Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic To my Those of you in the USA (including myself)

Happy 4th of July!

Not sure what we're going to do today. I;m hoping to take a hike but that's dependent on my hubby getting up (he's off work and thus I told him he can sleep in).

I picked apples, strawberries, and vegetables early in the morning and watered the garden. In the afternoon there'll be a barbecue and my sister's family is coming. In the evening, I will watch the neighbors set off illegal fireworks and try to keep my dogs from breaking down the fence.

Don't they know your state is a matchstick ready to burn? And you don't have the extra water to use on fires? I hope they collect all those people and throw them off Big Sur. (For those who don't know, it's a big cliff on the CA coast.) Either that or make them "voluntary" smoke jumpers to fight the fires they cause. It's so sad to see the orchards which are lying by the side of I-5 pulled down and dying like corpses due to the water shortage. I wish you luck with the dogs.

Fireworks seemingly are legal in my town even though we hardly get any rain in July or August either. I refuse to drive in town after 5pm on the 4th with all drunk people setting off fireworks in the streets. We usually just sit on our porch and watch our neighbors' money go up in flames, too. /shakes head in disbelief on what people waste money on./ It's too loud to do anything else.

Currently, I'm at my Mom's where it doesn't get dark until after 10-10:30pm, so fireworks don't start until after then. We'll be staying in to watch movies off Netflix. Oh, wait. Apparently, we're (or I'm) going to be dragged off to the park, so the kids can play in the sprinklers. /groans/ I'd would rather stay in and write. /I've been fighting a cold the last few days, so I'm extra grumpy and lethargic./

They may not know (some people are remarkably oblivious) or they may not care. I hope nothing goes up in flames.

Fireworks (real ones for regular people) are usually banned in my area, because of how heavily wooded it is and the dryness of the weather-- but this year, the fireworks show was canceled entirely because the fire danger is at "extreme". (I've lived up here for three years, and I've only ever noticed the warning levels at "very high" usually, and "extreme" once before.) As it was, there was a fire down at Cal Expo today in Sac, but I'm hoping no one does anything stupid and accidentally burns I-80 to the ground. All in all, though, not a bad day.

Out in the midwest and after enjoyed such a mild day outside (War'n Peace opened the front door and Solomon crawled right out on his own! After spending some time outside (War'n at the park, Solomon in the yard because I was planning on making cookies) I went inside and prepped the recipe on the chip wrapper for chocolate chip cookies. Followed the directions but as a result of FOLLOWING THE DIRECTIONS TO THE LETTER (and not listening to my gut) I had pretty close to a Lois-sized fail. When they came out they were spread thin and were almost cracker-like when cooled. So instead of packing cookies for one of the local fireworks shows we didn't bother. We had the option of watching fireworks on the Mississippi Riverfont bound by a slightly high river on one side and the river wall on the other (with a doozy of a local-scaled traffic on the way out of the downtown) or a CLOSE view from across the lake (for a bicentennial show for the county seat). We chose the lake. It was LOUD but I guess Solomon was cuddled awell enough and nursing enough to stay calm through the whole show (despite being up an hour and a half after his bedtime.) We put glow bracelets on War'n so that we would be able to see him in case he decided to run of (as is a standards of our toddler). He LOVED it!

So all in all a good day. We're planning on headinbg up to St. Louis to see my father today.

My neighbors started setting off their fireworks before it was completely dark (which happens about 9 PM at this time of year). Soon, the air reeked from the smoke and every dog in the neighborhood was in full panic mode. My bloodhound was so scared she jammed herself under my desk (which is not big enough for her), and used her tiny cockapoo buddy as a pillow. I'd offered them some sedating treats, but the cockapoo wouldn't touch them and they had no effect on the bloodhound.

I did make a good dinner, though. I traded some limes, chilies, apples, and fresh bread for one of my neighbor's free-range chickens (very free-range; I keep having to catch them when they range freely over my fence, preferably before the dogs realize they're there). I stewed a bunch of tomatoes, eggplant, and zucchini with herbs and chopped onions, and baked an apple pie for dessert. I let my brother-in-law do the barbecuing, though -- I never quite cook properly on the barbecue, and while part well-done, part medium rare USDA-inspected beef is fine (and tasty), chicken that's been running free and eating everything it encounters needs thorough cooking. My mother brought potato salad, and I took my nieces for a walk in the garden, which they regard as a buffet, and let them pick cucumbers, blackberries, and bell peppers (and the 3-year-old ate a whole jalapeno before I could stop her, which she apparently enjoyed ).

We had a wonderful Fourth of July. My husband, me, and the kiddos (4 year old girl, and now a 'very big' 3 year old boy--as of July 1st) went to a parade, went to a little festival, and then 'played' at a little park down by the river. We live where it doesn't get dark till 10-10:30 pm also, so we had the kiddos in bed before the fireworks went off--which are legal--and boughten in ridiculous quantities around here. I caught the 'view' from inside the house--by that time my husband had fallen asleep in his recliner...

The previous week, we met my husband's parents, and my husband's brother and family, in Florida for some time at Disney World--hence the absence on the boards. Amazing memories, wonderful family time, crazy hot weather...with the heat index, well over 100 degrees every day. Our daughter was thrilled to meet all of her beloved princesses and get to see Mickey, Minnie, and the bunch....our son? Yeah, not so much. Petrified of any 'character' he came across (screaming, crying, shaking). But the funny part was, he LOVED all the princesses--I think I caught him swooning on a few occasions --he had stars in his eyes...

Laura