Summers always make me nostalgic. It starts around the time the seniors are getting out of school and graduation is approaching. I remember the feeling of freedom after my last exam, the excitement that life was about to change. I didn’t think about how I wouldn’t see some of my friends for months at a time or ever again. There was still summer.
Then I think about my summers as a kid. My mom was a teacher so she stayed home with me during the summer and we’d go to the beach, vacation two weeks on Sanibel Island (just a mere 30 minutes from our home), go see relatives in Illinois, or just spend the what seemed like endless days in our backyard pool.

I was allowed 3 hours of TV time from 8-5. I remember watching, I Dream of Jeannie, Gilligan’s Island and the Monkees. Around 10:00 AM, I’d go out to the pool where I’d remain for the rest of the day. I ate lunch in or beside the pool, I got out to use the bathroom and if there was an afternoon thunderstorm. If it was just raining, with no lighting, I stayed in the pool.

I made forts out of towels and lawn furniture, my Barbies and Fisher Price people went on “vacation” each summer and the pool was always a big hit with them. So were tours around the living room in their shoe box car (my Barbie apparently couldn’t get a car loan for the sports car).

Those long lazy days of reading, swimming and playing are something I wish I could have again. And this summer, I vow to have just a tiny bit of those days.

Over Memorial Day a chain of events prevented me from sitting lakeside, so I got my beach chair, attached the oscillating sprinkler head and read a book in our river rock by the driveway. After a while I decided I better put some sunscreen on and the scent of Hawaiian Tropic Tanning Lotion took me back to my beach days.

Even the smell of the moth balls used to keep Rat Snakes away from where our chickens like to lay eggs brings back memories. Now the porch area smells like my Great-Aunt Gladys’ bathroom.

Well, in case you couldn’t tell by the temps and the occasional tropical storm, summertime has arrived!  You know what else arrived…some new wine samples! Yes, I went to check my wine mailbox, I think it had been close to a month since I checked last and what to my wondering eyes should appear but 6 shiny bottles full of my favorite fruit.

One of the bottles is one of my favorite go to wines. Easy to find, easy to drink and very easy on the wallet, Dearly Beloved.
Smokey and robust berry aromas. Dark black cherry and mocha flavors. Medium bodied and a suitable red for porch sipping in the warm summer months. Smooth, easy drinking and affordable, winner, winner, chicken dinner.

I think on Sunday, I’ll do a little gardening and then drag out my chair and book and and turn on the sprinkler.