7/4/14. The post where we do a lot of celebrating.

7/4/14: my foot was pretty cranky all night, but I still managed to get a decent night's sleep.  Today was going to be a casual day.  We were going to friend A's party around dinner time, so I expected to spend most of the day doing laundry and other chores. 

Around 11am this morning, my patient, long-suffering husband asked, "What time is friend B's party?" My response?  "Uh..."  I was not aware friend B was having a party.  Turns out the invitation had gone by email to my patient, long-suffering husband.  And the party started at 11:30.  Just enough time for a quick shower.

It was a very nice party.  By coincidence, I had friends there from several different walks of life, which made it even more fun.  After mingling for awhile, I got a plate of food and headed toward a group of church friends, but there were no seats available.  Not one, not two, but three gentleman friends (and I emphasize the word "gentleman") offered me a seat.  Furthermore, they determined among themselves which was the most comfortable chair and moved it into the shade for me.  Moral of the story?  Chivalry is not dead.  And I have excellent friends.

We left the party a little early, because we had one very important task to accomplish today.  My patient, long-suffering husband has wanted a grill for some time, and we just got confirmation from our homeowner's association that we can have one.  (Long story...)  He had done some research and already knew what he wanted, so we went to the hardware store and brought it home. We spent the rest of the afternoon assembling it and building a small pad for it in our equally small yard.  After ensuring that it was properly assembled and would produce heat, we went to our second party of the day.

Another lovely time.  While it had been a really hot day, the evening brought a nice breeze and it was quite pleasant out.  We spent some time chatting with friends, then headed back home for fireworks to end the evening.  We live on a bluff on the west side of a large city with multiple surrounding towns and we have a pretty good view.  The two best days to live in our house are July 4 and December 31.  Sitting on our balcony tonight, in addition to our city's fireworks, we could see fireworks from at least four other towns and multiple other unauthorized displays.  My neck is sore from spinning around to try to see all the different displays.  It was a pretty good day to be an American.  

My foot was pretty irritated all day (pain level 6-7) and I had to elevate it several times.  I'm starting to think it may not like really hot weather any more than really cold weather.  Thank goodness there is still a weekend waiting in the wings.  All this celebrating can wear a girl out.