Sweet Saturday Sky

Happy Fifth of July! Yes, Independence Day was yesterday, but today marks the beginning of birthday celebrations for me. As a child, I always loved how thoughtful people were to light off fireworks for me. No, I didn't know the definition of self-centered. My birthday isn't until next week, but I started out well today with a trip to The Yarn Lady to pick up more sock yarn (!) and get my birthday discount. I'm now all set for our upcoming vacation. The sky photo is from 3 July as the marine layer slipped away in the morning. Our crazy "cloudy" mornings confuse a lot of people. We had a difficult time convincing my MIL that it wasn't going to rain when she visited during June Gloom. Elizabeth Bird was convinced that she had the power to bring clouds to Southern California when she was here last week. No, it's just marine layer. No rain. We won't have rain for months. All that sun does give us other things. Here is a very small view of the piles of lemons I squeezed yesterday.

Another Glorious Fourth

Around here, the Fourth of July is a big deal. We live in one of the few cities in the state that allows "safe and sane" fireworks. On 1 July, fireworks stands open to sell expensive ways to blow up money and make a big bang or flash at the same time. I admit that I do enjoy a good fireworks display and I understand that many nonprofit groups make a significant portion of their annual fundraising through fireworks sales. I just don't like burning money. Young Man dreams of setting off fireworks, but when the time to shell out money comes around, he shows that he has learned well from his parents. We agreed to spent $10 and he had to pay for anything beyond that. He poured over the ad from the closest stand. He thought hard about the big assortments. Then he spent $3 of his own money to get the small bag of things that he really wanted: ground bloom flowers, snakes, strobes, smoke bombs, and sparklers.

The bigger part of the event is our annual block party. Yesterday, I baked a cake for the event. This morning, I juiced enough lemons to make nine gallons of lemonade. At noon, the neighbors blocked off the street and we set up our easy-up canopies and our folding tables. There was more food than any street of people could eat, wonderful neighbors that we don't see often enough, and another year of fabulous memories. One of the highlights is the annual grilling competition. It isn't an official contest, but the families definitely do not share their secrets. The carne asada is to die for! Mr. Engineer and I over ate and are very happy. Young Man probably didn't eat enough, but he found a day-long pickup game of soccer. Before the food was even set out we had little girls asking if we were the ones who gave away sno-cones. After the first round of food, we brought out our shaved ice and syrups and had an immediate following. Mr. Engineer felt very much like the Pied Piper as children followed him to get their treats. Everyone was happy!

As the sun went down, we put away the canopies and tables and pulled out an old, beat-up ladder. The ladder was used as a platform for the fireworks. Safe and sane fireworks don't shoot up in the air, they just spray sparks. The effect is enhanced by putting them up a few feet off the ground. We have one neighbor who loves to light off fireworks and he is willing to do his display for us. We clean up afterwards for him and we all enjoy the show together.

Booking Through Thursday - Holidays

It’s a holiday weekend here in the U.S., so let’s keep today’s question simple–What are you reading? Anything special? Any particularly juicy summer reading?

Oh, thank you for an easy one. My brain is mush tonight, but the proposals went out! On top of that, a cake has been baked for the July 4th block party, a coffee cake has been baked for breakfast and the entire family has airline tickets for the entire family vacation! It has been a good week and we are looking forward to a great block party. The only downside is that Young Man came home with a wicked sunburn. He spent the day at a water park and the good coat of sunscreen that I gave him this morning didn't hold up through an entire day of water. Apparently, he had the opportunity to reapply, but claims there wasn't enough time. I seriously hate that t-shirts aren't allowed on the water slides and that the lines to get to the top of the slides are unshaded.

Anyway, on to books. My main book right now is the book club selection for July. We are reading Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. This is a complete about face from the rather depressing books I have been reading lately. This one is almost unbelievably uplifting. No, it is not great literature, but it is a great summer read. I have quite a stack of vacation reading ready, but I couldn't resist picking up a total fluff book today. I grabbed Maggie Sefton's A Killer Stitch. This is perfect for a no-thinking vacation!

Wordless Wednesday - Apricot Version

10 on Tuesday - Sports to Play/Watch

Admittedly, I'm a watcher, not a player.

1. Lacrosse - Four years ago, I barely knew what this sport was and now it is my favorite sport to watch. It is a wild game and there are few breaks.

2. Baseball - My big brother indoctrinated me into the ways of the baseball fan and taught me well about the addiction that is being a Twins fan. I will always be a Twins fan, but I will root for the home team whoever it is.

3. Soccer - Not on TV, but kid soccer is fun. Not precise, mind you, but fun.

4. Football - It's just not the same on TV as it is in the student section with a nice, north wind blowing snow into your face, but it's still a fun game.

5. Swimming - Well, every four years, I enjoy it.

6. Gymnastics - Again, every four years is enough for me.

7. Hockey - This is another sport that I don't enjoy watching on TV. It is only fun when your feet are cold and there is a very real possibility of a puck flying over the barrier at you.

8. Track & Field - Yep, another Olympics sport I enjoy. I even enjoyed the trials in Oregon this weekend.

9. Luge - Those athletes are just nuts!

10. Basketball - Yet again, I prefer it live. I have fond memories of college basketball games where NCAA rules were passed because of our pep band. Ah, the Home of the Bison was a great place for sports!