“Write about what interests you.”
What interests me right now are video games and the TV show Suits. I wouldn’t write about them because they’re not important enough. They’re entertainment.
Except that I’m an analyst. Where others watch a show or play a game and happily move on, I must master it. If it’s a game: memorize the tactics and devise the perfect strategy. If it’s a show, ascertain the characters next moves and the writer’s plot structure. So should I write about these topics too?
Our September will be packed. It begins with Amie traveling to the East Coast for a wedding. Then I train a group of adults and high schoolers in the Discovery Bible Study method (I’m really excited about this). After that we drive to Chicago for a week of visiting and a work conference. And I might try to squeeze in a day hike.
For our ninth anniversary Amie and I returned to Skogen Kitchen and, for the first time in our lives, we tried foie gras.
We’d wondered about this dish ever since reading about it in one of Ruth Reichl’s books, but rarely see it on the menu.
This is also likely the last time I will ever eat it.
My dad and Shawna visited the second weekend in July.
One lunch we spent at a firehouse restaurant up in the Black Hills. Graham and Royal climbed all over every firetruck they had parked outside and into every compartment.
We visited the candy store afterward. To our surprise, not only did we find candy, but also this enormous moth! Royal insisted we take it home.
Another time we went on a cave tour.
It was a short trip, but everyone had a great time!
In Amie’s Present Play cohort (now called Hi Fam! I believe) she’s chosen a three-month project to hold a special weekly meal called “family feast.” It’s a meal that, more than any other, is for connection and tradition. We had our fourth meal yesterday.
We’ve made adjustments every week since we began, trying to find a time, food, and location that’s conducive to mutual enjoyment. I don’t think we’ve quite figured it out yet.
Amie is growing a number of edible plants in pots on our front porch, such as jalapeños.
Yesterday, Royal had found a plucked jalapeño and mistakenly bit a swallowed a chunk. He was in agony while we tried to figure out what had happened until Amie noticed the half-eaten jalapeño on the floor. Once we knew what was going on I rubbed ice on Royal’s lips for almost a half hour until the oily burn finally subsided.
If Royal’s other choices are any indication this will not deter him from trying again, even another jalapeño.
Amie and I have finished Trenton Lee Stewart’s “The Mysterious Benedict Society” boxed set. I’m sorry to see it go; we really enjoyed them.
We’ve begun a trilogy about a family’s life on the island of Corfu. Although we’re only a chapter in, there’s an exceptional quality to the writing. And it’s funny. Gerald Durrell has keen perception to say the least.