Wow, July has gone by fast, hasn’t it?

We’ve had a fairly quiet month. Our local COVID-19 cases and deaths are still rising rapidly, so we’ve pretty much been staying at home as much as possible. We do get together with my son and daughter-in-law and grandson since they’re mostly sheltering at home as well.

The heat and humidity would be keeping us inside even if the virus wasn’t.

We had a fairly traditional 4th of July with grilled burgers. All the major fireworks displays were canceled, but we saw several around the neighborhood.

Jason’s family and my husband camped out in their yard and then in ours to get Timothy used to it before camping away from home. He enjoyed it!

Timothyisms

Once again I have none! There have been a few times he’s said something cute, and I’ve thought, “I need to write that down.” But then I forget.

He’s in the tooth-losing stage of life and currently has three out in front. So cute!

Creating

Jason’s birthday was this month. Since he had asked for some camping equipment, I went with that theme for his card:

The Cricut has some designs that can be printed out, and this was one. It came out darker than it looked on the computer. The things in the corners are some button-like stickers.

I don’t usually show the insides of the cards I make, but they can be the hardest part. I don’t want to say the same thing every time. With this one, all sorts of camping terms flooded my mind, so I wrote them down to see what I could come up with.

Watching

While riding my exercise bike, I’ve worked my way through a few movies. Watching something keeps me there for the allotted time more than listening to something, even an engaging audiobook.

To Catch a Thief was an old Hitchcock film with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. A burglar known as “The Cat,” played by Grant, had served his time and changed his ways. But now someone else has committed a string of burglaries using his MO, and he sets out to catch his imitator.

Funny Face was another old one with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire. He’s a photographer for a high-profile women’s magazine who “discovers” her in a book shop and thinks she’s the face for the magazine’s new campaign. The only reason she agrees is to be able to go to Paris. It started out a little weird, but ended up being sweet and cute.

Beyond the Mask is a Christian film set during the Revolutionary War. The main mercenary for the East India Company wants to quit and is betrayed. He ends up working against the EIC . . . and falling in love with his rescuer and meeting Benjamin Franklin. I don’t think I have ever seen a Christian film with such extensive costuming and setting. I enjoyed it. And the two main characters are married in real life.

Waiting for Anya was just released this year. A young shepherd boy in France who is not very responsible at first ends up helping a stranger smuggle Jewish children into Spain during WWII. It was pretty good! I’d like to look up the book it’s based on.

I think I watched all these on Amazon Prime, but they may be available elsewhere as well.

Reading

This month I finished (titles link back to my reviews):

• Monday’s Child by Linda Chaikin. I had finished but not reviewed this last month. Set after WWII, a model serves as a courier for Interpol but soon learns not everyone is what they appear to be. Excellent!
• Rain Song by Alice J. Wisler. A Southern young woman was born in Japan, where her mother died. She has determined never to fly and never to go back to Japan—until she’s attracted to a man online who lives there. Loved this one, too.
• If We Make It Home: A Novel of Faith and Survival in the Oregon Wilderness by Christina Suzann Nelson. Former roommates meet up for a 25th anniversary and go on a wilderness camping trip, which doesn’t go as planned. Very good.
• Hurricane Season by Laura K. Denton. One sister leaves her two children with the other sister for two weeks, but ends up staying away much longer, which strains relationships. Very good.
• Waves of Mercy by Lynn Austin. A Dutch immigrant looks back on her experiences coming to and trying to make it in America through much hardship. She finds an unusual connection with a young woman at a crossroads in her life. Very good.
• Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott, sequel to Eight Cousins (audiobook). Rose, the orphaned and only female cousin in the Campbell family, grows up. Sweet, old-fashioned story.
• Billy Budd by Herman Melville (audiobook). Melville’s last novel, about a winsome young sailor who accidentally kills a superior officer.
• The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (audiobook). A mysterious “opera ghost” manipulates the opera house managers and his young protege.
• Be Concerned (Minor Prophets): Making a Difference in Your Lifetime by Warren Wiersbe covers Amos, Obadiah, Micah, and Zephaniah.
• The Red Door Inn by Liz Johnson (just finished, not reviewed yet)

I plowed through a lot of Christian fiction on the Kindle app in the evenings.

I’m currently reading:

• Candleford Green by Flora Thompson, the last of the Lark Rise trilogy
• Write Better by Andrew Le Peau
• None Like Him by Jen Wilkin
• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (audiobook)
• Be Heroic (Minor Prophets): Demonstrating Bravery by Your Walk by Warren Wiersbe
• 7 Steps to Get Off Sugar and Carbohydrates: Healthy Eating for Healthy Living with a Low-Carbohydrate, Anti-Inflammatory Diet (Healthy Living Series Book 1) by Susan Neal

Blogging:

Some of my posts this month, besides the weekly Friday’s Fave Fives and occasional Laudable Linkages:

• When Others Don’t Do Their Part, we’re still supposed to do ours. We have an example in Christ, who continues to love us and meet our needs even when we fail Him.
• The Cares of This Life are many and can choke out God’s truth in our lives unless we cast those cares on Him.
• My Journey with the Bible, from hardly understanding it to its becoming a dear friend and companion. I particularly enjoyed reminiscing in this post.
• Finding Ways to Minister may or may not include “official” avenues of service.
• Blog Birthdays and Musings celebrates my blog’s 14th birthday and ponders my direction.

Writing

I got some good sessions in on my book-in-progress. I was especially thankful for a long work session where I got the basic information down for what I think is my most difficult chapter to put together.

And that wraps up July! We have some things to look forward to in August while we hope and pray for deliverance from the coronavirus.

I hope you’re keeping cool and well this summer! How was your July?

(Sharing with Grace and Truth, Hearth and Home, Inspire Me Monday, Global Blogging, Senior Salon, InstaEncouragement, Let’s Have Coffee)