Happy Friday! It’s crazy that today is the last day of July. Even amidst a pandemic, the month seems to have flown by. Before we know it, we will be getting ready for back to school…..whatever that may look like. New York schools had to submit their reopening plans to the Governor today and we will find out next week whether he approves them. I really feel like my kids need to be in school, at least for a couple of days, mostly for the socialization. However, there are so many challenges. And with the recent upticks in numbers throughout the country, I am keeping my fingers crossed that New York remains at our current, stabilized numbers. I guess we will find out next week and can then start finalizing what we want to do. As for weekend plans…..nothing is definite as of last night, when I’m typing this. But Sunday they are calling for possible thunderstorms, so we have to find something to do outside on Saturday. Here are five from this week:
1. NYBG – Last week the New York Botanical Gardens finally reopened for members (and this week to the public). Saturday we braved the heat and took a drive down to the Bronx for a visit. I loved looking at all the flowers and plants. But it was HOT! And they aren’t running the tram, so there was a lot of walking as well. We discovered the tropical courtyard, which along with the rose garden were my faves. It wasn’t a super long visit due to the heat, but an enjoyable one.
2. Reading – I just finished The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell. This was my first Jewell book that I thought was just okay. I just started Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison, which is another suspense/mystery book. I’m a little nervous that I’m getting tired of this genre, which used to be a fave.
3. Making – My son wanted to make some popsicles. So, I dug out our popsicle holders and this week we made Orange Mango Coconut popsicles. They are vegan and were very refreshing. We are looking forward to trying different flavor combinations.
And Cooking: Our favorite dinner this week was a Caramelized Corn and Tomato Tarte Tatin from Half Baked Harvest. The corn at the grocery store wasn’t looking so great so I used some zucchini instead. I served it with an arugula, tomato, avocado salad for a delicious, light, summer meal.
4. Watching – What haven’t I been watching?!! Work has been crazy busy with school reopening stuff and I come home exhausted! At night I just want to sit on the couch. My evenings have been spent watching Indian Matchmaking. My daughter and I have started season 1 of America’s Next Top Model and Dana and I have been watching Alone. Reality binge watching at its finest! LOL!
5. Skateboarding – Back in June my daughter got a long board. Then we got my son a skateboard for his birthday in July. The kids have been going out skateboarding almost every day. It’s fun seeing how much they’ve improved over the course of a couple of weeks.
Sharing with Friday Favorites! Have a great weekend!
The tart tartin you made looks amazing. I want to lick my screen, if that wouldn’t be gross and not taste at all like your yummy dinner! It’s so hard because I agree kids need to be with one another, but it also seems like a recipe for disaster because kids and classrooms were built for social distancing. I don’t have kids but my friends that do are all over the place about what’s best to do. Have a great weekend!
Our schools were supposed to have their plans submitted by last Friday and while our governor is pushing for schools to open since our case numbers are holding steady (and really quite low in our 4-5 town area) but I have been warned by the school administration that even with a plan in place and agreed upon that it could change right up until (and even after) so I am determined to be flexible– even though I am really not!