Friday five - Word association

Think summer......are you there? Below you will find five words or phrases. Tell us the first thing you think of on reading each one. Your response might be simply another word, or it might be a sentence, a poem, a memory, a recipe, or a story. You get the idea:

1. rooftop - There was a helipad on the roof of a hospital that I was a chaplain at, they changed it to a "healing pad" when they decided to change the landing place for their helicopter. It was a sanctuary, although it did get hot in the summer.

2. gritty - my sandals, especially after I've been in the garden.

3. hot town (yeah, I know, it's two words) - any town thanks to global warming.

4. night - comes later now that it is summer.

5. dance - don't ever dance at a reception of a wedding that you have officiated. My tee-tiny town is still talking about it and they have pictures. :)

I wish that was me.

Summer Meme

I was invited to participate in the meme through Songbird's Blog

So here it goes!

1.) What first tells you that Summer is here?

When I can start taking my tomato plants outside to get used to the elements and when I get my garden plot assignment at my apartment complex.

2.) Name five of your favorite distinctively Summer habits or customs.

Gardening and watering my plants

Grilling

Walking

Day trips

Going to the ocean

3.) What is your favorite smell of Summer?

The smell of dirt as I am gardening.

4.) What is your favorite taste of Summer?

Tomatoes from the garden and fresh rhubarb pie.

5.) Favorite Summer memory?

Walking along the Marginal Way of Oqunquit, Maine. The flowers along that pathway are breathtaking. There's a couple of fancy resorts along the way and my partner and I joke around about sneaking into the resort and pretending we belong there, but one look at us and you can tell we are not part of the rich and famous.

6.) Extreme heat or extreme cold? Which would you choose and why?

I'd rather have extreme heat. I don't do well in the cold where as I thrive in the heat.

7.) What books do you plan to read for the season?

-The Friday Night Knitting Club

-Unbinding Your Church

-The Practicing Congregation

-The Icarus Girl

Anything else that catches my fancy this summer at the library.

8.) How does the Summer affect your faith?

Summer increases my faith because of my gardening. I feel so unabashedly in the present moment as I am working on my garden. All my thoughts, worries and concerns drift away as I am concentrating on tending a piece of God's creation. My best praying happens in the garden and my best sermon writing. There are times I'll start singing a hymn I am so happy in the garden. However my fellow garden plot farmers think I'm a bit weird, especially when they see me talking to the vegetables.

If you read this post...consider yourself tagged!