Skipping right into summer?

In true Ohio fashion, we've skipped spring and gone directly into summer even though the low temperature was 38 degrees only two days ago. Today, it's a wonderfully, tropically balmy 84 degrees.

It's the perfect day to hang out the laundry, especially the towels and the bed sheets, as I love to do, open every single window and both doors so the closed-too-long apartment gets fully aired out, and play Latino pop music in the background as I happily fold and store away the heavy winter clothes, at the same time that I dig out my summer shirts and skirts.

My goal today is to stay away from the piles of pending school work, especially since we have a dinner this evening that is school related and for which I'll be cooking two of the main dishes: black beans with a hint of coconut milk and pollo sudado, or chicken dark meat that sweats itself into done along with onions and potatoes in a crock pot.

What's missing in this photo? My husband and I, spending time together, looking at the nearby and rapidly greening forest, alive with hundreds of bird and squirrel calls, as we chat about this or that. The chairs are also great for reading, and I still have lying around, waiting for me, a recently released detective novel that has absolutely nothing to do with what I teach or research.

The chairs beckon powerfully, so maybe a little later today I'll heed their call and sit for a little while, even if by myself (my husband is taking a much-anticipated motorcycle day), before dinner time requires renewed attendance to school duties.

Although by this semester's end school duty has begun to feel like it will never, ever end, this particular dinner is something to look forward to. It's hosted by Geni's loving godparents, who are not only some of the nicest people ever but also two of the best cooks I've met.

A warm and sunny day, not much school work that will get done, memories of winter pushed into storage, and the expectation of good company and food, are all ingredients that give me a small, and tangy, taste of the summer to come.