RevGals Friday Five: Hot Town, Summer in the City...

Reverend Mother over at RevGals posts this Friday Five game about hot town, summer in the city...or town, or suburb, or hamlet, or burg, or unincorporated zone, or rural area of your choice---pretty much anywhere but the southern hemisphere, it's summer. (Australians and others, consider this an invitation to take a break from winter for a while.)

1. Favorite summer food(s) and beverage(s) Oh. favorite beverage in the summer is iced tea. Lately I'm enjoying Liptons Cold Brew with one tea bag of peach ginger spice added for some refreshing flavor, just a hint of peach, yum. And, if I'm hungry, but not time for food I'll grap a Starbucks Venti Iced Soy Latte, half decaff. Favorite summer foods - anything marinated (salmon, rib-eye, chicken marinated in lime and garlic) then grilled and served with a chilled homemade pasta salad (basil vinaigrette, goat cheese, any small shell pasta, roasted red peppers, etc) and steamed or grilled veggies. Sometimes a chilled glass of Chardonnay. And finish it off with a bowl of rainbow sherbet or pie ala mode.

2. Song that "says" summer to you. (Need not be about summer explicitly.) When I was little I lived on the side of a mountain and I could look out over the valley below. At night the lights would shimmer. This song always reminds me of summer nights in that house and city:

DOWNTOWN lyrics by Petula Clark. (1964)

When you're alone, and life is making you lonely
You can always go
Downtown

When you've got worries, all the noise and hurry
Seems to help, I know
Downtown

Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city,
Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty
How can you lose? The lights are much brighter there...
You can forget all your troubles; forget all your cares, and go
Downtown -- things will be great when you're
Downtown -- you'll find a place for sure
Downtown -- everything's waiting for you

Downtown .... Downtown...

Don't hang around, and let your problems surround you,
There are movie shows
Downtown

Maybe you know some little places to go to
Where they never close
Downtown

Just listen to the rhythm of a gentle Bossa Nova
[ DOWNTOWN lyrics found on http://www.completealbumlyrics.com ]
You'll be dancing with 'em too before the night is over,
Happy again...
The lights are much brighter there,
You can forget all your troubles; forget all your cares, and go
Downtown -- where all the lights are bright
Downtown -- waiting for you tonight
Downtown -- you're gonna be all right now...

Downtown...Downtown...Downtown...

Downtown!

Downtown!

And you may find somebody kind to help and understand you;
Someone who is just like you and needs a gentle hand to
Guide them along...
So maybe I'll see you there,
We can forget all our troubles; forget all our cares, and go
Downtown -- things will be great when you're
Downtown -- don't wait a minute more
Downtown -- everything's waiting for you...

Downtown...Downtown
Downtown...Downtown
Downtown...Downtown
Downtown...Downtown
Downtown...Downtown (fade)


3. A childhood summer memory Climbing the apricot tree in my backyard (of same house as above), eating fresh apricots and reading.

4. An adult summer memory Any car trip I've taken with my kids across country. Always fun. Very carefree driving, no time schedule.

5. Describe a wonderful summer day you'd like to have in the near future. (weather, location, activities) I've had some good days this year. Summer is really great. Eating on the deck. Long walks with husband and dogs. Son not on a schedule (at least for a few weeks). And going to horse shows to watch daughter compete and ride - hot, dusty, very summer. So, just more days like these.

Optional: Does your place of worship do anything differently in the summer? (Fewer services, casual dress, etc.) Yes. We've moved from the traditional 8 and 10am services with Christian Formation at 9 to an 8 and 9am service. The 8:00 is really unchanged. But the 9:00 is outside in our gardens. I like the 9 because it keeps folks used to coming at 9am as they do the rest of the year for Christian Formation (subtle of me, don't cha think?), and it's a shortened service since being outside is distracting (in a good way, birds, etc) and kids are there for the whole service. So. 35 minutes tops. We sing on verse only of three hymns, opening, offertory, and closing, have two readings and the psalm (instead of three readings from scripture), and the sermon is a short 5 minute homily. And we have a Eucharist. So. A lot to squeeze in, but it is fun. It's our most popular service. We only do it for about 7 weeks. We move back indoors in August and back to the 8 and 10 because it gets to be too hot and buggy outside (bees, bees, bees).