preparing for the 4th....

Very tired.

I was helping my Grandma and I had many errands to complete for her...It made me very tired yesterday....I think it is the hot weather, traffic, crowds, and a Grandma who is choosey in her purchases....lol...Everything has to be just right to her specifications....*eyeroll* I still love her though!

I know many people are preparing for the 4th of July weekend, and on Monday is the day!

There are many celebrations taking place, gatherings, performances, parades, purchasing fireworks, cleaning, cleaning the grills, and cleaning the pools....and that takes a lot of prep work...organizing, and planning....

I have been cleaning the house, bathing my pets, mowing the yard, decorating outdoors, purchasing food items, ....

I am having a variety of different foods, traditional ones...grilling out on the grill:

grilled corn--on the cob with seasoned butter/margarine
hot dogs
burgers
potato salad...you can purchase in the store or homemade.
homemade cobbler
baked beans
ice cream
Red Diamond Tea
Lemonade
water
others can enjoy a Coke for refreshment.

You can have the meal whenever you wish before or after fireworks, ya know....Keep your pets safe in the home or away from the fireworks, it hurts their ears, and they can become hurt terribly being in the way of the fireworks...Goofball is ready, he will be safe!...lol...Pumpkin cat is going to take a nap I think, he stays in the house.....Keep fireworks away from all pets at all times!

Many people, If they have a pool may enjoy having a small pool party with friends/family they know after fireworks, you may invite them over for a pool party at home...be careful and safe at all times..monitor everyone!

I love a good, cool, night swim.....with outdoor twinkle lights hanging nearby, and the moon and stars above to look at while swimming, sometimes it is too hot weather I think it is cooler in the pool at night....but always be careful and DO NOT drink while in the pool...drink on the front porch, or in the home if you wish to...NO drinking and driving! don't ever over consume too much alcohol....deadly.

Parades are occurring in the next few days, maybe even today locally, ALWAYS remember that the 4th of July parades----have traffic, crowds, very hot weather, loud music, loud vehicles, and often the Emergency Management Teams, Fire Departments, Police Departments will join in the fun to drive down the main streets in the parade to celebrate with loud sirens....wave to them all!

Be kind, courteous, friendly, and stay out of the way during the parades...they may even have local Arts& Crafts booths or fun sport games to join in.....Take bottled water with ices, in thermos mugs, or small ice chest coolers with ice cubes and water....Keep children safe, I would leave pets at home because of the loud noises occurring during these 4th parades....

Dressing up in costume for the 4th of July parades is often fun, but may be too hot weather, so whatever you choose, OR you can just wear Red, White, Blue clothing or American Flag clothing you can purchase to celebrate with...Dressing up pets for the 4th celebrations is very cute, just leave them at home to dress up for friends/family for your 4th of July celebration..give them chewies!..sirens at parades are too scarey and sometimes too loud for them....IF they have pet costume contests take them for a contest....have fun.

Be cautious of fireworks and always know that they can harm/hurt your eyes, skin, body..they can easily catch you on fire and burn you!..DO NOT lean over fireworks while lighting them...Choose someone as the official firework lighter!...lol...Let them light the fireworks while you set back in chairs and enjoy refreshments, you can wear sunglasses to watch them if you have eye issues, so always know that!

enjoy the celebrations but always be safe, cautious, kind, respectful...NO fighting.

j.