Delicious, hot, sunny weather has arrived and we are savoring it. When you live next to a lake, that means trying to accomplish all life’s activities by the shore—working, eating, sleeping, not to mention spying on fish and birds, waiting for lily pads to bloom, and, of course, daily swims. For me, it’s also meant facing a lifelong fear: getting into water, any water. Maybe I can blame this on the teenager who pushed me in the deep end of the pool as a not-yet-swimming four-year-old, I don’t know. But every time I’m faced with a body of water and the prospect of entering it, a little voice in my head is aroused and fear takes over. The curious thing is, I love water and I love being in it. It’s just that initial act of getting in that makes necessary all those internal pep talks and counts to three. Thank goodness for peer pressure and unbearably hot days, or shower water is the only H20 I’d know.
Yes, this is a totally irrational fear, but it’s also one that I’ve nurtured for many years—who could have anticipated that I’d spend my every day next to a great, big puddle in Finland? The happy news is that I’ve gone swimming for the past six days in a row, but I’d like to keep this up without all the silly fretting. How do I do it? How have you overcome your fears? I’m starting to think I’m not very good at challenging mine. Even though progress has been made, my romantic daydream of a morning dip to start each day is such a long way off.
On a completely different note, the chive flowers finally bloomed (hooray!), and the new potato-chive flower salad was made and devoured.
Isn't it pretty? If you’d like to make this yourself, mix about ½ cup of crème fraiche with the juice from half a lemon, add a drop of olive oil and a touch of salt and freshly ground black pepper, and that’s your dressing. Mix this into the boiled, cooled, and cubed potatoes (I used several handfuls) and top with chopped fresh chive and chive flowers. Break up and sprinkle the flower heads over the salad before you dig in.
Have a happy weekend! I plan to spend mine in the water.
