Hey, ronin. Sorry I didn’t have a special Independence Day post, but I was all relaxing this weekend. On the 4th, SarahK and I went whitewater rafting (a very American activity) during which we saw a bald eagle fly over head. I think that’s about as an American weekend as you can have without shooting terrorists. So what were you all up to?
BTW, new Hellbender will post late this afternoon. I’d like to get those out more often, but they’re getting tougher to write. Thanks for the patience of those reading them.
I no longer have any neighbors in the military, so I couldn’t bring my traditional six-pack of good beer to a neighbor in the military. I had a wonderful bicycle ride on Friday, and spent the rest of the day baking bread, listening to the music of Charles Ives and Samuel Barber, and remembering my father and his military service (Omaha Beach and the Battle of the Bulge were part of it). Spent the rest of the week-end reading, playing classical guitar, and working; I’m self-employed, so my work hours are frequently a bit unconventional.
Grilling, grilling, and more grilling!
Searching for oil:
Drilling, drilling and more drilling.
#3 – Posted by: Maggie2 on July 7, 2008 11:19 AM
Did it involve a baby polar bear?
I went over to my parents’ friends’ place, where we barbecued an entire pig shoulder and set off fireworks during a thunderstorm (thankfully there was little rain at the time). Seeing a mortar go off with lightning in the distance behind it is pretty spectacular.
I spent All weekend hitting refresh here on IMAO to see if the new Hellbender was posted.
For the 4th, my wife and I went to visit the parents of my best friend (currently in the Navy) in Michigan’s UP. His dad is a retired Navy lifer–served 47-67, Korea. Brought cheeseburgers, chicken breasts and bratwurst (the real kind from Wisconsin) and cooked them on the grill. After dinner we sat and watched a small- town 4th of July parade, full of vets–no code pinks, hippies or others of their ilk around. (Too bad–we could have worked off some of the food punching them out). Set off lots of fireworks. Watched fireworks. Ate watermelon, lots of watermelon (intrigued by that Viagra comparison…….). Weather was great. Pretty much a perfect long weekend.
Well, having spent the weekend in the Washington D.C. area, I passed the time punching hippies and bi!@#-slapping commies. But alas, it was like trying to empty the Atlantic with a teaspoon. So many left un-punched and un-bi!@#-slapped.
I spent the weekend working on my pickup. That probably sounds pretty American but its an import. So maybe not so much.
We had a cookout/shootout at my in-laws place, 8 fairly secluded acres where we grilled red mean and fired about 25 different weapons, ranging from a silenced .22 all the way up to a gatling gun.
I am currently living in New York, and I used the fact that Pennsylvania will sell you any fireworks you want as long as you aren’t a resident of the state to increase my carbon footprint by about 1000%. My friends and I set off over 150 mortars, 300 bottle rockets, 15 roman candles and 16,000 firecrackers.
It was the best 4th of July ever except that my wife wasn’t there for it.
She comes back from Iraq in a week though, and then we get to do the whole thing AGAIN!!
Friday, 7/4/08: Day off. Wife worked. Mowed lawn. Trimmed vines and mended fence. Made a batch of Watermelon wine. Mixed the watermelon pulp and raisins to make bars. (Delicious). Watched 1776 on TV. Called my folks. Wished them happy 4th. (Both WWII vetrans). Cooked dinner and made Coleslaw. Checked IMAO. Listened to fireworks going off in the distance. Drank beer.
Saturday, 7/5/08: Worked a half day. Wife worked. Took dog and cat to vet. Did load of laundry and washed dishes. Cooked dinner. Watched TV. Checked IMAO. Drank beer.
Sunday, 7/6/08: Slept late. Took wife to breakfast at Huddle House. Bottled last weeks batch of beer. (Octoberfest Vienna Lager with extra Malto Dextrin and hops). Began brewing a new batch. (Weisenbier with lemon juice and honey). Bought a new tub for my goldfish in the backyard. (Blue, 15 gallon). The goldfish is about 5 inches long and 9 years old (how old is that in goldfish years?). Watched StarWars and Harry Potter marathons on TV. Checked IMAO. Drank beer. Happy Independence Day!
My daugher was sick all weekend so we all tried not to get it. Then our cheap stand-up pool got a hole in it and we didn’t notice until the whole yard was flooded (hmmmmm wonder if that had anything to do with my sons poking it with sticks the other day?) So lots of clean-up/patch work. My husband also repaired our sprinklers and cut down a tree. On the Fourth – our church had a service honoring local military families, then we ate lots of food and went to the ocean to watch the fireworks up and down the coast. Oh and kids did those sparkler-thingies!
Traveled south over the weekend to see family “back home.” Spent literally hours at two kitchen tables discussing politics – even though everyone agrees we shan’t be votin’ for no Marxist-commie-pinko-pansy come November.
But the very best part was receiving the email notice that our son, in Iraq, had opened our Hallmark e-card. Now that made for a true American holiday.
I grilled some tasty animals, and watched stuff blow up.
I spent part(most)of my stimulus check on a new gun.