In the Good Ol' Summertime ...

What do you do in Fresno, in July, when the average high temperature is 96.6 degrees?  (I found that average somewhere on the Internet)  Specifically, on a day like today where I think it hit 102˚?  I actually love summer here in the valley.  Ok, so I grumble about my skirt sticking to my legs and sweat dripping down my back when I climb out of the car.  That's just not pretty.  But for the most part, I love summer.  Why?  Probably #1 on my list is nectarines!  I love all the summer produce, but nectarines are my favorite.  Then there's corn on the cob.  Which I always cut off the cob, but nonetheless.  I think my favorite summer dinner is fresh corn slathered in butter and sliced tomatoes right out of the garden.  That's a meal to me.  For dessert ... nectarines of course!  

#2 on my list of why I love summer:  Our Pool!  Here's my 2 girly fish ...

We just put the pool in last year and we're in it probably every day during the summer months.  This year the kids jumped in for the first time in mid-April!  

Iced tea!  Yes, this is one of my summer-time favorites.  Of course it's good ol' southern-style SWEET tea!  Sometimes I add a little mint that I get from my favorite vendor at the Farmers' Market.  Sometimes I add a slice of lemon.  Sometimes I even add some nectarine slices.  Yum!

Also on the list of summer favorites:  magazines.  Ok, I know you can get and read magazines any time of year.  But there's just something summery about reading magazines while laying out by the pool sipping my iced tea.  I always seem to have stacks of magazines piling up all year long.  But come summer I actually make a dent in the piles and read some of them.  

Finally, summer wouldn't be summer without a pedicure and flip-flops!  Here in Fresno you can always find people wearing flip-flops year round.  (I've been known to wear mine as late as Nov. and as early as Feb., but Dec. and Jan. are definitely off limits)  There's just something carefree about having pretty pink toenails and cute flip-flops.  

July is winding down ... and this is the time of year when I start making lists, ordering school books and creating schedules.  But I still try to keep it carefree.  At least as long as it's hot enough to keep swimming.