We had such a quiet day. We didn't leave the property all day. I was under some-sort of delusional belief that today was a National Holiday and everything would be closed, but when I spoke with my sister today, she was downtown Portland at Nordstorm. She said everything was open and shops were busy. Where have I been? I sent DT to the market yesterday, yet all the grocers were open today. Are we failing as a country that we can't go one day without Nordstrom or Safeway? Geesh.
Anyway, all this stay-at-home relaxing with an afternoon BBQ to celebrate our nation's birthday required a lot of cooking! For some reason, I decided to bake a cake. We will never eat all of this small cake, but I was compelled to produce something red, white and blue festive for the holiday.
Since it was Independence Day, I was also compelled to make a potato salad... which I am sure 50 million Americans were also doing this morning. Nothing says the 4th like a bowl of tater salad.
I continued on my quest today. Three miles. On the treadmill... while watching the Mariners beat the Oakland A's on television. Four days into the month and I am right on schedule!The weather was spectacular! 80 degrees. Sunny. No wind. Perfect. We actually dined on our deck for the first time this year. (So sad that it took until July for a warm-enough day.) We invited no guests, but had a few gate crashers anyway:
The hummingbirds were perched in the trees above the deck, waiting to sneak a snack at their feeder.
A few goldfinch were waiting for a chance to have a drink at the bird bath on our deck - a very popular local watering hole.
We use a plastic dish (that is supposed to be placed under a plant to catch water) as a bird bath. The big rock (we keep in the center of the bowl to keep our birdbath from blowing away) is a favorite resting spot for birds to perch as they have a drink or a bath.
My personal grill chef cooked chicken and put a little char on two ears of corn (that I will be using in a salad Wednesday).
Perfect.
Extra Crispy.
Winner. Winner. Chicken Dinner. Two additional ears of corn were boiled for our dining pleasure this evening. There was watermelon too! After dinner we enjoyed (part of) the Fourth of July spectacular on Public Broadcasting. Some of the music choices completely confused me... Little Richard singing Miss Molly? Songs from Phantom of the Opera? Huh? What do these tunes have to do with Independence Day? Stoopid... however... the fireworks display was simply breathtaking.I wrote earlier that we had a quiet day. Our evening was not so quiet. Though we live fairly rural, we heard quite a bit of fireworks, explosions, bombs, fire crackers and gun shot all evening. The Great Horned Owl living in the forest behind our house is flying from tree to tree, unable to find a quiet place to perch. The poor house finch that has made a nest atop the stereo speaker under the eaves on our deck is so confused, she is trying to fly into the windows of our house. She cannot find her nest! Mary has been texting that her dogs are completely freaking out. Independence Day celebrations were not designed for G-d's creatures. Stay safe, everyone.
Here's hoping you had a fun day celebrating the 4th of July!
Until my next update, I remain, your LIVE FREE OR DIE correspondent.