4th of July

Since the weather around here's been so oppressively hot, we decided to celebrate the 4th of July with a cookout. Nothing like reveling in the heat and humidity. The planning for the event has been in the works for several weeks. The patio area needed some major preparation and this included the Fountain.

Now this fountain has not been used for some time. I think it was last in operation about 7 years ago, and I won't go into the amount of work that was required to actually get it up and running. Its a concrete basin with a small pump to circulate the water. Once I had it cleaned out and

spent too much time working on the drain, it was functional once again. I had some help with the cleaning out part, nothing like something that looks almost like a pool to lure offers from a 7-year old.


We started late afternoon with Margaritas and fired up the
grille. Strategically-placed fans on the patio helped with the heat and the nearest indoor space was essentially supercooled to provide almost instant relief from the outdoor blowtorch temperatures. The menu was an assortment of sausages with cool salad and an assortment of chips, sauce and cheeses.

Everyone drifted outside to the patio and ended up back inside after darkness fell and the neighborhood fireworks started echoing up and down the street. Not that anyone around here would have been involved with something that illegal, mind you. But certain nameless persons eluded detection after rockets went hurtling through the trees and over houses. Those scortch marks in the middle of the road will disappear if it ever rains again and there was no apparent damage to a certain leased vehicle, that could be seen in the darkness.

In all, the bug repellants worked well and there were enough ice and libations available for everyone to enjoy. There was some speculation as to whether we were eating bratwurst, polish sausage, chicken sausage with

basil or tex mex, since once they go on the grille, those things are difficult to distinguish without tasting. The fruit salad and cupcakes were a nice finishing touch that helped to cool everone down.

I recall conversations about Jacksonville, condos in Maine, Coco's name and how in the world young Justin could have played the Judge course that morning in the stifling heat. Sometimes you can almost kill yourself with golf, and that didn't seem like the best choice to challenge in the heat wave, but then, when would be a good time for that layout?

So this was something that we should do again. Perhaps when it cools down a little. In fact, the chiminea, would be much more comfortable on New Year's eve instead of 4th of July, but since it started almost by spontaneous combustion this time, its easy to explain how that happened.