June 1st through August 31st is my summer. I don’t care if school has been out for weeks or is still in session and the weather is cold, June 1st is the beginning of my summer state of mind. So, happy summer to everyone!

During the school year there are just so many (too many) have to-dos. So, I like to keep a little list of things I want to do when I have time. I find that when I am busy my mind is overflowing with ideas of things I wish I had time to do. But, when I finally get leisure time I can’t remember any of them. I have a list of about 100 things on my Summer Bucket List and #1 is always, “Learn something.”

Now, I am not studying up on Algebra (barf) or reading medical journals. For summer I like to learn about things that really interest me. This summer I have my big three: palmistry, calligraphy, and chords.

I became interested in palmistry years and years ago. My interest was just a little old flickering flame until a snobby girl told me it was, “a sin to practice witchcraft.” Um, what?!? Hell, yes. Who’s a witch? I’m a witch!

But, I really did not keep up with practicing it and so I have forgotten more than I remember.  To remedy that I have gathered three books and I am already getting ready to practice my craft.

This is the book that kicked off my interest. I picked it up in the bargain book section of Barnes and Noble all those years ago and I still love it. Palmistry by Lori Reid is a great basic groundwork on reading the lines of the hand and I will re-read it cover to cover.

I sprung for The Art of Palmistry by Anna Southgate brand new and just paging through it I became so excited. It has hundreds more pictures of palms and hand types than my introductory book and I cannot wait to study them more in-depth!

Masters of Destiny by Josef Ranald is one of those gems I found when digging through the used book section. For two dollars I took this book home and I didn’t really care if it was worthwhile or not. I was overjoyed when I got a chance to look through and found that it is a mixture of palmistry and biography! It has a little two page synopsis of famous people and the palm line that matches their most well known characteristic.  For example, Albert Einstein may have had the line of scientific genius. Did he really have the corresponding line? I don’t care – this is summer fun learning!

My Mom send me Creative Lettering and Beyond and a gorgeous set of calligraphy pens for Christmas. I have gotten them out….once. I plan to work my way through the book this summer and use those pens UP.

This book has a similar story. It was a gift and I was so excited to tear right into it. But, it should really be entitled Jazz Theory for the Jazz Historian, Accomplished Musician and Practiced Theorist. It is a difficult book to use without instruction. Thankfully, I have a great music teacher who was able to break down the different sections for me. This summer I want to master all of my chords.

So, there is my #1 Summer Bucket List already lined up. I cannot wait! Do you have any summer learning traditions?