Summer Doldrums…

There’s something about this time of year that just gets to me.  I’m already a slow-moving person, but when it gets hot and humid, I definitely slow to a bare crawl.  This year it has had a detrimental effect on my picture taking and, consequently, my blog. I think summer always slows down my picture taking unless we’re traveling, but this year it has been worse than usual for some reason.

It's been like this for me for as long as I can remember.  I just really don’t like summer.

  I suppose there are those of you out there who could never understand the way I feel, but searching around on the interweb, I found that there are more people out there like me, albeit not that many. But it's a real condition called Summer SAD (Seasonal AffectiveDisorder) .  While I don’t think I suffer from it in a full-blown way, I do find it much harder to sleep.  The sun rises and so do I, like it or not.  Yes, we need room darkening shades.  I know, I know.   There are always too many blankets or sheets and not enough air.  I toss and turn and turn and toss.  I just can't get comfortable.

Summer is rather overwhelming to me in a social way as well.  Well, I've always been socially awkward so the parties and get togethers that seem to happen more frequently in the summer cause me a fair bit of anxiety.

The truth is that I completely and thoroughly hate the heat and humidity.  To me, the best day of the year is that first day I have to put on a sweatshirt in the morning and wear it all day.  It’s feels weird to me that when people describe paradise, they always seem to be talking about someplace in the tropics, sun-drenched, sand covered and sweat producing, while I always dream of places north.  I most definitely feel like a fish out of water this time of year or maybe a polar bear out of the Arctic.

  Oh, well, what can I do?  I have no control over it.

I decided that what I needed to do today is make the most of what is good about summertime, besides baseball, that is. Summertime is colorful and I do love color.  So I went out and took a tour of our yard and came back with these.

I did manage to accomplish something this summer and it is colorful.  Thanks to The Crochet Crowd for the free pattern.  This was easier than it looks and so much fun to create.  I love the pattern.  I think another one may be in my future even though I'm not sure what I'll do with it.

One thing that is very special about today, in particular, is that it is my very colorful daughter Carrie’s birthday.  My due date with her was June 21, but she waited until July 13 to be born, which was a Friday with a full moon, of course.  And yes, it was the hottest summer ever.  Of course, it’s always the hottest summer ever when one is greatly pregnant.  But I hit the jackpot with Number One.  She’s a wonderful, big hearted, quirky, intelligent and beautiful person.  Happy birthday, Number One!

Here's a photo of Carrie and her brother Evan (Number Two) taken in 1990.  Number Two isn't so bad either, by the way.

And here's how she looks these days.  Yes, that's a spider web in her hair.  I told you she was quirky.