The Weekly Wrap: June 7, 2026

Did you know after care is closing early the last day of school? Did you hear about the end of year party? Are you signed up for summer camp? Did you donate to this? Did you enroll for next year yet? Now? How about now?

Enough already!

Our school has been blasting the same messages across multiple platforms over and over and over again. I'm developing a tic from all the notifications. I'm also genuinely worried that something actually urgent is going to get lost in all the reminders.

Then again... the number of questions that get asked in the school WhatsApp group because people didn't read the emails....

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• The unwritten steps in cooking. [WaPo - gift link]
• Who begins a book-to-film adaptation. [Lit Hub]
• Take better close ups. [PetaPixel]
• An analogy so useful I wish I thought of it myself. [Info Literal]
• Scroll for cute. [The Wildlife Diaries]
• These two women are not the same. [In Pursuit of Clean Countertops]

• A look at how Trump is trying to put his physical stamp on my city. [The Daily]
• Your phone is dark flow. [Short Wave]
• The ornithologist who came in from the cold. [Very Special Episodes]
• We don't know a lot about eels. [Short Wave]

• Back in December, I saw an advertisement  for an upcoming production of Othello starring Wendell Pierce. I took a picture so I could remember to stalk tickets. Months later, we ended up sitting in the last row on opening weekend. Pierce as Wendell is fantastic. His line delivery is more staccato than I thought he would go. But that gives a modern feel to the text. Ben Turner, as Iago, is deeply compelling and I can see why he's getting kudos. But I think Melanie  Field steals the stage during her scenes as Emilia. The Shakespearean language takes a bit to get used to but, once you settle in, this production is stellar.  [Shakespeare Theatre Company]
• We did not wait to watch El Camino until after we finished our binge of Better Call Saul. Luckily, it didn't matter. This film is told through a lot of flashbacks and I found the pacing slower than Breaking Bad. But that was a good thing. You get to see how Jesse Pinkman thinks. Jesse Plemons, as Todd, may have been my favorite part. He was astoundingly good as a villain who is also a little bit good at heart. The movie starts with a brilliant bit about friendship. Those were my favorite scenes. [Netflix]
• Speaking of Better Call Saul... We finished. I was shocked by the number of episodes in the final season that used black and white. It was an interesting storytelling choice. I'm still deciding if I like the ending. It makes sense, character wise, but I'm not sure if I like the choice. [Netflix]
• We decided to work down our long list of documentaries. Since we're starting from that top, that meant turning on The 1619 Project. I've listened to the podcast series and have read the book. I know what's coming and, still, the content is a gut punch. [Hulu]

• The first time I made hearty black bean quesadillas, the kiddo picked out all the insides. This time around, she ate everything. I like this recipe because it's quick on a busy weeknight and doesn't need a side dish. Just serve them with some sour cream and salsa. [Budget Bytes]
• The husband requested lo mein. He couldn't find a recipe he used previously, but he shared an easy lo mein recipe that was all veggie. I would recommend doubling the amount of sauce. I tend to measure veggies with the "that looks good" or "I'm using the whole bag.  Damn the recipe." approach. The balance was good with the amount of pasta but things were a touch dry. [Damn Delicious]
• I've been trying to go with fiber and/or protein heavy lunch preps. This week, I made chickpea, cabbage,  and cucumber salad. I can't be bothered to chop up that much cabbage (and what would I do with the rest?), so I used a bag of rainbow slaw. Close enough. The flavor was good but I needed to add a touch more Dijon to the vinaigrette. [Eating Well]