Summer Pleasures

yes to beaches !
yes to loose flowy functional dresses with pockets
yes to loose tank tops!
yes to cooking on the firepit!
yes to the creamiest freshest ice cream!
yes to dining outside and sunbathing for as long as possible!
yes to weather that is perfectly sunny and breezy!

Summer
Part 1
Sunburned lips, blonde tips
Dirty feet from muddy streets
More freckles and treats

Part 2
Fishing trips, bait worms
BBQ at Neversink
They’ll grow up in a blink

Freshly picked berries
Plucked straight from the vine, sun warmed
They stain my mouth red

Infant bathing suits!!! Made my heart swell. A friend and I went to the beach recently and couldn’t stop giggling about how silly (in a cute way!) all the babies looked in their colorful hats and huge ruffles.

My previous comment should have said sipping, not zipping!

Pool with my friends and our children! After having our pool closed last year due to Covid 19 and not seeing my friends forever, I am really enjoying spending time at our neighborhood pool. Kids are older now and swimmers (mine is 8), hence we can spend more time enjoying ourselves zipping a drink. We have had a couple of pizza pool parties with the kids.

1. Agua frescas! My favorite with alcohol, below:
Grapefruit juice (you can freeze grapefruit segments and put them in a blender for a slushie effect)
Tequila
Campari

2. Road trip to Wildwood to see Gramps

3. Seeing fireflies in Brooklyn at night

4. Neighborhood block parties. In my area, these consist of a spraying fire hydrant, a few kiddie pools in the road, and all the neighbors playing music and BBQing in their front “yards”.

5. Tomato sandwiches & blueberry pie. Also the juiciest nectarines with burrata.

I mentioned earlier that I miss the summer rain. I truly do and hope that the droughts pass and we are soon enjoying the rain’s freshness again. But! There are still many things I love about summer, and I thought I should include those as well!

Working in the yard and relaxing in the yard, eating supper outside as often as possible. I love all of the summer birds and the joy I feel when I see a bee or a butterfly. I love having time to read a good book. I love sandals and summer dresses. I love warm evenings and soft breezes. I love spending time with family. I love the long days and late nights. I love the flowers. I love fresh fruits and veggies and barbecues. The beach. Trees in full folliage. I love walks in the park and driving with the windows down. There is so much I love about summer and try to enjoy the moments as much as I can, even if I am simply hanging out and relaxing.

Petrichor!!!!!
Oh, how I live for this. So happy to see I’m not the only one who does. This is the scent of my childhood. Racing home in a downpour, and taking shelter under a massive maple tree. So carefree, and those summers lasted forever.
Every time this happens now as an adult, I stop and grab every second of it. Amazing.

Beach days in LA with my friend and her children. We have long, meandering, deep, interrupted conversations and I eat all the stuff she packed for them even though I brought my own snacks.

Sitting on the patio sipping coffee and reading a good book. Listening to the birds and watching the squirrels play.sometimes just sitting and doing nothing.

I love reading everyone’s lists! Echoing some already named summer things but enjoying the process of listing my favourite summer things.

Peaches and watermelon
Lazy beach days
Late sunsets
Beers outside with neighbours
Tennis
Lake swimming
Flowy shorts
Streets lined with trees in full leaf
Sweet corn
Being comfortable outside!!

It’s my favourite season!

Lemonade! Swimming in a cool backyard pool! Tennis! Smell of charcoal on the grill! Cooold white wine! Driving with the windows down! Dairy Queen dipped cones! Freckles! Napping in a hammock! Smell of mulch and fresh cut grass! Hummingbirds! Farmers markets! The library’s summer reading contest!

Sadly, I am now a person that counts down then days until fall. I was the exact opposite when I lived in Chicago. But in the Deep South, home of sky high temps, high humidity, and being just 40 or so miles from the Gulf, the happiest time for me is mid-October when the weather here is perfect, there is football, and hurricane season for my area is pretty much done. August is my most hated month! Katrina, Rita, Laura . . .

cold beer
outside sleeping
fullmoon over the sea

Berries as in freshly picked raspberries still warm from the sun – yes, yes, yes. Also: green beans off the vine.
Pretty toenail polish.
9pm sunset.
Bubble tea picnics.
Fresh homemade caprese. Also: watermelon with feta, mint, honey + olive oil.
Nectarines.
Driving with the windows down, a favorite song playing loud and hair blowing.
The feeling of freedom that comes with being able to walk outside in whatever you’re wearing, no extra layers, shoes optional.
PBR. Rosé.
The smell of badger kid + baby sunscreens: tangerine and vanilla! Chamomile and calendula!
Iced lattes.
Farmers market mornings.
Watching thunderstorms on the porch.
For my fellow Minnesotans, the dread (end of summer sadness) x excitement (Sweet Martha’s cookies?) of the state fair.
And from the previous COJ summer list: Trying a new-to-me ice cream.
Opting to stay inside and snuggle under blankets and with cozy socks and sweats in the air conditioning for a movie night – and not feeling bad about it. ;)

No summer rain or thunderstorms in the fog belt of the SF Bay Area, sadly. But we have the fog which rolls in from the ocean in tall, fluffy piles of clouds, some white, some gray, and some dark. It moves quickly, bring cool marine air. I love it. I love watching it roll in. I love nights cool enough to sleep with a blanket. I love that it rolls out in the late-ish morning and back in starting at four-ish, giving us warm sunny days, and cool nights.

Currently in day 2 of a new covid lockdown in winter in Newcastle, NSW and this list and these comments are making my heart beat so quickly! I’m currently sitting in the beautiful sunshine having my lunch and fully daydreaming of hopefully much freer (if we’re ever given access to a vaccine) summer days around the corner.

Late night hot tubbing by star and candle light.

Flip flops and sleeping with the window open

Skinnydipping!

An after dinner bike ride, as the sun is setting and the neighborhood softening. And ice cream sandwiches!

Long, uninterrupted stretches of reading…… tomato sandwiches….wearing flip flops, shorts and yoga pants most days….backyard blackberries…..outdoor art shows!

Exploring different state parks via kayak!

All meals outside
Swimming
Sunsets
Summerflowers
Sweaty runs
Fruitsallad
Icecream
Strawberries
Cold sparkling wine
Snoozing in the shade
Gardening
Holidays
Carpentry projects
Relaxing
Floaty summerdresses