Tuesday 4. it’s Summer

Welcome  back to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4. Hosted by Annie!   Annie, I must say, this painting is a master-

piece!  Many thanks for the hard work and time you put into developing this fun meme.  It is one of the most enjoyable ones of the week!

It is Summer!

1. What memorable times have you had in summer?

Summer means vacation, going to the beach and camping trips.  When I was 17, I experienced my first airplane flight. I flew alone to Washington, DC.  I had three aunts who lived there. My main objective was to babysit for my youngest aunt who had just had a baby.  Her regular sitter’s son had come home from Vietnam on furlough. That was an amazing summer.  I got shifted around on weekends to visit other aunts and it was so wonderful. My great aunt Josephine lived in a spectacular home in Alexandria.  Her husband had been a liaison to different ambassadors and staying with them was amazing. Aunt Jo took me shopping and her son took us all out on the Potomac on his yacht. That was my coming of age summer. Oh, I even met a cute boy  at the apartment complex while I was babysitting.  In the afternoons there was a park like area on the grounds and several families got together to play badminton,,,which I loved and was pretty good at! His name was Mitch, and we became pen pals for a time.   

Oh, well, to move forward 50 years.. summer also meant getting to travel wi our family to Scotland for 2 weeks last summer… my absolute dream vacation!

2. What foods bring back that summertime feeling?

My first thought was corn on the cob.  Spending summers going often to grandpa’s farm, I often helped 

Grandma in the gardens. I preferred picking corn, especially to picking pea or green beans.  Having to bend over to gather those was back breaking work for someone not used to it. Corn was much better, and I learned that corn freshly picked was delicious to eat raw.  But, summer ,also ,means watermelon, fresh cherries and blueberries… and making homemade ice cream! 

3. What music do you associate with summertime?Born in 1950, I grew up in the 60’s and I don’t care what anyone says the music of the 60’s and  70’s was the absolute best. In summer I got to stay up late listening to music on my transistor radio in bed.  It was usually too hot to sleep anyway, but music helped. It is impossible to be too specific about what exact music I think of , because it all was so perfect. Even now we listen to  those favorite tunes on Apple Play when we travel distances. It’s funny. At our age we can be forgetful, and not even remember a word in conversation, but we can sing every word to those favorite songs!

4.Where do you want most to be in the summer  if money is no object and you have the time? I love being home.  At my age travel is more and more daunting. I do love to fly, and  Amtrak is fine, as well, so if I’m  not at home , then I prefer being with my wonderful daughter and granddaughters. Even so, they come to us maybe, sometimes twice a year and we go there twice a year. Praise the Lord for FaceTime!