June Joy
We kicked off Juneteenth early this past Saturday moving indoors due to rain (a historical 13 straight Saturdays here in Boston), before running over to my son’s band finale concert then kicking off his 2-day AAU basketball tournament with 2 games. All good stuff, but I’m tired!
A few weeks ago, while attending the free Art & Meditation class I shared in my last post at the library, I found out about the "Riffing on Juneteenth Salads” class with Chef-in-Residence Kayla. I yawned my way through the day but powered my way into class, and I’m so glad I did. It was a wonderful, multi-generational gathering of mostly women (and 1 guy!) gathering to learn how to make 3 different salads: classic potato salad, a black eyed peas and okra salad (it was charred so not slimy like I’m averse to) and a red salad featuring strawberries, watermelon, basil, feta and honey-spiced, toasted pecans. Everything was delicious!
As more Juneteenth activities abound this week, they lead us into my son’s last day of school followed by back-to-back-back weekends with extended family. The joy of family is my flotation device.
And speaking of family, rewinding to an early celebration of Father’s Day, last weekend I snagged tickets to the closing night of Othello. To witness Denzel Washington’s charisma, stage presence and the way he so charmingly infused his charm into his character was such a gift. Also, at 70 years old I was in sheer amazement at his memory and how physical his performance was. After, Jake Gyllenhaal came down the queue outside to sign Playbills and Mr. Washington gave the crowd a nice wave and smile - at his age, I didn’t expect much more and I imagine he wanted to get back to a large soaking tub somewhere! See my Instagram Reel recap here.
I have to give a special shout out to my BFF who made our return to the city extra special. He generosity and kindness makes me feel so loved!
We were also in town for another family event which led to this quick capture before we hopped in the car for our long drive home:
Also, a quick peek at my recent Libby reads:
Note:
I was entering the library tonight for my cooking class behind a woman returning Carless People and asked if she finished it (she did), which led to a quick, but passionate conversation. She was the first person I’ve met IRL who’s read it, and it made me feel validated that she also felt the same sense of urgency in getting others to read it too.
What are you reading lately?
P.S. This round-up of posts regarding Saturday’s events is all I have to say about that.