Summer Must Haves

Thank you Farmwife - I'd never really thought about what I absolutely must have to make it through summer - mostly because for the last 5 summers I've either been pregnant, nursing, or recovering from childbirth...that's scary...Anyway...below are some of the things I cannot live without during the summer.

1. Rock salt, cream, ice and an electrical outlet. This is so I can whip out my ice cream maker (wedding gift) and make ice cream! We'll routinely eat 4 quarts (a full batch) in about one week if we're not careful, but I'll make peach, strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, this year I'm trying cinnamon (think apple pie cinnamon, not atomic fireball or red hot)...maybe even throw in some basil with those strawberries? hmmmm...
2. Sunglasses. I don't know how many pairs I've owned, but since I turned 13 and had truly disposable income about which my parents didn't care, I've had at least one in my possession at any time. I've lost more than most have owned, but I cannot imagine living in Colorado and not owning a pair. Right now I'm sporting some Foster Grant "fitness" style that are similar to a pair of Ray-Bans that I lost a couple years ago (don't ask - it was the 2nd pair I'd lost grrrr).
3. A functioning ice maker in my freezer. I don't care what beverage I'm pouring onto said ice, but there must be a plethora - nay, a veritable cornucopia of ice in my freezer for me. I'm a "have a little liquid with my ice" kind of girl...the frostier the beverage, the better.
4. After-sun lotion/gel. Not Aloe Vera - I cannot STAND that goopy muck...ick! I'm talking something soothing, something that smells faintly of coconut and makes my skin stay soft and not get all peely after any sunburns occur. Which they do.
5. Library books. Doesn't matter the content - cookbooks, biographies, historical accounts, historical fiction, trashy romance novels (yes, I read heaving bosoms and rippling muscles books every so often), mystery, sci-fi, fantasy...as long as there are only a few illustrations, and no rhymes, I'm good. I load up on anywhere from 2 - 3 dozen at a visit and will only very rarely have to renew any of them during the 3 weeks our library allows.
6. Vegetable gardens - don't laugh, but if I have no plants growing, I'm just not convinced it is summertime. I have to be able to hear the bees buzzing around my tomato plants, smell the basil, mint, oregano, dill from brushing against the leaves as I hunt for zucchini, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, and pull my carrots and radishes, onions, peppers...if I can't have something at my table each meal that was only minutes before covered in dirt or still the temperature of the outside air, it's just not summer.

Things I could TOTALLY do without, that should, in fact, be banned in my world: (because no list is complete without knowing what I don't like!)

1. Sunscreen - yup, you can preach to me all you want about skin cancer, premature aging, free-radicals, UV rays, sun spots, moles, freckles, sunburns...don't care. I hate the stuff. I can't stand it - hate the smell, the texture, the feel, the sensation of having coated myself in anything akin to diaper cream or Crisco...blech. I'll take the repercussions, thank you very much. I do love suntan lotion/oil though...hmmmm...
2. The obnoxious teenagers' music from 3 doors down. Not the musical group 3 doors down - they live three doors down from my house, they are in High School, they are boys, they have a pool, a trampoline, and their parents work full-time jobs an hour away from here which means that there is always loud music, partying, and the music they choose is full of swearing, references to men and women in derogatory terminology and is just not something I would choose to expose my own kids to - which therefore means I have a radio full of KLOVE or VeggieTunes blasting anytime we're out of doors, which therefore means my kids are now used to playing outside while killing their ears. Super!
3. The ice cream truck. I'm not opposed to them in general. I'm opposed to the owner of said truck who literally spends 6 hours a day in my neighborhood. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he played more than one song. I feel badly for the driver, since it is illegal to wear ear buds while driving he has to listen to it too!
4. Mosquitos. Ever hear of West Nile Virus? 'Nuff said.
5. Birds who steal my strawberries at the slightest tinge of red. Again. 'Nuff said.

Well, that's all for now. I'm off to do exciting things today like skim the bugs and cottonwood cotton from our pool so the kids will actually go IN the water, and then change bedding and do some other fun housework.

Apparently the housework fairy mislaid directions to my house again.