In 1963, when I was about 7 years old, Nat King Cole released a song about summer time. Lately the tune has been stuck in my head with the lyrics "roll out those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer!"
Well. Here we are at Halftime of Summer 2013 and things have been hazy and crazy but not so lazy.
We have laughed, cried, worked, played, worried, trusted, hugged, shared, sung, danced, lamented, praised and prayed - and counted our blessings through it all.
For second half of Summer 2013 we'll likely continue with all of the above and hopefully to do like the song says:
"Roll out those Lazy Hazy Crazy days of summer
Those days of soda and pretzels and beer
Roll out those Lazy Hazy Crazy days of summer
Dust off the sun and moon and sing a song of Cheer!"
This interesting plant appeared in the herb garden a few weeks ago. I'm pretty sure it is from a leek that I planted 3-4 years ago. I posted it on facebook as something that reminded me of "Little Shop of Horrors" and it was promptly named Audrey III. There were two more Audreys who appeared and did, in fact, become an interesting flower arrangement in the kitchen. Nature's beauty sometimes comes in surprising ways.
The hydrangea bush that I planted about 7 years ago has grown huge and is amazing. No surprise that it produces beautiful blooms but they always take my breath away.
Hay bales and Knock Out Roses on the Hunt farm in Lattimore are a favorite sight to see.
Here's another wonderful sight to see - David IV visting from Dallas. This visit was Father's Day weekend in June. We went out to Mom and Dad's garden to check on JT's onion patch.
My all time favorite sight - Jay and David IV enjoying being together in mid June. As usual, we did a LOT of grilling and cooking and gathering to celebrate being together.
Will took this pic at Mom and Dad's house during that mid June visit. We took the pic despite the fact that David had stitches under his eye and I had stitches on my nose. We were quite the sight with our bad selves but couldn't pass up an opportunity to get a photo of three generations.
When it comes to gardening, the only thing better than having one strong-as-an-ox 22 year old is having two. Jay and Turner have been buddies since they were little tykes. They play hard and they work hard.
There was a time when they were in elementary school that Jay's endocrinologist recommended a special "Turner Bolus" for Jay's insulin dosage. This was because when Jay and Turner were together they played so hard that his activity level lowered his blood sugar drastically.
That's actually still true today. Both played college sports and both are still involved at the college level - hence those great digging muscles. These two have such a great friendship and are fun to watch interact. On the day this picture was taken, Turner jumped in to help because the sooner Jay was done the sooner they could head to the Y to work out. I call hoeing and digging a workout in itself but then I'm not a 22 year old athlete.
On July 4th Mom and Dad surprised us with a lake visit. Leah presented Dad with festive dealy boppers to go along with all the festive 20 somethings. Dad loved remembering festive 4ths of July from days gone by and Jay assured him that he would carry the torch. Hmm. Tough assignment.
This cute crowd really let freedom ring. Our ears did some ringing as well. We did enjoy charcoal grilled hot dogs with homemade chili, baked beans and a Flag Cake. And of course some dancing on the deck.
Back at home Carol brought Leah's new puppy, Levi, for a play date with Simba. I sent this picture to Leah who thought it should be in a magazine. If any magazine out there wants it let me know. It is a pretty sweet picture.
I didn't get a picture of all four of us, but Carol and I really enjoyed our play date with the grand dogs. Simba and Levi had a lot of fun too. Levi is just 9 weeks old but he really wanted to swim.
Susan and Thomas invited us up to Linville for a cooling off, relaxing time. Somehow I didn't get a picture of all four of us, but I did get a pic of the 'leg stretcher' trail that we walked. The Blue Ridge Parkway and Linn Cove viaduct were beautiful as always. And there was a lot of golf, napping, dancing and laughter.
Later on Susan and Thomas visited us in Shelby. I took this picture of Susan and David sporting black and salmon. Thomas and I didn't get the memo. But we did have a lot of fun as always.
Kathe and Steven invited us over to share an incredible meal of fish that Rhett and Steven caught in Alaska last summer. Steven made a wonderful salad dressing from scratch. Kathe roasted some fresh garlic to make garlic butter that was amazing slathered on bread. We brought Simba over to play with Stella and Auggie. Chase and Jay were in town to enjoy the time together and we all knew that Rhett was with us too.
Steven gave David a lesson on cooking fish in the outdoor kitchen and I couldn't stop smiling thinking of how this night would have pleased Rhett. We all miss him terribly but we feel his presence and we continue to try to honor his memory by doing things that he would appreciate.
More memories were shared when ASU Cannon Dorm 1974 alumni gathered at Kaye's cool house at Edisto beach. We did the math and realized that we had met 39 years ago. These days it takes a little time and it takes all of us to piece together the memories. At one point we were struggling with a memory when Kaye said, "give me a minute...the server is slow but it's pulling it up"!
Susan, Susan, Pam, Kaye and I enjoyed our time together and look forward to another visit next summer in the NC mountains.
Here's another wonderful group that I have the pleasure to know. These are the Dover YMCA "Fit Chics" (and a couple of Fit Dudes). I get to Zumba with this crowd and love every second of it. In this pic we had gathered after class as a pink bow to support one of our group who was beginning a journey of medical treatment. This pic shows what the Y means by - Body, Mind and Spirit.
Mom and Dad celebrated their 67th anniversary in June. Libby took this pic and it says it all. Love.
Leah and Carol came over to the pool on Fairway Drive and presented me with something cute for the lake house. I do love being outside at the lake and at home.
But I did invest in a big floppy hat to try and avoid any more stitches on the nose. After the close encounter with a MOHs surgeon in June I promise to do as Dr. Larry said and "Hide from the Sun".
The garden which Jay and I planted near the summerhouse has been doing very well. We have roma tomatoes, better boy tomatoes, squash, a variety of peppers and lots of cucumbers.
Several times I have fixed one of my favorite summer sandwiches for myself and whoever else drops by. I patterned this sandwich after the one I first ate back in 1978 at Sadlack's on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh.
Pepperidge Farm veri thin whole wheat bread, a touch of Hellman's (yep) mayo, one slice of monterey jack jalapeno cheese, thinly sliced cucumber and tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion, some alfalfa sprouts and a little salt and pepper.
Yum. A perfect sandwich for the Crazy Days of Summer.
Roll one out and then "Dust off the Sun and Moon and sing a song of Cheer!"
