Hello, friends!  It’s the Dog Days of Summer, and I thought I’d take a break from Christmas in July to make a project in praise of Pink Lemonade!  This sweet summery card features Rose Pink Delicate Stitched Satin from Really Reasonable Ribbon.  It’s the perfect shade of pink for summer.  Making this card brought back some sweet memories from my childhood.

Life Before Air Conditioning

Growing up in Vermont, we had no air conditioning, no box fans, no ceiling fans…nothing but handmade paper fans to help cool us down during the sultry summer days.  My mom used to keep cans of Pink Lemonade Concentrate in the freezer to help us cool down.  It was often my job to mix it up in a pretty glass pitcher. This was a process that modern children will probably never understand.

First you had to use the can opener to get the lid off.  There were no “easy open” plastic pull strips back in those days.  If Mom wasn’t looking, you could lick the sticky sweet pink lemonade concentrate off the inside of the lid.  Sweet, tart, cold and sticky all at the same time, it made your tongue tingle, and your eyes water just a tiny bit.

Next we had to mix the sticky concentrate up with 3 1/3 cans of cold water from the tap.  I always put in just the 3 cans so that ice could be added and the lemonade wouldn’t be too watered down.

Remember those old metal ice trays?  First you had to run the back side of the tray under water to sort of loosen things up a little.  Then you had to lift the cold metal lever to sort of release the ice from the metal blades. Don’t pinch your fingers during this phase of the process!  But I did, and more than once!

Next you had to figure out how to release your fingers from the metal lever!  Remember that?  Sometimes the ice popped free easily.  Sometimes not.  And woe on you if you forgot to refill the tray and put it back in the freezer!

Summer Nights

Of course, summer only lasts for 2 weeks in Vermont, but I can still remember how hot my upstairs bedroom was at the end of the day.  The sun set on that side of the house, so all afternoon, it soaked up the heat of the sun and then seemed to release it into my tiny bedroom right at bedtime.  Usually the sheets on my bed were cool and refreshing.  But during the heat of summer, there was no such relief.  You could lay in your bed and sweat, even with the window wide open and the shade pulled up.

“Mommy, it’s too hot to sleep,” was the usual complaint.  Mom, who had little patience for whining, would answer in her practical, no nonsense way.

“Now, Kathy, you just lie still and wait for the breeze.  The breeze will come any minute if you just lie very still and be patient.  Then you’ll fall right off to sleep with no trouble at all.  Now good night.”

And you  know what?  The breeze would always come.  How did she know that?

These hot summer days make me very thankful for my air conditioned studio.  It’s a great time of year to stay inside and make pretty things with paper…and sip on Pink Lemonade.

You’ll find a linked supply list below this post.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

SUPPLY LIST

• Rose Pink Delicate Stitched Satin (from the July Ribbon Club)
• Prima Peach Tea Paper
  • 12×12 Pad
  • 8×8 pad
  • Journal Cards
• Special Update
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  Reneabouquets

  • Pink Lemonade Roses
  • Dusty Blue Roses
  • Pink Lemon Branches
  • Tiny Treasures Pink Borealis Butterflies
  • Bliss B. Darling Printed Beautiful Board Fairy
  • Small Mason Jar