Fireworks.

 When I was a kid fireworks were so exciting to me.

I recall going to what we called "The Dock" in my hometown. It is on the water/Lake Erie and we'd watch the fireworks over the water from sitting on the hood of our car with a blanket. My mom, dad, and my sister. 

When I met Rick he invited me to his hometown over the 4th holiday. 

I went to his whopping big town of just under 2k and we had a blanket at this park and you could swear they were right over your head and were touchable.  Now it was the best fireworks I had seen up to this point.

Then we were living in the DC Metro area. We got on our boat and we watched the fireworks that were high above all the DC monuments while on the Potomac. It was spectacular! It was like a photograph.

And again, I thought it couldn't get any better.

Then we got a lake house at Smith Mountain Lake. 

Our neighbor hired a team and they put on a big show of fireworks for all his family and friends staying with them over the 4th. 

Name Drop - My neighbor was David Balducci, the author. Who else could afford to do such a thing right?

We would load up our boat with our dog and a cooler of cocktails and sit anchored in the cove and watch the fireworks that were so close and so fabulous. I don't know if it was because it was so dark there, no city lights or street lights etc but it made the fireworks the best. 

Each year when over we'd honk, wave and yell thank you!  

Those were by far our favorite of all time. 

And while most dogs are afraid of the fireworks Izzy stared at them while sitting in the front of the boat like she knew what was going one. It always made us laugh. 

This year we saw no fireworks. Raleigh had them but it rained for a bit. Then there were technical difficulties. So all was canceled.

We found it funny because it seemed so typical of here.

We watched the capitol fireworks on TV in the cool air of our home with our cocktail of choice in our pj's.  

It's so damn hot here as it is in most of the country right now so being outside isn't our favorite thing. We have a misting fan for outside. We cleaned it up this spring and unplugged all the pollen etc in the "thingies"

that mist. It works perfectly now. We sat out there under the gazebo the other evening because it was only 87 at 8p. But even with the misting fan, the humidity was a bit much. We didn't last long, just under an hour. We have become big-time weather wusses in summer here.

The only thing thriving this year outside are my plants. I have learned that most of the things I was used to planting in boxes and elsewhere didn't like the heat here. So I had to learn what works in this environment. The folks at the nursery where I got plants this spring were very helpful.  This year my vincas and portalucas are thriving. The patio is awash in color. 

I hope you all had a fun and relaxing 4th and saw some great fireworks.