The Weekly Ramble – July 11, 2025
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Almost halfway through July, but also the end of an era. Let’s chat in this week’s weekly ramble!
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I’m sure you’ve been eagerly awaiting the update to my library makeover. The loveseat and rug arrived from Home Depot as did the storage ottoman from Target.
They all met and/or exceeded my expectations — which is really saying something based on how I did my shopping and color analysis on my phone!
I’ve really been enjoying this space and just so pleased with how it turned out. The funny thing is that I haven’t been home that much to enjoy it!
A quick thank you to all you who delurked last week. It was so fun to hear from you. Be sure to leave a comment here, too! I’ve love to hear what you’ve been doing, eating, listening/watching, reading, and/or writing this past week.
Here’s mine:
What I’ve Been Doing
Except for lockdown, I’ve spent many hours since 2015 in a church cafe over the summertime while my eldest daughter and sometimes the other kids has participated in Kids Games, a summer camp that a local church holds each year.
For the first year or two I drove there and back, an hour in the car each round trip, but eventually I wisened up to just parking myself in their fancy-pants coffee house and working. This is probably my last summer doing so which is a little bittersweet.
I’ve enjoyed this week getting to chat with FishChick18 to and fro and then having 4-5 hours dedicated work time. I’ll miss this summer routine and am honestly a little sad we only did one week of it this summer.
In the afternoons I’ve either continued working on blog stuff or decluttering projects. Last week’s library project feels a million years ago. This week I started chipping away at our clothes closet while Bryan gutted the garage.
In the evenings we’ve had quite a few friends over. Now that we’re really up to speed on hospitality in this “new house”, I’ve needed to start texting everyone which days already have guests. lol!
Tonight the kids have five college friends coming over for pizza and grilled chicken. I made enough to make 12 pizzas as well as bought two family packs of chicken legs. I guess we know what I’ll be doing when I get home this afternoon.
What I’ve Been Eating
My girl and I have been packing breakfast and lunches this week, though I end up eating lunch at home after driving us back from Carlsbad. This taco salad was made with Tuesday’s leftover carnitas and it was so yummy!
My summer meal plan seems to be working out really well. Here it is again:
- Sunday – grilled meat and cold salads
- Monday – grilled fish, Mexican rice, and salad
- Tuesday – tacos/taco salad
- Wednesday – grilled Asian chicken and bowls
- Thursday – grilled sausage and grilled veggies*
- Friday – Grilled pizza
- Saturday – Burgers
I am thinking of making Saturday flex between burgers or Breakfast for dinner. Eggs are back to being affordable, more so than burgers some weeks.
What I’ve Been Watching
Thanks to Prime Days, I signed us up for some $1/month video subscriptions, including: Britbox, PBS, Acorn, and Hallmark. So, while I prep dinner I’ve been catching up on Death in Paradise or Shetland.
FishChick16 and I usually work our way through some Hallmark series together. Currently, we’re catching up on Hannah Swenson. Is it just me, or have they gotten even cheesier?
What I’ve Been Reading
I mentioned last week that I’m putting the brakes on light reading until I do some deep reading. This week I plugged away at The Weight of Glory by CS Lewis.
It’s definitely challenging my attention span as well as my vocabulary. He uses words in ways we no longer use them, so I’ve had to wrap my head around some of that. Yet, I’m continually amazed at the man’s range.
The man really was brilliant. I’m stumped for thinking of an equal, past or present. Anybody?
What I’ve Been Writing
I’ve mostly been working on blogging stuff this week, no fiction writing since we before we left for Japan. I’m eager to get back to that, for sure.
I hope you’ll have a few minutes to check out these posts on Good Cheap Eats:
- HOW TO ROAST RED PEPPERS AT HOME – so good!
- CHOCOLATE BANANA MARBLE CAKE – and even better!
And here’s what’s new on Life as Mom
How was your week?
What’s up in your world? Leave a comment or a prayer request. We’re all in this together!
I really enjoy reading the rambles, Jessica! Your library looks great!
Watched You’ve Got Mail this week. Makes me want to find The Shop Around the Corner to rewatch that too.
Here in California it’s been HOT this week so trying to limit using the oven. Making Southwest Pasta Salad for tomorrow. 🙂 It is definitely one of our favorite recipes.
Love TSATC! Last Christmas was the first time I’ve seen it. SO fun! As is that pasta. Yum!
Delurking week 2.
Your library corner looks great!
Being intentional about spending time with family – last night we saw many of my husband’s cousins and today we are going to the Cincinnati Reds game with his 2 brothers and a cousin.
Also continuing health goals by running along the Ohio River this morning, and still snacking on grapes and sweet cherries.
I’m off to read about roasting red peppers since I have a Tuscan sausage pasta recipe in which I usually use jarred peppers.
Sounds like a great week!
I love your library area! I’ve been rewatching all of Downton Abbey before the new movie comes out in September.
Oh that is fun! I did that when each new Marvel movie came out… until they got too numerous. lol
Love the library!
Thanks! It was fun! Now if only all my other projects had such nice carrots to them.
Your library looks great! I’ve been wanting a storage ottoman, going to check out Target.
It’s small but nice, especially for $50. They had a $10 coupon that helped.
I love Shetland! We watch a lot of Britbox and Acorn TV so would love to hear more of your favorites.
My fam and I are UKTV junkies. We’ve watched everything that is on the lighter, cheesy side and a few of the dark ones, but not a lot. We just finished McDonald and Dodds (loved the first season or two, the later ones not so much). Started Death Valley over the weekend which looks promising. The standards: Vera, Sherlock, Midsomer Murders, Endeavor/Inspector Morse, Inspector Lewis. Really liked Queens of Mystery, disappointed that there weren’t more. Shakespeare and Hathaway, Harry Wild, the Chelsea Detective, Madame Blanc. Love Astrid, am a little disappointed that it looks like Patience is a ripoff of that. Does that get us started? lol.