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Do you know what last Sunday, July 17th, was? National Ice Cream Day! I was taken aback by that. Shoot, I thought EVERY day was National Ice Cream Day. But I suppose it’s nice to officially recognize the tasty treat . . . especially in the middle of summer. Do you have a favorite flavor? I have two. Both are made by a company called Graeter’s. I’ve referenced it before in this space. It’s headquartered in Cincinnati, but you can buy its products in most Kroger stores.

Mocha Chip and Double Chocolate Chip head my list. And they both are best served liberally smothered with Graeter’s own bittersweet chocolate sauce. The description “delectable” does not do the flavors justice. All Graeter’s ice cream is denser and creamier than most, with very little air trapped inside. And the chips (actually chunks) in each of my favorites are a special blend of gourmet chocolate.

I used to have one other favorite brand. My first real job was dipping cones at Baskin-Robins the summer after my junior year in high school. For an ice cream-aholic it was a dream come true. We scoopers worked hard (selling some 500 cones and other delights every night), but at the end of the evening after closing, the owner let us eat as much of the ice cream as we wanted.

One of the 31 flavors was called Mandarin Chocolate Sherbet. It was dark, easy to scoop, and delicious. I had some almost every night. The worst flavor to scoop, by the way, was strawberry. We used to hate it when someone ordered a banana split. It was good, but adding that scoop of strawberry on the banana was like digging through rock. We often tried to suggest a less traditional flavor for the split. (It seldom happened.)

I hope you were able to celebrate National Ice Cream Day on the 17th. But, if not, don’t worry. July is actually National Ice Cream Month, so there’s still time. And there are plenty of other special days coming up. July 24th, for example, is National Amelia Earhart Day. I’m not sure whether we’re all supposed to look for the remains of her fateful flight or what. It’s also National Cousins’ Day. So, here’s a shout out to my six first cousins whom I don’t get to see practically ever but would like to. If you do get together with your own cousins that day, you might be interested to know it’s National Tequila Day as well in case you’d like to toast your forebearers.

Following closely on the heels of those special days are ones dedicated to merry-go-rounds, wine and cheese (a close second to National Ice Cream Day for many I might think), bagels, aunts and uncles, crème brûlée, hiring a veteran (which should be every day), New Jersey (how did that happen?), Scotch, and Waterparks. One interesting salute is National Thread the Needle Day. Do sewing enthusiasts have parties with needles as a theme? The Needle Lobby in Washington must be awfully powerful to get a day dedicated to those slim pieces of metal.

The end of this month gets quite a bit tastier. There’s National Chicken Wing Day, Lasagna, Cheesecake, Avocado, and Raspberry Cake Day (which is followed closely by Raspberry Cream Pie Day in August). All would be good to eat on the last Friday of the month, officially known as Get Gnarly Day.

All these and more are available to celebrate as you see fit. There should be a word of caution, though. It occurs to me that quite a few of these days involve food, and I don’t mean of the healthy fruits and veggies kind. If you indulge in all of them, you might want to look for National Weight Loss Day, which surely comes around at some point in the year.

In addition to all of the days mentioned above, I thought it might be fun to add a few more to the mix. Such as, Common Sense Day, a 24-hour period when everyone adheres to what is defined as “sound, practical judgment concerning everyday matters, or a basic ability to perceive, understand, and judge in a manner that is shared by nearly all people.” Elected officials are exempt from observing this day since, in the main, they have no clue what constitutes common sense.

Another one might be Say Nice Things Day. Topics such as religion, politics, and any lead news story of the day are verboten. Compliments and puppies are acceptable conversation starters. And birds. You can talk about all the pretty backyard birds.

If neither Common Sense nor Say Nice Things Days are acceptable to you, though, go back and have another bowl of ice cream.