Commencing With Summer 2026

 

Although summer's heat has been in my area for close to 2 months (!!), this is the first Hodgepodge of "official" summer. If you want to link up your blog with others to answer these summer-related writing prompts, click on the link below.

http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com/2026/06/hodgepodge-questions-volume-659.html

1. Summer's here!  In the northern hemisphere anyway. If you're in the southern hemisphere, substitute winter for the word summer. What do you love most about summer? What's your biggest summer pet peeve? 

Me, hamming it up the summer of 2018
on the boat dock of friends
in Lake Weedowee, Alabama

I enjoy the 4th of July parades, fireworks, and grilled menus.  If I have a pet peeve about summer, it's that I don't like the feeling of sweat running down my back. 

Our patience is tried in crowds of people and traffic, so In recent years Gary and I have been absolutely content to watch the 4th of July celebrations unfold on TV while we enjoy air conditioning, our automated recliners, and the convenience of food and bathrooms just steps away.

The current trend of drone "fireworks" shows are interesting but I hope the old-fashioned kind are not abandoned.

2. What song always reminds you of summer? 

Summer Place by Percy Faith's orchestra (one of my husband's favorite songs).

3. What's something you remember about your childhood summers? Do you think kids today get to enjoy summer the way you did as a child? Elaborate. 

my family lived in the greater Los Angeles area
1958-1961

My mother was the secretary at the church of which my family was a member the summer between my 4th and 5th grades in school. Since Sister and I were too young to spend day after day at home by ourselves, Mama brought us to work with her. We would bring our dolls and each take over a Sunday School classroom and play "school." The church had a good gymnasium, so we could run and play there in a safe place while Mama was in the nearby office. There was also a Coke machine, so we got to drink pop with our sack lunches. 

As for kids' summers these days, social media and greatly increased crime have darkly colored the activity options. It's just not the same. We would go outside and play with our friends for hours on end, coming inside just to use the bathroom and to get a drink of water. 

4. We celebrate Fathers Day on June 21st. Do you favor your dad in looks or temperament? Tell us something about your dad. Or your husband as a dad. Or a son/son-in-law as a dad. Or your grandpa. 

Of my two parents, my face and personality are more like my dad; my body and health are more like my mother. My father enjoyed people and made friends easily. He died of cancer when I was 36 years old. His work as a corporate pilot took him all over the USA.  After his death many people sent letters to my mother expressing how much they liked my dad. 

5. Let's wrap up with a summer this or that-

• flip flops or sandals: sandals, although I wear both daily
• beach or pool: beach but I don't swim any more 
• watermelon or peaches: both
• shorts or sundress: BERMUDA shorts (no short-shorts)
• iced coffee or ice cold lemonade: lemonade
• amusement park or water park: amusement park, but really just for walking around and sitting in the shade to watch people. And ice cream. Eating ice cream in the summer is fun. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Recently Joyce did a "day in the life" type of blog post. Here is my version that I'm titling: 

How 2 Retired Seniors Spend Most Days

Our general routine: we get up early (5:30am) to take advantage of the cooler temps for our daily bike ride of 5 miles, chores and appointments.  

Our bikes, are a year 'round habit,
even on Christmas morning --- note:
this is the only time we did not wear helmets

After lunch we are usually relaxing on the cheerful lanai with the windows open wide and fans blowing. If or when the air gets too hot, we move inside to the air conditioning, but the lanai is so bright and close to nature that we stay out there as long as we can bear it.

The palm on the very far right and the very far left
are the ones that got trimmed.

For all the visions of romance that palm trees convey, they make for a lot of upkeep to look their best. Yesterday Gary cut down about 20 very long, thorny branches from our 2 tallest palms. 

Then I helped drag them to the driveway where Gary cut them into short lengths for disposal. Years ago, I never imagined my Colorado Waste Management bins would hold Florida tree trimmings!

After lunch (our biggest meal of the day) and a short nap in front of the noon TV news, more progress is made on our current puzzle. As much as we both enjoy puzzles, we are finding one of the challenges is how the humidity causes puzzle pieces to stick to our finger tips, sometimes pulling apart what has already been fitted together!! (To Gary's credit, he's done more on this puzzle than I have.)

On Monday I finished reading this book while cooling off in front of a fan. Now that I no longer spend hours every day with needle-in-hand, the number of books in my personal library has greatly increased.

Most of the time, I can't just read. Highlighting meaningful sentences and margin notes are my reading and study style. I have a code or system with pencil colors:

red = general information, statements

green = instructions, things I should do

blue = sin, things to be avoided

purple = actions of God

And occasionally a scribbled star filled in with gold (or tan) pencil indicates something that really spoke to me, answering a question I've had or really highlighting an important truth I want to remember.

This system enables me to flip through the pages at some later date to re-live the impact the book has made on me without reading every single page all over again.

the lanai faces east and looks out
on a lot of tall trees

After an afternoon of puzzles, reading (and sometimes a small ice cream cone), we head for the kitchen to decide on a light supper (soup, a sandwich, or sometimes just peanut butter on crackers). 

After that, even though it may hardly be past 6pm, I floss and brush my teeth, turn down the covers on our bed, and find my jammies. We catch up on the day's news and our shows or movies. At 9pm the TV is turned off, and by 9:15pm both of us are usually fast asleep like two worn out old dogs. #much4which2Bthankful!

Sister's two Basset Hounds

"For I know the plans I have for you,"

declares the Lord,

"plans to prosper you

and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope 

and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

Until next time, grace and peace.

Barbara