Sunday, July 7, 2013

The Complementarity of Heat

I noticed some ways that our heat wave complemented all our hospitality in the last few weeks:

1 - The extra warm temperatures that stayed up into the nighttime followed closely upon a late rain. This sort of tropical weather caused the basil (and everything, really) to grow lush early in the season, and that meant I could -- I had to -- make a huge batch of pesto.

Pippin was here to be my recipe consultant and we decided to try adding some lemon juice to my recipe. My friend told me that she does that as a bit of preservative, and the kind of pesto they sell at Costco has a lemony flavor which some people prefer.
2 - It was convenient to have extra people around to help us eat the large quantity of green beans we slathered with the fresh pesto. Yum!

3 - Ivy and I could enjoy a long session with the lavender in the evening and we didn't have to go back inside for our sweaters.

4 - Water play all day long! In the past I've seen others of our grandkids engrossed in washing play dishes while their teeth were chattering, it was so chilly. Ivy and Scout could be comfortable and wet at the same time.










5 - The pool warmed up and was fun to play in for hours. People could swim until the sun went down and not have to watch the fog come in.








 
6 - But I think my most favoritest thing has to do with the fact that I love to hang laundry in the sun to dry, and sheets are the easiest things to do that with, because they are so big, it doesn't take long to get them up on the line and down. This summer I've had lots of sheets to wash already, and I have four times had the supremely satisfying feeling of using the free sunshine and afterward folding up the warm and sweetest smelling bed linens. I should write letters to the dear people who slept here and thank them for this.


If we keep living here I might never experience this concurrence of heat and guests again, and this will go down in Glad history as The Summer of the Complementarity of Heat and Hospitality.

7 comments:

Farm Girl said...

Very nice and it all looks so pretty. Sheets on the line is my favorite too.
I have hung mine out every week just because they dry so fast and smell so heavenly and sleeping under them is so nice.
It sounds like you have had such a nice summer so far.

Jeannette said...

What grand ways to celebarte a heat wave!

elizabeth said...

looks like some wonderful times! so glad!

M.K. said...

Oh, GJ, you are so funny - YOU're going to write them thank-you notes? I thought perhaps THEY should write you thank-yous, for all your work of hospitality, cooking, cleaning, and yes ... laundry! Sheets dried on the line, crisp and warm to the touch, are a pleasure.

How I'd love to have July evenings that might require a sweater, extra blanket, or indeed anything beside shorts, a tank top, and lots of bug spray :) We pretty much lie limp in the A/C for July and August, waiting for autumn to come!!

MKM said...

This makes me miss Northern California summers! Love you, Mama!

Leslie said...

I love this post! I live in Texas and when it gets hots the complaints start and I get kinda tired of it. We are in Texas after all...what do people expect? Yesterday while my daughter and I were running errands I made a point to say how great the heat is. However I am jealous of your rain and all your basil. I have a basil plant but it is not going to make much.

Cathy said...

All on this post was warm and followed by the deepest sighs of pleasure...
Your basil is gorgeous! It will be August before I actually harvest mine, now it is snippings for daily use. I have never eaten green beans with basil before, and I am thinking that is odd since I put basil on so many fresh veggies in the summer.

And the grandchildren, sitting on laps...I could sense you smiling from ear to ear... swimming in pools and playing on the patio.

Sheets hanging on the line to dry...one of my most favorite domestic thing to do too! I happened to write a short post about this recently.