July, 2026
The specific day doesn’t really matter, does it? Instead, what matters is the consistency. Good cooking. Healthy (vaguely) meals, and positive memories. Time spent in the kitchen, enjoying the process (though maybe being stressed during that short point when everything needs to happen all at once), and having something delicious to share and show off when it’s all over?
Yeah… I like cooking.
Saturday, 04-July-2026
It seems kind of silly to make this into its own post. I mean, it’s just a single picture, and a single afternoon into early evening.
But still – I’ll get it posted. Because even the simple things are fun, worthy of memorialization, and worth remembering as time goes on.
The little things – tracking down hotdogs and hamburgers, bringing them up to the roof deck with a beer and grill utensils, and taking some phone-free time to just relax and enjoy each other’s company. Troubleshooting the grills when the gas doesn’t want to work, succeeding thanks to having designed emergency-stop systems, and simply enjoying the surprisingly-cool weather in early July.
Life isn’t bad. Life isn’t bad by a long-shot, regardless of the chaos of the weeks and months.
Saturday, 27-June-2026
Two Pride celebrations down, one final one left – Home, Dublin itself. The easiest to get to, the simplest, and what turned out to be probably my favorite of all three.
Travel? Way easier than Boston or Bulgaria. I mean, we didn’t even have to fly!
Getting in? Simple as heck – we just asked a random group (CVS, maybe?) if we could march with them… and boom! There we were!
The crowds? Crazy and busy, of course, but also calm and interesting. Seriously good people watching, if I’m remembering correctly, alongside a good blend of ages and enough room to actually move around.
Now, to be fair, the actual party at the end of the march was… okay. The speeches and music weren’t particularly memorable, and while I’m sure there was something there, all I really remember was that there were a ton of vendors who were all selling really expensive food and/or cheap mass-produced tchotchkes.
But you know what? We had a blast. And at the end of the day, that’s the key part.
And after Pride? A house party! Visiting some friends of ours, getting to meet their friends, and getting the chance to play with a very happy puppy (two, in fact!), a slightly standoffish kitty, and even a pet snake!
Yeah… Dublin has some frustrations, no doubt about that. But this year? Pride was absolutely not one of them.