What I’m Loving This Summer

I sort of missed the deadline for the “what I learned this spring” post—or maybe the fast and furious onset of summer’s heat and humidity just catapulted me right past the desire to write one.

Perhaps what I need to do is keep track as I go along these next few months, so when the times comes for the next post of seasonal learnings, I’ll be ready. In the meantime, here are a few things that I’m loving right now.

The crisp, clean lines of a new fence

The side fences in our backyard were in bad shape—one was full of partially rotted pickets and the other mostly held up by masses of honeysuckle vines.

Our neighbors on either side generously pitched in for materials, and Randy spent the better part of three weekends tearing down and rebuilding the fences.

I love the look of a freshly built fence. But I love even more the memories of my husband working hand-in-hand with his teenage daughters to complete this project.

Blackberry preserves on multigrain toast

Randy and I recently did the Whole30 again. This time, I found Whole30-approved coffee creamer and salad dressing at the grocery store, which made life much more tolerable during those 30 days without grains, dairy foods, sugar and preservatives.

I missed sweets more this time around, but the thing I craved the most—aside from dining at my favorite Mexican restaurant on Mother’s Day, that is—was toast with blackberry preserves for breakfast. I’ll never take toast for granted again, that’s for sure.

End-of-season plant sales

When you’re a frugal gardener like me, nothing beats 50 percent off at the nursery. Even when it’s 95 degrees outside and I don’t really need anything specific, I can’t resist these end-of-season sales. (I have a feeling you either think I’m crazy or you agree wholeheartedly. I don’t think there’s any middle ground with this one!)

Freshly laid hardwood mulch

I had the best of intentions to get my flowerbeds all weeded and mulched before the hot weather hit. Unfortunately, we went from snow in April to the Whole30 in early May (which meant zero energy for gardening) to fence-building over Memorial Day.

With temperatures in the 90s almost every day, now’s not the most comfortable time to prepare the flowerbeds and spread the bags of mulch that Randy dumped in piles around my flower borders. But I’m slowly getting the job done, and that makes my heart happy.

The smell of the swimming pool

We didn’t set out to buy a house with a pool, and the amount of money we pour into the manmade body of water in our backyard (in the form of chemicals and electricity to run the pump) borders on ridiculous. But I do love the smell of our swimming pool in the summer.

When I’m working in the flowerbeds around the pool and the wind blows just right, I catch occasional wafts of chlorine mixed with sunscreen. That, combined with the sound of Molly happily splashing around in the pool, makes for near-perfect gardening conditions.

Watermelon

Speaking of summer, I can’t forget to mention my rekindled love affair with watermelon. My dad used to grow several varieties in his garden when I was growing up, but for some reason, I never bought watermelon for my own family until the last year or two. Now, I can’t get enough of the stuff.

My only problem is figuring out how to choose a good one. The guy at the produce department told me to pick watermelons with a patch of yellow on the bottom because that means they’ve sat on the ground long enough to ripen well. I’ve had mixed results with that technique, but I keep trying.

Writing in the nook

I’ve always thought the nook at the top of the stairs on our second floor would make a great writing spot, but it took me almost seven years to try it out. Turns out, I was right.

The little square table that used to be in my parents’ kitchen is the perfect size for my laptop. And the adjacent skylight, with its view of leafy branches and clouds, makes me feel like I’m writing in a tree house.

That’s what I’m loving these days—how about you? (Oh, and if you have a tried-and-true method for choosing a good watermelon, please share that too!)

♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with Let’s Have Coffee, Purposeful Faith, #TellHisStory (with new host Mary Geisen), Faith on Fire, Faith ‘n Friends and Grace & Truth.