Remember this past winter when folks that lived in the south had seriously harsh cold weather? My friends in Florida were piling on the pj’s with footies, and my cousin in Texas was posting photos on Facebook of her frozen garden fountain… and a bunch of people in Washington were making themselves look like idiots by saying that one snowfall below the Mason-Dixon Line proved beyond a doubt that global warming was a huge joke?
Haven’t heard anything from them about the recent heat wave in New York…
For me, the fact that I was wearing flip flops and not blow-drying my hair (because I’d rather not end up a sweaty mess) meant I was getting very excited for everything summer.
The summer is the reason I live in the Finger Lakes Region. I’ve seen a couple other corners of the world, but when it comes down to it I’m happy here. Period. (Being near my family could be considered something of a bonus as well.) Things just feel right in my world when I can spend an evening down at the lake, reading a book and watching it get dark (can’t see the sunset, house faces east,) dipping my toes in the lake while enjoying a glass of wine, or enjoying a sunny day floating around on the water.
I’ve started making a Summertime To-Do List. I think most of these things are probably going to make for some interesting stories that I can share on here because I ALWAYS manage to do something stupid, and that makes for funny reads. So we all win, right? Right.
So far, here’s what I’ve got.
1. Take a weekend bike ride along the Erie Canal. Haven’t decided if it’ll be a camping trip or an inn/ b&b overnighter… suggestions/ recommendations?
2. Bike around Keuka Lake. I’m imagining this starting and ending at the family cottage… so that I may begin the day with plenty of coffee, and end it with plenty of wine.
3. Water ski again… for the first time in years (years). I may save this until the end of the summer, just in case I hurt myself in a way that would prevent me from doing a lot of these other things. (This will also require assistance from a friend with a speedboat, as there is no way in hell I’m going to try and get up behind the slow-ass pontoon boat currently at my disposal.) (Oh, and I’ll need to borrow some skis as well.)
4. Give sailing/ sailboats another chance. After a pretty rotten experience of being caught in a freak storm on a sailboat when I was in Australia, I’ve just never been very comfortable on them. Maybe I can handle a little sunfish on a bight and sunny day… not on the ocean…
5. Finally purchase my own kayak and take it everywhere so that when the opportunity presents itself, I can and will be on the water.
6. Take a hike and picnic somewhere- replete with a blanket to sit on, lots of fresh fruits and cheeses and breads and finger foods and wine. (The hike back should be the interesting part of this story, depending on the amount of wine consumed.)
7. Go camping. Like the tents and sleeping bags and campfire and s’mores and beer and peeing in the bushes kind of camping. If it’s nice and not too buggy, I’d like to just sleep under the stars.
8. Find a yoga retreat that involves yoga outdoors. I’ve been looking for something like this in the Adirondacks, but haven’t come across anything yet. (Suggestions/ recommendations?) (FYI- I’m not keen on the idea of combining this with the camping thing. Justsoyaknow.)
9. Help my mom with an awesome veg garden in her backyard. It’s going to be better than last year. I can’t wait for this. I like playing in the dirt and pretending I’ve inherited her green thumb.
10. Go skinny dipping. (At night.)
I imagine there will be an opportunity to squeeze in a wine tour (or three) somewhere; there are many new wineries the area that I haven’t been to yet and I’m itching to remedy that.
There’s also some plans in the works for trying warm weather recipes of food and cocktails, many of which will involve my friends being guinea pigs (I don’t think they’ll mind, especially since the first one I plan on doing is an organic margarita party…) and all will be documented in case I want to share the details of the hoopla on here.
Here’s to hoping I accomplish, enjoy and make it through in one piece all of the above this summer! Now we just need to get through the next month or so without any snow…
