Hooray for the Red, White, & Blue Wednesday Medley!

With Independence Day tomorrow, Terri @ Your Friend From Florida is feeling patriotic and has asked us to answer some questions in honor of the day. Please feel free to visit her blog and join in the fun!

1.  Please share a favorite July 4th memory with us.  When I was a kid, July 4th was just as big a deal as Christmas! The big Catholic church on the hill above my parents' house had bells that played music and I'd always wake up on the 4th to those bells ringing out God Bless America and Hooray for the Red, White & Blue. 

After breakfast we'd head downtown to find a parking spot about (what seemed like) a mile from Main St. and lug our lawn chairs with us until we'd find a good spot along the curb to watch the parade. Some years it was tough to find a spot because our town has a HUGE parade and the streets are packed full. For a good 2 hours we'd sit and cheer for the bands and majorettes, stand and salute the veterans, laugh at the clowns, and wave at the 4th of July Queen and just enjoy all the other floats, firetrucks and whatnot.

When the parade ended we'd jump up, grab our chairs and race back to the car in the hope of beating the crowd and not getting stuck in traffic. We weren't always successful.

Back at home, our little section of the neighborhood (which had the oldest homes on the block and we'd known the neighbors forever and considered them family) always had a neighborhood picnic. We shared about 6 yards so we kids had plenty of room for games of tag, wiffle ball, and hide and seek. One neighbor had a pool. Everyone brought tons of food and back then the mixed drinks flowed so everyone would be laughing and carrying on.

When it started to get dark the moms would drag out old blankets and we'd spread them on the front lawns of the houses facing town and stake out our spot. Back then the trees were much smaller and we had a clear view of the fireworks being set off at the football stadium. These days the trees block the view.

Once the fireworks were over the party would start to break up with everyone carrying dishes and tired kids home. It was an awesome neighborhood. I still live here and some of the same neighbors are still right here, too, but times have changed and the closeness has faded over the years. I really miss those days.

2.  How do you plan to spend tomorrow?  If you are working, will you celebrate later?  Yes, I am working and so is Tim. I'll be home by a little after 4:00 and hopefully, Tim will be, too. Our son and his family are coming earlier in the day and going to the local state park to swim for a while. Our daughter and her family are going to meet them there if the weather is good. Once Tim and I get home we'll have a cookout and my mom and stepdad will come, too.

3.  Is there a favorite food always reserved for your 4th of July celebration?  No, I can't think of anything we only eat on the 4th. We'll be having burgers, hotdogs, baked beans, potato salad, jello salad, maybe corn (one of the farms thought they'd have some for the 4th), brownies, cupcakes, ice cream, and chips.

4.  In Florida, you can buy all kinds of fireworks, including some that fly high and burst into pretty cascades.  Are fireworks legal in your state/community and does anyone you know put on a display for your neighborhood?  They only became legal a year or two ago, but people have been crossing the state line to buy them and bring them back for my whole life. Yes, in spite of the town having a large display many families in the neighborhood set off their own. I don't mind it as much now that our dog who was terrified of them has passed.

5.  Do you have a favorite movie that you always watch sometime during the 4th of July?  We usually end up watching Will Smith's Independence Day at some point, but I'm not sure we'll have time this year.

6.  Share something from your week, please.  It's not been a great week. It's so stinking hot and humid. We've been hit with storm after storm and soooo much rain. The 4th is actually supposed to be the hottest day of them all. There has been drama going on at work and it's been...unpleasant. I'm hoping it will be less today.