Happy Monday! I hope it was a nice, and extra long, weekend for most of you! I know a lot of folks took advantage of the Fourth being so close to the weekend and just made a nice long break of it. For those of us in the “retired” years, well all the weekends are long – which can be nice and can, at times, be….well, long. Either way, I hope your holiday was just the way you enjoy it. Just before the “big day,” I was reading BillieJo’s post with some This or That questions about the Fourth of July. And, yes, I’m a day late (or a long weekend late) but thought I would use some of her questions, and a few of my own, as a bit of recap for our celebration of the nation’s birthday. After you read my answers, I hope you will let me know something fun about your Fourth.
1. Hot Dogs or Hamburgers? There were both at our gathering. And lots of them. So many hamburgers especially..which, by the way, I noticed were all cheeseburgers. It did not seem like anyone minded their patty melted in delicious cheese. Of course, I am a bonafide cheese lover but not on a meat patty. I brought along some plant-based hot dogs. Before you turn your nose up, there are some brands out there that are quite delicious! And I don’t often have mine grilled s0 they were extra delicious on Thursday night.
2. Celebrate at home or at the pool/beach/ park? Every year we go to friend’s house for the Fourth. So, no pool, beach or park but not exactly at home either:) There are lots of places to enjoy fireworks around here (including the National’s Captiol, of course…which does have a rather grand display) but everywhere is sooo very crowded and, this year, there was the constant threat of heavy rain. Thankfully, not only was there very little rain but we also had a lovely yard and comfy lawn rockers for watching the show.
3. Fireworks live or on television? Live and upfront. Some of the noise makers make the windows rattle. A bit loud for me, if I’m honest.
4. Music playing during the live fireworks or just the ooohhs and aaahhhs? Just ooohhs and aaahhs.
5. Big shindig party or small family gathering? This is my friend’s home and her guest list which, typically, is rather small. I will admit, we were surprised when we arrived this year and there were quite a few guests. Quite a few. And most were folks that I did not know. Not exactly my comfort zone but it did not take long for everyone to “find their people” and it was a great evening. Our friends are great hosts and really know how to make everyone feel welcome and relaxed.
6. Wear special Red, White, and Blue clothes? I actually do try and dress a bit patriotic..although I rarely wear red. Red does me no favors. I usually wear blue and white but I have some red star earrings. They are a bit over the top but I break them out one day of the year! Truth be told, I might be getting a tad old for all that. I did convince hubby to wear navy shorts and a white shirt. About as wild as we get:)
7. What about Red, White and Blue dishes or desserts? We did have the traditional cookout food: pasta salads, potato salad, chips and about 100 different dips to go with those chips. And of course baked beans. I made a Patriotic Trifle and I think it was the only dessert that went with the theme – ha. There were some delicious looking desserts though – including banana pudding!! Truthfully, there was a lot (A LOT) of dessert left over. I think it might have been all.those.cheeseburgers!!
8. Decorate outside just for the Fourth or fly a flag all year? We do decorate the porch and bit in the yard. And we put up flag buntings on the porch as well. We do not have a place to fly a flag all year but I don’t know that we would anyways. I think they look nice, and make a bigger impact, when I use them only once or twice a year. I like the patriotic decor but, truthfully, I am ready for it to be put away. Ha. I’ll probably keep using my mug for awhile longer, though. I like it:)
Thanks for starting your week off here friends. Here’s to finding all the way to stay cool this week. No break in our excessive heat around here…but hooray for summer!!
It sounds as if you had a lovely Fourth of July celebration, Jennifer. I’m glad. Ours was quiet. I’ve not been feeling my best and we just enjoyed spending our time quietly and hearing our neighbors put off fireworks. We are thankful for the founding of our country and did some reading on that as well. May we treasure the freedoms we still have here in this country and do our part to preserve them.
Sounds like a nice long weekend! It´s hot here, too, but it´s all good (as I sit in my air conditioned family room!). We had quite a bit of needed rain over the long weekend but the rain, for the most part, played nicely and only rained in the mornings so all afternoon/ evening festivities happened. It would be neat to see fireworks in our nations´s capital! I think we need a picture of your earrings… I bought a new pair this year- they are heart shaped with an American flag motif. I bit gaudy but fun for this time of year! Have a great Monday!!
what fun! We had a boring one this year but my family is all coming in this weekend so we will be celebrating then!!
Hello! I am so glad you shared the questions here! I love reading your answers. I think your trifle looks like it would be amazing! Stay cool and have a cozy summer day, my friend.
Thank you for sharing how you spent your 4th of July this year, Jennifer. It is always good to hear how others celebrate .
That sounds like a lovely 4th of July! We had threat of rain (and some actual downpours) all 4 day of the long weekend but were thankful that the rain held off for our actual family cookout. We too had lots and lots of burgers and some hot dogs (and even some chicken and pulled pork).
Hi Jennifer. I’m glad you enjoyed a nice, long holiday weekend. I loved reading your questions and answers! We also had hamburgers and hotdogs. I usually decorate outside with a few small flags in my flower pots. I did hang a cute red, white, and blue fabric garland in the kitchen, which I found on Etsy. I guess I was feeling a little extra patriotic this year. I hope you are staying cool as it’s really hot here in NC with a heat index of around 100 degrees. I love summer, but I could use a bit of a cool down. I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon though. Have a great week!
Hello Jennifer, I thoroughly enjoyed your 4th of July post, the photos and the wonderful read. Thank you so much and enjoy the rest of your week. Incredibly hot here so if you are having the same, stay cool my friend 🙂
Hi Jennifer 🙂 This was a fun post 🙂 I am definitely a burger person. We grilled burgers for the 4th. It’s one of the holidays that I love to decorate for, although I’ve pared down a lot. We always leave our flag up in the front yard. The problem is that they aren’t made to last these days. The wind keeps tearing it and we’ve had to replace it a few times. I’m glad you had a good 4th! Have a great week 🙂
Jennifer, I loved hearing about your holiday. The 4th brings back warm childhood memories of parades and flags, fireworks and catching lightning bugs and all those good things.