“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” -Henry James
Do you remember how you looked forward to summer vacation when you were a kid in school? I do even though summer did hold plenty of chores and work days for this farm girl. But there was also time to walk in the woods and weeks spent with our cousins, either at their house or ours. We went berry picking which even though I loved the pies was still hot and often itchy work. We got to go to the creek and had those special Friday night sleepovers with our aunt. But maybe the very best thing about summer vacation was time to read. Not school books, but books I picked. I could find a cool place in the shade or maybe lie flat on the linoleum ifloor n front of a fan and get lost in a story. Summer never lasted long enough.
My June Newsletter Giveaway
I sent out a newsletter last week with a June giveaway. No huge prizes, but fun, and of course, the winners will get a book. Always a book. You can see details about the giveaway and how to enter on my News & Events Page. Scroll down to the giveaway info. Easy to enter, just an e-mail. Fun prizes. An apron for the summer cook or a dog cup and scented cup pad for the dog lover. And for fun, I asked those who entered to share something they liked about summer. A summer favorite or a summer story wasn’t necessary to enter, but some of you like sharing stories. And I like to read them.
So here are some of the things you all like about summers now and summers past. First let’s hear from Deb.
“… what I love about summer. I love lightning bugs, flowers blooming in my back yard and cooking on the grill in the back yard; going camping in our pop-up camping trailer with our 3 dogs, my grown son and my husband, eating corn on the cob, fresh peaches, and ice cold watermelon, and going swimming.
Now, what I hate: mosquitoes and flies. Grrrr.”
Then Connie says she doesn’t have any notable summer memories, just many good one.
I don’t think I have any interesting stories. My life wasn’t very adventurous growing up, but I did love summer when we got out of school. My parents always planted a big garden, so there was always beans to fix for canning and lots of corn to work up to get ready to freeze. Tomatoes fresh off the vine and cucumbers were my favorite fresh vegetables to eat. Putting a slice of tomato on a leftover cold biscuit with a little butter was a favorite treat.
My dad worked in a furniture factory and got a week of vacation during the 4th of July. We would usually take a day trip up to the Smokey Mountains along with a wonderful picnic mom made. We would find a table beside one of those little mountain streams and listen to it while we ate. We would usually go to one of the amusement parks, like Tweetsie Railroad, Grandfather Mtn Swinging Bridge, Biltmore House, Blowing Rock, or the Cone Manor Mansion. We only got to do this once a year, so it was very special.
Thanks, Deb and Connie for sharing some great things about summer. Last but not least here’s one that made me smile from Barbara.
Best summer memory was visiting friends who actually had an air conditioner!!!
I can remember when air conditioning wasn’t so common as it is today and how it felt going into the stores in town that had that cool air blowing.
What do you remember about the good ol’ summertime? Or what do you like about it now?
(If you haven’t already entered my giveaway you can either send a message or just leave a comment here. Of course I always love to hear from you any time.)
As always, thanks for reading.
