4th of July 2020

I am two days late in posting about our Independence Day celebrations. But here are the details of the shindig! First off, I had just found out that my youngest son, Will, the father of my grandbaby, was having bad chest pain and had been tested for Covid 19. He has allergies and asthma, and is prone to things like pneumonia, and it’s best to be safe. But the test wouldn't be back for 3-5 days. He was tested Thursday, and on this Tuesday the results are not back. So there was that. And also my daughter-in-law Emiley had just come back that Friday from a family vacation to Florida. Yeah. When they were calling it the Corona epicenter and comparing it to New York in the spring. So, I was equally as filled with trepidation about the party as I was with excitement.

I threw myself into decorating. If we had been able to have it inside, the house would have already been festively decorated, but all gatherings have been outside for months. Above you see the old washtub my hubby found for me at a dump. Fill it with ice and it makes the perfect container for sodas. I usually do pitchers of tea and limeade, but I decided individual bottles would make for less possibility of spread.

I made separate tables to the outside for Emily and Seth, and Will, Belle, and baby Vincent, so that they were farthest away from my moma and pop. Duane and I sat at the picnic table with Devin and Savannah, and Mom and Pop had their own small table. Lots of separation! Each table had different vintage linens and containers of hydrangeas and flags. I love hydrangeas because one blossom is a bouquet, just stuff it in some water. Seeing that I have three bushes the size of houses, I could probably make bouquets for everyone in the county! And hanging from the garage posts (we call it a pavilion to be fancy ;) you can see my potholder and hankie banner. I made this years ago (I also made one with pinks and pastels that is twice as long) so that I could enjoy my potholders out in the open. And I can just pick the stitching out anytime I want to take them off.

Don't you love the Campfire Marshmallow tin? It reads, "The Original FOOD". Now what does that mean? Were marshmallows once considered a necessary and healthy food for daily consumption? Ha! Who knows? they also used to put cocaine in Coca-cola :)























I let my folks go through the line first; Pop is going in for seconds in the picture. Then I served plates and drinks to Emiley and Will, while they stayed at their tables. Then we all sanitized hands and went through the line. I made Barefoot Contessa's Lemon Parmesan Chicken breasts. They are really good, really fast, and they are good at tasty temperature. To see the way I make them, find the recipe HERE. I also made a pasta salad with avocados, bacon, cucumbers, and baby tomatoes with a basil and garlic dressing, and my Parker House Rolls. See my Cheater Bread Machine recipe for these buttery rolls HERE. Moma made tater salad and baked beans. It was a yummy spread!

You may have noticed the white netting around the buffet table in the above pictures. It is actually a bed netting that I found at Bed, Bath, and Beyond ages ago when I had a gift certificate. It cost $19.99. I used it over the bed for a romantic look for a while. But since then it has gone around picnic tables and wedding cake tables for years! I'm telling you, it's the greatest thing ever! You can sit out all your food and keep it safe from bugs and critters till folks are ready to eat. And it looks luv-er-ly at the same time ;). Above you see the dessert side set up. I made a strawberry galette and a nectarine and blueberry one. But the homemade ice creams were the main thing I was excited about all week! See that cute little vintage enamel baby tub? It has a towel in the bottom and then gets filled with ice, then the ice cream gets settled into it when dessert time comes. Homemade ice cream melts so quickly that you have to do this to keep it firm. What did I make? I thought you'd never ask! I made everyone's firm favorite- coffee chocolate chunk. But I also dug the last of my frozen wild blackberries out and made a Blackberry Buttermilk Sorbet that is seriously a little bit of heaven in your mouth! I share the recipe in Blackberries- 4 ways in 2 Days, HERE. The only difference is that this time I churned it in my machine instead of just freezing it in the freezer. But it works both ways! And then I made one that I did a few years back for an old-fashioned Ice Cream Social, HERE. It was so fun, and it was when I invented my 4B Ice cream, otherwise known as brown sugar and bacon brittle. You read that right!I made my pecan brittle recipe but use finely chopped fried bacon instead of the nuts. Smash that into shards and mix it into the ice cream for bites that have a crunch of salty sweet! My daughter-in-law Savvy has been begging me to make it again. I will try to do another post with the recipes :)

My oldest son, Devin, and his wife Savannah came early, so I actually got to have a picture with me in it! Then I realized I was still in my apron (palm to the face). So I whipped it off and begged the Hubby for another one! Savvy's dress is one I found for her that looks vintage. Doesn't she look adorable in it?!! (disregard my weird smile that looks like my lips are stuck to my teeth, ugh)

And here is Will, giving the most precious chunka-munka Vincent his bottle. I melt every time I see him!

And here is his dear moma, Belle, bouncing him to sleep. My Pop says she's going to have legs like a bodybuilder from bouncing him like that!

When it was dark enough to have our fireworks show we began with saluting the flag while singing the National Anthem. I deeply love America, despite her flaws, and patriotic songs really touch me. Our little town canceled their festivities because of the dangers of crowding. It was simply unthinkable to not have the Anthem at our Independence Day. I knew I would be too nervous and emotional to sing it in front of everyone. So I recorded it and played it, so whoever wanted could sing along. I'm putting it on here not because I can sing well, but because I sing it out of love. Love for all of the good people out there who go about trying to live life the very best that they can, and love for what I know our country can be.

 I've told you before- I love fireworks. I just plain old love the smell of gunpowder! And every year I think ours is the most amazing yet. I also have to say that about two weeks before the date Moma told me that she thought the kids had been shooting off fireworks already. Uhmm...I had to disclose that it was actually the hubby and I (smirk). We had some glorious displays!

Now I have something to confess. I've have been using a $50 dollar phone for years. And if I sent someone pictures from it, the text reply was generally, "What IS that?!" Since I've only had two cell phones in all these years and never lost or broken either, my Hubby decided to buy me a real fancy one. I wasn't super excited because I didn't want to have to learn how to use it! But then he told me that it would take such great pictures that I wouldn't have to lug my camera around anymore. Well, okay then! And so all the pictures for this post were from my new phone. However, I tried to take a video of everyone running about, laughing, and swirling their sparklers. It was so lovely, then I looked down to realize I wasn't recording (weeping sounds). When I finally figured it out, most of the sparklers were about out, and people were winding down. But here are a few minutes of our jollity anyway :)

 "Rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air", this little angel slept through it all. I cannot wait till the time when I can hold him anytime I want to!

So, what started with a lot of uncertainly and trepidation ended with a literal BANG! It was a lovely night, and we were all together, even while separated. As for what will happen next, and what test results will say, and who will have troubles next...who can say? I am trying to live day by day, moment to moment, but it not easy for me. So I savor every little victory, and choose to push any sadness to the back of my mind. I'll close with a quote by Walt Whitman, "We were together. I forget the rest."


*and now I find that the videos I loaded won't play. Oh, woe is me/are my computer skills :)