-Sitting on the porch, enjoying nature, swinging on the swing, watching the fireflies dance, rocking in rocking chairs, being a child of summer
-Listening for the first cicadas in June and letting them sing to me in the heat. (A video I made for my Youtube channel of cicadas at sunset in late August.)
-Quartz mountain and Wichita mountain magic, art in the mountains, saddle mountain farm, all the summer colors of the mountains: alizarin crimson, yellow ochre, burnt umber, cobalt turquoise light, buff titanium
-Picnic at Hanging Rock Soundtrack on Youtube, the soundtrack of my hot summer, and Victorian summer fever dreams…
https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6B0W8wUZ565uIymQdC3Cq4TnBOmSEwJb
-Cool colors of the ocean, jadeite, Fenton, Le Creuset cool mint, cobalt turquoise light, fuchsite genuine
-Tea, cake, scones, Brambly Hedge china, berries, peaches, and cream in my celedon-colored Hotpoint dish, summer fruits shining on my tea tray
-Dressing in cute dresses with wellies, or in cute hiking clothes, workout clothes, getting ready to hike, camp, and plein aire paint
-Cooking on my vintage O’Keefe and Merritt range in my summertime bright kitchen
-Riding bikes, using bike baskets to hold books and favorite trinkets
-Painting butterflies using my Winsor & Newton Westminster box and my Frazier-Price box, pretending to be a Victorian girl artist studying nature
-Painting on the road with my art toolkit, in my studio on my easel, getting out into nature and painting a la plein aire
-Drawing and painting my favorite toys: Gabrielle Pooh characters, Weebles, Fisher-Price Adventure People and Little People, the things that made my time as a young mother extra fun and continue to bring me happiness
-Going swimming in our pool in my bikini, doing laps, sunbathing, floating, bathing in our huge clawfoot tub, anything to be wild and free in the water, especially swimming
-Eyes dazzled by the sun as I float around the swimming pool letting all my cares fall away…
-Drawing and painting my tea things, especially my Royal Doulton Brambly Hedge Summer china
-Listening to records on the record player of happy old songs while the kids and I dance, or play games
-Reading books, my stories, old childhood favorites, and a few new ones each season
-Writing my own stories and books, using my summers to edit, illustrate, format, produce, and publish my books
-Going on date nights to the drive-in movies where we order dinner, huge popcorn and drinks, and we enjoy a double feature late into the night
-Watching spooky / scary movies, watching movies in our backyard from the pool with the kids
-Listening to summer music- southern rock playlist- especially on road trips
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3bybeEJTYECLmBPRzFUo05?si=271xRv9vRhum2f1i9nr85Q&pi=yh1NK7J-QRWjd
-Enjoying my beautiful moon flowers as they bloom in the evening, all night, into the morning and attract huge sphinx moths and bees
-Going on road trips to see lots of things, places, and to just enjoy our great country
-Having Strawberry teas and “socials”- little mini parties with our ice cream table and chairs, and of course, strawberry ice cream!
-And just sitting and being as the summer comes to life around me and warms my soul and makes me happy
Happy Summer to you from Kansas Street,
Jaime
Life on Kansas Street 