A Red, White & Blue Medley

I love celebrating the Fourth of July!
I love our beautiful flag, everything it stands for and I especially love taking photos of it.

Over the years, I have taken quite a few and have shared them here on my blog.

So until I get some new shots, I will re-share some of the ones you've already seen.

Hopefully by next year at this time, I'll have some new ones!



This one (below) is my favorite.

So it's that time again...Terri is asking the questions on her blog and we answer them on ours.
This week the Medley is all about...

INDEPENDENCE DAY

Well, of course it is!

Terri shares a lot of interesting history about how and why we celebrate the way we do.
Head on over to the Wednesday Medley and read all about it...you may learn something new!

1.  Please share a favorite July 4th memory with us.

It's hard to come up with just one favorite memory...there are many. It seemed like the July 4th holiday many times fell on or near the same time as our annual family reunions...always at the same park in Troy, Ohio for as long as I can remember. It was always such a special time of seeing aunts, uncles and cousins that we hadn't seen for a while. Of course the food was out of this world too. Later on, we would head home and it was time to let off some firecrackers...my dad and brothers were notorious for sneaking around scaring the pants off of us. Mom would make her famous homemade ice cream which always turned out to be a family affair. These were the days before we had an electric ice cream churn and I remember Dad and my brothers all taking turns cranking that handle until it was done! We lived in a neighborhood that included a lake where we all swam as kids and on the 4th, a fireworks display was put on by the local fire department right on the shore of the lake. Oohing and aahing over the reflections of the fireworks on the water was like getting a double dose of excitement...especially when you're a kid!

2.  How do you plan to spend tomorrow?  If you are working, will you celebrate later?

Neither one of us has to work on the 4th...it's great when a holiday is attached to a 3-day weekend making it a 4-day weekend! We plan to leave for Tennessee tonight (sometime after midnight so technically it will be Thursday) so Jim can get a few hours of sleep before the trip. We should get there mid-morning on the 4th and I imagine that we'll be doing some porch sitting and just chilling out once we arrive. It always seems to be cooler up there on top of the mountain with a lovely breeze. We will also be celebrating a couple of birthdays. Carrie's dad has been staying with them since he was diagnosed with cancer and is having treatments at Vanderbilt...the 4th is also his birthday and Adam's is the following week so we will be celebrating both of them. I'm sure there will some good food involved as well...there always is...and Adam is already scoping out the area for the best place to take in a great fireworks show...the perfect way to top off the day. 

3. Is there a favorite foods always reserved for your 4th of July
celebration?

Watermelon...ya gotta have a good, sweet watermelon! I don't really know what all will be on our menu but I always love a good hotdog on the 4th of July too...there's just something so "American" about a great hotdog!

And lemonade is always good...but for some reason it tastes a little better on the Fourth of July!

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?

Fireworks that are illegal in North Carolina include firecrackers, ones that spin on the ground, roman candles, bottle rockets, or any aerial fireworks. Essentially, any firework that explodes or leaves the ground is not legal in North Carolina. Basically they are NOT the ones that you will find in Walmart or the grocery stores. Now Tennessee is a different story and there is a great place that sells all kinds of them right off the highway on our way. We have stopped there many times with the grandsons and...what is it that they say about a kid in a candy store??

5.  Do you have a favorite movie that you always watch sometime during the 4th of July?

Watching a movie is actually the furthest thing from my mind on the Fourth of July.

6.  Share something from your week, please.

A short work week always makes me happy but when I'm getting ready to travel, there is always so much extra to do. I baked banana-nut breads on Saturday to take.....now if I can just remember to get them out of the freezer along with the black raspberries to make the pie. Also on my list of things to do was to bathe the dogs and wash all of their bedding...done! I am finally beginning to feel more like my old self (is that a good thing or a bad thing??) after all of that brain fog and craziness when I was taking those high doses of steroids. I have been tapering off of them for the past several weeks and I take my last 5mg dose on Friday! YEEHAW! I am concentrating now on getting myself as fit as possible (for me) before my surgery...mostly working on my core, hoping for a quicker recovery period. And last but not least, I want to wish you all a HAPPY and SAFE Independence Day!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!



Let Hodgepodge Ring

Gee, it's hard to believe that half of 2018 will be over in a few days, isn't it?

And it's always kind of messed up when the 4th of July falls in the middle of the week.

But we'll be taking a few days off anyway to go see our Tennessee bunch late that evening.

We almost always travel at night to avoid the traffic...Jim drives and I sleep. 😉
Hopefully we will avoid most of the 47 million others who will be traveling next week...
...47 MILLION...can you believe that?



I heard that on TV so surely it must be true, right?
Maybe it's just FAKE NEWS, who knows,
but I doubt seriously that those 47 million will be starting out at 3:00 am on July 5th,
heading towards Nashville...so I think we're good!
~
So it's time for some red, white an blue Hodgepodge questions.


Joyce asks the questions on her blog and we answer them on ours.

1. Security or freedom? Can you have both? Explain.

If I am understanding the question correctly, I think we should be able to have both. Freedom and security go hand in hand...both are basic rights that we all should have as human beings but when it comes to those rights, we are required to hold up our end of the deal. There is so much back and forth going on today about rights being infringed upon, etc., etc. but when it comes to going against the law or threatening others, one's freedom and security can become jeopardized, as they should be if there is reason to believe there is a real threat involved. In a perfect world, they both work together in harmony but the only 'perfect world' exists only in the heavenly realm. So until I make it there, I will place my hope in the One who gives me all the security and freedom I could ever want.

2. If you could visit any historical American site what would it be? Why?

There are many places I would love to visit, some are right here in my own state...one of them is the Biltmore Estate. I can't believe I have lived here for over 25 years and have never made it there. Another place is Pennsylvania Dutch country. Why? Although a Downton Abbey fan like me would much enjoy seeing first hand what it would be like to live in such opulence, the other part of me, the one who loves the country and rusty, crusty things, would also enjoy knowing what it's like to live that simple, polar-opposite lifestyle.

3. Free as a bird, free reign, be free of, free enterprise, free trip, walk away scot free, free for all...which 'free' phrase can best be applied to your life in recent days or weeks? Explain.

I wish I could answer this question by telling you all about the free trip that I won, but I didn't win any trip. Joyce, you've got me stumped!

4. Something in your frig that's red?

Something in your house that's white?

Something in your view that's blue? 

5. July 27th is National New Jersey Day. Have you ever visited The Garden State? No. If so where did you go? Are there diners where you live? Yes, Blue Ribbon Diner is one of our favorite places to eat. Have you tried Taylor Pork Roll? No...never heard of it. Do you like to play Monopoly? Haven't played since I was a kid. Salt water taffy-yay or nay? Depends on the flavor. How do you feel about shopping at the mall? Not a fan. Springsteen, Sinatra, or Bon Jovi-you have to pick one. There was a time I may have picked Bon Jovi but the older I get, I have found that when I do listen to secular music, I get more pleasure from easy-listening classics... so if I had to listen to one of the three, Sinatra would get my vote.

Raise your hand if you know why these add-on questions are appropriate on National NJ Day.

I'm a big dummy...I give up.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I've been saving this one especially for this week! 😁

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July!