June is Bustin' Out All Over

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING:  Memorial Day weekend is over, we’ve said good-bye to 

May, and this is the start of the first full month in June, or, as I like to call it: summer.

 

We all have different markers for when the season begins - the aforementioned holiday 

weekend, the end of the school year, that blast of cold air as the office’s annual pre-set 

AC comes on whether it’s 50 or 90 F. But without a doubt, June is the start, the first 

month of summer, the month of weddings and graduations and my birthday, which is 

why I know it’s so great.

I have certain rituals that mark the start of the season. First and foremost, I bring the 

warm-weather clothing and the fans down from the attic, and carry the winter things up. 

The parkas and scarves move from the foyer to the less-accessible front hall closet, and 

the boots disappear in favor of sneakers and flip-flops. 

There’s summer-specific beauty rites: a pedicure with bright nail polish and sunless 

tanning lotion after showers (I wear it under my SPF 50 sunscreen.)

 

On the first really hot day, I’ll make myself cold tuna-mac salad, a 1960’s style dish that 

was one of my mom’s staples back before she started replacing gobs of mayo with 

heart-healthy alternatives. I’ll add a few things to my grocery list: lemonade mix, lime 

and strawberry popsicles (which Google tells me I should refer to as frozen fruit bars,)

 Miracle Whip (come at me, haters.)

And of course, as we discussed last week, there’s the joy of finding a horde selection of 

great summer reads.

Reds, what rites and rituals mark the start of summer for you?

HALLIE EPHRON: Ah, summer… Number one is opening the windows. This year I’m 

having the windows washed, a pricey but necessary (at least once every five years) 

endeavor.


Number two, birds! There’s usually several nests in my backyards and then comes the 

fun watching the gawky hatchlings fledge. When you see four cardinals together and 

not killing each other or mating, they’re nest-mates.

And on the watch for lady slippers at the base of trees on my walks. 

And, oh yes, finding someone to help me hoist my a/c from the office floor and into the 

window. It’s the only room I really need it for. Any volunteers??

LUCY BURDETTE: First is a tuna melt on rye when my favorite snack bar opens. 

Deep River potato chips on the side. Pretty soon the farmers market will provide more 

than greens and radishes, though we are enjoying lots of those!

 

RHYS BOWEN: Lucy and I have had a sneak preview of summer at our other homes. 

It reached 95 before I left Arizona. Now I’m back in California with weather in the 70s. 

My first summer task is to take heavy winter clothes downstairs and bring up summer 

ones. Then go through and weed out those I no longer wear. (I wore a white jacket this 

week. It’s after Memorial Day so I’m allowed to.)

 

Things I look forward to: Thursday farmers market with all that organic fresh produce. 

And sitting out on my deck on a balmy evening, glass of Aperol Spritz in hand, enjoying 

watching the sun slip below the hills.

 

JENN McKINLAY: Summer is…less fantastic for me. I’m saying good-bye to my weekly

 farmer’s market outing until October. The AC guy has to come out and
make sure our 

unit is all good. You never want your AC to die when it’s 115. The pool starts getting 

used daily to exercise the dogs - this is actually one of the highlights! 

 

 

And my garden starts to shrivel up and die until late July when it’s time to plant the 

pumpkins and hopefully a robust monsoon season will do the watering. Woo hoo! 

And the highlight of summer is the annual trek to my mom’s summer house in Nova 

Scotia. We count the days until we’re back on the Bay of Fundy, fishing in the trout 

stream, hitting the local farm stands, and running on the beach! Can’t wait! 

DEBORAH CROMBIE: The winter clothes migrated back into the attic here back in 

April! But June does really feel like the beginning of summer, especially with all the 

summer produce coming into the market and the frogs singing in the pond.
But every year I indulge in a little beginning of summer ritual–driving through our 

favorite barbecue joint. We have a great multi-awarded barbecue place but somehow 

when it’s cold it drops off my radar. 

 

But that first warm evening with the lengthening twilight, I love to drive 

across town and sit in the drive-through line with the windows down, smelling the huge 

smokers and watching the light fade over the western treetops. And if I get into the fried 

okra before I get home, don’t tell…

 

JULIA: Readers, what starts your summer? 

Images by freepik, gpointstudio, wirestock, freepik, vecstock, and chandlervid85, all on Freepik.com

In My Defense!

INGRID THOFT
Earlier this week, Julia led a staunch defense of the joys of Miracle Whip.  She had a few supporters in her campaign, but not very many.  In the same post, I admitted my preference for Mrs. Butterworth's over real Vermont maple syrup.  I know!  It's sacrilege!  I'm from New England, for goodness sake's, but I can't deny my love for the sweet syrup that comes in the creepy woman-shaped bottle.  Something about real syrup just seems off to me, so like Julia, I will energetically defend my right to ingest the buttery goodness.

So tell me, Reds, is there an experience, a place, a book or movie (you get the idea) to which you have absolute loyalty despite a majority of naysayers?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Well, that is a pretty interesting question. I love the movie "Point Break." Does that count? I put real sugar in my coffee in the morning--does that make people wince?  I have um, watched Survivor. I got some great gray Keds, that's probably not cool. Twizzlers.  Costco.  I WOULD happily see "Mamma Mia 2," but Jonathan won't go. And let me say, I have never tasted maple syrup, in a creepy bottle or not. OR baked beans. You can have mine. And I like Big Macs. Not that I've eaten one any time recently, but I would. AND I love shopping at the grocery store the day before Thanksgiving .It's terrible, but it's hilarious. Because we are all in it  together. Hmm.  You really have me thinking.

JENN McKINLAY: Hank, I love "Point Break," too! It's the best sort of campy fun, plus hot guys. Things that I enjoy that my people find appalling, hmm, this is a tough one. I defend my need to comfort eat Hostess Sno-balls, I love the Bee Gees, and I think it's perfectly acceptable to break out a sweet pair of leather boots as soon as the thermometer drops below 80 degrees even though the rest of the world is in flip-flops.

RHYS BOWEN: I cried in "Mama Mia 2"! I sing along to the Sound of Music. I can watch my favorite old movies over and over (and still cry at the sad parts ). I love to get a hot dog at a ball game, smothered in mustard and relish (which often splashes onto my light trousers and won't come out). And I still love the magical things of my childhood--driving around seeing the Christmas lights, swinging on a swing at the park. I guess I'm the female Peter Pan. I don't want to grow up.

HALLIE EPHRON: I love "The Princess Bride." Can watch it endlessly. And will grab any opportunity to quote: "My name is Inigo Montoya. You keel my father. Prepare to die." In the same vein, I adore "Shrek" ("Let's get some parfait."  "You know, not everybody likes onions.") Also the movie "Babe."That'll do, Pig, That'll do." A movie which for some reason gave my daughter nightmares.

And Lipton onion soup and sour cream dip. With or without potato chips.

INGRID: I don't think your choices require much defending, Hallie!  Who doesn't like onion soup dip?

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Still saying Miracle Whip is the greatest. I love my house, despite the fact that the sane thing to do wold be to sell it and move someplace both newer and smaller. I love the foods of my childhood that are made with canned cream of mushroom soup - it feels as if everyone is making their own white sauce or something for those dishes, but the grocery store still sells giant cans of CoM, so maybe I'm not the only one...

And I don't care what everyone says, I liked the remake of "Annie" with Quvenzhane Wallis and Jaime Foxx. Although even I draw the line at Cameron Diaz's performance of Miss Hannigan.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I did see "Mamma Mia 2," and cried until my popcorn napkins were soggy. "Christopher Robin," ditto. And I have always liked ABBA. I like butter (make that butter-flavored goop) on my movie popcorn. I think Rob Schneider's "Deuce Bigalow: American Gigolo" is hysterically funny.

I like Saltines with chili. I don't like books where all the characters are creepy. And I do like books to have at least sort of happy endings, which I know is very un-literary.  So there.

LUCY BURDETTE: I'm always in for dressing up in goofy costumes, whether it's Halloween or not. This is a photo of our daughter and me, which is quite typical.Also, before I started visiting a naturopath to help me with my meniere's disease and learned that it could be adding to my congestion, I drank a big glass of milk with every meal. My family would be drinking wine, and I'd have milk. I love the stuff!

Do your family and friends give you grief for one of your favorites?  Tell us!  We'll be kind!

And Karen in Ohio, you won the Liese O'Halloran Schwarz giveaway!  Please send your mailing address to ingrid@ingridthoft.com.

Brand Loyalty

INGRID THOFT
During a recent visit to my mom's house, I grabbed a pen and added something to the grocery list attached to her fridge.  Perusing the list, I could predict exactly which brands she'd purchase because they mirror those on my own list.  Or vice versa, I suppose.  The laundry detergent I purchase is Tide; the butter is Land 'O Lakes; and the paper towels are Bounty.  Are these the best products in their class?  I wouldn't know, I'm so accustomed to pulling them off the shelf having seem them in my childhood home for so many years.

I did have an epiphany a few years ago when I discovered that I prefer regular spaghetti to thin spaghetti!  It had never occurred to me that there even was a regular thickness spaghetti!  Does that mean I'm ready to switch my Tide for All?  Probably not, but they say awareness is the first step to change.  How about you, Reds?  Do you reach for certain products out of muscle memory?

 

JENN MCKINLAY: There is only one brand that I'm attached to that is non-negotiable for me. Mayonnaise. It has to be Hellman's. There is simply no other acceptable brand. Hub tried to bring home Miracle Whip early in our marriage and I threw it right in the garbage. Hellman's is the best. Period. Go ahead -- come at me!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  Oh, Jenn, Miracle Whip is not even real mayonnaise. It's another thing entirely.   Gah. I could never eat that.  Anyway, I'm weird about brand names, too. I've always used Tide--until recently (brand awareness? TV) I tried Persil and Oxiclean, and now I love those. I've used Cascade for years--sometimes I look at other items, but I can never do it. Bounty, yes. Dove soap. Land O Lakes yes. Stonyfield. Saran Wrap. I kind of gravitated to those 1950's looking dish soaps, what're they called?  And the sunflower one smells wonderful. And you know, as much as it could, my mom's grocery cart would've looked just like mine.  I'd love to hear what everyone else says!

RHYS BOWEN: I really wasn't aware what brands my mother used. Food arrived on the table. Clothes came back washed! But I have stuck with Tide, Cascade, Palmolive for years now. One thing I discovered early in marriage was that cheap brands didn't clean as well. Same with toilet paper. It has to be Charmin! But I have switched to local organic milk and yoghurt and don't buy cans of soup any longer ( too much sodium). And my son buys natural cleaners for me every time he comes to my house. ( but I still use Comet and Soft Scrub!)

HALLIE EPHRON: Miracle Whip is to mayonnaise what Dream Whip (Cool Whip) is to cream. Here in New England we have a Cain's mayonnaise. 

I grew up with Lawry's Seasoned Salt and I still use it. Lawry's had a restaurant in LA and that seasoning was what made their roast beef so good. I don't make roast beef, but it's perfect for seasoning a chicken before roasting. Combine salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and of course, sugar, and you get a similar taste... but not. Beyond that we used all kinds of products I wouldn't touch now: Cheez-Its. Wonder Bread. Pancake "syrup." Frozen vegetables. Canned tomato soup.

INGRID: Full disclosure, I still prefer Mrs. Butterworth's to real Vermont maple syrup.  I know, I know.  It's a source of shame, but in my defense...wait, there is no defense.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: You losers can all bite my left toe. Miracle Whip has been clinically proven to be THE BEST and only sad people who have not had the benefit of living in the deep south do not understand the sheer bliss that is a Miracle Whip and fresh tomato sandwich. Mayo is for chicken salad and tuna fish. Miracle Whip is for creating a layer of heaven upon a slice of fluffy bread.
My other must-buy brands: Coke (regular), Arm & Hammer Unscented detergent (for my sensitive-skin offspring). Arm & Hammer Clump 'n Seal Cat Litter. I swear I don't have stock in Arm & Hammer, I just love these products. 

LUCY BURDETTE: I did recently try some earth-kind dishwasher soap and ended up with a load of dirty dishes after the machine ground through its cycle. I decided washing dishes twice wasn't the least bit earth-friendly so I bought some Cascade. sigh. Alpenglow lavender face cream--I bought this in Alaska some years ago and now I MUST have it in stock. Nature's Gate herbal hand lotion. King Arthur flour. Windex. Cottonelle toilet paper. I gave up my mother's Tide and Campbell's soup years ago, but I still feel drawn to their graphics!

DEBORAH CROMBIE:  Miracle Whip will never darken the door at our house. Ditto Cool Whip. And of course the only proper mayonnaise is Hellman's--unless it's homemade. Bounty paper towels. Rhys, I bought Charmin for years until a plumber told us that was what kept clogging up our sewer pipe (It doesn't disintegrate), so now we use Kirkland (Costco) brand and haven't had a stop since. Also Kirkland Eco laundry detergent and Kirkland dishwasher pods and Kirkland tissues. I thought I wasn't very brand loyal until I started noticing things around the house. Dry Idea Unscented Deodorant. Alba Botanica lotion. Pears Soap (I order by the case from Amazon.) And lots of things from Trader Joe's now.

I try to notice what brands I buy in the UK, so that I don't have my characters use something that's not available.

INGRID: Good point, Debs!  I'm sure you would hear about any errors from eagle-eye readers!

What about you?  Do you practice blind brand loyalty?

Farewell to Summer's Joys

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: This weekend marks the official end of summer here in the US. Grade schools and high schools have already started, although many, like Youngest, had an easy first week, with classes only on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The college students who haven't already arrived on campus are moving in this weekend, and everyone whose office had summer flexible Friday hours will have to go back to the regular schedule next week.


Here in Maine, the temperature is already starting to lower, with more days only getting to a high in the seventies, and more nights in the fifties. It often feels as if a celestial switch gets turned on around the Forth of July and turned off right after Labor Day. What was left undone - a float down the Saco River, building a firepit - must stay undone until next summer.


I was having these somewhat melancholy thoughts because I was making my favorite late-summer treat, an open-faced tomato sandwich with Miracle Whip. What epitomizes the transient joys of summer like a home grown tomato? Our neighboring farm is bursting with them, and they let me take the ones that aren't pretty enough to sell at market, so I am gorging on panzanella, insalata caprese, crostini and good old American tomato sammiches. Of all the pleasures of summer, I will miss these tomatoes most of all.

How about you, Reds? What do you hate to say good-bye to this weekend?


RHYS BOWEN: Wearing white! Officially it is socially unacceptable to wear white after Labor Day, so I'm told. But it's my favorite color and it looks good on me, and it will stay hot in California for at least another two months, so I'm going to defy convention and keep wearing it.


Foodwise I adore cherries and this year has been a really long season for them. And local peaches and plums. And sitting outside on my balcony as the wind comes in from the ocean and cools things down and the lights go on in the valley below. But of course I cheat: when it gets cold and wet in California, I fly south with the birds and spend the winter in Arizona. A wimp, I know.


HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  There's something slower about summer, even though my life and responsibilities are exactly the same. I love to take walks during the day, see how beautiful the world is..it's also great in the fall, thought, and spring.  Sitting outside in our backyard by the pool, and floating on the air mattress things, and cooking out. Love that.  That the daylight lasts longer.  And in Boston, there's much less traffic (unless you are driving to the Cape between Thursday afternoon and Friday night, or returning on Sunday. NIGHTMARE.  And gosh, I love tomatoes.


LUCY BURDETTE: Cherries, peaches and blueberries at their peak--I will sure miss them. And once John beat back the onslaught of woodchucks, our garden has been amazing. We've been giving away gorgeous tomatoes left and right, and our neighbors run when we bear down on them with zucchini... But fall is nice too--no humidity, and the dog is willing to walk much further. And like Rhys, we flee when it gets too chilly! Already thinking about my friends in Key West:).



SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Will miss tomatoes, corn, peaches, all of the daylight, fireflies, cookouts, roasted marshmallows, walking around without a jacket.... But I'm not going to miss the heat. Also, as everyone with a kid still in school knows — it's time for the little darlings to go back.


JULIA: Oh, yes, Susan. As the advert says, "It's the most wonderful time of the year..."


HALLIE EPHRON: I won't miss the ants, but I will so miss the flicker (a great big woodpecker) who visits our stone patio to drill between the stones for them. I'll miss the huge pot of fresh basil on my back steps that I can squeeze-and-sniff for a shot of summer. Also the peaches a plums. They've been amazing this year.


DEBORAH CROMBIE: Don't talk to me about ants. I stepped in huge fire ant mound a couple of weeks ago. Ack. So I won't miss them, or the mosquitoes. It was so hot here into mid-August, and I was so busy with the book that I really feel like I missed summer this year. I am enjoying the last of the tomatoes. And basil!! I know we can buy fresh in the supermarket all year these days, but it's not the same as walking out on my deck and picking handfuls. And I will really miss the blueberries. Otherwise I'm looking forward to fall and being able to enjoy being outside again.

HANK: ANTS! Argh. we had the TEENY, almost invisible ones (I looked them up, pharaoh ants) all over our counter for one day. Just one day! Apparently the ants are freaking out with the drought,and  looking for water. I felt bad for them.

JULIA: Debs, you and I are climate opposites - I love fall, but I know it means my time outdoors is limited because... No, I won't say it. Not yet. Dear readers, what are you going to miss about summer? And are you doing anything to say farewell this weekend?