Wisdom, Humor, and Inspiration in July (2026)

Walking in the woods is one of my favorite things to do.

😂😂😂

"Our entire lives should be filled with the gospel of Jesus Christ..." This is a key to true peace and joy.

This hymn and its tune speak peace to my soul.

FranklinPlanner just gets me. ✔

Ever since I was a kid and read a nature book about ducks called Ducks Don't Get Wet, I've appreciated the analogy about being like a duck and not letting things get to you. This article I saw in the For the Strength of Youth magazine was a good reminder of that.

Livin' the life!

No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, this is fact-based and makes a good point.

I like Tom Homan and think he's one of the few people in government who stay true to their objective, regardless of party or pressure.

Parade of Sail

 Okay, my whole post about the Parade of Sail just got deleted, and I'm not happy about it. So this is going to be a quick, abbreviated post that's not as good as the original one, without links or emojis or my usual brilliant writing (wink—no emoji, ha ha).

On Saturday, July 11th, David and I went to see the Parade of Sail of the Tall Ships into Boston Harbor. We'd never done it before, so we didn't know what to expect. It was really fun, and worth the trip!

We watched from Castle Island. There were both tall ships and small ships. 

This was the first tall ship we saw.

This majestic ship from Germany was my favorite.

The triangular sail on this one was unique.

This one reminded me of the Mayflower.

Lots of billowing sails...

Patrolboats

Nice, full sails

Views around Castle Island. It was crowded, but not totally packed, at least not when we were there.

Do you see me? Or rather (hint), do you see the back of me?

Logan Airport was across the water.

The tall ships were awesome. But this post has been behaving very badly, and I'm glad it's done. I need to hurry and publish it before it disappears again!

I'm trying out posting my book reviews directly from Goodreads

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I liked Mabel and the other characters, and the story was very interesting. The dual timelines worked well. The humor, the heart, the mystery, and the depth were all good, but I didn't care for the ending.

View all my reviews

The Rest of the Fourth of July Trip

 

We enjoyed a great beach day at Sea Gull Beach on July 3rd. It was warm and sunny out—perfect beach weather! It was crowded, but we got there early enough to get a decent spot. We used our new Cool Cabanas tent for the first time, and it worked great. I love it!

Abundant, easy-to-set-up shade and fresh open air and views: yes, yes, yes!

It was my first married summer in three years, and my first happily married summer in many years. 

I don't take it for granted!

Later that day, we enjoyed an early, delicious, and filling dinner at one of our favorite places, Brazilian Grill.

The hydrangeas in the backyard had bloomed nicely.

I saw this adorable and cleverly named beach-themed mint chocolate chip ice cream cake at Lighthouse Keeper's Pantry and decided I wanted it to be my birthday cake later that month (and it was—post to come next week! 😄)

We visited the massive weeping beech tree in Yarmouth Port.

After the Fourth, everyone left (including Sam, who was going on a vacation with a friend), leaving just David and me for a couple of days. We went out for dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant that I like. My chimichanga was deliciosa!

The dishwasher died. Even Mr. Handyman Extraordinaire wasn't able to fix it. I left a note on it for that month's renters.

R.I.P.

We got some house projects done. David really is quite the fix-it guy, and I'm grateful for his skills. He is methodical and meticulous!

A pretty view of hydrangeas right outside the bathroom window. 😄