This week I remembered that it’s Monday! Stasha’s prompt is quite seasonal: the end of summer recap.
But you know what? I can’t do it. It’s 100 degrees out there, with a breeze blowing hot from the east and the air feels like soup.
So…nope. No end of summer here. I’m going to do the reverse of this prompt, I guess you could say: a list of what I’m NOT doing during these end-of-summer weeks.
1. I am not forcing kids to try on last year’s winter jackets so that I can order new ones if needed before everything sells out and we’re left with only with hot pink coats trimmed in fluiffy fur.
2. I am not wondering when the rain is going to stop.
3. I am not gathering up every late-summer vegetable I can find to make vats of tomato sauce, ratatouille, pesto…things I usually freeze to use in the wintery months when I can’t stand the sight of another root vegetable.
4. I am not experiencing the shock of socks after months of bare feet…but that also means I am not reuniting with my worn-to-perfection Blundstones and my beloved motorcycle boots.
5. I am not living in an apartment filled with discussions about the World Series…
6. …and I am not living in an apartment filled with the gnashing of teeth about this season’s iteration of the disastrous NY Mets.
7. I am not getting ready to “switch my closet.” In New York, where ample closet space is as rare as a Mets winning season, I can’t keep all my clothes in the closet. So the off-season wardrobe stays in plastic tubs in our storage space and at the change of seasons I spend a few weeks with clothes spread all over the bedroom–one day it’s 85, the next it’s 40. How’s a gal to dress for that?
8. I am not urging the boys to GET OUTSIDE AND PLAY at every sunny moment. Starting in late September I feel as if we’re racing against the clock: at any moment the cold wet bowl of winter will close over our heads and everyone will be inside getting in each other’s way. Boys are a lot like dogs: they need to be walked on a regular basis and they’re a lot happier after a game of chase-the-stick.
9. I am, ironically, waiting for it to cool off a little bit so that we can go hang out on the beach.
10. Well, don’t laugh but you know what I’m still doing? I’m still having to shave my legs. I hate waxing (actually it hurts and I am a big ol’coward); Nair and things like that stink to high heaven, so I shave. But in New York, come the end of bare-legged season, I mostly stop and let my legs exist in their au naturel state. Here? No such luck. Maybe if I start wearing an abaya, I could give up on the shaving here, too…. hmm.
So that’s my not-end-of-summer list about the end of summer. Before you go read the other lists, you should maybe click over here and look at Stasha’s beautiful photographs, on her new professional photography website. Probably you’re going to want one of her prints for your own…so you might want to pay attention to the give-away she’s doing on Friday!
Oh, the legs! I remember you tweeted something super funny shaving related in the beginning of summer. Hope your summer ends soon so you can go and lay on the beach and swim in the ocean. (yes that does sound absurd)
I was a swimmer in college and immediately the mention of “leg hair” brought me back to those days. The ease of showers.
I live in Southern NJ in an old house, so the switching of the closet is something I detest, and just did for my girls. Of course, today it’s 83* and I had to scour rubbermaid containers for weather appropriate clothes.
My feet got shocked into socks today. Cold tootsies!
Okay – um, eeks – I still shave my legs. I didn’t know there was anything weird about it! (-: Sometimes I get ’em waxed but often I don’t have enough time. I wouldn’t worry about it. And as for the closet space dilemma – you’re in NYC, it comes with the turf! Lucky you to be in NYC! (-:
Sounds a lot like the weather over here in Malaysia. I think the only difference would be the humidity – I hate the humidity here that makes me feel sticky when it’s hot. That’s so funny with the leg shaving and boys are like dogs!
You know, waxing wouldn’t be so bad if we didn’t have to grow thick hairy man legs first. Sorry it’s so unbearably hot for you. Hope you get some reprieve soon!
I can’t believe it’s still that hot! If it makes you feel better I have been living out of plastic tubs with multi-season clothing scattered around the house since June. One day it’s jeans and sweaters the next it’s skirts and tanktops.
Yo! TMI about the legs! Men read your blog, and we’re very squeamish about things like that.
Does it ever cool off? Light sweater weather?
The air in NYC has felt like soup for the past week. I guess tepid soup, not the hot soup you’ve got. Stay cool.
PS: I had to google ‘Blundstones’, and now I fondly remember yours. Super comfy.
xoxo
Howling at #8!