As Summer Dwindles

It's coming. The end of summer is fast approaching. I can feel it in the chill of the early morning air. I can see it on the color-tinged tips of the tree leaves. I can hear it in the chirrup of the cicadas. I can smell it when I drive through a nearby apple orchard. Sure, autumn doesn't arrive for another month, but I can feel the old girl coming. Can't you?

“One must maintain a little bittle of summer, even in the middle of winter.”  ~Henry David Thoreau

“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”  ~Henry James

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness?”  ~John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America

“It's a smile, it's a kiss, it's a sip of wine ... it's summertime!”  ~Kenny Chesney

“A man says a lot of things in summer he doesn't mean in winter.”  ~Patricia Briggs, Dragon Blood

“If it could only be like this always – always summer, always alone, the fruit always ripe and Aloysius in a good temper...”  ~Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited

“Summer bachelors like summer breezes, are never as cool as they pretend to be.”  ~Nora Ephron

“Why is summer mist romantic and autumn mist just sad?”  ~Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle

“When the sun gets hot and the moon gets hazy
good girls go bad... and it gets crazy!”  ~Rachel Thompson

“Some of the best memories are made in flip flops.”  ~Kellie Elmore

Enjoy what's left of these lazy summer days! I intend to slip on my flip flops and make some happy memories.

Pounds, Pounds and More Pounds

My son made a delectable cake yesterday. It was so luscious and rich, I've decided to post the recipe:

Sour Cream Pound Cake

1 cup butter
6 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon vanilla

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each egg is added. Blend in sour cream and vanilla. Stir baking soda into flour, then add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix well. Bake in a 10 inch tube pan that has been buttered and floured. Bake at 325 degrees for 75 to 90 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes before turning out onto plate.

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If you're trying to lose weight, avoid this cake. Summer is going to arrive here on the east coast of the US in the blink of an eye and I'm going to have to squeeze this body of mine into a bathing suit, so I shouldn't be eating cake made with gobs of butter, sour cream and sugar. Will the threat of donning beachwear stop me? I seriously doubt it. *sigh* I wonder if Spanx sells a product that can be worn under a swimsuit.