May I wish my fellow Jellies a Happy Independence Day? What are you doing this long weekend?

You need to say “Happy summer holiday” to me because everyday is my weekend now :D

And have fun with the party, and happy 4th of July to you :)

Mostly avoiding all the fuss, in a rather curmudgeonly fashion. ;-). After all those decades of doing the expected (and, yes, often very enjoyable!) thing, I prefer now to hang out at home, gardening, reading, goofing with the pups, stuff like that. I might meet some friends for a glass of wine, but tearing me away from The Martian will be tough.

Happy 4th, @jca, have fun!

I’ll celebrate vicariously from afar. Or, come to think of it, I might go over to the yacht club for the BBQ. The Brits and French members will be there to celebrate with the Americans. They are all ex-pats. The conversations are always interesting.

In Chicago this weekend for music, back to California Sunday to celebrate the 4th.

Matt and I are heading to his parents’ for a BBQ. On Sunday we’re going to pick up a bigger aquarium from a woman I found through Craigslist. So psyched to upgrade my tank. We’ll watch the Boston fireworks on Monday; they’re always spectacular.

I will be celebrating next June 23rd, with our very own Independence Day from the EU…hoorah!

Graduation party for my nephew in a few hours and after I am heading to the lake house for some MUCH needed R&R and sitting on the deck watching a bunch of Fireworks all around the lake. @zenvelo what show would you come all the way here to Chicago to see?

Last night Rick hauled out his tackle box and reorganized it and was polishing his fishing pole, winding new line on it, etc. I said, “So, what are we doing tomorrow?”
He said, “Whatever you want.”
Riiiiight.

Not a damn thing. Maybe go swimming and go see the new “Tarzan” flick.
It has been hellishly hot here and we are coping with a major forest fire and all the smoke drifting in and out. No containment til next week, if then.

All fireworks are banned in this county and surrounding counties, from here to Lake Tahoe. There are a few professional shows around but I am not traveling to see any fireworks. I may go to a BBQ at the new neighbors, or just stay here and try to stay cool and breathe. haha

My daughter and her family are making the trip up to see us. She is 7½ months pregnant, so this will be the last time she comes up for several months.

Happy 4th July to American Jellies and belated Canada Day to Canadians!!! Not sure why this is in Meta though..)

Meh.

Apparently my husband’s sister has deigned to acknowledge our existence for the first time in a couple of years, and has invited us to her house for dinner, provided we bring half the food.

I’d really rather play with my new kitten, but whatever.

@canidmajor: thank you!

@imrainmaker: it’s in Meta because it’s to the fellow Jellies.

I will celebrate my 53rd birthday on the Fourth. I give all you American jellies permission to celebrate. (It wasn’t until he was 6 that my son figured out all the celebrations weren’t for me.)

My dogs always bark and sing for your birthday, @Hawaii_Jake, and I always have special food.
Just for your birthday. ;-)

Thursday night, we watched fireworks near my mother-in-law’s house.

Today we cleaned out my wife’s closet. Tonight we’ll see more fireworks near our house.

Tomorrow it’s off to Old Orchard Beach in Maine for the day.

Monday, tiny barbecue at my house.

@cookieman Are you inviting Tiny Hamsters too? lol

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLKExB9gE0k

Going to a Greek (!) restaurant the next town over, and then watch the fireworks. :-)

I have a big cookout/campout/party. It is one big combustion fest. Cooked meat, rapidly oxidized chemicals spread into the air and lead projectiles propelled at subsonic speeds.
It is wonderful but a lot of work.
We probably raise sea level by a picometer or two.
(Sorry, Bangladeshis.)

We are leaving tomorrow for Universal Studios Hollywood. We will drive all day, spend the night in a hotel and visit the park Monday and Tuesday. We are returning home on Wednesday.

My family and some friends are going, in two cars. We will have 6 adults and three children.

@YARNLADY: Are you staying in a Universal Studios hotel when you arrive?

Not a damn thing. I was hoping to get the lawn mowed this morning before the heat of the day, but everything’s too wet (ad looks likely to stay that way for the next few days).

Yard work. The weather is supposed to be pleasantly cool all weekend, and beyond.

Yard and garden work today, BBQ with friends and relatives tomorrow, swimming and fireworks show on the other side of the metro area Monday.

update
Tonight’s fireworks were amazing and there was a carnival. My wife won a stuffed unicorn for my niece.

@jca No, we are staying at a Best Western because we get points for free rooms.

@Cruiser James Taylor/Jackson Brown at Wrigley, then Indigo Girls / Mary Chapin Carpenter at Ravinia last night.

Happy 4th! We are looking for real estate. I wish I was going to see some fireworks, but it doesn’t look like I will this year.

I also checked out Homeland DVD’s from the library. I watched it for a couple of seasons when I had free Showtime, but when the free went away I didn’t opt to start paying. So, I’m binge watching the show this weekend.

Maybe I’ll talk my husband into going to one of the squares here for live music on Monday.

Went to the lake. Rick fished, I read a Nat. Geo magazine. It was a special about the founding fathers. And we watched a huge storm move in. We waited and waited for that shoe to drop, then we just ran for it! Got out just in time. (These pics were taken on the way out.)
Then we went home and waited for it to hit here.

Finally cooler here! 93 is a far cry from 103! Gah!
I am taking my little 9 yr. old friend “Sydney” to see the new Spielberg flick ” The BFG” tonight. Then, looking forward to a good nights sleep in the cool breeze that descended last night. 11:07 a.m. now and it is only 78 degrees. Joy to the world! lol

@zenvelo You did it up beautifully especially with the weather here….Score!

The afternoon at my sister in law’s is a lot easier to handle with margaritas.

Nothing.

And much of the time, even less.

It is 9:35 PM. All around my home I can hear fireworks going off. I love this sound. Some people can’t wait. I will just listen.
Tomorrow will be my turn – and it will be spectacular! For me it’s like edging an orgasm. It is so much better that way!

Call me a grump, @LuckyGuy, but I find sudden explosive sounds somewhat unnerving in these days of increasingly rampant terrorist bombings and shootings.

@Pachy (Grump! :-) ) I don’t relate the sound of fireworks to the sound of terrorist or nut job actions. For me those sounds are associated with hot dogs. hamburgers, campfires with S’mores, music playing and friends laughing .
We are in a “rural area” where is it very quiet, with lots of space. It is so quiet that when the wind is right we can hear conversations from the local tavern about a mile a way. We can regularly hear the high school marching band practicing on the grounds 4 miles away!
Like opening day of deer and duck seasons the sounds come from all directions and they are a pleasant additions to the day.

As a courtesy our neighborhood voluntarily cuts off fireworks at midnight. It gets very quiet. Wonderful.

Where I live, the guy across the street does this fireworks extravaganza every year. This year was no different except he had them coming from two spots. It was really incredible, like a professional show you’d see at a park, probably a good 45 minutes of non-stop, light up the sky stuff. We (neighbors) always speculate what it must cost and how he pays for it. A few years ago we were guessing 20k. @LuckyGuy do you care to help us speculate?

Friday night I just came home and relaxed. I got out of work at 1:30 but I had lunch with my coworker so we actually left at 2:30. I beat the traffic home which was nice. Saturday I went to some stores and then came home and relaxed. Sunday I went to my parents and picked up my daughter and then went to a graduation party. My daughter’s half sister graduated from high school. Today we’re going to friends for a cookout and swimming.

@LuckyGuy, judging from your two comments, which are quite lovely, I understand that fireworks don’t make you think of bombs, and I’m happy about that. And it’s not as if I’m quaking under my bed this July 4th. I’m simply expressing my dislike of things that go boom. , having read just this week tabout a young kid who lost his hand playing with fireworks and a runner in Central Park stepping on some kind of device and losing a foot.

Enjoy your fireworks. Me, I don’t need to light anything on Independence Day except my grill. ;-)

What a terrible movie.

Sipping coffee on the porch this morning, been moving into the house now for like a week and finally had a break for a little cookout last night with friends and family. Based on the fireworks show the neighbors put on a day early tonight is probably going to be quite a spectacle.

Happy Fourth everybody!

update
Old Orchard Beach was nice. The boardwalk was good, trashy fun. Had a great lobster roll. Drove bumper cars and a log ride. Got soaked. Yay.

Also visited a neat old light house and climbed out onto the rocks.

The beach itself just reminded me why I hate beaches. Water + sand = mud (ugh).

Well, we’re grilling tonight. Jalapeno Poppers!!!!!!! He’s making burgers too, but I don’t care about that. I just want the poppers!!!!