The 4th the way it should be

We were home by nine p.m. It's an hour later and only the occasional 'boom' outside yet. It will get more frequent. believe me. One lucky thing, we have a dog who is oblivious to fireworks and thunderstorms, couldn't bother him in the least. One of Jack and Sherry's dogs, Vivian, was already wound a little tight from a couple of firecrackers nearby.

It was just 7 of us--Jack and Sherry, Brandy, Sherry's sister, Mike, their next door neighbor we know well, Maureen from Sherry and Bern's women's group and Bern and me. The table in the back yard has 8 chairs...one for the bucket of grilled corn and one for each of us.

Jack did some amazing New Orleans shrimp to put on toast. I made my famous deviled eggs (requested by Sherry, so at least famous with her and she always is at our house for Easter when I do the eggs). Cheese and red/white and blue braunswieger  (sp--my spell check is down: liver cheese with red, white and blue stuff on it) hot dogs (withe every imaginable topping), corn, Mike's potato salad and Jack's American flag cake with blueberries, cherries and pineapple smothered in whipped cream.

Parties in the neighborhood spilled sound over. One group was playing basketball after several beers--not a bad way to celebrate our nation.

But we were quite and all hate Trump and like Hillary and can't explain why we have to have an election if Americans (who celebrate their independence this day) are smart enough to deserve this country.

Great food, good friends, wine and bourbon and breezy weather and three dogs (2 Jack and Sherry's, one Mike's) and two new kittens for Jack and Sherry, and being free to do what we want.

It doesn't get much better than that. And going to bed before the real fireworks--which I can sleep through, believe me...a perfect way to honor our nation.