a taste of summer

We're having summer weather this weekend. It's in the 80s - sunny and hot. Quite lovely, actually, although almost too hot to work outside, at least in the sun. I really don't have much outdoor work to do so far this spring. I could buy some more summer plants and perhaps I will on my way home from church today. I have made a list of what colors and some plants that I want to put in various pots on the deck. The flower beds in my yard are so crowded already that they really can't absorb many more plants, so the pots are the only thing that change from year to year. Anyway, this bit of summer in April is delightful and not really unusual. I still remember a number of years ago when we were gone for a weekend in late April. Our lilac was still in bud when we left on Friday. When we got home on Sunday, it had bloomed and was finished! At first, I wondered what had happened, but then I realized that it had been in the high 80s all weekend and that compressed all the blooming into a few days. I don't have room for lilacs here in this tiny yard, but Patty (two doors down) has a dwarf one. It is just about to burst into bloom and will smell delightful. Many flowering trees are in bloom, so our entire neighborhood is very colorful and sweet smelling these days.

Today, we are having a "salad luncheon" after church. In the winter we have 'soup luncheons', and last year we tried a salad luncheon - it was a big hit. I've made a Greek salad with chicken, salad dressing on the side. It may be the only thing there that I can eat, as I am on a very restrictive diet until my acid reflux problem clears up. The list of things I cannot eat includes just about everything I enjoy. (no pizza, no chocolate, no wine, no citrus, no spices) Talk about bland diets! I am trying to keep my sense of humor about this diet - it is rather amusing - but it is also very frustrating. I've been carefully reading the labels on store bought baked goods, salad dressings and so forth. Probably a mistake, as when you see what is in all those products it makes you want to NEVER buy them ever again! Better not to know what we are eating.

I hope spring has arrived at your house too. Summer is on the way. Enjoy!