I love watching fireworks! Back when I was growing up in Wisconsin, Mom and Rich & I would pile down to Riverside Park in La Crosse, Wisconsin to watch them every year. There was a band shell in the park where the big band would play, and the place would be jam packed. It was especially fun after Mom bought us a battery operated mega phone which we used with abandon. It was loud Oooooohhhs as the rocket gained altitude and the anticipation built, and then Aaaaahhhhsss as the firework exploded colors across the sky.
Since I wasn’t in Texas (or an adult) I didn’t worry about the dead, dry grass everywhere, or the idiots setting off personal, dangerous fireworks that might land on our roof and burn us down. I talked with one woman today who planned on spending her night in her yard with her hose running because her neighbors always set off fireworks that hit her roof and she’s got to be prepared to stop any damage. She’s outside of city limits, so she can’t even call the police on them.
This year Mom and I spent the 4th of July in a typically American way. Shopping. We had to return some items at Ikea (and naturally, came away spending more than was returned) and then a stop at a BBQ place to bring home brisket, turkey, and ribs to nibble on all weekend. Naps rounded out the afternoon, and beading this evening. A good, but not too exciting kind of day.
I got my boxes shipped off to Tacoma Thursday after chasing the UPS truck from one store to another to get them aboard. That’s cutting it WAY too close! I actually could have shipped them Monday and gotten them there in time – probably. But I hate to chance it, so I paid so that they’ll arrive on Wednesday. I fly in on Thursday.
I’m really looking forward to the trip. I haven’t been to the Pacific Northwest before. I’m anticipating the 75 degrees or less days, and the company of my crazy beady friends. And meeting lots of new beaders up there! Oh – and I plan on coming home with some new lampwork beads too. Laura, one of my local students who attended Bead & Button this year, showed me her treasures from the Expo Hall at class Thursday night. I managed to miss an amazing new vendor at the show even though she was on the same aise as me – Kerri Fuhr, who hails from British Columbia. I adore her work, and I’m lucky enough that she’ll be at the Puget Sound show, so I’m already planning on making a beeline for her booth to acquire. It’s all Laura’s fault.