Aka a huge post filled with smaller posts, or such. I don’t know, heatstroke maybe?
Anyway, as my mom used to say when I was whining about something I didn’t like: “Make yourself like it”.
And since, in this blog somewhere, there’s a survival post for winter, a summer one is needed.
And it’s not the usual “drink plenty, don’t go out in the hottest hours, wear sunscreen”. Stuff. Stuff to do.
To enjoy summer if you, like me, are more of a fireplace-and-tea-cozy kind of person.
Plus! I’ve actually applied to this, it’s not just a random and sterile list of things to do. Which means I followed my own advice and I’ll shower you with pictures.
But now, without further ado (I like saying so), here are some ideas.
Plan something
Be it a two weeks holiday, or just a weekend away. Be it a completely new place or the city where you live. It doesn’t matter. Dig deep in internet, magazines and newspapers. I’m positive you’ll find an art show, or a concert, or something to visit. There are free activities too! (Heck, around here even the smallest village has a fair or feast of something. Go there! If my hometown has free concerts at the Castle, or cinema in the open, then I’m drop-dead-sure that your place will have something exciting to do!)
Pile up on books
Ok, it’s not striclty “for summer”. But anything goes to fill up your ebook reader and splurge in a bookshop.
Have a picnic with friends
On the riverside, in a city park, or even in your backyard if you have no other options.So that you can also practice the next idea:
Try out new summery recipes
I can’t cook much during summer (bummer, because I like cooking) but it’s so hot I can’t get myself to turn on the stoves, let alone the oven! That’s why I had to find my way around meals that didn’t require much (sometimes not at all) heat. Yes, sometimes I do cook something on the stove, but if you do that early in the morning, or in the evening, your kitchen won’t be heated for when it’s time to eat.
Recipes like:
– gazpacho, I have to perfect mine, I tried it once, improvising a bit (I’ll need a different type of tomatoes and less cucumber),
– go wild with bruschetta,
– lear how to make hummus (with canned chickpeas it’s ridiculously easy)
– go for big mixed salads (this one, is spelt),
– try quinoa and chickpea patties
– give “cucumber sandwich” a chance, I would have never believed it, but I love it
– avocado on toast is your friend, repeat after me, avocado on toast is your friend
– try (possibly without failing bad as I did :P) some Thai springrolls with quinoa and shrimps
Sit in a cool corner and blow soap bubbles
Just because.
Paint your nails
What to do when you have extra time to totally waste? Learn how to draw watermelon slices and pineapples on your nails, DUH.
And trust me, if I did it, you can too!Here are some other ideas
Go out for an happyour
I’m not really a fan of the “social happyour”. But I like going out, in a nice cafe, maybe where you can sit outside, do some people watching, while nibbling on something yummy and sipping something refreshing.
Make lemonade
Lemon, water, sugar. And, in the picture, violet syrup added. You have to try it. You WANT to try it, trust me!!!
Make your own popsicles
You don’t even need moulds: small plastic cups and some sticks will be just fine. What to use? Fruit juice, peach iced tea, creamy yogurt with fresh fruit. Then cover with aluminum foil and pierce it with your stick, so it will sit straight. Freeze. Eat.
Do outdoor sports
“Are you crazy?” “In this heatwave?” “Isn’t it, like, infested with mosquitoes?”
Well, yes, it’s hot, yes, you sweat a lot, and yes there are mosquitoes (but mostly yes, we are crazy, all the best ones are). But, other than refreshing your brains and your moods in nature, other than the endorphine rush at the end that makes you go “Again! Again!”, well, besides all this, I think that running in the park makes the heat a lot more bearable. (PS When you’re running you feel fresh air and mosquitoes can’t reach you).
Like Goku training with weights on, and when he took them off he was much more swift and quick. No? Just me? Quirky.
Do something new
You can taste a new flavour of icecream. You can wear a shirt in a colour you love but you’re not sure it’s a good colour for you, and make it work. Learn a new software you’re interested in. Pick a summer perfume (ok, this is not my original idea, it comes from my friend Marta, she always has a winter and a summer perfume, and since lately I’m in love with Pleats Please by Issey Miyake, I thought this could be a nice idea!). You can try a new place, you might find the best flushing toilet like this one!
Choose some new entertainement
It was just a matter of time before I knew about “Shokugeki no Souma https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_Wars!:_Shokugeki_no_Soma”, I’m probably super late, but given my love for japanese quisine, it was to be expected. A nice and silly shonen!
Or, you can listen to some new music. For example, I didn’t know this artist, and she’s amazing!
Print pictures
I have folders upon folders upon folders filled with pictures. My mobile is sinced with google photos. But I never print any of them. So I’ve decided I want to pick ten nice pics to print and store in an album. Hey, my nieces will need printed proof of how awesome their auntie was!!!
Visit somewhere new
You don’t need to take a plane and go somewhere european. I mean near your home. Walk through a neighbourhood you’re not familiar with. Take pictures of the prettiest houses and gardens. You might discover interesting corners, or shops. And if it’s a lousy trip, at least have an icecream!
We took advantage of our riverside day and visited Bobbio, it’s so pretty!
Take a bubble bath
Groundbreaking, you’ll say, like I never shower! I take like, three a day, in this heat! You’ll say.
Yes, yes, I know you’re clean. But if you have a bathtub, fill it with fresh water and make bubbles with a summer-scented foambath (I have a cantaloupe one) and sink in the fresh water, with a treatment product in your hair and a facial mask. Go wild: slices of cucumber on your eyes, scrub glove and to top it off, scented moisturizer for when you’re done.
Yes, do this even if you’re a boy. You know what’ MOST OF ALL if you’re a boy: when was the last time you’ve pampered yourself a bit, uh?
Have a brunch
Well, yes, of course, you can have brunch whenever. But it makes me feel like I’m on holiday, even if I’m still in my kitchen 😛
Flamingos
There are some things that make me think of summer: pineapples, watermelons, ibiscus flowers, oleanders, cantaloupe, floaties, cocktails with tiny umbrellas, yellow things and super vivid colours, fruits. And flamingos. Because their fuchsia. Or because I’m nuts.
Anyway, you can learn how to draw them, or learn ten things about flamingos, or whatever!
And if all else fails…
Go to the cinema
A/C, popcorns, entertainement. Must I add more? (Well, yes, we will be trying out our luck with Suicide Squad…)
Look for signs of incoming autumn
Like acorns on oaks. Like horsechestnuts already turning brown. Like pomegranate trees dangling unripe fruits.
Plan some autumn activities
I want to try and make gnocchi ossolani (gnocchi made with pumpkin and with chestnut flour). Theselemon muffins. Take my friends on the mountains. Sew some serious stuff. Keep going running.
I’m open for more advice, any ideas?
