Fourth of July . . . well, not quite yet . . .

Although it is not the Fourth of July any time too soon (but soon!), it is time to start thinking about our celebrations for the day. Sigh . . . The Fourth of July is not my favorite time of the year. I do love what it represents. I heartily dislike, however, how the meaning of the day is lost in a blast of fire crackers, loud music, and too much food.

When I lived in the mountains, we would walk down to the lake in town and the city would set off beautiful fireworks in red, white, and blue over the water. It was always so much fun to be out walking in the dark and seeing the crowds of people strolling down to share a special moment on the Fourth.

These days, the fireworks start going off two weeks before the actual day. By the looks of the sky, many of the fireworks are definitely not legal. Two children managed to burn down their home setting them off in a closed garage . . . so their parents wouldn't find out. Uh, their parents found out!

Anyway, it would be nice to see the day go back to a simpler celebration but we each do the best we can in the circumstances we know.

I do have a fun idea for the little children attending Fourth of July parties - a firecracker each . . . Oh, not an exploding one! Now is the time to start thinking about this project because you have to remember to save the cardboard tube from the paper towel rolls. You will need on for each person and the preparation is very simple. Check out Walmart or the Dollar Store for tiny trinkets, toys, etc. to put inside the tubes along with some festive candy and gum. You can pack it in with some of the colorful shredded basket filler. Once you have each cardboard tube stuffed, wrap them in red, white, and/or blue paper and tied off the  edges with some curly ribbon. Now, they won't explode but it is a fun way to hand out party favors and keep in the scheme of the day.

Thoughtful smiles to begin the day . . .quotes!

"Good judgment comes from experience, and often experience comes from bad judgment."
-- Rita Mae Brown

"If I knew I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself."
-- Mickey Mantle

"Works of art, in my opinion, are the only objects in the material universe to possess internal order, and that is why, though I don't believe that only art matters, I do believe in Art for Art's sake."
-- E. M. Forster

"I'm worried that the universe will soon need replacing. It's not holding a charge."
-- Edward Chilton