Last night had a fall feel about it, like a September night when the chiminea is lit, and we warm ourselves by the fire. By the time the movie had started, we were bundled in sweatshirts, and I wished I’d worn socks instead of sandals, wool socks. My friends had hoods up and heads covered. A few days ago it was sweltering, and we complained. Last night it was cold, but we still complained. The evening, though, was great fun. I went all out, something I really hadn’t done much in the heat of the summer, and made muhammara and marinated olives (which I hate but my friends love) for appetizers. We had beef kabobs with yellow peppers, rice pilaf and panzanella for dinner. I bought lemon cupcakes for dessert. We wanted a light movie so we chose Pleasantville, and, despite the cold, it was still great sitting out on the deck to watch a movie. I do wonder what my neighbors think.

Today we have been blessed with another beautiful day, sunny and dry. Every night this week  will be wonderful for sleeping, in the low to mid 60’s. The summer is whizzing by us.

We had one table fan when I was a kid. I only remember it because my father tried to fix a blade while the fan was running, and he cut all his fingers. The fan was metal and made a lot of noise as it spun from side to side. It stayed in the living room while we watched TV and in my parents’ room at night. Our bedrooms were always hot, but I don’t remember ever having trouble falling asleep. We were so busy all day long we were exhausted by bedtime.

My father was a fierce hunter. I remember him waking us up when he went mosquito hunting. With rolled newspaper in hand, my father went from room to room trying to kill the mosquitoes before they got us. I guess four kids going in and out gave those bugs lots of opportunities to come inside. My father would stand on my bed and jiggle it as he swatted at the mosquitoes near the ceiling. I’d wake up to hear him announce his latest kill. Sometimes I’d hear him say too late on that one. I knew exactly what he meant.

This entry was posted on August 2, 2010 at 10:37 am and is filed under Musings. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: fans, mosquitos, movie night