Uncommon Grace

Summer Is...

Hello, everyone! I'm back from my "summer break" with much to share. This is the final post in the Summer Is series. I would like to thank my fantastic guest bloggers for contributing in such beautiful and unexpected ways over the last month. Sarah, Molly, Emily, Stefani, Heather, Erin, Leslie, Alicia, Kristin, and Kirsten are all such amazing, inspiring women and true friends. Thank you, ladies.

Summer is...

...a snack of fresh produce gifted by our new neighbor from her yard -- lovingly arranged by my girl.

...camping. Even if this year it ended up only being in the backyard.

...celebrating Midsummer Night (that's a link to last year's Midsummer post), this year with friends.

...little living gifts from my children.

...a little bit of u-pick fun. (Strawberry season in our part of the world was fairly weak this year due to a late frost, so no freezer jam this year for us...)

...our once-a-year trip to an amusement park.

...and the backyard rides inspired by it.

And finally, summer is the time to feel awe for life in the most tangible of ways. In the life of my daughter, coursing through her. ("Mama, feel my heart beating!" she gasps after racing around the yard at twilight.)

Now, what's autumn to you? Come join me over in the new flickr group!

Guest Blogger :: Summer Is :

 

Summer is an endless opportunity to create, given to us by a warm, lingering sun and the generous earth that it shines down upon. 

With days out at the beach, driftwood bridges leading over the sandcastles' motes are created. Paths are constructed with a myriad of seashells. Games are invented with the incoming waves...

With days in the yard a garden is created with the workable soil. Edging stones and climbing poles are laid out in thoughtful ways. Plants are cultivated and cared for. Watering time is inspiration for fun ways to cool off.

With days in the kitchen meals are created with the fruits of the season. Berries become pies, ice creams, etc... Peppers get stuffed. Tomatoes get layered up with mozzarella and basil. Here and now almost anything is possible in the kitchen and the fresh produce keeps the ideas and imagination flying high.

Thank you Summer for all the materials out there and the opportunities they provide to create. Summer is fun.

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hi everyone. my name is kristin from over at honeyflake. i'm quite thrilled to be popping in here today, joining this wonderful tribute to this very wonderful, sunny season. thanks grace!

Guest Blogger :: Summer Is :

"Don't tell me about the world.  Not today.  It's summertime and they're knocking baseballs around fields where the grass is damp and green in the morning and the kids are trying to hit the curve ball." 

~Pete Hamill

Summer is little league games with all the dressings: clunk-clunking cleats in the parking lot, Big League Chew and brand new gloves, bleachers and the snack bar, little sisters playing in the dirt, grass stains and dusty faces. It's beautiful orange sunsets as the lights buzz on, and pizza parties at the end of the season. But mostly it is Coach Daddy with a big smile on his face and a pat on the back for everyone (just like the Coach Daddy that preceded him.)

Summer is heading out to minor league and major league games: friendly rivalries, ice cold beers and grilled hot dogs in the parking lot, grocery store peanuts and ballpark cotton candy. It's stolen bases, pop flies, strike-outs and bunts. It's spectacular plays, fireworks after a home run and the seventh inning stretch. But mostly it is a little boy and a daddy who look at each other and say, "Oh, wow! Did you see that?"

But as all good things seem to do, summer is winding down. All that is left to do now is squeeze as many games of catch in as possible and start dreaming of next season.

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Hi, everyone! My name is Alicia. I am a true summer girl, so I'm tickled to be part of the 'Summer Is' series. I am a artist/crafter/blogger/wife/mother from Kansas City who is honored to call Grace a dear friend. My homes on the internet are here, here, and here.

Thanks!

Guest Blogger :: Summer is:

Summer is buying locally grown strawberries from roadside stands and being reminded of the goodness of others. Listening to your inner voice to pay him more, honoring him for his selling style. Summer is lazy days spent at the pool with the scent of coconut sunscreen and fresh grilled food. Listening to the shriek of the lifeguards whistle and the laughter of children. Summer is teaching children the importance of working together for a summer meal. Listening to the snapping noise as the husk is being torn away from the cob. Summer is the reward one gets from planting seeds in the spring. Listening to the buzz of bees that are feeding on flowers.....and not my children. Summer is dinner served outside. Listening to the faint sound of lawnmowers in the distance, the sounds of summer, the beautiful, wonderful sounds of life. Hello! My name is Leslie, and I blog over at a friend to knit with where I like to sprinkle bits and pieces of my family life on top of knitting. I can also be found over on flickr. Thanks so much to Grace for hosting the "summer is" series. It was such a joy to join in the fun with these girls and such a sweet reminder to soak up all I can of summer.

Guest Blogger :: Summer Is :

Summer is veggies from the garden that typically go straight to the dinner table.

Summer is trips to our favorite beach for a dip in the cold ocean.

Summer is enjoying local corn on the cob. (The only way the little one will eat it.)

Summer is fields of flowers.

And it just wouldn't be summer without an evening on the beach to watch the beautiful sunset.

Hello there! I'm Erin and I am so thrilled to join these lovely ladies for a guest blogging adventure! It has been fun. Our little family lives in the farm lands of Maine, where there are more chickens than people, and tractors pass by more frequently than cars.You can find more of my ramblings over at Bluebirdbaby and view my photos on my flickr page.

Enjoy the rest of summer! I hope to see you around.

Guest Blogger:: Summer Is:

Summer is when the earth comes alive. It is when water sparkles and dances... when green leaves become translucent under a golden sunset. Summer is an endless palette of color offered freely as comfort and inspiration. Summer is walking slowly through the woods and looking closely, low to the ground. Here, we are reminded by something that is millions of years old to be still, to stay strong, and to understand the truth that in order to exist peacefully in the world, we must be willing to support, love and nurture the lives of others.
  Summer is a season of roadside farmstands and deep front porches, a season of creamsicles and sticky fingers, of chilled wine and bruschetta, of swimsuits drying and sand in the car. Summer is my season. A time when I, like the earth, am most alive. 

Well hello there, my name is Heather... I'm feeling a little shy and at the same time thrilled to pieces to be here. I can also be found writing and sharing about all things under the sun at my blog, Beauty That Moves. Thank you dear Grace for hosting myself and so many other beautiful ladies. It's been a pleasure.

Guest Blogger :: Summer Is...

Summer is :: 

Violet fingers

 

and the wide, wide blue sea. 

 

Summer is inhaling the verdant green, 

 

And savoring bushels of sunsets that are precisely the color of ripe peaches, and just as sweet. 

 

Summer is a long walk in a field of yellow, with cicadas singing overhead. 

Summer is all the colors under the big orange sun, poured into jeweled jars, to warm the chilly grey days ahead.

   

**** Hi y'all!!! My name is Stefani, and I'm just so excited to join the girls of summer, here on Grace's blog! What fun it is to see the season through the eyes of such lovely and talented women! 

Most days, you can find me at my regular haunt, Blue Yonder, where I share little bits of my crazy sweet life with 3 boys and 5 chickens. You can also find the story of us, in photos, on our Flickr site. 

We're wishing you all colorful, sticky, sweet summer days!

Guest Blogger :: Summer Is:

summer is flying a kite.

especially on the beach.

i remember my parents flying kites at the beach from the time i was a small child.  and kites have made me a wee bit nervous ever since.  there may have been a kite that landed in the ocean.  or maybe it was just my worry that a kite might land in the ocean.  i'm not sure anymore, but i love them nonetheless.

i love all of the conversation about dowels and hooks and strings and whether there is enough wind.  i love the admonishments - "don't let go!" - to young hands that want to help.  i love the splash of color against a bright blue sky.  or against a grey sky.  or against a blue and grey sky.  i love flying kites especially when someone else (usually my mother or my husband) launches them into the air and i can sit quietly in a beach chair and look out at the ocean and hold the kite string and feel the tug of the wind in my hands and breathe.

***

hello uncommon grace readers!  i'm emily.  i blog about life and creativity and mothering and mindfulness at shining egg, and i share my photos on flickr.  i'm honored to be sharing this bit of my summer here on uncommon grace.  many thanks to you, grace, for dreaming up this summer is series and for inviting me to participate.  and thanks to all of you for reading.

Guest Blogger:: Summer Is:

Sweet, sticky juice dripping from your chin, to your wrist, down your forearm...from the brightest, softest summer peach.

Sitting on the back porch husking sweet corn until your feet are buried in feathery tassels and coarse green leaves.

The smell of hay being cut and raked, tossed into windrows, and left to dry in the summer sun.

Swimming suits, always at the ready, hanging up to dry on the pegs inside an old wooden pool house.

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Hello to Grace's readers. My name is Molly and I blog at mollycoddle about my life on a little green spot in the country, raising three young girls, keeping my home, and finding time for creativity. You can also find my photographs here.

And *thank you* to Grace for beginning this series. It has caused to be more mindful of the sights and sounds and smells of Summer.

Guest Blogger :: Summer Is:

Summer is ripening.  The blueberries have made their way from green to pink to a blue so blue it's almost black.

Summer is feasting.  Eating more fresh berries than you ever imagined possible.  And then making a latticed pie and homemade vanilla ice cream just because.

--
I'm so pleased to kick-off the "Summer Is:" guest blogging series here.  So many thanks to Grace for opening up her online home to a variety of interpretations of summer.  I've seen the line-up of guests ahead, and know it will be good fun.

And to introduce myself, I'm Sarah.  I share snippets of family, nature and craft as I experience them by the shore of Lake Superior on flickr and at cloth.paper.string. 

Summer Is:

Our wedding anniversary. (Yes, that's the same photo I used last year. It's my favorite photo from the wedding.) So, nine years ago today, on a sunny, not-too-hot morning in August, my husband and I said "I do."

For fun, I thought I'd share nine things about us today.

1. When we met, I was 19 and he was 29. It kind of freaked my parents out a little bit, but they got past it pretty quickly.

2. I pursued him for about 4 months before he finally asked me out.

3. Our first official date was to an Indian restaurant. We now have a tradition of going to that same restaurant every year after church on Christmas Eve. (No, our first date was not on Christmas Eve. It was in September.) Our wee ones love it, and we love the chance to reminisce about that night when we were both so nervous. ;)

4. He proposed to me on a stormy night in late October. We had plans that night to go to a local amusement park that had reopened that week to do Halloween stuff. (You could ride the rides but they also had haunted houses going on.) {Halloween is my favorite holiday. He knew me well to plan a proposal during a Halloween bash.} He says he planned to pop the question on the ferris wheel, but I'm not sure how that would have worked, all scary and shaky up there. Anyway, it was too stormy to go, so we were in the car trying to come up with a Plan B for the evening, and he just blurted it out and pulled a ring out of his pocket. It was so, so sweet. We don't have the car anymore, though, which makes me kind of sad.

(By the way, I used to love all things scary, like haunted houses, until Elisabeth was born, when I very abruptly started hating them.)

5. Our children both have family names: Elisabeth is a family name on my side (going back at least 6 generations now), and James is a family name on my husband's side.

6. We are totally boring people.

7. One time we thought it would be fun to make a list of every movie we'd gone to in the theater together. It was in the hundreds! We made the list 5 years ago, and I don't think we've really added any to it since then. ;)

8. We did not live together before we were married.

9. I am two inches taller than him. I usually wear Danskos, though, so I tend to look even more than two inches taller. We're both so used to it that we don't really even notice anymore.

Looking forward to a bit of celebrating today. Hope your day is lovely and bright!

Summer Is:

This beautiful, sweet, chin-drippingly juicy muskmelon from our weekly CSA share. (Our farm told us that muskmelon is slightly different than cantaloupe, and I do think it tastes different. However, Wikipedia says it's the same thing. So I don't actually know.)

I'm excited to announce that during August, while I get some things settled around here, this space will host some amazing guest bloggers as part of this series! I appreciate the women who have agreed to help me out in this way so, so very much, and I am really excited to see what they'll share.

What is summer?

I've been thinking a bit about what summer means to me. Sentimental stuff -- my own childhood summers spent at the pool, riding my bike, running in the rain. Family trips for ice cream. All that good stuff. So, I thought I'd do a little bit of a "series" about summer here on the blog, now that we're really in the middle of it. It'll be a bit of an intermittent series, because I'm also going to take Kristin's good advice (from the comments on my last post) to take some time to breathe.

Today, Summer is:

Water play. Specifically in a fire hydrant that was opened today on our street. Good friends to share it with. A perfect summer's afternoon.

So, what is summer to you?

{PS: Follow along with my Summer Is: series here and here, or join in yourself here!}