July 4th!

We are either creatures of habit or of very strong traditions. Every 4th of July since who knows when, we have gone to the parade, made ice cream and had a picnic dinner while waiting for the fire works to begin. I can only think of one or two times where we missed doing things on this date in this order. This year was like all the others. The parade was the same as always; no big changes or scandals. It was in the 70s, so it was bearable even on the sunny side of the street.

This year we almost had to break a tradition because of a lost item. The cannister for the ice cream freezer has gone missing. We looked in every logical place and a few illogical places and it didn't turn up. We have the bucket, the motor, and the dasher, but no canister. The whole thing is almost 30 years old so maybe we are due for an upgrade.

We got out the ice cream ball at the last minute so that the tradition could carry on. Kris and Serena took about 45 minutes to turn out some pretty good ice cream. There were no leftovers so it must have been okay. By vacation time, we will have to come up with a better solution or another ice cream ball. This one won't make enough for a crowd. Right after the ice cream was pronounced done, it began to rain really hard. We had about an hour of steady rain and then it cleared up enough to have a picnic before the fireworks. It was damp, but not at all hot.

Hope you all had a great holiday!