Sunday, July 7, 2013

OUT WITH THE OLD MEMORIES IN WITH THE NEW!

When last I wrote ~ 3 days which seems like a solid week at least ~ so occupied with activity and inactivity as the humidity has been so dense that you have to do absolutely nothing to be coated with moisture!  I must say that I have been either chasing a breeze or trying not to move for the past three days!  Having more success with catching the breeze over not moving!

I left off with last minute plans for a party on the Fourth.  I do not really celebrate too many holidays normally, but I accepted the invitation knowing that it would be a good time, with a nice mix of people and a really exceptional hostess.

As I had nothing ready, but I did have supplies in the house for a treat I was going to make which I learned of last summer.  It is the perfect little party dessert and no one who is in their right mind does not like it, and it looks difficult, but in reality it is one of the easiest dishes I have ever made.

It is a favorite of one of our ex mayors ~ who gave me the recipe personally ~ which is why I am not going to divulge the recipe ~ sorry ~ I will call it a nondisclosure issue ~ due to the political association, but if you ask me for it personally I will gladly tell you how to make it.  I will say that after I left you I mixed up two boxes of lemon jello with 3 cups of hot water and a can of lemonade and let it set in the fridge until the next morning.

I went off to bed to watch some television and was awakened at 2:30 in the morning to find my son roasting some hot dogs nice and crispy just as I like them ~ so we had an early Fourth of July feast of hot dogs and I went back to sleep to be up for the parade.

I had luck and timing on my side, narrowly missing an encounter with my ex who thankfully did not see me at the bottom of the street as he headed in the other direction.  It being our one year anniversary of not being together, I was happy that my timing was on.  (And he being the main 1 of 5 people who would ruin my day!)

I arrived on North Street from Melville and the crowd of people and the vendors pushing their shopping carts of parade toys ~ whom I always avoided with my three sons when they were children.  Apparently there were 60,000 people on our fair main street braving the heat for our parade.

I personally love a parade but do not sit in one place as I love the crowd and the music ~ especially the bands ~ the bagpipes the drums and the horns.  Some people go out in the middle of the night and put chairs and tents up in the same spots every year which is dedicated.

I wore my sneakers and walked for about two hours soaking up the people, the sounds and the sun ~ coming home with a nice suntan.  I was tempted after the parade, as I walked through Park Square where the children were in the fountain to take off my shoes and join them ~ parents and onlookers began encouraging me, but I knew I would never want to get out and I had to get home and finish my dessert for the party as my ride was coming at 3:00.

When I arrived home at 12:30 and stripped off my socks and sneakers I felt better, but needed to cool off before I blended up the jello really well with the mixer and added the two containers of cool whip to add to it so it could set in the fridge once more before it would be ready to indulge in.

My friend arrived a few minutes early, but I was ready after I put on my shoes and grabbed the dessert.  We had a stop along the way  at the St. Francis Gallery.  It is an amazing reuse of a church and the owner,  Philip Pryjma has done an amazing job of delighting the senses with his amazing and unexpected  layout ~ one never knows what they will find around the next corner!

My friend also had pre party plans for us to just skip down the road to the Berkshire Arts Festival at Butternut Ski Area in Great Barrington, MA, which has over 280 vendors over the next two weeks.  Being the Fourth of July ~ it was not crowded, so parking was easy and the Artists had time to talk and explain their various crafts while suffering through the heat!

You all know I am all about Art so this was the best way to spend the day.  As it was all a surprise to me as I thought we were going to a picnic at Sonya's house, I for one was delighted to have free reign at first an amazing gallery and then an vast array of artists, photographers, textile, sculpture and wood crafts along with boats and jewelry it was almost more than a girl (me) could hope for!

We finished up ~ seeing a large portion of vendors ~ beat by the heat in the open sun ~ we headed back to the car and the A/C for our journey back to Lee.  We arrived in time for a burgers and hot dogs and some amazing salsa and a ton of other goodies with the hostess involved in a game of badminton and children running around and adults sitting around conversing in a group.

My dessert was in need of some refrigeration after the unexpected adventure and I some water and a chair.  After some food and conversation, some of the guest departed and a few of us were left.  Sonya was ready for some more badminton so we played two against two with Danny sitting nearby watching.

It got very competitive and I must say my rotator cuff injury and shoulder in general were feeling it the next day.  We decided to switch sides and take a break for some beverages and I figured it was a good time to check on my dessert while there were still people there.  It was delicious and no one could believe how easy it was to make!

It was now getting dark and Sonya's outside light would not go on to her dismay.  I still had a date with my son to watch fireworks together for our second year running at our secret spot and I was running later than I realized.

For a day which was going to be no big deal it sure was busy!  My son and I walked to the store and grabbed a couple of slushies for our excursion and ran into my friend Cindy and her neighbor walking through the park so we chatted before heading off to our destination.

The fireworks were good and the air felt nice from our perch.  We were overlooking the lake and they were popping off from a couple of different locations, which is why we like this spot.  We made our way back home and called it a night!

All in all it was a much better day to replace with my horrible experience last year and I thank all of those involved in making it such a great time!  I totally prefer  the memory of a wonderful time to replace the horrors of last year for sure!

2 comments:

  1. Happiness flows thru your words

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  2. I am glad you had an awesome day :-) I love reading your blogs :-)

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