Summer Movie Recommendations

Last week I provided recommendations of summer-themed books. This week I’m going to discuss summer-themed movies.

“(500) Days of Summer”

I saw this one in the cinema with my husband and we both thoroughly enjoyed it (and own it on dvd). This is the movie that has the famous scene(s) inside an Ikea store where the young couple spend a Saturday walking through the various rooms “playing house,” as you do.

This is a movie about a pair of coworkers who fall in love, or at least one of them falls in love, the other one not so much, but they have fun while it lasts. Not sure if you would call this a break-up movie or a relationship movie. Perhaps that depends on whether you see the glass as half empty or half full.

I can tell you that Joseph Gordon Levitt and  Zoey Deschanel are fantastic in this movie.

“The Kings of Summer”

I believe this was Nick Robinson’s debut on the silver screen after starring in the sitcom, “Melissa and Joey.” This is an independent film which my husband and I saw many years ago at the Drexel Theatre in Bexley.

The plot of this movie revolves around a group of friends who ‘run away’ for the summer and construct their own sort of clubhouse/treehouse dwelling in the woods. Of course being teenagers, not all goes smoothly and the movie almost ends in a tragedy, but not quite. 

“Summer School”

I believe I saw this movie in the cinema as well, way back in my 20s when I still occasionally got carded going into R rated movies (yes, this really happened at least once).

Though I never had to do summer school myself thanks to all the assistance from my father to help me pass my various high school math classes, but I can just imagine what it must have been like for my peers who weren’t so fortunate. I doubt any of them had the same experience that the students in the movie did, but it provided a good couple hours of comic relief.

I loved the interaction between Mark Harmon and his Breakfast Club-like group of students, and the various conversations between Mark Harmon and fellow teacher, Kirstie Alley (who taught the over achievers next door).

Even though this movie was made over three decades ago, I think a lot of it is still somewhat timeless (except, I suppose, for the fact that students actually had to attend instead of just completing their courses online).

“Indian Summer”

I’m pretty sure I went to the cinema for this one too (I never really started streaming movies much until the last 10 years or so as we’re getting lazier and lazier about going to the theatre). I watched the trailer again recently and this movie definitely looks and sounds dated, but don’t let that put you off.

The plot is about a group of young adults who are invited back to their childhood summer camp by the former camp director played by Alan Arkin (which is reason enough to see the movie), whom they all call ‘Uncle Lou.’

I think if you appreciate a bit of nostalgia and a little adult naughtiness (though pretty tame by today’s standards), then you’ll probably like this film.

By the way, did anyone out there actually go away to camp? At most I went on the occasional camping trip with my Girl Scout troop, and spent three days with my classmates at Camp Whitewood when I was in 6^th grade. I’m not sure I would have enjoyed spending several weeks away from home with total strangers, and the whole swimming thing would definitely have scared the crap out of me.

 

“Summer Magic”

I only just watched this movie, which is definitely the vintage choice on this list as it dates back to 1963 and stars Hayley Mills (who is excellent in every movie and even as Miss Bliss in “Saved by the Bell”) and Burl Ives (he’s the narrator in all my favorite childhood Christmas specials).

It’s a pretty simple plot – a widow and her three children move to an unoccupied (owner is overseas) house in the country after losing their life savings on mining stocks that plummeted in value (the movie is set closer to the earlier part of the 20^th century). It’s a little bit of an adjustment for them, but they take it all in stride and certainly love their new house (which appears to be every bit as big as their fancy house in Boston, but no French maids anymore).

I suspect this movie might be a bit too dated for my younger readers, but those of us on the older end of the spectrum might appreciate it for the nostalgia of simpler times and family closeness.

“Judy Moody and the Not So Bummer Summer”

I haven’t actually seen this one yet, but I am tempted to stream it sometime because it seems like an appropriate choice due to having an unusual summer without all the usual diversions (like festivals and concerts, etc.).

I believe the plot revolves around the fact that young Judy has a wild summer planned, but those plans get thwarted when her two best friends go away for the summer and her parents are away too leaving her in the care of her favorite aunt.

According to a website called Common Sense Media, “Judy learns a valuable lesson: that having a meaningful summer isn’t about ticking off “thrilling” activities on a chart but rather enjoying your family and each day’s adventures.”

For a longer list of Summer movies, click here: https://www.ranker.com/list/best-movies-with-summer-in-the-title/ranker-film

a little Summer Reading

My favorite feature in magazines this time of year is the summer beach reads section which is always bigger than the monthly list, and I'm usually able to find a few page-turners. Here's my recommendations:

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

If you haven’t read this by now, and why haven’t you? Didn’t your high school make this mandatory reading? Anyway, I can almost guarantee you’ll like this. First of all, it’s not that long, so it’s not like it will take you all summer to read, and secondly, the ending makes it well worth it!!! Actually, I shouldn’t sound so excited because it’s a bit of a mixed ending, but if you follow current events, it’s certainly a very believable outcome. Harper Lee was years before her time there, and probably wouldn’t be surprised by how little has changed since she wrote it.

Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart

Since it’s been a few years since I’ve read this, I will rely on the summary on the back cover to tell you what it’s about: “In this glorious once-upon-a-time fairy tale come true, two beautiful college debs (debutantes) from Iowa make it to New York City, and end up working at Tiffany’s and living the dream of every career girl of the 1940s.”  It’s a little “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” mixed with “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” with a little “Sex in the City” thrown in (though watered down quite a lot due to the time period). Have I intrigued you yet?

Summer Sisters by Judy Blume

Judy Blume proved once again she hasn’t lost her knack for writing for all age groups when she wrote this novel. It had been quite a long time (we’re talking decades here) since I read her young adult novels, so this was a nice surprise when I was gifted it by my mom, probably 15 or so years ago now.

The plot revolves around the lives of two teen friends, Victoria and Caitlin, who are best of friends even though they come from completely different backgrounds and hardly share the same morals. Victoria, “Vix” comes from a pretty typical middle class background, while Caitlin is from a wealthy family who have a summer house on Martha’s Vineyard. Caitlin invited Vix to spend summers with her there, so they grow closer every year, but a rift in their friendship means they go their separate ways after high school.

Here’s what Amazon.com says about the book, “Now, years later, Vix is working in New York City. Caitlin is getting married on the Vineyard. And the early magic of their long, complicated friendship has faded. But Caitlin begs Vix to come to her wedding, to be her maid of honor. And Vix knows that she will go—because she wants to understand what happened during that last shattering summer. And, after all these years, she needs to know why her best friend—her summer sister—still has the power to break her heart.”

The Door Into Summer by Robert Heinlein

This one is a bit complicated to explain as there’s a bit of time travel in the plot, in the form of cryogenic freezing for long periods of time. Once again, I’ll let Amazon better explain, “Brilliant engineer Dan Davis finds himself hoodwinked by his greedy business partners and forced to take the Long Sleep… placing him in suspended animation for 30 years. But his partners never anticipated the existence of time travel, enabling Dan to exact his revenge and alter his own future…”

The reference to ‘door into summer’ comes from the explanation the character Dan Davis gives for why his cat often wants to be let out the back door (after the front door first) because it’s convinced the weather is different out that door. I was much relieved to read that because that’s the same theory our cat has at times.

My husband and I listened to the audio book and found it fascinating while on our travels somewhere, so that’s another option if you don’t fancy just sitting in an armchair reading it.

All Summer Long by Bob Greene

Next to Summer Sisters, this one is probably my favorite and has been reread several times. First of all, Bob Greene is from the nearby suburb of Bexley, disguised as Bristol in the book, and the plot revolves around three best friends who decide to take a summer road trip with their wealthy friend (Ronnie). I think the end destination was to visit Ronnie's father who was dying in the hospital. Bob Greene writes himself into the story as a journalist (Ben) on a summer sabbatical, and the other friend is a school teacher (Michael), who, of course, has the summer off, but is definitely on more of a budget than his two friends (which can be a sore spot at times). Ben often reminisces about their childhood, so you definitely get a good sense of the strength of their friendship. They discuss their adulthood sometimes questioning their life choices (especially Ben and Ronnie who haven’t had successful marriages).

On some level I think we can all relate to this, and I often wonder what it would be like if my two best friends and I hit the road. Maybe someday I’ll write that book, but for now, I can definitely recommend Bob Greene’s version.

Columbus Park of Roses

My parents were in town this weekend and I was asked if I had any ideas of where we should go. Normally this would be a pretty easy question to answer as I would check to see if there were any festivals or special events going on anywhere, but due to Covid 19 most things have been cancelled this summer. I think museums are slowly opening, but even they are subject to new rules and procedures. Plus, it can be difficult to find something everyone enjoys. I was even hesitant about going to a park as it is still advised to avoid large crowds, and let’s face it, on a nice day that’s exactly where people flock.

My husband suggested the Park of Roses in Clintonville. I was definitely overthinking things, as I normally do. Next time I will just leave the event planning to him since this suggestion was definitely a home run.

We agreed to meet there mid afternoon and everyone minus my brother-in-law showed up. I was a bit surprised my two nephews joined us, though I’m not entirely sure they were there by choice (but they didn’t seem to mind one bit; maybe they were as glad for a change of scenery as everyone else these days).

Weather-wise it was okay. It was one of those days that was sunny and cloudy alternating back and forth, so you had a case of hot and cold all day, annoying, but probably preferable to melting from the oppressive heat and humidity we’ve had so much of already this spring and summer.

According to the city of Columbus’ website, “Located in Clintonville, the Park of Roses is one of the most unique and renown parks in the state of Ohio.  In existence since 1953, The Columbus Park of Roses is a 13-acre plot in Whetstone Park that showcases 11,000 total roses consisting of more than 350 different types.  In addition to visually stunning roses, the park features many gardens: the Main Rose Garden, the Heritage Garden with turn of the century roses, the Earth-Kind Rose Garden, the Herb Garden, and the Perennial Garden.  Throughout the past 56 years, the Columbus Rose Park has garnered many honors, including being one of 133 All American Rose Selection gardens, selected as one of USA Today's 10 Places to Admire the Bloom on the Rose in 2006, and being one of Columbus' top wedding venues.  The best time to view the roses is during their full bloom which begins in mid-June and lasts through mid-September.”

My parents and youngest nephew have never been there before, but the rest of us have visited from time to time. The last time we were there was probably 10 years ago, so I guess we were overdue for a visit.

I had checked the website to see when the roses would be at their peak, and the Park of Roses website says, “Cool temperatures such as those the Columbus area is experiencing this spring tend to slow the bloom maturity. For the year, the Columbus area is more than seven inches above the normal rainfall, but growing conditions have been slowed by cool spring temperatures.”

I think we timed it right because there were still a lot of buds that had yet to bloom, but most were in full bloom, and some were a bit past their best.  I think my family particularly enjoyed reading the plaques with the names of all the different varieties, as well as personal messages for whom family members dedicated that particular plant to. This one was a family favorite:

Even if you’re not particularly a fan of roses, it’s still a nice park with a nice variety of other plants mixed in, like this little Mountain Fire Pieris, the same kind we have growing in our front yard.

We also liked this bunch of flowers:

Of course we also took time to do a few family photos to remember the day by:

By the way, it was pretty crowded at the Park of Roses, and most (including us) opted not to wear masks, but it’s still easy enough to keep your distance from people. I imagine it’s probably a lot less busy during the week, so that might be the optimal time to visit if you’re concerned about human contact.

No afternoon out would be complete without a trip to nearby Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream. I couldn’t convince my parents to try the Wildberry Lavender, but I think they appreciated the somewhat unusual flavors she does.

I tried the Cold Brew with Coconut Cream. My mom said it was “very coffee-flavored!” I liked the contrast with the Coconut Cream. It definitely hit the spot (though it was a little cold sitting outside on a bench in the shade while eating it), and was just the motivation I needed to complete my 10,000 steps once I got home.

Summer Plant Season

Another summer plant season is upon us, so I have, once again, went in search of some outdoor greenery to display on our front porch and rear patio. My first choice in hanging basket plants will always be a fuschia,

and I had great luck with the one I bought last year. I think it lasted about 6 months, which is the most you can ask of something that only cost $15 (and typically doesn’t winter well in Ohio).

Last year I also lucked out and found a fern at a garden center somewhere that is still very much alive and kicking and is now hanging in the same place it was last summer. Unlike Boston ferns that just shed their leaves like my cat does with fur, this fern is pretty tidy and low maintenance.  I noticed it has started sending out tendrils or whatever those brown things are. If anyone knows how to propagate it so I can start a new fern, feel free to send me any advice.

I recently bought two exotic angel plants. One is a Bird’s Nest Fern (the one on the left), but the other one didn’t come with a specific type (it just says Houseplant and Beautiful Home Décor). Since our house and property is somewhat shaded, I try to only buy plants that I know will thrive with very little sunlight. The instructions for the BN fern say that “…providing some direct sunlight is great for the Bird’s Nest Fern to grow well, but you need to only provide some morning or a small amount of pre-sunset.” I think the instructions for the generic one I paired it with has similar needs, so hopefully they should be okay together. If not, neither of these was a particularly expensive purchase (about $6 each).

Though I never cared much for tomatoes while growing up, I have come to appreciate them as an adult, and can definitely tell a major difference between store-bought (small) tomatoes and ones grown at home. Thus, I like to try to growing them myself, but never have much luck. It’s pretty shady in the back corner of our garden. Plus, we also have a lot of rabbits and deer who like them as well, so it tends to be a losing combination. The best luck I’ve ever had is with the hanging tomato basket I bought as a fundraiser a couple years ago. It took awhile for it to start producing, but once it did, it was quite fruitful and I definitely had enough to satisfy me. Since the nearest nursery that you can purchase one of those is a bit of a drive, I have decided this year to just elevate the two plants I bought (to at least challenge the deer a little) and see how they do.

Making up the rest of my patio assortment is a couple herbs – rosemary (nearly impossible to kill, and yet I hardly ever use it)

and thyme (a new one for me, but it smells nice and is hopefully low maintenance).

I also bought strawberry to put in the mosaic pot.

Last year it had the rosemary plant, and I had hoped to put in some catnip for our kitty, but could not locate that at our two local DIY stores. Don’t worry Tamsin, if I find some at one our garden centers or pet stores I’ll be sure to pick some up for you.

We used to a have a ton of it in our back garden, but my husband had our gardener remove most of it, so not sure if there’s any left now.

I also have a couple basil plants since that tends to be our favorite spice since we love Italian food more than just about anything else.

The other little sapling on our windowsill is Hops which comes from a ‘Grow Your Own Beer’ kit that was a Christmas gag gift. Apparently you can plant the Hops outside in which case it grows like a vine apparently. If it continues at its normal growth spurt, we might just transplant it and see what happens.

What plants do you all have? Do you have a green thumb? Feel free to share your experiences with plants and gardening.