The Colors of Summer

Summer has officially begun and the Bay Area enjoyed warm temperatures and sunny skies throughout the week - the perfect way to kick off the summer season!

What are some of your favorite things about summer? Do you have any summer memories from childhood that you look back on with fondness? Are there any particular colors that you associate with summer?



Some of my favorite things about summer are:

• The abundance of fruits including blueberries, strawberries, peaches and apricots; I love going to the Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings so that I can fill up my fruit basket for the week
• Wearing sandals and flip flops to show off my pretty, painted toenails
• Indulging in iced chai tea lattes from Starbucks
• Reading outdoors - at the park, the beach, a cafe...
• Making homemade strawberry jam to share with my family and friends during the holidays, which gives them a "sweet" reminder of summer during the winter months
• The slower pace of life

One of my most vivid summer memories is of spending just about every day swimming at the high school pool that was within walking distance of my house in San Mateo. The pool was open Monday through Saturday afternoons for recreation swim. I remember spending almost the entire afternoon in the pool each day. Fortunately I didn't sunburn easily and while I didn't intentionally aim to get a tan, that's exactly what happened. I guess it's my Italian genes. My nicknames during the summer months were "Brown Berry" and "Water Rat."

Another memorable summer ritual was hearing the ice cream truck coming down my street. My brother and I would hear the music and we would grab our money and run out the door just in time to see the truck approaching our house. Not much beats enjoying ice cream on a warm summer day! I'll have to keep my eyes and ears open for an ice cream truck over the next couple months so that I can indulge in a "sweet" reminder of my childhood.



I'll wrap up with a line from Kenny Chesney's song Summertime:

"Perfect song on the radio,
Sing along 'cause it's one we know,
It's a smile, it's a kiss,
It's a sip of wine, it's summertime,
Sweet summertime."

Enjoy your week!