First and foremost, our new baby Tristan Alexander Bond was born on July 7th!

Read

Because of all the time I spent sitting and nursing, I read (and watched) more than average in July. Three novels I read quite quickly were The Women in Black, Counterfeit, and The Revivalists. I found them all fun and interesting, but none of them will be favourites of the year.

I also read George Washington’s World and started Abraham Lincoln’s World because my girls will be reading them for school next year. They are very engaging looks at world history.

I finished reading Homer Price aloud; I’m surprised I had never read it before (except one excerpt about the doughnut machine).I certainly recommend it, including the illustrations. I also finished reading Life in Five Senses aloud to Andrew; it’s not my favourite Gretchen Rubin book, but if you’re interested in ways to engage your senses you should check it out.

If you love Helen Oxenbury’s illustrations, don’t miss the picture book Welcome to the World.

Eat

We treated ourselves a few times in July…

• Red Swan Pizza (Andrew ordered some fancy flavours like lemon shrimp and butter chicken — delicious)
• Hong Thai (We got pad thai and yellow curry takeout right after Tristan was born)
• Bishop’s Landing (Andrew and I walked to this restaurant in the Best Western Inn on the Bay for drinks and dessert after the kids were in bed when my mom was visiting)

It was so nice to have friends bring us meals in the past month, including taco salad, pasta, shepherd’s pie, bread, muffins, and cookies.

Do

• On July 6th, I finished my daily Yoga with Adriene streak at 552 days without missing a day!
• The girls spent two weeks in NY and had a great time with Vacation Bible School, a Chinese buffet, the Syracuse Zoo, beach days, etc. (And Grammie took good care of them when they got colds.)
• Meanwhile, the rest of us spent some time in our friends’ pool and at grocery and thrift stores while waiting for the baby to arrive.
• Andrew took the five older kids to Canada’s Wonderland with passes from his brother; the rides, waterpark, and fun food made a memorable day for them.
• The kids have participated in a few library programs so far this summer, including trying out ancient board games, painting, and making a craft at the Marine & Rail Museum
• At the monthly library sale I helped myself to a few dozen free CDs, mostly classical music, but also some folk songs, bluegrass, and kids music.
• This past weekend my mom visited and we went to Kelso Beach and Sauble Falls; it was lovely to visit with her and have her help with the baby and making meals.

Listen

A bit sappy but I like it!

Watch

We’ve been watching more shows than usual in the evenings, mostly trying out TV shows on DVD from the library. The ones we stuck with were the first seasons of Gilded Age and Indian Doctor.

Meditate

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

What are some of your July favourites?