Thank you. Its is crazy cold and rainy here in New England, hopefully Sunday will be a tad better!

Thank you, Tina! We are headed to the lake in the morning and plan to just chill and grill. The weather is great so far and predictions are good for the weekend, not scorching hot. Hope everyone enjoys a safe, happy weekend.

We are at our lake cabin - chillin and grillin here too. Typical hot summer weather but unusually dry - our lake water level is really low. We’ll be enjoying the lake tomorrow and then an annual family gathering on the 4th. We had it last year but oh so different with masks and fear of Covid. So much to be thankful for this independence day.

And to you, Tina! We have cool temps and forecasts for rain and thunderstorms-- but that's ok for me. I need to complete some work this weekend-- but knowing I would be working over the weekend, I took some time off today.

I had a great time this afternoon-- I went shopping with my sister and niece. We didn't buy anything but went out for a late lunch and then back to their house to spend some time with my mom.

Happy Fourth, everyone! DH fetched DGS this week, so he's here for the holiday. 10 days total. Already hitting the pool mulitple times a day and playing games with Gigi. Going crabbing tonight and watching multi fireworks displays on the beach tomorrow. DD2 is in grad school and didn't find out until Thursday night that they wouldn't have class next Thursday (was not marked as such on calendar), so she was disappointed they could have brought him and stayed. LOL May still, but not during the holiday travel crunch.

Happy 4th to all. We're in the mountains and DS, DDIL arrived yesterday with their 2 little girls, 2 dogs and a little chaos along with them. The 2 year old is a delightful bundle of energy and the 1 month old - well about all I can say is that - I'm not the one breast feeding around the clock. I've forgotten how exhausting those early months. At least we can occupy the 2 year old to give my DDIL a little break. She is fortunate that my son has 4 months paid paternity leave - what a help that is.

Happy 4th. It is a gorgeous day with low humidity and not as hot! Getting ready to do Zumba step, then we have the Immersive Van Gogh tonight with MIL. Not sure what we will do food-wise if DH wants to grill. Weather will be great so probably!

I just got back from visiting my family in Buffalo. My 3 brothers are not doing well so it was important I especially see my one brother who may have only a few weeks left. He has hung in there longer than anyone anticipated. But I got to see my family after a year and a half, including some of my great nephews, so that was the happy portion. My oldest great nephew is 13 and was able to get vaccinated so it is a huge relief for him since he plays sports.

Ugh, travel! Smooth flight on way in, everyone well behaved and wearing masks. Flight home every kind of delay. First they said paperwork, then they said the radar wasn’t working properly and they needed it to fly around thunderstorms, so my 7:45 p.m. flight got delayed to 11:30, then 12:30 when they sent a new plane. DH would have to come get me at 2:15 a.m. However, the crew was past thier time, so my flight was then rescheduled to noon the next day. Fortunately, my sister was up and lives close to the airport, so she was able to come get me at midnight to spend another night. We did take off at noon, and I got an upgrade to first class, so that helped a lot.

Also, when we got back tot he gate, the airport police came on and removed some passengers who were being belligerant. So, I have the whole gamut of experiences. But overall people seemed to be wearing masks and otherwise behaving. No real issues with getting through TSA. I have pre-check but lines were not long anywhere.

Happy 4th! Unfortunately, it's cool with a steady rain here. I have 18 people coming this afternoon for our annual 4th of July Lake Party(used to be pool party in our last house). Looks like it will be a day of indoor games and non stop eating.

gsciencechick... I'm so sorry to hear of your brother's ill health. Hoping for a good outcome. It's good you were able to spend time with him and the rest of your family.

Happy Fourth of July to you all, too! We're spending this holiday weekend by ourselves, as both our adult kids (whom we just spent 8 days with all together in Augusta, GA) are back in their respective Augusta and Dallas homes. Our best friends, who we usually spend holidays with, are off helping their daughter's family move out of state, so it's just us this year. It's been nice, though. Our weather here on our Northern New Mexico mountain seems to have leveled off for the time being. We had sunshine and just perfect weather this morning for eating a long, lazy breakfast (bagels & lox) out on our front portal. Beautiful, quiet and peaceful! DH will start making his delicious homemade strawberry ice cream in a few minutes. It's a longtime Fourth tradition for us. This evening we'll be grilling out Green Chile Cheeseburgers, along with guacamole & chips, while we sip Margaritas. And enjoying some of that ice cream. Tomorrow morning, after another breakfast out on our portal, we'll head off to our village's annual parade, which is always festive and fun. I've already got my steak cut up and marinating for tomorrow evening's Armenian Shish Kebobs. Why it's called "Armenian" is beyond me, but I found the recipe many years ago somewhere, and they're incredibly delicious. Also, a longtime tradition for us. That, along with my Wild Rice Pilaf, some grilled broccolini, and then DH's ice cream for desert. Hopefully, we'll be able to watch the fireworks from our front portal tomorrow night. They'll be setting some off down in the town below us. I'm off now to make up the batter for our Salishan (Resort on the Oregon coast) pancakes for tomorrow's breakfast. Another tradition - LOL! Remember . . . Land of the Free BECAUSE of the Brave . . . Happy Fourth of July!!!

Happy Independence Day to all!

Happy 4th of July to all

We make our plans for the 4th way back in February, when we have to decide what weeks we will offer at the beachhouse. At that time, we expected it would be the first time in decades that we'd be kid-less. DS was headed to Dublin, DD1 to Greece and DD2 to Boston for the summer.

The past 6 or 7 years, we spent the 4th in Maine with extended family. We like to sit by the ocean with a fire and watch fireworks from the town to our right, and fireworks from the nearby resort to our left. It's lovely. But early July can be cold, so with everyone gone we rented the house for this week. To me, August and September is by far the best time in Maine.

Fast forward, 2 of our three kids had their gigs moved to Zoom. : ( So now four of us are home in CT for the 4th. We are having a group over for kayak races on the pond, and I suppose we might see fireworks from somewhere, as we are on a "mountain". I still haven't figure out our menu, as I am trying to tackle CreamPuffs Round 2 first. We will raise the flag and put out the bunting!

Happy 4th of July! BECAUSE of the Brave...so true Lynn!

We celebrated the 4th of July last night at our house. DH grilled Tri Tip and had Baked Beans, squash and zuchini with cheese medly, among other appetizers and Texas Sheet Cake for dessert. Had about 15 people over and the kids swam. Fun night and the weather was PERFECT! We've had so much rain lately and to have a nice, not hot sunny day, for this weekend, was really nice! Today, we are going to be lazy and hang around the pool and grill something.

Ok Lynn...I gotta ask, do you mind sharing your Armenian Shish Kabob recipe? I googled it and found some, but quite a few different recipes.

Olliesmom, here's my recipe:

Lynn’s Armenian Shish Kebobs Serves 6

Marinade Ingredients

¨ 1/2 cup olive oil

¨ 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

¨ 1 teaspoon salt

¨ 1 teaspoon dried marjoram, crushed

¨ 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

¨ 1/2 teaspoon pepper

¨ 1 clove garlic, crushed

¨ 1/2 cup chopped red onion

¨ 1/8-1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Kebob Ingredients

¨ 2 lbs sirloin steak or London Broil, cubed

¨ Green bell peppers, cut into approx. 1 1/2” squares (or other cut veggies, if you prefer)

¨ Red bell peppers. cut into approx. 1 1/2” squares

¨ Fresh mushrooms, whole & stemmed

¨ Sweet red onion, cut into squares, about 1 1/2”

Directions:

1) Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a large Ziploc bag or glass dish; add cubed meat and stir to coat. Refrigerate approximately 8 hours (or overnight), turning bag or stirring meat occasionally.

2) The day of grilling, cut the kebob vegetables into sizes of your choosing. I prefer 1 1/2”.

3) Thread veggies and meat (saving marinade for basting!) onto metal skewers. I like to start and end with an onion piece to keep the kebob ingredients together better.

4) Grill until done to your liking, turning and brushing often with the marinade.

* I like to serve my shish kebobs alongside my Wild Rice Pilaf and a Greek salad. Perhaps some stuffed grape leaves (Dolmas) , as well.

And, for anyone interested, here's my Wild Rice Pilaf recipe. It's a huge favorite in our family and I've been making it at least once a month for a gazilllion years!

Wild Rice with Pinons & Fresh Cilantro Serves 4

* This recipe originally came from the wonderful Santa Fe restaurant, Rancho Encantado

* Pinons are pine nuts (you could also use slivered almonds)

* The cilantro absolutely has to be fresh and not dried!

Ingredients:

¨ 1 cup uncooked wild rice (not a box mix, but just plain wild rice)

¨ 3 cups water

¨ 4+ tablespoons Smart Balance or butter

¨ 1/2 white or yellow onion, diced

¨ 1/4 cup pinons (pine nuts)

¨ 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

¨ Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1) In a medium saucepan, bring rice and water to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for approximately 45 minutes, or until most of rice has “popped”. Strain out any excess water.

2) While rice is cooking, melt Smart Balance (or butter or other butter substitute) in a skillet. Add onions and sauté for about 4 minutes, or until just tender. Add pinons and sauté a bit further until slightly toasted.

3) Stir onion mixture into cooked and drained wild rice. Add in fresh cilantro and toss to combine. **Add salt & pepper to taste. Serve.

** If not serving the wild rice within a few minutes, hold off adding the cilantro until just before serving. Feel free to stir in a few more tablespoons of Smart Balance if needed. This dish should taste silky, and not overly dry.

** This dish freezes well.

Lynn, those recipes look great. We’ve done kabobs in the past, but just hot dogs today to keep it simple. We also grilled a few beyond burgers.

Eld, thank you for your thoughts.

It was such a beautiful day today, wow! Low to mid 80’s with low humidity and mostly sunny, so can’t get much better than that. I did Zumba on the deck this morning. MIL just left to go feed her cats, and now we can all hunker down and hope for the best with all the fireworks. We did not have Blue yet last July 4, and he was not too happy last night. Panda hid in the recliner. Yes, she’s so small she can climb into the recliner.

Last night we went to the Immersive Van Gogh experience, so that was really cool. Highly recommend if it is in your city.,

Thank you so much Lynn! I think my DH and DS would really love it. The wild rice recipe too! Thank you for posting them