With the month of July barreling in to a quick halt in its finish, I feel there is something I need to cover before its too late. And, it isn’t that Logan starts first grade in *gasp*three weeks from today (I actually didn’t realize it was so soon until I looked just now!) It isn’t a recap of our summer or how our beloved next door neighbor friends are moving in that same amount of time, although all of these things are noteworthy and you’ll probably read about them sooner or later. My interest today is in ice cream!! That’s right! July is National Ice Cream month and if I remember correctly, it was brought upon by former President Ronald Reagan in the early to mid-80s. (I knew I liked that guy-not only is he the first president in office that I can actually remember in my lifetime, but he also used his power as such to create a month devoted to ice cream! Come on now-that’s what I’m talking about! If we can’t settle disputes with a dance-off, why not do it with ice cream? I’m just saying…).

One thing I can say about us this summer is that there literally has not been a day that our freezer has been without a half gallon of ice cream. I find that this has been very necessary! We actually got into the habit of regular ice cream after Blue Bell made its way into our state. What a warm welcome it has received (not warm, actually ). Since its arrival, last March, we have come to learn about and love the many different flavors of this frozen confection. My favorite, while simple, is called the Great Divide-a full half is vanilla and the other half is dutch chocolate. I can’t get past the dutch chocolate-so authentic, so creamy and delicious. I might just eat the chocolate all by itself, leaving the vanilla in a nice, untouched, block of ice cream clinging to it’s side of the carton! But, I do have a greater respect for it and understand why they were put together-the vanilla, too, is certainly creamy and authentic-one I can imagine getting at a drive up ice cream stand in the mid-west (I’m not from the mid-west, I’m from Connecticut. Sometimes I just imagine things that I think aught to come from the mid-west.)

Side bar: Things I think aught to come from the mid-west. Better yet, whether truly mid-western or not, these are things I am reminded of when I think of the mid-west. Ready? Go.

1. Blue Bell Vanilla Ice Cream (even though I know it comes from Texas-its just that flavor…I know, I know, we already talked about this.) Moving on…

2. Drive-up ice cream stands

3. Diners with the turning pie case – my favorite pie is Cherry-oh man, delish…but only if it comes from a case that turns automatically and comes from the mid-west! hehe!

4. Semi-trucks

5. Fire flies?

6. Friends hanging out by their cars outside the diner at dusk, or gas station, neon lights flickering overhead, the sticky, damp smell of farm in your nose.

7. Home cookin’.’

8. Soda

9. Folgers coffee

10. Chotchkies-The Urban Dictionary describes this as small, decorative, knick knacks that serve little or no purpose but can be pretty or sentimental.

Let me just say, I have the utmost love and respect for the mid-west. It is a wonderful place and I can qualify some of my list with the fact that I have relatives in Indiana and Chris in Iowa. I have spent a fair share of time there and though not from the mid-west personally, it gives me a cozy feeling and makes me want to slow down and cozy up.

Ice cream. Moving on: The flavor that we are currently about to enjoy is Blue Bell’s Cherry Vanilla. I never would have bought un-chocolate ice cream before Blue Bell. I thought, if I’m consuming the calories from ice cream, you better be sure there’s chocolate in there! But, ever since Chris brought home their Black Berry Cobbler flavor, I am a firm believer that ice cream can be worth it – even minus the chocolate, add fruit!

There are four days left of National Ice Cream month. What flavor will you run out and get?