Happy 4th of July! How did you celebrate?

Thanks! My son and I aren’t really doing anything special today. We were going to have a BBQ with friends, but it decided to rain, so we cancelled the BBQ. My husband gets to have some time off this afternoon (my time) so we will be spending our afternoon talking to him on the computer.

We don’t celebrate 4th of July for political, ethical and activist reasons. We have a wedding to go to today, actually but all of us are sick and running a fever.

I’m heading to visit friends for a BBQ later.

Spending the 4th with my daughter and doing these things in this order….making ice cream (as my thread had stated), cleaning my PDF tank, aquariums, pond, then swimming and when the night falls will go watch some fireworks.

We were going to a barbecue/swimming party and then to watch all the men in the family put on a fireworks extravaganza BUT we’ve had about 4 inches of rain, it doesn’t look as if the rain is going to stop anytime soon and we’re in a flood warning. We have been sitting around looking at each other all day and really sad that our 4th of July isn’t very festive.

Guitars, drums, beer, fireworks and water balloon launcher all packed up in the car and we are off to the SIL’s to tear it up till we fall asleep standing up!. Gonna take the boat up river to the sand bar and do some partying with the locals.

Went to church this morning, like all other Sunday mornings….It was a special Independence Day themed service, which was interesting, then there was a potluck and potato sack races, three legged races, water-balloon-launchers….Now for a boring 2 hours before we head to the tiny fireworks display in our little tiny town (8023 people, to be exact). Like, seriously, it lasts about 15–20 minutes. That’s it. I always look forward to the Fourth because in 2004 I met this girl (I wouldn’t have met her if her name hadn’t been the same as my little sister’s) and we’re best friends to this day.

Nothing special. I had a BLT. I should start rounding up the cats before the wankers get drunk and get amazed by shiny things that make noise.

nausea and panic attacks, not related although possibly so. LBP is keeping me calm and sedated for now.

I swear that I’m not a lush.

I’m celebrating it with my beautiful girlfriend and her neighbors who live along Lake Huron. Kayaking, sailing, beer, beer, food, singing/guitar and beer.

Happy 4th! It’s my first time celebrating the 4th!

Stayed home thus far…may go for a bike ride later. This oil spill kinda takes the starch out of a festival mood for me. It’ll probably end up in our backyard here as well.

Should we celebrate independence today? Somehow, I don’t feel very much so. There’s dependence everywhere I look.

Burnt my finger on the waffle iron, and spent hours watching the water slowly flow from the hose around my flowers. I’ve got it set up so that it slowly seeps down and gets to all the flowers via a system of mud channels. I stand there with a stick, building these little walls to make sure the water goes everywhere. I’ve got the water on a fairly low flow, so the water will sink into the ground as much as possible. It’s going to be close to 100 degrees for the next few days and I won’t be around to water them.

Here’s the cool thing. It seems that the honey bees are all thirsty, because a lot of them have come. First they kind of dance close to the surface of the water—sometimes touching it and setting up ripples. Eventually they find a piece of mud that is wet but is not covered with water and they settle down. I guess they manage to get water from the wet mud in some way. Maybe at their scale it’s easier, or the water is much more separate from the mud than it appears to me. Then again, maybe they eat the wet mud.

I could sit there all day watching the insects. There was a worm writhing in a pool of water, and I pushed it out so it wouldn’t drown. There are weird kinds of bees or wasps. Neighbors walk by and we chat.

It’s really a lot of not much, and it’s wonderful! My kids are away at camp, and it’s like the first relaxing day in a year. I don’t even care if I go see the fireworks. I just want to hang and do nothing.

Yeah. Nothing.

I was scheduled to work today but managed to get out of it – so my wife put together an impromptu mini barbecue with her folks. I grilled, she made the sides and my daughter made s’mores. All yummy.

Now I just woke up from a two hour nap after watching a little soccer and reading.

Maybe some fireworks watching tonight.

Much better than working.

Canadian too! Happy July to all you Americans among us.

I spent part of the day with my little grand-nephews. Craving a pet, the 6-yr.old (another Milo) had collected slugs in a little box filled with watermelon rinds and lettuce leaves. When I arrived, there were 8, 7, at half time, 5 still alive and when I left, one of those looked decidedly unwell.

Being petted by two little boys probably didn’t help their mental health either.

During the day, the vet called my bro-in-law. The bee hives my b-i-l had given him were swarming…not a good thing. A big to-do.

Eating two hot dogs at home after losing at bingo. yahoo!

Sick.

Went for a prescrip. for a wicked sinus infection. Bleh.

Watched a couple of movies and lounged in my cool hot tub to help my fever.

No big whoop….have had plenty of fun 4th’s, so missing one isn’t anything I am too unhappy about.

I just want to feel better NOW! haha

We had a long day. A bbq with at a park with my husbands family, we went swimming and had yummy food. Then went to my parents for a bbq, and my son got some early birthday presents (his birthday is tomorrow!). It was a great time! Then we went and saw fireworks, which are always fun.

Went to the local parade. Explained to my Middle Eastern girlfriend that in 1776 a bunch of guys signed the Declaration of Independence on this day, and thus invited the King of England to hang them for treason. She was seriously impressed, and did not say much for the rest of the morning. Had a cookout with friends and family. I cooked. Flawlessly. Watched fireworks. Created some fireworks. She is sleeping. I thought I would kill some time here until I join her. Happy 4th. Thanks John Hancock et al.

At this very moment I’m forcing down my annual beer. We did the ritual barbecue for supper.

Pretty quiet otherwise. Nearly static. In fact, we all came to such a complete standstill at my house this afternoon that a comparison to slugs would do the slugs an injustice.

It’s just past 9 p.m. here now, though, so it’s going to be noisy for a while.

I hung out with my dad, had my best friend and her boyfriend come over. We ate macaroni salad, hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob, had lots of beer, and a big watermelon. Watched the fireworks on the mall (in DC), bumped into a friend I haven’t seen in years, ended up walking back to the car since the metro was PACKED, so three miles. got home hung out, had another hotdog. Now in bed resting my feet. Just got a sweet IM from my friend in Montreal, “Happy National Day!!”

My husband, daughter and I camped at the ranch my husband works at. We had a nice camping spot right next to one of the lakes on the property. We did a lot of four wheeling on the trails in the woods and through the pastures, played frisbee and washers, set off some fireworks, and listened to the animals and fireworks from neighbors when we went to bed.

It was a hot weekend, and just when we decided we might head home early Sunday, we were surprised by a downpour. We spent the remainder of the day riding the four wheeler in the pouring rain and mud. We had an amazing time, and Jon and I agreed it was a moment we would never forget!

What’s a four wheeler?

@Jeruba They are small all-terrain vehicles, also known as ATV’s.