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Many people love summer and look forward to its simple pleasures and everyday adventures.
Florida’s summers are a special kind of hell and my goal
every year is to survive the summer without 1) Heat stroke 2) A full-blown
depression and 3) Hurricane damage.
I’m only half kidding.
I know you’re probably sick of my complaints about
this—trust me, I’m sick of me, too. I’m trying to have a positive
attitude, but we’ve already had multiple days in the upper 90s and, oh yeah, it
technically isn’t even summer yet. I shudder to think what August will
bring.
Since summer in Florida is Not My Favorite, in recent years
I’ve been taking a cue from author Laura Vanderkam and creating a Summer Fun List. Having something to look forward to is a component of happiness that I
fully believe in. So here goes…
Summer fun list 2024
Rewatch the movie Clue. I enjoyed the stage production so much, I want to rewatch the movie.
Beach weekend getaway with my husband.
Playdates with friends—as many can I manage! Whether it’s
lunch, coffee, floating in the pool, or a trip to iSmash (see below), I plan to
spend some quality time with friends this summer.
Ride “Dougie” (fellow boarder’s horse I’ve been given
permission to ride) while Tank enjoys his well-deserved retirement.
Go to the movies—if I can find something I want to see. With my husband, with a friend, or even by myself.
Complete at least one jigsaw puzzle.
Watch the Summer Olympics being held in Paris (ah, Paris!)
on TV.
Make key lime ice cream.
Go to iSmash—I have some frustrations I’d like to work out!
Watch Black Cake on Hulu. I loved the book.
Read by the pool. One way to enjoy the outdoors in a Florida
summer is to get yourself wet. An afternoon spent reading and then
dipping into the pool when I get hot sounds appealing. I usually prefer to skip
the “wet” and “outside” parts of a reading afternoon, but I’m trying to shake
up my routine a bit.
Create and read from a summer reading list (see below).
I don’t feel like these are very exciting, or even very different from past summers, but maybe “excitement” isn’t what I need during the summer. I think I need to chill…in more ways than one!
Summer reading
Summer is prime reading time since I’ll be trying to stay
cool. Here are some possibilities for my summer reading. Even though I’m a fast
reader, there’s no way I’ll get to all of them. The ones with an * are
priorities:
Library books:
The Lost Bookshop, Evie Woods (already on hold)
The Husbands, Holly Gramazio (already on hold)
*My Murder, Katie Williams
*In Praise of Slowness, Carl Honore
Laziness Does Not Exist, Devon Price
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Joy Fowler
Enchantment, Katherine May
*Sister Carrie, Theodore Dreiser. The Project Gutenberg e-book version is here.
*Queen of Bebop: The Musical Lives of Sarah Vaughan, Elaine M. Hayes
TBR shelf:
*Au Revoir, Mary Moody
*The Battle of the Villa Fiorita, Rumer Godden
Touch Not the Cat, Mary Stewart
Traveling While Married, Mary-Lou Weisman
*Draft No. 4, John McPhee
Drawing from Life: The Journal as Art, Jennifer New
I’ll also continue my Agatha in Order project. Begun in 2020, I’m still reading Agatha in order. As of this writing, I have 21 books left. I won’t finish in 2024, but will definitely get there in 2025.
Do you make a Summer Fun List? What
are your plans for fun this summer?