July 2023, Week 26, Day 182

What are your plans for July 2023?

Beach, lake, lawn or patio, July is peak summer in this northern hemisphere. 

At the Seaside c. 1892
William Merritt Chase

I think of sun, sand, sweat, shorts, sunscreen, umbrella/parasol, humidity, and heat waves. Last year the season was perforated with brutal heat that kept me indoors. 

At my age, there is no braving the high temperatures. As a kid, being outdoors was better than inside a home with no air conditioning. Cooling off was at the penny pool, (later price increase). Kids yelling, water splashing sprinkled with a scream now and then, those were the days.  

Learning to swim, I was so proud as I literally annihilated the pool surface in a violent flaying of arms and white water. "See what I can do!" I can still feel those words. No surprise that a life long dream is to be able to glide through the water like Ester Williams. (I can float and glide though.)

Time for me to stop day dreaming and do errands. Deciding on dinner today always ends with a no, too salty, too hot to use the oven or no McD's for a diet consideration.  

Comments

  1. When I see your wonderful picture of William Merritt Chase, I immediately think of the beach and the sea for the whole of July... unfortunately I don't have that nearby, so I'll take the forest, the fields and meadows and also the terrace with one A cup of coffee in one hand and a piece of cake (preferably homemade) in the other hand :-))) I still sew a bit and love it... Happy greetings to you. I wish you a great joyful July.

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  2. I like all the oranges in this painting. Sometimes it's nice to daydream, and I enjoyed hearing the stories of your youth. Those were some of the best days for me too.

    ~Sheri

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  3. Some great summer memories. I find that age changed my opinion of the hot weather. As a child, the days weren’t long enough since we had the river to swim in and the sea nearby.

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  4. Enjoy the quiet on my deck for the most part ~ will definitely go for walks with Ziggy and maybe to my brother's ~ My 'entertaining' days are history ~

    Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  5. The most important is to planify a good summer. And stay good in all the possible aspects. The temperatures today in the world are changing and we cant be sure about the weather. Be and stay in calm and do good activities this is for me the best this summer. Greetings from Mallorca, Spain.

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  6. Viola,
    The ocean is hours away. Lake Champlain and much smaller lakes are nearby. Meadows, we have meadoes in Vermont! :)

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  7. Marie,
    Oh that is so true the days weren't long enough.
    What hasn't changed is the summer is never long enough. :)

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  8. Carol,
    It is nice to visit when we don't have to be the host. Food and good company is a perfect summer. :)

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  9. JS,
    You live on a magnificent island. Thank you for visiting here :)

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  10. Sher,
    The days when we were care free are worth visiting often to balance out the anxieties we face today.

    I read on Tik Tok, guy stands there with messsge in front... Something about all the wild, dangerous, brave stuff we did when we were young, but now we have anxiety attacks in the grocery store.

    Powerful message there

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  11. What a peaceful painting. We have not been to the sea since the pandemic, as it is hours away. Maybe soon? I hope you found something delicious for dinner.

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  12. love the painting, I never learned how to swim, not sure why my Mom didn't help with that she was an excellent swimmer. when I was going to college back 1967-'68 we had to pass a swim class in order to graduate. what a nightmare that was, since I tried the teacher passed me with D minus haha.
    we have been in the 100's here with high humidity-the rain passed on by us-again this morning-so bummed we didn't get rain.
    Happy July-enjoy your summer
    Hugs Kathy

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  13. Happy summer, and happy Fourth!

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  14. Sue,
    Dinner will be fish and not much else. It has been one of those slow days with fruit. First time having watermelon this season, I am glad it is good.

    Have a good 4th of July

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  15. Kathy,
    Prayers you get a soaking non flooding rain soon.
    We've had a lot of rain in Vermont so far this summer.

    Ah, those required courses to graduate! I hated that mine was a speech class. I wiggle out of it.

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  16. Happy 4th of July Liz!

    I hope you have a great weekend and holiday.

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  17. such a lovely painting and wonderful memories of summer. But we need summer to find us here in NH. I am tired of the soggy rainy days and the haze when the sun does shine. I want to complain of the heat for a day or two lol
    Cathy

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  18. Cathy,
    I hear you. Stay dry and pray for Sunshine
    I decided that when there's a sunny day again, I'm going to stay outdoors all day. It may take that long for me to realize it really isn't raining.

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  19. I do like that painting by William Merritt Chase.

    I still find it hard to believe July is here ... this year is passing by very quickly. We have some family gatherings planned for this month, which I'm looking forward to.

    Enjoy your summer days.

    All the best Jan

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  20. Jan,
    Good wishes your family gatherings are a lot of fun.

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  21. We will be spending a few mid-July days in the Cape Cod, MA, area at my husband's request for his birthday celebration. Personally, I am not a sun and sand person in terms of sitting there; however, I do enjoy walking along the shoreline and also watching the sunrise and/or sunset, sometimes both. My husband grew up spending days at the NJ shore with family, whereas my family never went to the beach. We had a small kiddie pool in the backyard and a garden hose.

    I hope you enjoy a wonderful holiday. Our plans will be to spend it quietly at home and watch a fireworks display from the riverbank with fellow residents.

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  22. Happy Birthday Mr Boyd!

    Happy 4th of July!

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  23. I'm a summer "up north" person. Throw me in the lake and I'm happy. Put me on the porch with my paints and I'm in seventh heaven. I'm trying to make it a goal to eat healthy this summer (though I did have some birthday cake yesterday! And it was good!)

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  24. Happy Birthday! 🥳🎂

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  25. This time of year to me is a low time. I hate the heat.

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  26. Summer seems to have finally put in an appearance here and now, being Canadians, we love to complain about the heat. I don't complain about it unless the humidity gets too high. Sadly we haven't been able to open the windows much because of the smoke in the air.
    I never did learn to swim because there were no opportunities. Couple that with the fact that I'm highly claustrophobic just the thought of putting my face in the water terrifies me.

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  27. William,
    Sorry summer heat is a low for you.

    Above 30°C is a bother for me.

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  28. Maryanne,
    Sorry there's been so much smoke there or anywhere.

    It feels to me that summers are ruled by whether or not it is healthy to be outdoors.
    Heat waves, rain, smoke, mosquitoes leaves me wondering what is next.

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