Independence Day

For whatever reason, this is always my Fourth of July Ohrwurm:

(Neil Diamond formed a large part of the soundtrack of my childhood: what can I say??)

Spent the morning at one of the local parks for the annual Fourth of July races, in keeping with the family tradition.  I wasn't much of a runner even before my knees went south, and I sure as heck am not taking it up again now, but the dog and I went along with the rest of my nutjob family to serve as the pit crew.  The two younger kids ran the mile fun run, Thing One the 5K, and Himself the 10K, and a good time was had by all despite the heat and blanketing, suffocating humidity. (Ugh.  Who in the world thinks this is a good time of year to go running outside???)

My plans for the rest of the day include hot dogs and hamburgers, good wine, the company of my lovely in-laws, and this chair:

The canopy was a very thoughtful early birthday present from my sweet husband to his vampiric, sun-avoiding wife.  One of the best gifts I've ever received, conventional 'rules' be darned...it's right up there with the Bissell carpet cleaner I received for Mother's Day one year as a joint gift from baby Thing Two and the cat.  (If I've written about that before, I can't find the post...when you are unfortunate enough to have a projectile-vomiting baby and a hairball-hacking cat at the same time, anything that helps to clean up the resulting messes is a godsend!)  

In keeping with today's theme, I leave you with one of my favorite Calvin and Hobbes strips.

Happy Fourth of July!!