Taking my cue from Julaberry, I’m going to take a moment to revel in the fact that it is now summer, and think about all the things that I LOVE about this season.

The main things I posted in a comment to her post:

I was meaning the smell of summer, not kidlets. Hot, gum tree smell. mmmmmmm

To expand:

Trips to the coast
We go to the south coast a few times a year, mostly to Mossy Point or Broulee. It’s so lovely there, it’s far enough from Bateman’s Bay that you have no inclination to go to the Bay everyday, which is nice, you can just sit back and relax, and enjoy the serenity.

We usually go by ourselves or with JA’s family: his Mom and step-dad (and their dog, Buster), and occasionally his sisters. Nowadays we always take the dogs, the last trip we had on my birthday weekend was Harley’s first time at the beach, she handled it like a pro. The dogs love the beach.

I love sleeping in, having breakfast with sand crunching beneath my feet on the kitchen floor, going to the beach, laying in the sun and soaking up the rays, having a dip in the freezing cold water, drying off in the sun again, going back to the house for sandwhiches piled high with ham, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, chips and good bread (mmm making me hungry!), having a nap in the afternoon, going for a walk at dusk, watching a movie at night, going to bed, then starting it all again the next day.

Total bliss.

Calm Beach - South Coast

Being outside in the light until 8pm
I think one of the worst things about winter is that it get’s dark at 5pm, usually before you even get home from work. Once it’s dark outside, I figure it’s night time, and I don’t really want to do anything. The other day though, as I was leaving Manuka at 8.24pm, the sun had gone down but it was still light. I didn’t have to drive with my headlights on, it was amazing. I love this because it feels like there actually are more hours in the day. I get home from work sometimes at 4.30pm, and it’s like I have another whole day to do whatever I want outside. I get so much more done in the garden, more tidying up, more housework (sometimes), more projects completed. On a warm day I could even bask in the sun in the backyard for a good hour after work.

Christmas
Christmas is almost always a fun time of year. I always thought as a kid that Christmas Day was actually pretty boring, besides all the presents of course. We’d get up, open pressies, then have nothing to do for the rest of the day. I wanted to go play with friends and be social, but everyone was doing their own thing with their families, so it never worked out that way.

In the last 10 years the enjoyment factor has really picked up, with some down sides also.

The tradition became to have a big family Christmas lunch at mum’s house, with cold meats, seafoods and salads, with me as “Santa” (being the youngest grandchild) and giving out all the presents. Although in the last 4 years our big family has really dwindled, which is sad. My sister passed away in 2005, and my Pa (mum’s dad) and Uncle both passed away in March 2008. But we still have the core: mum & dad, me & JA, and Nandy (who turns 90 in February!), and then sometimes my Aunts and Uncles join us from interstate.

Of course since getting together with JA, we share our Christmas Day between my family, his mom & step-dad, and his dad. So the day is well and truly full of things to do, and I never get bored =P

This year I think we will be having Christmas Eve with JA’s dad (and sisters), possibly at our house. Then Christmas morning – pressies and breakfast – at his mom’s house, then onto my mum’s house for more pressies and Christmas lunch. Then we will probably go see his dad again at dinner time.

This year I’m trying to get away from buying too many presents for people just for the sake of it. I’d like to really hone in on the joy of giving something special to everyone this year, so I’m going to try and handmake most of the gifts I’m giving. I need to brainstorm a few more things I can make for the boys!

What Christmas means to me:
I am not religious. I understand that Christmas is quite sacred to some people, that it represents the re-birth of Christ, and that all the commercialisation of the celebration is pretty sacreligious. But I think the spirit of Christmas can be enjoyed by anybody, no matter what faith you follow. It’s about peace, love, and joy.

School Holidays
What is not to like about School Holidays?? We get about 5.5 weeks off over summer (annual leave is forced here, there is no room for leave during the year as a teacher), which I plan to spend ticking some items off my to do list, like painting all the trims of my house, maybe painting some doors & replacing the handles, hopefully ripping up the carpet and polishing the floors, finishing the cat run, going on a week-long holiday to the coast, making lots of handmade goodies, writing my grant application, launching the JustDetails.net website, lots of gardening, read some books, get my next tattoo… I’ll have to write big lists on the wall so I can get everything done I want to do!

As we are sort of planning to possibly have babies next year, this could be my last summer child-free (or pregnant-belly-free), so I really want to make the most of it.

What do you love about summer??

I ♥ comments! =)