40 Ways to Enjoy a Southern Summer

 

1. Go hiking at a state park
2. Visit a real "u-pick-it" farm.
3. Take a dip in the creek.
4. Go star-gazing and learn new constellations.
5. Enjoy a tall glass of ice cold sweet tea.
6. Catch lightning bugs.
7. Wake up early and find unique treasures at a yard sale.
8. Relax in a rocking chair.
9. Enjoy a picnic in a beautiful park.
10. Relish the nectar from a honeysuckle.
11. Spend the day fishing.
12. Shop at your local farmer's market.
13. Visit your local library for summer reads.
14. Grow your own tomatos and peppers.
15. See a movie at a drive in theatre.
16. Learn to can your own vegetables.
17. Read poetry in a garden.
18. Pick blackberries.
19. Visit a new BBQ joint.
20. Feed the ducks at the local lake.
21. Take a road trip to see some waterfalls.
22. Fall in love with a new flavor at the ice-cream shop.
23. Make lemonade from scratch.
24. Visit Rock City.
25. Go to an outdoor concert.
26. Send real postcards during your travels.
27. Go canoeing or kayaking.
28. Declare water war with super soakers and water balloons.
29. Drink from the hose.
30. Tie-dye something.
31. Take photos in a photo booth.
32. Visits wine country for tours and tastings.
33. Spend an afternoon finding shapes in the clouds.
34. Nap in a hammock
35. Visit an art festival.
36. Discover a new park.
37. Go barefoot.
38. Get a new cut and color for the summer.
39. Eat watermelon. Spit seeds.
40. Go tubing.

 

 

 

Deborah Malone's first novel "Death in Dahlonega," finaled in the American Christian Fiction Writer's Category Five writing contest! Deborah was nominated for 2012 and 2013 Georgia Author of the Year Award in Novel category. She has worked as a freelance writer and photographer for the historical magazine "Georgia Backroads." She has had many articles and photographs published, and her writing is featured in "Tales of the Rails," edited by Olin Jackson as well as the "Christian Communicator, and the "Southern Writer's Magazine." She is member of the Georgia Writer's Association, Advanced Writers and Speaker's Association and the American Christian Fiction Writers. You can find her at www.deborah-malone.com.

Glamping for Beginners

Camping with a little glamor. An art perfected by Mary Jane Butters!

I got to try my hand at "Glamping" in a small way this weekend and I am totally hooked.

I say a small way because the girls and I had a magnificent Mary Jane glamping weekend, but we didn't have a shiny airstream trailer or a clawfoot tub to soak in outside.

We did have an old, empty house with glass doorknobs, hardwood floors, and a basement that was hand dug by the widow lady who used to live in the house.


Four women without their husbands or kids, far from home, alone in an old empty house. We played up the spooky atmosphere until we got the giggle fits. (Don't tell the menfolk!)

And then, one evening after dinner, there was a knock at the door.

We jumped like scared rabbits.
We didn't know anyone in town. Who on earth could be knocking on the door? The hostess and her cousin skittered to the door to see who it was.
Our friend followed behind with a butter knife in hand (just in case.)

I cowered in the corner.

I mean, really, who runs to the door when they think some hostile stranger might want to know why four women have just decamped in the abandoned house? And with nothing to protect them but a smile and a butter knife?

And who was it that scared us silly? Just Dear Aunty. Our hostess's Aunt had popped by to say hi and welcome us to her neck of the woods.

She laughed at us--really hard--when she saw the panic, butter knife, and cowering. We laughed at us too. But what is camping without scary noises in the night?

Which brings me to mysteries.

Camping, glamping, RVing, globetrotting, or vacationing in general, are all great times to sneak in some mysteries!

Here is my top five list of Glamping-Worthy Cozy Mystery Reads!

5.Big Lake by Nick Russell
 Nick is the king of the RV world, and man behind the popular Gypsy Journal, so his Big Lake Mystery series is the perfect fit.

4. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Even if you've already read this one, the twists and turns of the deadly weekend at the beach house is worthy of a vacay re-read.

3. Trouble Aboard the Hawaiian Paradise: A Denali Hawthorne Cruise Mystery (Denali Hawthorne Mysteries)by Lisa Hall Deckert
This little cruise ship mystery is fun, charming, and clean. Lisa's Denali Hawthorne is an adorable teen-detective worthy of a spot on your summer reading list.

2. Jane and the Genius of the Place: Being the Fourth Jane Austen Mystery (Being A Jane Austen Mystery) by Stephanie Barron
Jane Austen uses her sharp wit and keen eye for subtle social trouble to solve a murder while vacationing at her brothers mansion. If that doesn't scream Glamping Read, nothing does.

1. Mystral Murder (Julie O'Hara Mystery Series) by Lee Hanson
Julie O' Hare is a private detective who happens to be a body language expert, who happens to be on a working vacation--unlucky odds for the murderer who happens to be on her radar!

Traci Tyne Hilton is the author of The Mitzy Neuhaus Mystery Series, and one of the authors in the The Tangle Saga series of science fiction novellas. She was the Mystery/Suspense Category winner for the 2012 Christian Writers of the West Phoenix Rattler Contest, a finalist for Speculative Fiction in the same contest, and has a Drammy from the Portland Civic Theatre Guild. Traci serves as the Vice President of the Portland chapter of the American Christian Fiction Writers Association.
Traci earned a degree in History from Portland State University and still lives in the rainiest part of the Pacific Northwest with her husband the mandolin playing funeral director, their two daughters, and their dog, Dr. Watson.
More of Traci's work can be found at http://www.tracihilton.com