Summer Fantasies

Summer vacation has finally begun--long awaited, and, this year, (I think) well deserved. I like teaching high school--every day presents new challenges and new successes--but who doesn't love a five week holiday?

I think it's true for all of us, though, that when vacation comes, there is an imminent feeling of catch-up. There are so many things I have been wanting to do, so let's get down to it! And yet, it's vacation--why not be lazy? Enjoy it!

Well, for me (sadly, perhaps), I always have a sense of urgency--counting down the days from the beginning to see how many I have left! There are so many things to do! This summer, I have a lot of goals--too many, I know--but I'll do my best to get the most out of my time off.

Of course, there's knitting. I am right now working on a pair of Cookie A's Hedera socks. I started them during finals week to take a break from correcting exams, and the first sock is just about done--I'm a couple of inches away from the toe decreases. After I finish the socks, I'll finish the Razor Cami I am still mustering up the patience to fix. Who knows after that? I just bought some lovely Fair Silk--enough for another summer tank, I think--and I'm hoping to do something very lacy and open. I've been browsing through the Barbara Walker volumes to find something that really sparks me, but there are so many things that are beautiful that I'd love to try my hand at...which has made me start thinking about making a sampler, just for the fun and for the practice. But we'll see.

Besides the knitting, I have a list of books a mile long that I want to (or I have to) read. Teaching literature has made me realize that since college, my analytical mind has gotten a little lazy. I've been reading for pleasure for too many years! So this summer, for me, is partially about prepping for the next term, but it's also about giving my brain a mental workout. So, it's an interesting melange of authors and genres--Nabokov, Bellow, Toni Morrison, Bronte, Henry James, Saramago. I'm especially looking forward to reading The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, which was highly recommended by several friends of mine, but I've heard it's quite the heartbreaker, so I need to be in the right place for that. That'll wait until the peak of my vacation.

Besides reading, there is sewing. I've been itching to drag out my sewing machine for weeks, but it's just too much of an undertaking during the school year. I have been daydreaming about making these pants in a green linen I picked up last year. And I also have a few of my own ideas for blouses in a couple of cotton prints that I found a while back.

Needless to say, the list is a just a touch too long for five weeks, but better have too much than boredom. Any vacation of the year!