Too Darn Hot

Today (June 21st) is the solstice, the first official day of summer. Time to go indoors.

Houston (love it though I do) is not the place to be in summer. It's hot. It's humid. On really bad days, the air is such a warm wet presence you feel as if you need gills.

If I had the means, I would move somewhere cooler in summer. Somewhere like England, where the average high temperature in June is 65.5 degrees Fahrenheit.  65! we won't see 65 until December. Our average is 91, and today it's 93!

And all that warmth brings with it bugs. Lots of bugs. Great big bugs with scary red eyes.

Cicada - harmless, but really, really ugly

But at least cicadas don't bite. That makes them better than the mosquitoes. And boy do we have mosquitoes. Tip: Citronella candles are useless. Stay inside and wait for fall.

So sun, surf and sand? No, I will be spending the summer in the shade, drinking gallons of iced tea, reading mystery novels and waiting for the temperature to drop back into the upper 80's.

Friday Fun Video

Sums up my feelings about summer in Texas.

Lost Summer

Summer ends this weekend. Technically, I know that summer doesn’t end until the Autumnal Equinox (September 22^nd – mark your calendars) but there are other ways of marking time.  And in the US Summer starts on Memorial Day, and ends on Labor Day. 

Of course that’s the depressing way to look at it. It's also a beginning. It’s the start of the new school year, the new theater season, and (in Houston at least) it's the start of Fall Festival Season.

In the past week, I have received invitations to:

• Houston Hot Sauce Festival
• Bayou City Arts Festival
• Art4Life
• Houston Margarita Festival
• Metro Cooking and Entertainment Show
• Via Colori  
• RenFest

And did I mention it’s currently Houston Restaurant Week(s)?

Not that I object, it’s just that the flood of invitations, reminders, & save the dates is a little overwhelming. Also, I feel sad that I didn’t really do anything this summer. I didn’t go anywhere. I didn't do anything out of the ordinary. I don’t have any stories to tell. I spent the summer going to work and making imaginary decorating plans for the house I bought.  This was very practical, adult and mature of me, but so very dull.  Thus, I’m feeling a sense of time wasted. 

I think I’ll devote an evening this weekend to the ultimate in summer recreation – lying under a tree with a big drink, pretending to read, watching the dragonflies and enjoying the day.

Summer Treat: Peaches!

Aren't they beautiful? One of the joys of summer: luscious, blushing, perfumed, peaches. I know it is possible to get peaches all year round, but canned peaches taste metallic and they don't have the velvet skin or the scent that makes me both ravenous and drowsy. Frozen peaches. . . well, I won't get into frozen peaches. Nothing compares to the real thing. I want to buy bags and bags of peaches and live on them until the season is over.

          From blossoms comes
          this brown paper bag of peaches
          we bought from the boy
          at the bend in the road where we turned toward
          signs painted Peaches.
                                        -  From Blossoms,  Li-Young Lee