- Sprawl in the grass for a little bit.
- (Make sure you've applied sunblock. See #2.) Grass can be hazardous to light-colored clothing. My suggestion is to put on an all-green outfit and roll down a hill.
- Use baby sunscreen instead of adult; it smells like summer.
- My mother always made my sister, Emily, and me wear Coppertone Water Babies sunscreen—my whole family is really fair-skinned—and I still love the smell.
- Read a mystery novel in a hammock.
- I really wish I had a hammock. I am on a five-year hammock plan, so hopefully as I enter my 30s I can finally achieve this goal. Until then, I will read and reread Raymond Chandler's The Lady in the Lake on my sofa, wishing I were hanging in a rope cradle attached precariously to a tree branch.
- Get one of those tiny fans from the drugstore.
- Whip up some summer soup.
- Run around in the sprinklers.
- If you don't have a yard to do that in, find a friend who does. My sister and I used to do this as kids, usually with a Slip 'n Slide involved. I like the idea of doing it again, but it's probably going to remain a sweet memory. I think the last time I did it, my sister hit me with the garden hose and knocked me clean out.
- Wear a bonnet or a straw hat.
- This makes me think of my mother, who wears hats.
- Have a picnic with friends.
- Nothing's better than a picnic. Next time you have one, try a quinoa salad. Mix cooked quinoa with slivered almonds, chopped dried apricots and currants and a raspberry vinaigrette.
sep 28 2009 ∞
oct 6 2010 +
