June has been a pleasant month. Our church had VBS the first week, and we celebrated Father’s Day last week. Our only excursion was to Vintage Market Days.

We actually went out to dinner a few times instead of just getting takeout. But just last week we learned of two restaurants near us that closed. I’ve mentioned stopping by Bojangles for their steak and egg biscuit and blueberry biscuit (they’re the only restaurant I knew that sold those) a couple of times a year when I had fasting blood work done first thing in the morning. But I guess that wasn’t enough to keep them in business. :). They mainly featured Cajun-inspired chicken, which I didn’t really care for. We did really like Ruby Tuesday, though, as an in-between restaurant–beyond fast food but not as expensive as a fancy restaurant. They occasionally had buy one entree, get one for $3 offers that we liked to use. But as we planned to use that offer Friday night to place an order, the web site wasn’t listing our local restaurant. I checked the app–same thing. I looked them up on Google maps, which said they were permanently closed. I asked about it on our neighborhood Facebook app, where it was confirmed. The closest one to us now is 30 miles away. So we’re sad about that but wondering what will replace those two restaurants.

Creating

I made three Father’s Day cards this month. The first is for my step-father, who likes the original Star Trek series. The closest Star Trek-ish thing I could find in my Cricut images looked something like their comm badge.

I looked up Star Trek-type fonts online and downloaded one to make the words here.

This was for Jim. I recently found a camping-themed packet at Hobby Lobby with scrapbooking paper and stickers, so I am sure many future cards will come from that. 🙂

This one was for Jason, inspired by this sticker:

Watching

Someone suggested to me that I share where we watched the shows I mention, and I will try to note that from now on. We watch TV through an Amazon Fire Stick. We tend to rotate between streaming services, watching a series or two on one and then unsubscribing and trying a new one. I do link the title to the show’s listing on the IMDB site, which shares where it can be seen. Some of them can be viewed in more than one venue. Also, if you scroll down on an IMDB listing, the “Parental Controls” is where users can list any problem areas they saw.

A Small Light is a series about Miep Gies, the secretary who helped hide Anne Frank and her family along with a few others. Anne’s, father, Otto, was Miep’s boss, and she and her husband, Jan, had become close family friends to the Franks. The title comes from something Miep would often say as she spoke to groups after the war: “Even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager can, in their own way, turn on a small light in a dark room.” There were a couple of scenes we had to fast-forward through with Miep and her husband, but otherwise it was really good. I think we saw this through Amazon Prime.

An American in Austen was a fun, light-hearted film which was much needed after the intensity of the above series. Harriet is an aspiring novelist with a boyfriend who wants to marry her. But in her mind, he doesn’t live up to Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. She falls asleep on an Uber ride to wake up in a jostling carriage in England as the American cousin visiting the Bennet family. At first she thinks someone has put on an elaborate hoax. But then she realizes that somehow, she’s really there in England in the 1800s. There are parts of it she likes (the clothes, the house, Mr. Darcy) and parts she doesn’t (corsets, carriages, social restrictions). But her actions begin to upset the plot of the story, and she tries to make it right. The only negative here is some way too low necklines.

Patience is a British series about a young woman who works in the Criminal Records section of a police station. She is autistic and socially awkward. When the lead detective asks her for some records on a case, Patience includes another case as well. At first the detective thinks Patience has made a mistake, but then she catches a similarity between the two cases. She begins to ask Patience for more connecting cases, eventually appreciating her different way of looking at details which others miss. But the relationship has its ups and downs as the detective squad and Patience learn to interact. The only negative I remember here is that a new character in the second season uses “Jesus” and “Christ” in vain a lot. I think we saw this through a PBS Masterpiece subscription we had at the time.

Foyle’s War is another British police procedural, this one set during WW2. Detective Chief Superintendent (DCS) Christopher Foyle wants to help in the war effort, but various circumstances keep him in Hastings, where he has an uncanny knack for solving cases. The last couple of seasons take place after the war where Foyle is recruited by MI6. We particularly liked his driver, Sam (Samantha) Stewart. It’s been a few weeks since we finished this one, but I don’t remember any major problems with it. I think we may have started it with Masterpiece or something else, but saw the last few seasons on Acorn TV.

The Other Bennet Sister is a series based on a book by the same name, which I loved and reviewed here. The main character is Mary, the bookish, plain, awkward middle sister in Pride and Prejudice. The first part tells some of the events of P&P from Mary’s point of view. Then the other sisters all marry, and their father dies, leaving Mary with her overbearing mother. Mary goes to London to stay with her aunt and uncle, the Gardiners, for a while when their governess goes on an extended vacation. Mrs. Gardiner graciously draws Mary out to experience new things and think new ways and meet new people. But just when Mary is starting to emerge, her mother calls her back home. This was a really sweet series. It’s been a few years since I read the book, so I don’t know how closely the series followed the book. I do remember some of the scenes, but not all–and there are parts from the book that weren’t incorporated or were only touched on lightly. The only major negative that stood out was a scene early on about the parents trying to produce a male heir, showing a man’s bare shoulder for a couple of seconds, but nothing else. I was frustrated that was included, but thankful that was as far as we went. We watched this on Britbox, which we just subscribed to.

A Great Awakening is a new film about the friendship between Ben Franklin and preacher George Whitefield. We thought it was quite good. I wasn’t conscious of the upcoming 250th July 4th celebrations as I watched, but afterward thought it was timely to view it in that context. We really loved a hymn titled “Awaken Us Today” that was sung and played throughout the film and thought it must have been an old newly discovered one. But it was written for this film. We rented this from Amazon Prime.

Reading

Since last time, I have finished (titles link to me reviews):

• Life Under the Sun: The Unexpectedly Good News of Ecclesiastes by Hannah Anderson, nonfiction. A Bible study on Ecclesiastes. Not as in-depth as other Bible studies I have used, but it has some good nuggets.
• Playlist Theology: If not Unison, then Harmony by Ben Everson, nonfiction. A frank, balanced, and gracious discussion of issues involving Christian music, sorting between what the Bible actually says and evaluating what others have said. Very good.
• Blueprint for a Nonfiction Book: Plan and Pitch Your Big Idea by Jennie Nash, nonfiction. This doesn’t focus on how to write, but on almost everything else to do with writing a book–how to structure it, determine your ideal reader. etc.
• You’ve Been Pooping All Wrong: How to Make Your Bowel Movements a Joy by Trisha Pasricha, nonfiction. Not reviewed. Entertaining, but not as helpful as I had hoped.
• The Lumber Baron’s Wife by Lynn Austin, fiction, audiobook. A couple making a new start buy an older home, which used to belong to the doctor of a town whose main industry was lumber. The woman, Ashley, learns that the main lumber baron’s wife disappeared, and her fate was never discovered. With the local library and a few history buff friends, she seeks to find out what happened. Excellent.
• Echoes of a Silent Song by Amanda Wen, fiction, audiobook. A pianist for a high school’s choirs and musical groups feels protective of the students after a revolving door of musical directors come and go. The new one has already said he will only be there a year until his composing muse returns. But they find a handwritten partial score of a beauitful piece and seek to find out more about who they think wrote it–a student named Iris from the 60s. I didn’t like the best friend, and the story seemed slow at first, but I enjoyed it by then end.
• All Booked Up by Melody Carlson, fiction, audiobook. A widow about to lose her home decides to take in boarders, all “older” women like herself. Clashes arise but are eventually worked out while a couple of characters discover more about themselves. This was just okay.

I am currently reading:

• None Like Him: 10 Ways God Is Different From Us and Why That’s a Good Thing by Jen Wilkin with a friend.
• Insights on Revelation by Charles Swindoll.
• Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear. I’m way behind the bandwagon on this one.
• Theo of Golden by Allen Levi. I actually just finished this, but the plot twist near the end and the rest of the book were so stunning that I looked back at the beginning. I may reread the whole thing or I may just skim parts.
• Into a Golden Era by Gabrielle Meyer.
• Mist of Midnight by Sandra A. Byrd, audiobook.

I also shared how to get more for your reading dollar in How to Read More Books for Less Money.

Blogging

Besides the weekly Friday Fave Fives, Saturday Laudable Linkage, and book reviews, I’ve posted these since last time:

• Helps to Remember What You Read from the Bible. We’ve probably all experienced forgetting by lunchtime what we read that morning. These are a few helps to try to retain more of what we read from Scripture.
• No Perfect Homes Here. Even at the highest levels, it seems impossible to find a home with all the desired features and no problems. But that’s probably a good reminder that our perfect home is not here.
• “He Knows, Yes, He Knows.” Blessed by the unexpected discovery of an old hymn.
• A Mother’s Nightly Ritual. A rare poem I wrote years ago about checking on my children at night and trusting God for them when they were no longer home.
• Brave Fathers of the Bible. We can learn from their failures as well as their faithfulness.
• When Your Biggest Problem Becomes Your Biggest Asset. Sometimes our biggest point of pain or struggle becomes our biggest platform to display God’s grace and encourage others.

Looking ahead

We’re looking forward to Independence Day, with the kids over for burgers. We don’t have anything planned at this point for America’s big 250th birthday. I imagine special events in town are going to be super crowded.

Jason’s birthday is this month, and I’m planning to meet a friend for lunch. Our church is having a special session for women one Saturday this month. Otherwise, the calendar looks remarkably free. I have several things I’d like to get done.

How was your June? What are you looking forward to in July?

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)