Good Life: 10 Things that Make Life Good During the Summer

Everybody wants a piece of the good life, but what exactly is meant by the term 'good life?' To be sure, it is about surrounding yourself with people who love you and you love in return. When thinking about the topic, what comes to mind is a passage I once read in Phillip Roth's novel. One of Roth's characters is yelling at his soon-to-be ex-wife about life. His arguments centered on the fact that life is as much about the practical things, the small things, as it is about the big, romantic, over the top gestures; paying your bills on time, having money in the bank, and work are just as important. Life's big gestures are good, to be sure, but are few and far between. What makes life really good, sometimes even great, is having a solid foundation, so when those wonderful moments happen whether big or, more often than not, small, a person can enjoy them whole-heartedly. So, here is to the small things that make life really good during the summer.

A Walk in the Rain
Who does not like the rain? The damp, dewy smell it produces that is so hard to describe, even though you keep trying. Or getting caught in the rain on a breezy warm day, alternately wanting to escape and find someplace dry, while also feeling compelled to say and revel in the rain. For those of you who want walk in the rain while remaining dry, check out the smart umbrella whose handle glows when it is going to rain. The smart umbrella has a wireless radio imbedded within its handle that receives weather data from accuweather.com, then pulses a blue LED when rain is forecast.

Good Cheese and Wine
There is nothing like a good bottle of wine and cheese to make a person feel that everything is all right with the world. Anything that is of good quality, the time and patience that makes it so, is always appreciated. On summer days, when one is apt to spend time outdoors, take a bottle of wine and cheese along. There are plenty of wine and cheese baskets. For example, the Corsica Wine and Cheese Basket offers the consumer separate compartments for the wine and cheese, comes with a cutting board, corkscrew, and a cheese knife.