recipe when I asked. It’s called Swiss Steak and Onion, and you cook it in the crockpot. I doubled the beef broth because I always like to have extra broth, and it was delicious—especially on a gray rainy evening.
~3~
This week, I finally had my windshield replaced. It has been cracked for a few weeks, and I didn’t realize how much I had gotten used to looking right past the crack. It’s funny how you can adjust to and work around almost anything that’s in your way.
Now, I have this windshield that is unbelievably clear. When we drive, it almost looks like we have no windshield at all. And I thought it was pretty clean before! But nothing is as clean as brand new.
~4~
The other night I made soup for one of our boys, and he asked me to mix two packets. One had thin straight noodles, and one had rings. After I poured the soup into his bowl, we looked in the pan to see a noodle face.
You’re thinking, wow, you cooked so much this week! But cooking soup from a packet is not really considered cooking, at least not around here.
And apparently the soup itself was unimpressed.
~5~
If you’ve been here a while, you might remember that four years ago I moved my niece into college. We were masked for the move-in, and it was incredibly emotional to say goodbye to my sister Maureen’s oldest for that new chapter.
Well, four years passed, all the amazing achievements happened, graduation arrived, and poof—the college chapter is over. I can’t believe how quickly it all went. I didn’t get to go to graduation, which was disappointing. But I’m so very proud and can’t wait to hear all the details when we are together in a few weeks.
Being an aunt is an extraordinary gift. I remember being thrilled to meet that new little baby so many years ago. But every stage along the way has been marvelous—and the next one will be, too. Congratulations to our favorite 2025 grad!
~6~
Our pastor, Msgr. Rick Hilgartner, celebrated 30 years as a priest this week, and we went to a special Mass last weekend.
Thirty years feels like an incredible milestone to me, although Fr. Rick said that you would not normally have a special Mass at that point. When he reached 25, however, we were in the thick of the pandemic, and the parish marked it with a car parade. Somehow I missed that, as I missed so much during the pandemic. But we didn’t miss this Mass, which was beautiful and meaningful.
I grew up about a block from Fr. Rick in Rodgers Forge, and we both went to St. Pius X School in Towson. It’s hard to believe how many years ago that must have been if he’s been a priest for 30 years. We joined our parish, St Joseph’s in Cockeysville, before he became the pastor. But that’s how life (and perhaps life in Baltimore in particular) works, and I’m grateful for his leadership there.
The Mass was also a great reminder to pray for our priests and for an increase in vocations.
~7~
Today is yard sale day! We’ve been watching the weather closely for days wondering whether our neighborhood yard sale would be canceled. Yes, there is a rain date, but it doesn’t work for our schedule. And the yard sale is a favorite day around here.
We are sellers rather than buyers. For months, we add items to the yard sale pile. Then my husband gets everything set up in our driveway and sells, sells, sells.
I mostly bring him coffee and stay in the house. Twenty years into marriage, I know my strengths.
Maybe we will make a little money. Maybe we will make more than a little. But at the end of the day, John will load the unsold items into the car and make a drop-off at Goodwill. When he gets home, we will celebrate that victory.
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