Dog Days/God Days Friday Five

Are the "dog days" of summer also God days? That's the RevGalBlogPals' Friday Five theme this week.

1. What is your sweetest summer memory from childhood? Did it involve watermelon or hand cranked ice cream? Or perhaps a teen summer romance. Which stands out for you?
I remember, as a little kiddo, happily swinging on my swing in our old Duchess apple tree, enjoying the scent of ripening apples and fresh linens drying on our nearby clothesline.

2. Describe your all time favorite piece of summer clothing. The one thing you could put on in the summer that would seem to insure a cooler, more excellent day.
I really enjoy the "wet shorts" I got this year to go canoeing/kayaking. They're men's shorts -- nice and roomy and cool, while preserving my modesty in the upper-thigh region. (You really don't want to see that anyway.)


3. What summer food fills your mouth with delight and whose flavor stays happily with you long after eaten?
Berries of all kinds. Fresh green beans. Fresh tomatoes. Summer squash and zucchini sauteed with onions and garlic and tomatoes.

4. Tell us about the summer vacation or holiday that holds your dearest memory.
I've had some great vacations with FT -- our Upper Peninsula trip, around this time two years ago, was such fun; and I love the UP. And I very much enjoyed last summer's trip to Detroit. I remember sitting in Comerica Park, looking out at the skyline of Old Detroit and thinking that my mom would have loved to have been there, pointing out her old haunts as a downtown secretary during the war years.

5. Have you had any experience(s) this summer that has drawn you closer to God or perhaps shown you His wonder in a new way?
This summer has been less a contemplative summer and more a working summer. We've had the opportunity to assist people in our congregation in personal, practical ways that have made us feel that we're living into the "hands to work, hearts to God" ethic we affirm. I always feel more introspective in the autumn, anyway...I believe that the rhythms of the year do dovetail into the rhythms of a life lived in faith, and not in an accidental way.

Bonus question: When it is really hot, humid and uncomfortable, what do you do to refresh and renew body and spirit?
A house with air conditioning makes that condition less burdensome, to be sure. I don't do well in very hot weather, so back pre A/C I'd just plant myself next to a fan with a book or magazine and wait out the heat wave. On those kinds of days, though, I find that it's nice to go outside at dusk or later and enjoy the evening air. (Mosquitoes and deer flies not included in the enjoyment factor.) There's a certain scent in the air this time of year in the woodlands -- bergamot, and what we call sage even though it really isn't, and warm pine needles, and dried grass...it's the best natural potpourri in the world.