Tomorrow would have been my husband’s 51st birthday, had we not lost him in 2019. Thinking about his birthday, as well as Mother’s Day on Sunday, it really took my mind to things that he and I never got to do together. And things that I know he’d have never, ever done on a bet (however, he’d have sent me off with a friend and stayed home with the kids).
So, what’s on my bucket list?
First, if you haven’t heard this song by Mitchell Tenpenny, you should give it a listen. He’s one of my favorites right now and this song is just so good.
I’ve lived a pretty quiet, uneventful life. One that hasn’t included much traveling outside of a couple of cross country moves as a child and teen. Last year, I did manage to achieve a couple of list items. First, I was able to be in the path of totality for the solar eclipse last April. Which was one of the most amazing and awe-inspiring things I’ve ever experienced. After that, I left the US for the first time, ever, and visited Montreal. It was also a wonderful experience, and I can’t wait to see more of Canada eventually.
Last year, I also finally made it to the Utah Shakespeare Festival, something I think everyone should experience at least once. My friend and I also visited Bryce Canyon while we were there, which is gorgeous, even in the rain. But the biggest part of this was that I drove my first actual road trip! Prior to August, I’d always been the passenger.
What do I have planned for the future?
On a small scale, I’m finally getting to see Kenny Chesney in concert later this month. I’m really excited about this because my friend is a huge Kenny fan. It’s also her birthday, so we’ll be double celebrating.
I’d love to visit New Zealand and Australia. As long as nothing horrible happens between now and next year, it looks like I will actually get to go to New Zealand at least. But Australia is still on the list!
Out of the blue one day, my late husband made a suggestion that surprised me. He said that every year, on or around Halloween, there’s a dinner party at Bran Castle, aka Dracula’s Castle, in Romania. What surprised me was how willing he sounded to make the actual trip. We didn’t make it, but this is high on my list of things to do before it’s too late.
A more achievable, less crazy trip I want to make is to Chicago. Despite having been born in Illinois, I’ve never made it to Chicago. And, as a lifelong Cubs fan, a day game at Wrigley has long been on my bucket list. I’m sad that I never got to Wrigley while Harry Carey was still alive, but I did get to hear him sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” at the Astrodome in Houston back in the late ‘80’s. Which was… an experience… to say the least.
There are more things I’d love to go and see and do, but I think this is enough for one post. What about you? What are some things you’d like to experience in the next few years?
As an avid reader, I tend to pick up weird facts here and there through the books I’m consuming. The strange thing is, I tend to pick up more factoids from fiction than I do from nonfiction.
In anticipation of the final season of The Handmaid’s Tale beginning next week, I’ve been doing a rewatch of the first five seasons. Thankfully, I had remembered a lot of the major plot points, but I was surprised at how many of the smaller, but still important, things I had forgotten about.
I moved from the Midwest to the desert southwest when I was four, meaning I know very little about weather that isn’t either hot and dry, or cold-ish and dry. Rainstorms are few and far between here, which makes them extra special when we do get them.
When I was a child, my grandparents lived in Phoenix, AZ. My grandfather had screened in his back porch so that he could sit outside, away from the bugs and the scorching sun, and read his paper. But I discovered that I loved sitting out there with a book during those afternoon monsoons. The sound of the drops hitting the aluminum cover, the cool breeze, and the peace it brought me was amazing. I miss being able to experience that. My back patio isn’t screened in, but it does have a cover. Hopefully, if we have a more normal monsoon season this year, I can try and recreate that experience as an adult. Thankfully, my Kobo is waterproof, just in case.
So, when I saw cannoli French toast on the menu, I immediately knew what I had to have it. It came out looking like a small loaf of bread, topped with a mixture of ricotta and mascarpone cheese, pistachios, and chocolate pearls (shoutout to the molecular gastronomy being used here). Also, maple syrup, but I figured that syrup was rather superfluous when you considered everything else already on this massive meal.
