Summer is Here

This weekend I finally felt like summer had arrived. Over the course of two days I did all of the things that usher in the sunniest, sparkliest season of the year.

I went to a blockbuster movie (Ocean's 13...I highly recommend it, ladies!) and enjoyed dinner with friends on a warm evening. I sat on our patio with a group of women for morning coffee and conversation. I went to a yard sale where my friend donated the profits to a worthy cause in Africa, all the while serving up hot dogs and cold drinks to her volunteers.

I went grocery shopping at Trader Joes, where the check-out clerk gave me a running monologue about why my purchase of really hot salsa was a great choice ("Why even bother with mild salsa?" he espoused. "You may as well just eat a tomato.") I read a book on a chaise lounge while my husband staked a tomato plant. Together, we prepared a warm-weather dinner of grilled veggie burgers, chicken sausages, and vegetables.

I got up in time to be on time for church (relatively speaking). I hung out with Joe and a multitude of friends listening to a gospel choir praise on a temporary stage set up on the corner of Berwyn and Clark Streets during Midsommarfest. We bought a delectible lemon/liquor pudding at an Italian bakery called Pasticceria Natalina.

I ate Thai food for lunch, savoring every bite. I went to the beach with my husband, watching him padde away in his purple kayak while I lounged on a soft towel on the warm sand reading the Chicago Tribune.

I love summer.