Friday, June 22, 2007

Friday Five: Hot Town, Summer in the City

1. Favorite summer food(s) and beverage(s):
I love the wonderful summer fruits: berries, cherries, peaches, nectarines, cantelope. I could live on fruit and yogurt this time of year. Of course I usually make at least one blueberry pie--I think I'll do that this afternoon!
It stays pretty warm here most of the year, so there isn't really a beverage I only associate with summer. I probably make iced tea about 350 days out of the year.

2. Song that "says" summer to you. (Need not be about summer explicitly.)
One beautiful morning in the late '70's when I was in my master's program, I was on my way to school when Eddie Money's "Baby Hold On", which was climbing the charts, came on the radio. It was such a happy, upbeat song, I rolled down the window and let it blast. That moment, and the memory of it, have always felt like the essence of summer to me.

3. A childhood summer memory.
I used to love to put on my swimsuit and play in the sprinkler. Remember the Wham-O Water Wiggle, gyrating wildly at the end of the hose?

4. An adult summer memory.
In our summer climate, intense storms can pop up quickly with little advance notice; they rumble through, then the sun comes out again. We spent our tenth anniversary at a Galveston bed and breakfast, in a nice second-floor room with a view of the Gulf. One day we stood on our balcony and watched a powerful thunderstorm roll in over the water. I still remember the dark clouds making the water appear gray, the sound of the thunder and the way the breeze grew cooler for a while.

5. Describe a wonderful summer day you'd like to have in the near future.
I'd love to go back to Galveston soon (or better yet, South Padre Island, but that's too far to drive) and have a long weekend in a little beach house, so we could take the dog with us. I imagine just the right breeze coming off the water, and us with nothing to do but listen to the waves, read, walk, look for shells, and eat seafood.

Optional: Does your place of worship do anything differently in the summer? (Fewer services, casual dress, etc.)
This summer we aren't having Sunday school. I have to admit, it's been nice to sleep in and read the paper before heading off to church. Some Sundays the choir has the day off, which gives us even a few more minutes to dawdle in the morning.

9 comments:

Rev Kim said...

mmm...blueberry pie. Yum! Yay for cattle dogs. Ours would love I'm sure to have a real experience of herding. Do you suppose they have dude ranches for dogs?

Unknown said...

Do you brew your own iced tea?

Sally said...

I remember driving home to Katy from Galveston through a terrible storm- we had some frined over from England, they were terrified, we were quite calm- Texas and summer storms- normal life!

Great play!

Princess of Everything (and then some) said...

I had forgotten about the Water Wiggle!

Do you make your own pie crusts?

zorra said...

Rev. Kim: Maybe not dude ranches, but there are places where urban dwellers can take their border collies on weekends to herd sheep!

Songbird: Yes, always. The Scientist drinks a whole pitcher of freshly brewed iced tea nearly every day!

Sally: I wish I'd known you when you were in Katy! We were practically neighbors!

Mindy: I just use frozen ones when I'm alone, but the Scientist is happy to make them. When we bake together, I make the filling of the pie or quiche, and he makes the crust.

Princess of Everything (and then some) said...

I am a make your own pie crust kinda gal but....Sara Lee has a pie crust that is almost as good as home made.

Anonymous said...

Living on fruit...sounds like a plan!

Lori said...

I still put on my swimsuit and play in the sprinkler. And I wish they still made the Wham-O Water Wiggle. The things they make now break after just a couple uses.

Mary Beth said...

OMIGOD! The Water Wiggle! Remember its little string hair and its crazy expression?!

Wow!

And, did you have a Slippity Slide?

Now that was some partyin' on the grass.