Happy Birthday, America!

Cowboy didn’t go to bed until almost 2 a.m.
He’s said he tries to keep his work hours even on his days off.
It makes going back in easier.

I got up at 7 a.m. and got my little stray cat fed. I felt better this morning and had a little energy, so I straightened up the house and cleaned the kitchen and the bathroom.
Then I plopped myself down at the computer to check social media, hoping someone posted one of the five grandchildren. Nope. Modern-day grandparenting, I guess, means staying connected through Facebook.

Heron popped in the door with his dog at 8:30 a.m. He worked today and wasn’t too happy about it either.

After he left, I straightened the living room up a bit, then sat myself back down at the computer.

It was close to nine a.m. when Badger finally dragged herself out of bed. It’s been a while since she’s done that.

I was deep‑cleaning my desk when she came into the living room. Since it’s in the living room, the desk has become a dumping ground for everyone, and a cozy bed for the cats.
I must not have done it right, because Badger ended up cleaning it herself.
She got the old thing cleaner than it’s been in a while.
She likes to use alcohol on everything; she says it sanitizes better than Lysol or things like that. It’s just a thrift‑store desk that came to me already in rough shape, but she got it pretty darn clean.

Then she went in and cooked our burgers ahead of time. Cowboy was doing a heck of a lot of grumbling about the non-beef burgers, so I bought him four darn moo burgers. Like real genuine was‑once‑out‑in‑the‑pasture chomping‑grass moo. Red meat once in a while won’t kill him, I guess.

Cowboy surprised me by getting up at ten fifty a.m. He ate breakfast, then went right back to sleep until two p.m. He hasn’t adjusted to this new schedule.
His body is still hanging on to the old one.

Badger and I stayed quiet in the house until noon.
She stayed in her room while I played on the computer. Then we headed outside. I sat on the swing and read while she did some woodworking.

After Cowboy woke up and went outside, I left him and Badger out there. Badger was happy with her woodworking, and Cowboy was stripping copper.

I came in, got the moo meat cooking, and tossed the gobble meat in the oven to rewarm.
Badger had tater tots on warm in the toaster oven. That was our holiday meal, plus two frozen pies. With only the three of us, there was no need to cook a huge meal.

We ate, and then Cowboy headed outside for the rest of the evening.

Badger and I stayed inside and watched television in the cool. The meteorologist said it hit 91°. It didn’t seem as bad outside today, or maybe I’m finally starting to adjust. Of course, that’s about six degrees cooler than it’s been lately.

The neighbors started shooting off the big pretty fireworks around nine p.m. Badger went out to take pictures. I put on my noise‑cancelling headphones and followed her. Cowboy laughed at me, but I just can’t take loud noises anymore. Weirdest thing ever, any loud noise makes me jump out of my skin.
Here lately, loud sounds bother me more than they ever have.

Eventually, Badger headed back to her room, while Cowboy and I headed to the backyard. We watched the neighbors’ fireworks show until Heron finally made it home from work at 10:30 p.m. He and Cowboy set off their fireworks.
They were very disappointing. The neighbors’ fireworks were better, but then Cowboy likes loud boom, not pretty boom.

I had enough of the loud booms and headed back in to play on my computer for a bit. My hometown posted pictures of their Fourth. They always have a parade, never fails. And they always have a big firework show. It used to be in the park, but I don’t know if they’ve moved it.

Jefferson City has their parade and fireworks, too. I haven’t seen any of their pictures yet.

It’s hard not to compare it to here. We’re a literal ghost town. Nothing here but cows, houses, and churches. This town doesn’t do a thing for the Fourth. It’s just one more day that blends in with all the others.

If it wasn’t for the neighbors setting off their own fireworks, the whole day would have felt just like any other.

Around here, unless you head to a bigger city, the Fourth doesn’t have much going on.

I miss being part of a town where Fourth of July celebrations were rich with history, and familiar faces gathered year after year to keep traditions alive. If we lived in a place with a bit more spark, the Fourth might have had an entirely different vibe.

I’m quickly typing this up and getting off of here. The carport camera just dinged. It’s 11 p.m., and Cowboy and Heron are heading back inside. I’m sure Cowboy will be watching his TV soon.