What we did, read, watched and thought about this month.

Todd R.: Movie reading month, as I read a biography of director Mike Nichols and a detailed book about the making of the great movie “Network.” Started White Lotus on HBO, and I am still sitting on the fence about whether this is really good or really confusing. Podcast “Missing on 9/11” is an interesting story about a person who might have been a victim of the terrorist attack, might have decided to disappear, or some other explanation. Otherwise, July and August tend to be outdoors, filled with projects and a lot of BBQ. On a pretty dry lawn, it appears.

Alyssa: I’ve been walking during the early mornings to beat the heat this month and have been loving Bari Weiss’s new podcast, Honestly. Our family never misses a Marvel movie, so of course we watched Black Widow. And it has been fun to cheer for all the Minnesota athletes during the Summer Olympics.

Rich: Our July began with a wonderful family vacation in the Hamptons. We attended a wedding in Northfield with a full complement of guests at the wedding and reception. And, I golfed, walked the Minneapolis Lakes with Kari and reunited for dinners with family and friends. We also had time to enjoy, walk, try to train and chase the newest family member, our Beagle puppy, Flossie. All of this without a mask!

In addition to projects at Rapp Strategies, I have been volunteering significant time to All of Mpls, a non-profit formed to participate in this year’s Minneapolis elections. The City faces significant challenges and we hope to support good candidates and policies that will competently address these challenges.

In my free time, I have been watching the Olympics!

Todd S.: As someone raised in Texas and with family roots in the state that go back to the Civil War, I am fascinated by this new book that takes a comprehensive and fact-based look at the deep and pervasive myths about the Battle of the Alamo. Here’s a hint: The John Wayne movie where he plays Davey Crockett? It’s all bunk. I’m still reading the book, but I’m enjoying the wit and pace of the narrative. One of the authors is my good friend Chris Tomlinson, a talented journalist who is a business columnist at the Houston Chronicle. I encourage anyone interested in getting the facts to check it out.

Sarah: Even though it has been hot as heck, I’ve been spending a lot of time in the garden. My veggies and flowers are producing like crazy – tomatillos, broccoli, zucchini, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, dahlias, sunflowers, snapdragons, zinnias, China asters and cosmos are taking over our counter tops. We’ve been doing a lot of cooking straight from the garden which has been a blast. Half Baked Harvest by Tieghan Gerard is our favorite resource for delicious recipes using seasonal ingredients. Making her broccoli fettucine (an all-time-favorite) from her first cookbook using home-grown broccoli for the first time was so fun! When not in the garden, I jumped head first into AppleTV+ with a free year – Ted Lasso is as delightful as everyone says it is. We also took a road trip to Kansas City to visit some friends. The highlights were Jack Stack Barbecue, Betty Rae’s Ice Cream and having a stellar view of KC from the rooftop pool.

Anna: It’s hard to believe it’s gotten even warmer here in Alabama, with humidity above 90% most days. Although I’ve been outside less these past few weeks, my husband and I have made the most of it by decorating our living room and trying new recipes, including salmon burgers. Our favorite discovery this month (thanks to my sister-in-law) was grilled peaches, with a sprinkle of brown sugar and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. At the beginning of the month, we rented a house in Panama City, Florida with friends. The sun didn’t appear the whole weekend, but we had a ton of fun and saw the best fireworks show of my life at the beach. Finally, I finished We Must Be Brave by Frances Liardet, an evocative World War II novel about an impossible choice.

Cullen: Somehow, I managed to leave the air-conditioned oasis of my apartment and have some fun this month. My marathon of summer weddings came to an end, which allowed me to finally get out on one of my favorite lakes and do some proper fishing with some college friends. We capped off a productive day on the water with a few brews at the ever-amazing Bad Habit Brewing Company. I was also lucky enough to witness a walk-off bomb at Target Field, and my girlfriend and I swung by the Minnehaha Art Festival where we had just as much fun dog-watching as we did perusing the artists. While I have yet to catch much of the Olympics, my roommate and I have filled the gap with season two of I Think You Should Leave and the latest movies from Disney: Luca and Raya and the Last Dragon.

Jessica: Another busy summer month is in the books. I started July off in Illinois, spending some much-needed family time on the lake. We celebrated the Fourth of July in typical fashion, with brats (vegetarian for me) and some outstanding fireworks. After making the trek back up North, things certainly didn’t slow down. After more than a month looking for a new apartment, I signed the lease on a new apartment in Uptown. Looking forward to being close to Lake Bde Maka Ska and having some great views for evening runs. I also made my way to the Minnehaha Art Festival, tried out Treats ice cream in St. Paul (highly recommend!) and witnessed a rare Twins win! When I’m not out and about, I’ve been watching Big Brother, the second season of I Think You Should Leave and, of course, the Olympics.

Jayme: July flew by with the sleepy-like temperament that it usually does, humid and sticky and slightly agonizing at times. While I love warm weather, it is around this time of year that I begin to dream about Fall - cool breezes, hot coffees, and crunchy leaves sound ideal to me!

Despite spending much of this month trying to escape the heat, many activities involved packing in as much family time as possible before our move to the Twin Cities. We celebrated the Fourth of July at Atwater Beach, took my parents to Minneapolis and Saint Paul while we continued our apartment search (we did find one!) and we all participated in the Green Bay Packers 5K walk/run at Lambeau Field. I placed 18th out of 89 in my age group and 499th out of 1,790 overall - pleased with those results!

We also spent a long weekend celebrating my husband, Cory, as he turned 28 years old this month. He got Packers vs. Bears tickets for his birthday and Green Bay Packers merch, which he was very surprised/thrilled with! (Is it too obvious that we’re Wisconsinites?)  Speaking of which – The Milwaukee Bucks won the NBA Championship this month! (In case you missed it!) Milwaukee has continued to celebrate that feat over the past few weeks, so it’s an exciting time to be in Cream City.

As for the brief moments in between it all, I did what I normally do – read books and spent time at the lake. We will officially be moving to the Saint Paul area come the end of August and are very excited to explore our new cities once we’re all settled in!