Friday extras: Summer thanks

I can't believe July is more than halfway over already. There is still a little over a month left before Fall semester begins, but it will be sooner than that when my mind will turn to syllabi and school supplies, fall fashion and pumpkin spice, and I will forget to relish these summer days. So, today I'm taking some time simply to list some of the things I've been grateful for this summer:

• Fresh vegetables from my mom's garden. Because of my mom's generosity, I've enjoyed black-eyed peas, fried okra and squash, summer salad filled with fresh cucumber, tomato, and bell pepper, and a tasty supply of onions. There's nothing quite like a delicious garden tomato, sliced and topped with a little salt and pepper...mmm...
• Ice cream! July is national ice cream month, a holiday I feel it my American duty to observe. This year, I've been oddly captivated by plain Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream
• More time with this guy and his sweet sister:

• Summer rain and a cool front. This week a cool front came in, just in time to knock down our first triple-digit temps back to the 80s. It's been the perfect weather for the next item on my list:
• Summer binge reading. As you saw on Wednesday's post, I've been caught up in the Mortal Instruments series and loving it. Reading tons of easy, decidedly non-school books is one of my favorite summer pastimes.
• Part of summer off. A job in academia means that I only had to work for part of summer, and my other job is flexible enough that I get to truly enjoy all these summer blessings.There were many reasons I wanted to teach college, but having a little extra summer freedom tops the list.

What are you grateful for this summer?