The good news is that it’s a holiday for us here in North America. YAY! The bad news is that it’s the unofficial end of summer. BOO! I really hate this time of the year – the end of cottage season is tough. I’m already counting down the months till next year’s cottage season starts (nine!) Till then, these are some of my memories from this past summer…
What are your favourite memories from the summer of 2012?
Wooooohooooo! Summer has officially arrived!
Image via Flickr, photo by Sator Arepo
No, that isn’t me in the picture – I wish! But that’s how excited I am that summer is here :-) I love everything about summer – long sunny days, starry nights, BBQs, eating outside on the patio, biking, gardening, not having to put on a coat and toque and mitts and boots before going outside to scrape ice off the car windows… Eeek, let’s not go there!
Image via RedBubble, artist Lucy Hollis
My very favourite thing about summer is spending weekends at the cottage. This past weekend was my first full weekend there, and I sucked every last minute out of it! I was outside from morning till night, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, walking the dogs, reading, washing the car… right up till my last swim of the weekend at sunset last night. Ahhhhh, good times!
The dock at the cottage…
Time to jump into the lake for a swim…
After we swim, we can do some kayaking…
Well, actually, this is more like the kind of kayaking I do, minus the awesome view!
Squirt likes to swim too…
and she follows me as I kayak around the lake…
Beautiful sunny blue summer skies…
Of course, we need a pair of cool shades to protect the peepers…
And don’t forget the sunblock ;-)
A fuzzy beach towel to dry off with after we’re done…
The BBQ-Donut was designed and developed by German inventor and entrepreneur Sebastian Schmitt. This puppy is part lounge, part table, part BBQ, and part water floatation device :-) It comes with a sound system and travels at about 2.5mph.
But if you’re a landlubber, this BBQ might be more your speed… ;-)
Once you’ve got this Nascar BBQ fired up, why not grill up a few racks of juicy mouth-watering ribs (vegetarians, close your eyes!!)
OK, you can look again… mmmmmm, juicy succulent freshly-picked berries :-)
YUM!!!!!! And what’s better on a hot summer day than sipping an icy-cold strawberry daiquiri complete with fresh strawberries…
The Best Strawberry Daiquiri EVER!
Put first three ingredients in blender and blend till smooth. Add berries and blend for a few more seconds. Pour into glass and drink!
Warning: You’ll want to lick the glass clean. Don’t be shy, go ahead and do it!!
Or maybe a glass of freshly-squeezed lemonade is just what you need to refresh you…
Easy Freshly Squeezed Lemonade
Combine lemon juice and sugar in a glass till the sugar is mostly dissolved. Add water. If you add ice, reduce the water a bit to prevent the lemonade from becoming too diluted. If you like extra-tart lemonade, add more juice. Toss in a slice or two of lemon for a bit of extra flavour.
Of course, summer isn’t summer without ice cream!
How cool is this colourful SuperKid ice cream from Laura Secord?? :-)
And check this out — a couple of years ago, Paul at Kitchen & Residential Design posted a recipe for making homemade ice cream in a Ziploc bag. I had to try it… and it really works!
How to make it:
Tips:
A 1/2 cup milk will make about 1 scoop of ice cream, so double the recipe if you want more. But don't increase the proportions more that that.
Happy Summer!
