Celebration Snapshots

 It's Sunday afternoon. I've taken snapshots of recent days, so here's my scrapbook of "Journal Memories" in chronological order. I left off my last post, "The USA Birthday Party Has Begun", with pictures from the annual golf cart parade:

We don't have (nor want) a golf cart, but the parade went by our house on the road behind us, so we participated as bystanders, waving and yelling encouragements, all in good fun.

We speculated that maybe next year we should ask if bicyclists can join in. Gary wants to secure a playing card onto the spokes of our wheels with a clothespin to make that fun flappy noise as we peddle. Did you ever do that? Sister and I did.

Then we could attach those long flashy metallic ribbbons from our handlebars and wear something patriotic. And I would use my thumb to strum my Ka-Ching!! bell for noise. Hmm. I'll have to think about that.

So the parade was on Wednesday, July 1st. Then on Friday July 3rd ("4th of July Eve"), we went out for lunch. The original plan for that day was to take some neighbors to a unique "old Florida" place that serves cooked gator tail, venison, and frog legs as well as burgers and fresh seafood. However, the air conditioning in our friends' home suddenly went out; and in this heat, there is no question that the repair needed to take priority.

Deciding that lunch would take a rain check, Gary and I opted to dine at a much closer place in another 55+ retirement community. We have been there before, but it's changed management/ownership (one or both, not sure) and we wanted to give it a try. "The Whistling Duck" has an up-scale feel to it but our "Florida Casual" clothes (as Gary calls it) fit in perfectly. 

Gary had a salmon sandwich on a huge brioche bun and I had the Gulf Shores Fish Sandwich with a fennel apple slaw and come back sauce. (note: I don't know what "come back sauce" is, but suffice it to say the sandwich was good enough to make me want to "come back"!!) 😉

That afternoon back at home, we took turns working on the current puzzle laid out on the table on the lanai. It turns out that Gary is at least as addicted to this pastime as I am. 

As I've said before, jigsaw puzzles with a limit of 500 (or fewer) pieces is my preference, and even more so if the pieces are over-sized. This one lacked that last feature. The small pieces combined with our heat and humidity (our lanai does not have air conditioning, just open windows and fans), the puzzle pieces would stick to our fingers, making the process a little tricky. But it was a fun design and we kept at it.

fireworks above Mount Verson

That evening we planted ourselves in our recliners in front of the TV to watch the 4th of July show going on in Washington DC. This is our habit for the patriotic holidays where we can watch in the comfort of our jammies, snacks nearby, and no waiting lines for the port-a-johns.

Gary and I have both lived in the Washington DC area in years past, LONG before we ever met. We speculate that it's possible we both could have been on the same metro platform, waiting for a commuter train, utterly unaware that one day our personal circumstances would be very different, we would meet, fall in love and spend the rest of our years together. 

Speaking of days past, before we met, here is a fun story Gary has told me that happened when he was working in D.C. He was on his lunch break from the office at a fast food burger place. All during his meal, a little boy and his mother were sitting at another table nearby and seemed to be looking at Gary a lot. When they had finished their meal, the lady came over to Gary to apologize. She said her son thought Gary was Clark Kent (Super Man). To that Gary replied with great confidence, "I am!" 

"Clark Kent",
my Gary before his hair turned white

Now we know! 😉 (But I assure you, in spite of this blog, I'm no Lois Lane!!)

On Independence Day we rode our bicycles through the neighborhood, came home, did our usual Saturday morning chores (Gary cleans the floors while I vacuum the carpeted areas). We cleaned up ourselves and I got to wear my special shirt (wardrobe purchase from Hobby Lobby).

Then we collapsed in front of the TV to watch the parade of the tall ships and military planes over the Statue of Liberty. 

I have to say that of all the patriotic holiday displays this weekend, the tall ships have been my favorite. They are beautiful, graceful, and the crew standing on (clinging tightly!!) the masts have been a little terrifying. There were so many of them, and from other countries. They came to show respect and to participate. It has been wonderful!

For lunch we had hot dogs and French fries. As we all know, hot dogs are a big deal for the 4th of July, although we do not think much of the fellow who prides himself as the champion who can stuff his mouth with [waaaay too many] Nathan's hot dogs in ten minutes and win fame for it. 

Joey Chestnut

Yes, I imagine he is a longtime customer of Pepcid. . . . .

While our hot dogs were digesting, I baked an apple crisp (with canned apple pie filling) and let its warm scent fill the house the rest of the afternoon as it cooled. 

We enjoyed it for supper (along with a thin slice of ham for protein) and felt satisfied with our holiday fare.

We completed our puzzle and settled in for the firework shows on TV.

my nephew

Uncle Sam showed up at Sister's place to toss out the fire crackers at the family farm where there is plenty of space for a real show.

This morning we took our usual after-breakfast bike ride of some 5 miles or so. We stopped to speak to yet another turtle on the multi-purpose path:

He, like us two retired folk, was not moving fast but he's satisfied with his slower, more gentle way of life. He posed for the snapshot and then we pedaled off to church. 

We watch a service on TV every Sunday morning without fail, and are greatly blessed for doing so. This habit works very well for us in our current season of life.

While no people are perfect and no nation gets it right all of the time, we are grateful for the merciful God Who forgives our failures and gives us grace to move forward.

If my people

who are called by my name ,

will humble themselves 

and pray and seek my face

and turn from their wicked ways,

then I will hear from heaven,

and I will forgive their sin

and will heal their land.

II Chronicles 7:14

Until next time, grace and peace.

Barbara

The USA Birthday Party Has Begun!

 

This week's Hodgepodge writing prompts focus on patriotic and summer themes, as well as the USA's 250th birthday. 

If you want to link up to participate in this week's Hodgepodge meme, click here:

http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com/2026/06/hodgepodge-questions-volume-660.html

1. What do you love most about your country? 

First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas

Of course, there is MUCH about America to love, but at the very top of my list is freedom of religion. We must continue to support this freedom that was the foundational intent of our forefathers as they landed on our shores. 

2. Your favorite patriotic song? 

God bless America, land that I love!

Stand beside her and guide her

Through the night with the light from above.

We have many great patriotic songs, but when I'm asked to narrow it down, this one, which is a prayer, says it best for me.

3. Red, white, or blue? Stars or stripes? Something you own besides a US flag with some combination of those colors or decorations as part of its design? 

This flag pillow was purchased about 7 years ago, probably from Hobby Lobby.

4. What's one thing you want more of this summer: fun, rest, adventure, connection, quiet, or confidence? Elaborate. 

I choose "Quiet" because at my age, I like to read, work jigsaw puzzles, do Sudoku, read and comment on the blogs I follow, have peaceful conversations, and in general just think about things. Loud, noisy venues and uncertainty about what lies around the corner tend to result in poor choices and disorder.

5. What was your ultimate, go-to summer activity when you were a kid? Do you still do any version of that today? If you answered yes, does participating in this activity as an adult make you feel like a kid? 

Sister and I spent many hours with
skates like these clamped onto
our saddle oxford shoes.

The Beach Boys' music 
reminds me of summer
and the years I lived in Southern California.

Two outdoor summer activities that stand out in my memory are roller skating the sidewalks in our apartment complex and time at the swimming pool listening to rock ’n roll on our transistor radios while we worked on a suntan. 

Here's an interesting piece of trivia: The manager of our spa/gym/pool here in my +55 community was the model for the little girl on the Coppertone suntan lotion bottle.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Here are some of the patriotic decorations from one of the gathering spots in my 55+ community:

This (below) is outside my house:

My friend, Joline, reminded me that the birds needed ribbons. I dug them out of the Christmas box, pleased to find them in a ziplock bag just under the box lid. Gary said I should have white and blue ribbons, too, but it will probably stay as it is.

Although I don't entertain whimsey to the extent that I used to, I will tell you that as I tied the ribbon on this guy's neck, he let me know a sun hat would have been more appreciated . . . . .

We had new sod installed recently, so Gary has not been in a hurry to create a new hole in the grass for the permanent receptacle for the flag pole. He took care of that this week:

This morning our community had its annual 4th of July Golf Cart Parade. We don't have a golf cart, but enjoyed watching it roll past us behind our house. Here are some of the snapshots I took:

Blessed is the nation

whose God is the LORD,

the people He chose for His inheritance.

Psalm 33:12

We experience true joy, favor, and prosperity when our foundation and loyalty are placed in the LORD.

Until next time, grace and peace.

Barbara

Blue Suede Shoes

 

the blue suede shoes of Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley died in 1977. I was not a crazy fan but I did like much of his music. I was saddened to learn of his death. His life story gets mixed reviews from me, as I was raised to be modest in appearance and behavior, both of which were challenged by Elvis. I have seen his story enough times that I do believe he was a born again Christian, but he undeniably pushed the standard definition and his lifestyle example encourages questions.

My Gary reached his adolescence while I was still sounding out phonetically the words in Dick, Jane, and Sally.  He had more of a connection to Elvis than me. When Elvis comes to town (in the form of those tribute concerts that are so popular in retirement communities), he has bought tickets and I'm glad to go.

The other night was one of those shows. That morning Gary slid into our bedroom with our mugs of coffee singing, "Blue Suede Shoes." (The man sings something to me nearly every day: this time the theme was Elvis and his impersonation is good.)

An Elvis event was in progress with many Elvis wannabes in town putting on several shows. One could buy tickets for all of them, or just one or two. We opted for Thursday night. Gary insisted on taking my picture with the pre-show stage in the background. While the venue was not full, there was an excellent turnout of fans. We sat back and waited for the music to begin.

The first Elvis was a skinny guy, not dressed real impressively but he knew the music and had practiced his gyrations choreography. Sporting the black hair, sideburns, and that stray lock of hair hanging over his forehead, he gave us about 4 songs, most of which were familiar to me, in spite of being one of his younger fans. I was disappointed in his appearance until Gary made the comment that this performer represented Elvis' younger days.

The second Elvis (NOT pictured above) was a disappointment to me, too, because he was also of a smaller physique and his face looked kinda fake .... was he wearing an Elvis Halloween mask? No. He was probably wearing a thick layer of makeup and his hair was PERFECT to the point of looking like the molded plastic heads on my childhood dolls. I was disappointed enough in him that I did not even take his picture -- although you'll see him later in this post. To his credit, he did well with the music and also had the physical theatrics down well.

The third Elvis was a big improvement. He looked older than the first two and his clothes were GORGEOUS!!! I felt a sigh of relief that the evening was not a loss when this version of Elvis began to sing with the kind of confidence I expected of "the king." Like the other two, his stage dancing was good and his voice was pleasing, too. And that jacket!!! It sparkled and twinkled and made up for any faults in the performance, although there were none. The show could have ended with him and I would be satisfied. 

But no, more was to come.....

Elvis #4 looked much more like the iconic album covers. The black hair, the tight white jumpsuit, the high open collar, and yes, the shiny (sweaty) bare chest...... Whoa! Too much for this little Baptist girl! 

In truth, I took several snapshots of him, which was no easy feat with all the dancing gyrations back and forth in rapid succession across the stage. The sensual performance hit me with embarrassed shock. Later, at home I went through the photos I took and eliminated all but this one that has a [somewhat] less feverish presentation. (This is supposed to be a family-friendly blog!!)

But the shock-and-awe of the evening was not done.

The fifth and final Elvis of the evening's program was probably my favorite. Clearly these Elvis impersonators tend to get better with age and experience in their line of work, at least that's my opinion. But even with his very talented performance, there was a surprise I did not anticipate. Gary has seen this before, but not me.

Backing up for a moment of explanation: As a teen I never went to a rock concert. My parents wouldn't even allow Sister and me to go to school dances! Attending a rock concert was never on the radar in my conservative family.

So to set the scene for what happened at this concert I have to tell you the room was filled with old, retired people. And at that, more women than men (which is what demographics are the older we get).

We've seen the concerts where the young girls at Beatles' concerts and such go crazy nuts with screaming, crying, and passing out at the sight and sound of their music idols.

At this concert, people [women] were encouraged to go up to the base of the stage to KISS Elvis!!! I was aghast. A long line of women, about 100!!! did exactly that! I took several snapshots with my zoom feature but am sharing just this one (above). We aren't sure if Elvis kissed all these women on the cheek or if the women kissed Elvis. Some reached up to grab his neck, and some were even given a souvenir white satin-looking scarf from around his neck.

No, I absolutely did not participate in that exercise. As we were driving home, Gary marveled at the exchange of germs with such a public display of affection with so many strangers.

For the final songs, all 5 of the evening's Elvis impersonators (#2 is in the center, black suit) were on stage. This clearly illustrated the chronology of Elvis' age and style, which helped me to be forgiving of the first one (tallest in black with the silver belt).

It was a good concert. Gary probably knew all the songs, and I knew most of them. I'm glad we got to have such a fun date night but may never look at aging women (even myself) the same again.

The Lord does not look 

at the things people look at.

People look at the outward appearance, 

but the Lord looks at the heart.

I Samuel 16:7b

Until next time, grace and peace.

Barbara