Hot, hot, hot!
It is oh so hot I haven’t even been going on my walks, I just can’t tolerate the heat and humidity. And food rescue on Mondays at Whole Foods has been especially tough because their loading dock is so incredibly hot.
Ok, enough about the weather and the heat, we’re all suffering I know. Before I get started I want to wish belated happy birthdays to my nephew’s stepdaughter Maya and to my cousin Jorgito.
Now let’s get going, starting with last weekend when we celebrated Vance’s birthday by having another fantastic dinner at his favorite restaurant Luna Pasta e Dolci in Mimo, I swear we’re becoming regulars there. I loved my mafalde pasta with an assortment of bright spring vegetables in olive oil and pesto while Vance feasted on ossobucco agnolotti. The sangria I ordered was just as refreshing as my meal. We capped off our date night at Cuckoo Clock Miami, a German pub in a quiet corner of Little Haiti where we enjoyed a couple of crisp German beers. We were waited on by a very friendly bartender who remembered us when we there a few months back with our friend Brook who introduced us to the spot.
Saturday, we went to a matinee showing of the latest Minions movie which was hilarious, they did a great job encapsulating old throwback classic movies and putting the Minions into all kinds of awkward situations. Once we were home we were locked into the FIFA match between England and France. And of course on Sunday, we were glued to the television watching the World Cup Final where I was screaming my head off when Spain finally scored that first goal and then sealed the deal with the second one!
Zak the Baker’s mushroom toast topped with ricotta and parmesan, chives and oregano.
Nick, Karli, me and my silly grin and Kerri at Serious Sanji before our feast arrived.
We shared their delectable soup dumplings and took some home.
Chicken fried rice, veggie fried rice and the shrimp vermicelli roll. We took lots of the fried rice home too.
Monday other than my regular food rescue run and a tasty, savory breakfast from Zak the Baker in Wynwood, there was much ado about nothing, just making sure the house looked spiffy for the Tuesday overnight guests, my sister-in-law Kerri and her daughter Karli. Nick and I welcomed them on late Tuesday afternoon, we chatted for a bit then they treated us to dinner at Serious Sanji here in North Miami and dessert just a few doors down from there at our friends The Palma’s Jeremiah’s Italian Ice store. It was a fun night.
Jojo in full Toy Story gear, ready for the talent show to start.
Jojo having fun swinging his Rex toy from Toy Story at the playground next to Nick’s program.
Wednesday Karli and Kerri joined Nick and I at trivia then Thursday, after watching Nick perform at his program’s talent show and hanging with my sister Susy and her grandson Jojo, who came to watch, I went to volunteer with Nourish Miami. It’s a new non-profit formed by a fellow Food Rescue South FL volunteer Adam Snitzer. We worked out of the Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall Social-Economic Institute in Brownsville, preparing 300 individual meals made from leftover food donated by Capital Grille, Turnberry Isle Country Club and CookUnity. It was four hours of work on our feet but I met some great volunteers and I know those meals are going to people who need them and we’re keeping all that leftover food from getting thrown out. I’ll be back there again for sure.
Although I arrived home a bit exhausted from the volunteer shift, I did manage to get a little work done and sneak in a much needed afternoon nap before heading to a farewell dinner with Kerri and Karli. Vance got home in time to join us too. We took them to Amarone, another one of our favorite nearby restaurants that never disappoints. It’s great Italian food prepared by Argentinians. The menu has tons of pizza, pasta and Italian appetizer selections as well as Argentinian parrillada/grilled options.
And that’ll do it for this week. I plan on relaxing this weekend, except for maybe a family outing to Amelia Earhart Park to enjoy their lakes, maybe rent one of their paddleboats or cute little four-wheeled Surrey bikes tomorrow and feasting on all the leftovers we’ve got from all the meals out this week! Perhaps even a dip in the pool at McDonald Waterpark on the way home.
Here’s a cute pic of a cardinal in the backyard feeder, I hadn’t seen one in a while, glad they’re back! Now I hope you all go have a great weekend and I’ll see you back here in your inbox next Friday for the final blog of July 2026. Yes, next Friday is already July 31!
