JULY

This month has been lots of Oscar splashing in the pool with friends and lots of trying to stay cool in our house while temperatures rise. We only scheduled one camp this month, which wasn't until the last week, so the rest of the time was mostly open. I had assumed that so much free time would make the month pass slowly, but it was actually the opposite– I have no idea where the time went.

We kicked the month off with a trip to Victor to see Rita the Rock Planter and do a historic cemetery tour. (This is how we celebrate the Fourth of July in this household.) The tour was really entertaining and informative, since Victor is a pretty quirky little place with a long and interesting history. And then walking out to Rita meant we got to see some gorgeous views even before we got to the troll herself. She is one of two Dambo trolls in Colorado; we're hoping to visit the other sometime this winter.

Jeremy and I celebrated our twenty-third wedding anniversary at Four by Brother Luck. We were also planning to see Tig Notaro that night, but at the very last minute her show got postponed to next July, which I guess means we have next year's anniversary plans set already. Anyway, dinner was delicious; I think we were there for the last week of their spring menu, and we got to try some lovely dishes, though both of us would say our desserts– blue corn tres leches for him, orange panna cotta for me– were our favorites.

We had also planned to see the Old 97s this month, but Jeremy ended up needing to travel to Texas that week for a funeral. (We were able to find new homes for the tickets, and honestly I'm not sure I am up for shows that start at 9 p.m. anymore anyway because apparently I am ancient.) Other July highlights included a class on the science of ice cream at the library, a birthday party for a friend, and another round of belt tests for the boys.

The last week or so of the month became very rainy, a nice change after the dry winter, spring, and summer so far. Of course, the dogs object to rain– Turtle especially hates thunder, but neither of them like getting wet, even though we keep explaining to Nutmeg that as an Irish wolfhound, this weather should be her favorite.

Books:

• My Friends by Frederik Backman: A lovely, funny, sometimes very sad story about the relationships that can change our lives.
• Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang: I had been meaning to get around to this one for a while, since Arrival is a favorite movie of mine, and the story it's based on is great. But the collection as a whole is fantastic, thinking about science and math in ways that are grounded in emotions.

Movies:

• Ready or Not 2: Here I Come: Takes the ridiculous premise of the original up a couple of notches with the reveal of the other in-league-with-the-devil families competing to be in charge of the in-league-with-the-devil council. Including Sarah Michelle Gellar here is some genius stunt casting, as is adding Elijah Wood as the devil's lawyer.
• The Invite: Ooof, this one is hilarious and an emotional gut punch, earning all of the inevitable comparisons to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? I have not enjoyed Edward Norton this much in eons.
• Enola Holmes 3: The story is unnecessarily convoluted and less clearly grounded in larger themes than the first two, though it does tackle colonialism (sometimes even effectively!). The big win here is the addition of Himesh Patel as a Watson who totally makes sense as a partner for Henry Cavill's Sherlock. Still, it is charming and fun and makes great use of its entire cast.
• Hadestown: This pro shot of the original cast performing in the West End is incredibly well done. While I don't really see the appeal of Reeve Carney, who seems a little dead behind the eyes, the rest of the cast is phenomenal.

TV Shows:

• The Other Bennet Sister: I haven't read the book this was based on, but the series is a delightful entry into the already very full universe of Austen spinoffs. Seeing the events of Pride and Prejudice through Mary's eyes is fine, but the show really takes off when she leaves for London to stay with the Gardiners (who really are charming characters). Great casting, costuming, and pacing.
• How to Get to Heaven from Belfast: We loved Derry Girls, and this show has the same creator, so we were on board. We weren't totally prepared for how chaotic and dark this one would get, but it's also hilarious and touching.
• Spider-Noir: In this house, we love the Spider-verse, and we love Nic Cage as Ben Reilly, and we love the cheesy gimmick of choosing the black-and-white version of the show, and we especially love Lamorne Morris. Thumbs up.

I finally got the temperature stitch finished and framed. Of course I noticed a mistake literally as I was talking to the framer and had to decide whether it was worth taking it home to fix or not. I decided on not, and now we can pretend it's like "Where's Waldo?" for missing stitches.