fourth recap

The Fourth of July turned on summer like a switch. Julie, Kim, Erik and I went to Genie's for breakfast, and then we (minus Erik) took Kim to the airport and ran errands. I went for a short run, and even though it was hot then at 1pm, it got much hotter for the Deep Fried 4th party a coworker invited us to. I had deep fried peanutbutter & jelly sandwich, sweet potato, Walla Walla onion, zucchini, and okra. There were many more interesting items there to be battered and fried such as Scotch eggs, pretzel-covered cheese sticks, and bacon-wrapped Twinkies.

Erik and I made two pilgrimages to 7-11, making the holiday official with slurpees and delighting in the Kwiki Mart-ization to promote the new Simpsons movie. We hung out at Erik's parents' house for a while, and set off fireworks with Erik's brother, his wife, and our nephew. It was his first enjoyable fireworks experience; at four years old, he's sensitive to sudden loud noises. He was still nervous and needed to cuddle while the sparks flew, but afterwards he couldn't wait to pick out the next one to light.

We went home around 9pm, loaded a water bottle with red wine, and went down to a dock on the river to watch fireworks and use the new tripod. It was a gorgeous evening, the kind that reconfirms my suspicion that everyone on the east coast is nuts. I can walk to the river from my house here, just before the main fireworks start, find a place to sit with a view of at least three different displays. The heat of the day still sits in pockets on the cement, but insistent breezes erase sweat, insects, and cares. Sweet summer evening-- like nothing I grew up with.

Last night I made a rather elaborate four-dish dinner, ate outside, gardened, and still went out to First Thursday for a short hour to walk around with John. Walking-- it's the new reading.