Monthly Review: June 2024

Long before I ever had a porch, I knew I wanted a porch swing. My great-grandparents had one, my grandparents had one, and I felt it would only be right if I someday had one as well. They seemed to me a symbol of lifelong love and companionship (and, of course, they were comfortable).

When we discovered shortly after moving in that our porch was outfitted for a swing, it seemed to be one of many small providential confirmations that we had found the right place for us. From my vantage point in an embarrassingly shabby hand-me-down recliner that lived on the porch so at least one of us could sit out there, I stared up at the hooks all last summer, daydreaming about a swing. Now to find one.

We ordered one. It never shipped (or, thankfully, charged our card). We ordered another one. The arm didn’t fit. We ordered a replacement arm. A cardboard box and several pieces of swing in varied states of assembly sat on our porch, waiting. At last, all parts present and accounted for, if not particularly well manufactured, the porch swing was assembled and hung.

Gingerly, my husband sat to test his handiwork, soon joined by Dobby and then me. I laid one hand on Dobby’s head and took my husband’s in the other. Two years to the day since we’d signed the papers and gotten the keys, and now here we were, porch swing and all. My little family, I thought.

We swayed gently back and forth as the breeze stirred the curtains. It began to drizzle, then rain outright. There was a music to it, a quiet song I knew would echo through this space as long as it was ours and then afterwards in the concert hall of memory. I wondered if my grandparents too had heard the melody as they sat together in their backyards and on their porches, swinging from year to year hand in hand, just as we were now, just as I hope we’ll be fifty years from now.

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Here's what I read, cooked, and created in the month of June.

What I Read

• How to Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told, Harrison Scott Key (★★★★★)
  

• The Monster in the Hollows, Andrew Peterson (★★★)

• The Warden and the Wolf King, Andrew Peterson (★★★★)
  

• Beastly Beauty, Jennifer Donnelly (★★)

• In Five Years, Rebecca Serle (★★)

If you want to hear the rationale behind my rating, head to my Goodreads for full reviews.

What I Cooked

• Firecracker Salmon

Difficulty: ★★

Flavor: ★★★★★

Keeper: Yes

Comments: Not too spicy, but definitely has a kick. The salmon was delicious enough for company but easy enough for a weeknight dinner. I will be adding this to my list of things I like to do with my bags of Costco salmon fillets.

• Lemon Cake Pops

Difficulty: ★★★★

Flavor: ★★★★

Keeper: Yes

Comments: There is nothing that is finicky in the same way as a cake pop, but they're just too cute. I made these for a family event and topped them with sprinkles in lieu of the zig-zag design, and they were quite well-received.

What I Created

• TBH, not much

May your days be filled with beauty, and may your heart be filled with the willingness to see and give thanks for it.