Lately I spend most of my days thinking cool thoughts.

All day I loll about my air conditioned headquarters dreaming of things such as ice cubes, swimming pools, blizzards, the North Pole and the like. That is, I conjure such notions in between sticking my head in the freezer.

Have I mentioned it’s hot?

Anyway, I broke myself away from such pursuits just yesterday and ventured out to the grocery store. As I entered in search of ice cream and Gatorade, I stopped in my tracks. There in front of me rising out of the floral displays were shiny metal pumpkins.

And then, I’m near breathless with excitement as I tell you this, I read in the local newspaper (yes, I still subscribe but read it only when Prince Charming shall fetch it for me off the near blazing concrete driveway) that Big Tex will be sporting a new shirt at the fair. Why you can literally count down the days till the state fair here: www.bigtex.com.

And…I need smelling salts as I recall this tidbit of information for you…football two-a-days have begun. Oh let me get my Sooner gear ready.

So, dear readers, let us try to keep from hyperventilating, but some people, lots of people evidently, believe we will have a fall season. Jubilation and hallelujah! Tomorrow I shall contemplate anew, this time about falling leaves, bobbing for apples, homecoming and Halloween.

In case you haven’t noticed, it’s really, really hot.

It’s hot enough that the TV reporters are running out of tricks to illustrate the incredible temperatures. I’ve seen TV reporters trying to fry eggs on a sidewalk, bake cookies on a car hood and take a giant thermometer inside a black car. We’re all too busy trying to keep our yards from dying to pay too much attention to that. 

At 20-plus days of 100-degree heat, I’m a little bit tired of this. As I daydream about falling leaves, football and cooler temps, I’m making a mental list of stuff I can do without right now.

Here it is:

• Wool sweaters
• A fire in the fireplace
• Sitting outside
• Hot soup
• Thick socks
• Cooking anything in the oven
• Blankets

The number one thing I’m so happy I have? Air conditioning!

Got a list of your own?

July, as you might have noticed, is a very hot month.

So it stands to reason that July is officially National Ice Cream Month. July 17, the third Sunday of the month, is National Ice Cream Day.

Ice cream is one of my favorite foods, and as such, would be my requested dessert should I ever be in a position to order a last meal. Now, my favorite flavor–should I be forced to decide on just one–would be coffee, but I also love strawberry, peppermint, peach and vanilla.

The first time I ever was in Italy, I remember this place in Florence where everyone seemed to make a pilgrimage much akin to visiting the Vatican. I also remember sidewalk cafes with scoops of ice cream delivered in giant schooners. The Italians seemed to think it was stupid to limit yourself to just one flavor. So when in Rome (or Florence), right? Four scoops just seemed the most polite thing to do.

Homemade ice cream in the U.S. of A. is pretty special, too. Backyard picnics couldn’t have been better when finished off with some hand-cranked ice cream. Need some recipes to inspire you? Check out www.ice-cream-recipes.com.

Ice cream and dating seemed to go together. Why is that? More than one date would take me for ice cream. After ordering peach ice cream, one guy even sent peach roses to my office the next day. Very nice, very creative, but he’s another story for another day.

Sunday just happens to be my birthday. Calories don’t count on your birthday, doncha know. So double dip, it is!

Technically, summer does not start until next week.

Sometimes technicalities just don’t matter one little bit.

I say this on a technically spring day where the thermometer in my car read 104 degrees, and the one outside the bank blinked a whopping 107 degrees. If this is spring, I’m scared for summer.

Summer is NOT my favorite season. I’m much more a fan of the other three, so I have to remind myself of the good things about this hot, humid, miserable time of year.

Here’s a partial list:

Fat, home-grown tomatoes

Basil

Consequently, caprese salad

Air conditioning that works well

Straw purses

No school (I’ve been out for years but I remember that exhilarating feeling)

Vacations

Floating in a swimming pool

Fireworks on the Fourth of July

A John Philip Sousa march at the appropriate time

Barbecue

White nail polish

So tell me, what’s on your list?

Goodbye already, Lady O.

Put your crying towels away. The l-0-n-g (!) goodbye is finally over.

Lady O has ended her TV show after a run of some 98 years. Or something like that.

Oprah Winfrey’s show did enjoy a very long run, but good grief she’s been talking about it for way too long. The hype, the build-up, the hand-wringing, the tributes were enough for five people.

So much so that poor little Mary Hart ended her run on Entertainment Tonight, and it was hardly noticed when she walked off into the TV sunset on her $2-million legs (insured at a cool $1 mill a piece). Poor thang.

Then Meredith Viera bids us adieu after five years on The Today Show. Katie Couric ends her run after the same five years on CBS Evening News.

All these good-byes are wearing me slick. The tributes, the video highlights, the tear-eyed thank-yous.

Enough already. We love you, we love you, we love you. There. Done. Over and out.

It was way too early to be awake but we dressed for the royal occasion. Photo courtesy of Dallas Morning News.

The past few weeks, my hats haven’t even needed to be tucked away on the highest shelf of my closet. They’ve been in almost constant demand. We’ve had so very many hat-wearing occasions. Isn’t it great?

First, it was Easter. Surely an occasion for the traditional Easter bonnet. I wore a light lavender straw that day for the church. I’m not sure the “Hallelujah Chorus” would sound right if I weren’t wearing a hat.

Then last week, it was the royal wedding of that cute Kate Middleton to Prince William. My friend Bonnie and I made it by 4 a.m. to Grapevine’s British Emporium to take in the royal wedding on the big screen there. Yes, we were in a parking lot, but we drank our tea wearing hats and pearls, thank you very much. The Dallas Morning News thought we were cute enough to take our picture.

Later that night I wore the same purple-and-lavender straw to another wedding-watching party. I know straw in the evening is just all kinds of wrong, but what do you do when you have “hat hair?”

Now, we come to Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. Gosh, I’m thinking black, wide-brimmed straw might be the right thing to cheer on that female jockey. Who’s making the mint juleps?

The best part of all this? Wear a hat=don’t fix your hair.

Loved it, loved it, loved it! The dress…you know which one I’m talking about.

Heard one of the comedians say that seeing Kate Middleton’s wedding dress was like porn for women. I don’t know about porn, but I can tell you I was mesmerized, I wanted to see it again and again and I want to discuss it ad nauseum.

When she married Prince William last week, I thought the bride looked simply amazing.

I do think the future queen of England must possess one rock-solid ego, too, to allow her sister and maid of honor, Pippa, to wear such a stunner of a bridesmaids dress. Those two sisters seem to have one the genetic lottery, didn’t they?

Now, because I can’t really say anything nice, I will refrain from discussing William’s two female cousins. It’s just too unfortunate. Again, you know which ones…

Ouch. Whoville is missing a resident or two...

Anya Garnis and Pasha Kovalev were just two of many reasons to check out the white-hot dancing at Fair Park.

I needed to turn up the air conditioning as you drive to “Burn the Floor” at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

The show was that hot.

Think of “Dancing With the Stars” on steroids. Think more energy than your two-your-0ld nephew and more electricity than a southern thunderstorm. These people can dance!

Not only did they put on a mesmerizing show, each dance smoothly faded from one fantastic number to the next. From a hypnotic waltz to a fiery cha cha, the high style parade of human artistry was the type of show that could be seen again and again.

The show’s two-week run is over, but I hope Dallas Summer Musicals (www.dallassummermusicals.org) brings it back.

I guess you can say I liked it.

All this Charlie Sheen phenomenon is lost on me.

I don’t think he’s funny, and I think his recent TV show is crass and crude. I’ve watched some of the recent news coverage of his rantings, and it’s an awful lot like watching a train wreck. He’s a mess, and I feel sorry for him, really. Then my next thought, as a journalist, is why this is worth so much valuable media coverage.

A friend even asked  if I wanted to buy a ticket to watch his live “performance.” No, I said, and wished her a good time at the show, but secretly I was scratching my head as to why anyone would pay to see more of Charlie Sheen’s bad behaviour. Then this weekend he opens his tour in Detroit, and the show is so bad people walk out. They were surprised?

On the other hand, I have experienced plenty of things recently I would recommend people spend time and money seeing. Here’s a brief  list for those needing entertainment suggestions:

• The very fun and creative Apron Chronicles exhibit at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.
• Sipping wine in a Grapevine, TX winery.
• Browsing the lovely china displays at downtown Dallas’ Neiman Marcus.
• Checking out the antique shops in McKinney.
• Reading “The Help” by the Katheryn Stockett.
• Seeing Tommy Tune explain the difference in a single, double and triple time step at the Music Hall at Fair Park.

So if you’re needing entertainment, there are other options besides witnessing the outbursts of a disturbed Hollywood bad boy. Let’s promote more positive things, shall we?

Don’t tell my girls because they would never believe it, and my husband not only wouldn’t believe it but would argue the fact ,but some people think I have something interesting to say.

The Arts League, a support group for Northeast Tarrant County’s Arts Council (www.artscouncilnortheast.org), has invited me to speak Tuesday evening at its annual gathering, “Wine, Women and the Arts.” I will speak along with some of the other authors of “Grace & Gumption: The Cookbook,” which TCU Press published last year. The gathering begins at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Hexter-Fair Title Company, 102 Grapevine Highway, in Hurst, and our program will begin at 7 p.m.

So if I don’t have anything interesting to say, I better figure out something very quickly.

One of the things I have to say before the show even starts is I don’t much care for the book’s title, because this book is much more than a cookbook. It is a social history of some of Tarrant County’s leading ladies, and sprinkled among those stories are some recipes that are for everything from squirrel to chocolate truffles.

This program is free and open to the public. TCU Press will have some of the books available to purchase, but that’s not why you should come to the event. Come see if we have anything interesting to tell you.

RSVPs may be given to Connie Nichols at 817-577-0754 or artsleaguenortheast@gmail.com.