Summer Solstice

It's officially summer!

In New England this means soft serve ice cream places and farm stands pop up all over the place, and everyone tries to figure out which weekend is the best to brave the traffic out to the Cape. (Hint: no weekend. Every weekend is crowded. Go in May or September.)

For me, it means playing my "Summer" iTunes playlist ad nauseam, pulling weeds at 8pm, and eating dinner on the deck. Damn, I wish could afford to buy a grill! The cats are happy because I let them out on the porch all day. The boy is happy because he can play ultimate frisbee a couple of times a week. And I'm happy because the steady dose of sunlight means it's unlikely that my mood will take any sudden dives for no reason. Yay!

The Smoke Monster on the porch.

Thea is actually starting to like her leash because it means SNACK ON THE GRASS TIME.

We were out taking a drive last year and the boy spotted some of his students tossing a disc so of course we stopped and he joined them for a while. It was awesome.

So how have I spent the first day of summer 2014?

I slept in until 1030. Got up and had waffles with strawberry jam. Sat out in the yard with Thea on her leash for awhile. Finished reading The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. (Yes, I realize I am the last person in the world to read this YA staple.) Then the boy and I went off to sample the Taste of Amherst festival. We had: lobster sliders, fish tacos, a smoked turkey panini, and the perfect lemonade. We also watched a brass band and an eating contest. We grabbed some mochas on the way out of town and went to see How to Train Your Dragon 2 in 3D. A brief stop at Trader Joe's later, we came home and had a nice jog together.

Now I'm relaxing on the couch and trying not to think of all the stressful things in my life because dammit it's summer and I want to just enjoy this wonderful day.