Category: fun

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October abroad

hanging out with the bishops of Holguin and Pinar del Río

I just got back from 3 weeks in Europe — enjoying a wonderful Mediterranean cruise. It was a dream vacation that started in Rome coinciding with the installation of Cuba’s new cardinal, Juan de la Caridad García Rodríguez. John and I attended with the Cuban delegation. How awesome is that? We even made the highlight reel!

highlight reel from the cuban delegation

It was a beautiful way to start our trip through Italy, Greece, and Turkey!

the shenanigans begin

I’ll posting some more on our vacation in the coming days. There’s a lot to unpack, laundry AND memories, but I’ll leave a couple of nuggets here to whet your whistle:

Cruising is serious business. Happy hour means two drinks at once. I was game. These orange dreamsicles reminded me of my childhood. Sans the vodka, of course. OF COURSE!

They say two drinks opens up your creativity. I don’t know who”they” are, but I like them.
I rode a donkey. It was … something.

Check back soon for updates on what we did! We visited Olimpia, Athens, Ephesus, Mykonos, Santorini (see donkey above), Crete, and Naples!

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3 delightful things

here’s lookin’ at you, kid
  1. This little fishy looks like a friendly guy. I love that it looks like he’s smiling.
  2. Coffee. I can’t love it enough.
  3. Cool mornings and evenings and the hint of Fall in the South!
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Cracker Jack nostalgia

cracker jack prizeI used to love Cracker Jack when I was a kid. I liked the sweet popcorn, of course, but I looked forward to the prize at the bottom of the box. If I was lucky, it would be a ring or some little plastic animal that I could add to my collection.

Sometimes I’d get one of those transfer tattoos. You’d have to get the paper wet and leave it on your hand for a minute. The transfer was terrible and I usually ended up with a pink smudge on my hand for all my effort.

It was the coolest thing ever!

One of my kids left some snacks here at the house after a visit, and I helped myself to a bag of Cracker Jacks. What happened to the cardboard box? I wasn’t too disappointed, though. It tasted just like I remembered! Better, even, since I usually eat air-popped low sodium (read: bland) popcorn these days, Yummy! And there was a prize!this isn't a prize

Now you can cue the disappointment: there was no plastic prize. No ring. No little green dinosaur. I shook the bottom of the bag to loosen up the crumbs and spied a little square paper. Yes, I thought, there’s a kitschy tattoo for me! I wonder if I’ll have better luck applying it now that I’m older and have a steadier hand.

Nope. Welcome to the 21st century. It was a game to play on an app. I won — but it’s not the same.

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