Independence Day

It was a day of simple, quiet, but satisfying activity... and food... from the pictures I got it looks mostly like food.

But first my dad, two of my sisters, and I began our morning with a leisurely bike ride through the neighborhood and along the bayou.

Daddy grilled hamburgers and corn on the cob for lunch. We don't eat that much bread in my family. This is hamburgers our way! It was good, let me tell you!

One of my sisters and I had to work later on in the day. (Who knew that such a large portion of the population thinks shopping at the outlet mall is the perfect way to celebrate Independence Day? I don't want to start complaining, so let's look at the bright side: time-and-a-half holiday pay!)

In the evening we sat around and ate homemade ice cream cake while our neighbors blew up fireworks all around us. Andrea baked a gluten-free pound cake and made banana-berry ice cream too (her own recipe). It's covered with whipped heavy cream, blueberries, and strawberries.

Earlier this week, I copied the entire Declaration of Independence by hand, just to familiarize myself with it. (I invited my family to join me, but even they just gave me blank looks. "That sounds like school." ) Next year I might copy sections on parchment in calligraphy. The Bill of Rights too. Totally serious. When you write something, you force yourself to focus on what the words mean and you give yourself time to ponder it. Not that I worship the Declaration or the Constitution. They're not absolute truth; I'm sure there are some flaws somewhere in them still. But those flaws are minor, and overall, I think these documents have worked really well over the last couple hundred years, and given a chance, I think they still work for the USA today. It took me a couple of hours to copy the Declaration, but I was watching/ listening to YouTube videos at the same time (patriotic bluegrass, patriotic hymns, military songs, you know, stuff to put me in the mood).

Now on to more frivolous things:

My sisters always do holiday themed manis and pedis. I hadn't painted my nails in years because polish damages my nails, but I really wanted to do some glitter-tipped nails and colored French manicures (I've got Pinterest to blame for that. I've had a Nails pinboard for several months, so I was setting myself up to fall for the temptation at one time or another).

It wasn't an excitement-driven day; I didn't go to any fire works or parades or patriotic concerts or battle reenactments or anything like that. My celebrations had little to do with the Revolutionary War or the Founding Fathers. What I did was enjoy the benefits of living in a country that has provided its citizens freedom and security, the sort that allows them to live a quiet, happy, prosperous life. I love the USA, and thank You, God, for letting this country exist and me be one of the ones who get to live in it!