Summer

July 9, 2010

If you have ever lived in Seattle, or know anyone who lives in Seattle, then you are familiar with the words “summer starts on July 5th”.  Some years we are lucky and get a sunny June.  This year the entire spring was a nightmare of cold temps and lots of rain.  It stays light here until 10pm around the solstice but what good does that do you if you can’t even be outside in the light because of the rain?  Those words – the ones about July 5th – became something of a mantra in our city this year.  Leading up to that (late) first day of summer, I was seriously considering a move to California.  And I grew up here.  I can’t imagine the poor souls who recently moved here and were wondering what in the sam hell is going on with the weather??

Well, what do you know.  July 4th was 57ºF and raining.  July 5th the heavens parted and the sun came out.  Today, Friday, it will be 91ºF.  Now trust me, seeing the sun and feeling warmth on my skin is intoxicating.  That vitamin D thing is real!  But (I swear I’m not complaining!) would it be too much to ask for, maybe 75ºF?

I have a backlog of recipes to share.  Summer means lots of things food-wise.  It also means new haircuts and shorts jammies.

Oh yes!  I had a little contest a few weeks ago and have finally picked a winner.  As usual, my trusty sidekicks picked the winning comment number and I took a picture of it.  That picture did not turn out.  So please trust me when I say comment #24  wins David Lebovitz’s The Sweet Life in Paris and her choice of one of his other books.  Cynthia says this about Paris:

There’s a hospital, or what I think is a hospital, near Notre Dame. I peeked in their courtyard, and saw a statue dressed in bright gold pajamas. I neither speak nor read French, and my traveling companion was off photographing the cathedral. Too see that bit of whimsy made my day. The fact that I was in Paris! didn’t hurt, either.

Cynthia, send me an email with you address and choice for the second book!  Thank you all for your thoughtful comments and suggestions.



7 Comments »

  1. eeeek! i cant wait to meet these two gorgeous boys and share some giggles with them! they are SOOO adorable in their little short pjs! xoxox

    Comment by tracy — July 9, 2010 @ 10:02 pm

  2. i hear you on the whole summer thing. here on cape cod we rarely get a spring…we go from winter to rain rain rain then to hot humid summer which has been lasting well into late sept. right now we’ve had a nasty heatwave filled with 100% humidity and dew points like i’ve never felt. unreal.
    your kids are too cute :-)

    Comment by vanillasugar — July 9, 2010 @ 10:23 pm

  3. It’s been 107 and seriously humid here so I know how you feel (here being NYC – WTF!?!?). Today it finally cooled down a bit and I breathed a serious sigh of relief.

    The boys looks so cute in their jammies!

    Congrats to Cynthia!

    Comment by Joanne — July 9, 2010 @ 11:29 pm

  4. Whoa, happy birthday to me!! I just sent an email, and it looks like you sent me all your rain (which is a welcome relief from the high 80’s we’ve been having).
    Thanks for having the contest! Can’t wait to see what recipes you have in store for us next!

    Comment by Cynthia — July 10, 2010 @ 12:34 am

  5. I am feeling so sorry for you right now…I live in Wisconsin and I thought we had it bad. 57 degrees one day and 91 the next? Wow!

    Comment by Jessica — July 11, 2010 @ 2:54 am

  6. Adorable boys. :) The weather has been so weird. I was using my winter blanket up until a week or so ago when it got really hot!

    Comment by Ashley — July 12, 2010 @ 7:42 pm

  7. Surely you are speaking of Hospitel Hôtel-Dieu Paris. We stayed there for a few days in the summer of 2005 and… “No, you do not need to be sick or impaired to stay there.” It is reasonably priced, quiet, and you can’t beat the location. I do remember a well manicured courtyard but a stature in gold pajamas? That I missed.

    Comment by Teresa — July 16, 2010 @ 7:12 am



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