Where Bloggers Live: 5 Summer Favorites + Life Update

Welcome back to the monthly edition of Where Bloggers Live! I am lucky to have joined a terrific group of bloggers who give a peek into the places and spaces where they spend their time.

Today's topic is...My Five Favorite Things About Summer, which is a tricky one for me because summer is possibly my least-favorite season. Actually, summer is historically my definitely least-favorite season, but now that I'm living in the land of the seemingly-endless winter, the mere fact that summer means no snow and no sub-zero F temperatures has given it a bump. I guess that means my five favorite things about summer (Minnesota edition) are:

1. No snow

2. No sub-zero F temperatures

3. No weird snow/ice parking issues

4. No falling on snow/ice when walking

5. It's short

   
   

OK, well that made for a really brief and exceptionally boring post...so I suppose I will tweak the topic just a bit and discuss My Five Summer Favorites (aka how I survive in summer even though I don't like hot weather):

Favorite #1: Linen Shirts

In my opinion, there's nothing like a loose linen top for summer heat comfort and style. For more intense activity, I do rely on the technical fabrics of exercise gear, but for daily life in the heat, I love a stand-alone linen shirt. In my linen wardrobe, I now have 6 tops in this boxy short-sleeved pullover style and 2 long-sleeved button up shirts (all from Lands End). I wear the button up shirts either on their own or as a lightweight layer over a sleeveless tank top.

OOTD 6/12/24

Favorite #2: Knit Sleep Shorts

I was ecstatic last month when I figured out what to do with the four pairs of pretty lightweight knit pajama pants my mom sent me (they were too large for her and she missed the return window) that were too short to be full length pants.

On our first warm night of the season, I found myself thinking that a pair of sleep shorts would be useful...but every time I try shopping for sleep shorts, I can never find them in the right length. I move around a lot when I sleep, which makes shorts (and tops, which I buy over-sized for this reason) ride up during the night. So my ideal sleep shorts length is just below the knee, which translates into mid-thigh as I move around and they shift up my legs. But that's not a length you can buy, really.

But it is one you can make by cutting off a pair of pants! I took a pair of pinking shears to cut the legs to my desired length, thinking that if they worked for me, I could worry about hemming them later if the ragged hem annoyed me. Of course one of the great things about jersey knit is that the ends will roll up on themselves, so no hem needed. I cut all four pairs into perfect-length shorts and am ready to sleep comfortably all summer!

Favorite #3: Iced Green Tea

For full disclosure, I have to admit that I live on iced tea year-round. My Minnesota work colleagues were seriously mind-boggled that I would bring a gallon sized portable insulated pitcher of iced tea to work in the middle of winter. After my unpleasant kidney stone experience some years back, I made the switch from (unsweetened, decaf) iced black tea to (unsweetened, decaf) iced green tea...and there has been no looking back! I drink it happily all day long, all year long, but man, when the warm weather comes along, it is no longer just a pleasure, it's a necessity. I kind of don't like the taste of water (I know, it's weird) so I actually find it a bit hard to stay well-hydrated with water. So iced green tea is my go-to summer-time hydration strategy. Mmmmmmm.

Favorite #4: Air Conditioning

Most people have no idea that air conditioning was initially invented as a method of dehumidifying and cleaning the air in factories and mills in the early 20th century. The first air conditioning was installed in 1902 at a Brooklyn publishing company to combat "swelling pages and blurry prints" that resulted from the hot and humid summer air. The fact that this dehumidifying and cleaning process also cooled the air and made the environment more comfortable for people was a happy accident.

The engineer who invented the first air conditioner, Willis Carrier, worked for the manufacturing company Buffalo Forge, and in 1907/1908, the Carrier Air Conditioning Company was created as a subsidiary company with Carrier at its head. However, during World War I, Buffalo Forge decided to focus entirely on manufacturing, so Carrier and six of his fellow engineers pooled their money ($32,600 in 1915 = $1 million today) to form their own company dedicated to HVAC technology: Carrier Engineering Corporation. One of these seven engineers was my husband's great-grandfather Ned Stacey.

When asked about Ned Stacey, Google AI provided the following summary:

The Carrier website features a couple photos of Ned Stacey on the job.

source: carrier.com

source: carrier.com

Surprisingly, the first air conditioned residence was up here in Minnesota!

source: carrier.com

In Ned Stacey's 1975 obituary in the New York Times, we learn that in his late 50s:

Mr. Stacey, a Naval Reserve officer, was called to active duty in 1941 and rose to the rank of captain in World War II. Much of his service was in air‐conditioning and ventilation problems on naval vessels, under special assignment to the Bureau of Ships and the Office of Naval Research.

Join me in raising a glass (of iced green tea or something stronger) to Willis Carrier, Ned Stacey, and the many other engineers over the years who have made the summer heat bearable with air conditioning technology.

Favorite #5: A Break From Work!

Now for the Life Update part of this post...For the first time in many years, I am taking the summer off from work. Not because my job has decided to give us the summer off (haha, right) or because I have saved up that many vacation hours. It's because I have put in my notice and Friday, June 27 is my last day!

My plan is to take a break from work (with no time frame hanging over me) to (1) recover from burnout and (2) focus on my mental and physical health, which has stagnated/deteriorated in the last year or two. There were some events at work that pushed me in this direction, but really, it was just time. After 11 years at that job, I am ready for a change, and I am grateful that I will have the opportunity to take some time out of the workforce to recharge and think about what's next...on my own schedule.

It's probably going to continue to be a bit quiet around here this month as I finish up my responsibilities at work, but I hope to be back to my more typical posting schedule in July.

Thanks for joining me today for a discussion of my five summer favorites.

Next month's topic is Makeup/Beauty/Skincare...and if my sister weren't an extremely busy mom of two boys and a major big deal woman in technology, she would be the perfect guest poster for this topic since she is an absolute genius where makeup, hair, etc. is concerned. Instead, you'll get me, but we'll muddle along somehow!

In the meantime, visit these lovely bloggers as they share about their summer favorites:

Bettye at Fashion Schlub

Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks

Em at Dust and Doghair

Iris at Iris’ Original Ramblings

Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style

Leslie at Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After

Are you a big fan of summer or do you struggle with this season? Could you relate to any of my five summer favorites: linen clothing, sleep shorts, iced tea, air conditioning, time off from work?

Blogs I link up with are listed here.