After the 4th of July

Well, I guess before I get to After the 4th of July, I'll mention the 4th. We had a few people over for a cookout with a nice combination of family, friends, and neighbors for 18 people. This was supposed to be an outdoor event, but the temperatures climbed into the high 90s, so we had indoor options available. I decided to keep all of the food inside and set up a big table in the living room (our makeshift dining room when we need one). Some stayed outside on the porch under the fans, and some stayed inside out of the heat. I think everyone had a good time. 

Later that evening, we watched fireworks from the surrounding neighborhoods on our back porch. We could see five different displays from there. Not all of them made it above the tree line, but we got a good show. I love not fighting traffic to see fireworks.

Our Summer Reading mascot is a butterfly, so we wore butterfly wings in the parade.

The following weekend, our area celebrated community days, beginning with a parade on Friday night. As I have previously, I marched in the parade with other library staff. It was fun when people I knew called out to me during the parade, and I especially enjoyed the hugs I got from some of my storytime kids. This year, it was a special treat to have an overcast day that kept the temperatures down. About halfway through, it started to rain, and by the end, I was soaked. But I didn't care. It sure beat the heat from other years.

The candy John brought me.

A few days later, one of the little boys, John, who comes to storytime, came into the library and was excited to tell me that he had seen me in the parade. I asked John if he had fun, and he replied that he did and he got a lot of candy. I told him I had fun, too, but I didn't get any candy.

The next day, John came to storytime and brought me a bag of candy from what he had gotten at the parade. He wanted to make sure that I had some. John had carefully selected each piece and wanted me to know he had put a special green one in. It was such a sweet gesture that I smiled all day after that. 

Reclining at the movies.

That brings me to today when I did something I haven't done in years: Ward and I went to the movies. Things have changed since I was last in a movie theater. There were cushy reclining chairs, a grill, and a beer wall, along with the standard movie snacks. We got discounted matinee prices; however, the small popcorn and drink we shared cost more than the tickets. But I will say the popcorn was fresh and very good. I don't think you'll find us every week at the movies, but maybe we'll go more than once every decade. You know, you gotta live it up sometimes. :)

Tomorrow, I'm back to the grind with work, but with promises of temperatures 10 degrees cooler than they've been recently. And even if I have to work, that is reason enough to celebrate. Maybe our neighbors will set off some fireworks for us. :)

Until next time...

Thankful Sunday--July 15, 2018

I am thankful for community traditions.

Twenty years ago when we made a big move from Texas to Maryland, my sons weren't too happy with it, especially Theo. He spent every waking moment trying to figure out a way to get back to Texas. There were just too many changes for him. Even so, he was slowly warming up to a couple of kids who lived down the street.

One day, they invited him to be in a community parade with other cub scouts. Wally was excited about it, but Theo wasn't too sure. After I found out the details from their mother, we joined the local cub scout pack at the parade formation area. Wally stepped right up and volunteered to carry the banner in front of the group. Theo was still not too sure of things until he found out the little ones, which included him, got to ride on a wagon in the parade. That he thought was pretty cool and for a little while he thought his new town was pretty cool, too.

We didn't know it at the time, but that was the first parade for the town and since then, it has evolved into an annual, weekend-long celebration. It has been a long time since Wally and Theo have been in the parade, but I have carried on the family tradition marching with the local library most years. Ward joins me afterwards and we watch the fireworks together. This past weekend was another year of this fun time.

So, for this community and family tradition, I am thankful.

Theo is in the wagon and Wally is in front of the truck carrying a banner during the very first parade.

This is me, several years later, at the formation spot waiting for the parade to start.

Thankful Sunday--July 10, 2016

Fireworks from Mayfield Days

I am thankful for community events.

While I live in a town, I really live very much in suburbia. You know how it works--spreading population around cities makes individual towns part of their sprawl. That's how it is here. However, there was a time when this area was out in the country and many remember the trips they took to here to eat at a famous ice cream stand. Luckily, the community tries hard to maintain its identity and small town feel. Some of those efforts include the local FFA farmers market, an old fashioned fair in the fall, and  Mayfield Days in the summer . We celebrated Mayfield Days this past weekend.

They started with a parade and fireworks on Friday evening. Followed by all kinds of events sponsored by various businesses and organizations on Saturday.  Even though it was very hot, a good time was had by all. For these events and the people who organize them I am thankful.
(Because you can take the girl out of the small town, but you can't take the small town out of the girl.)  :)

A few pictures from Mayfield* Days.

The library staff marches in the parade every year. Here we were at our line up spot with some of the signs we later carried in the parade. Even though the parade was in the evening, the temperatures were still above 90.
I got pretty hot.

The next day, among other things, there was a car show. While I'm not much into cars, I did find this exhibit interesting. This is part of a tree that grew up through a truck. After 36 years the tree had totally grown into the truck and they had to cut both the truck and tree to clear the area. This shows some the parts the tree grew around and into. Ward wants you to notice the truck's transmission and truck frame in this picture.

In conjunction with an exhibit at the local museum, the library sponsored a version of the Antique's Road Show. I took these two Civil War cannon balls for appraisal. While the appraiser didn't have any ideas about these, I had a good time seeing the others things people were bringing in. The best was hearing the stories about where they got their items.  

*Not the real name of the town, but keeping in line with Leave it to Beaver aliases.

Thankful Sunday--July 12, 2015

Our library group lining up for the parade with the stacks of books and signs we carried.

I am thankful for the community I live in.

I live in a small community that was originally a rural farming town. While there are still farms around, it now might be better described as a suburban bedroom community for Washington, D. C. However, it still has its small town feel from years ago. That was evidenced this past weekend by Celebrate Mayfield* Days. This is an annual event that brings the area together for a little old fashioned fun. Friday night was a parade with fireworks afterwards and Saturday had the streets lined with vendors and activities for everyone.

Friday night I marched in the parade with my coworkers representing the Mayfield library. We were joined by 80 other groups from churches, youth organizations, and local businesses. And as always, Santa was the last one in the parade for a little Christmas in July. Whoever didn't happen to be in the parade was set up along the route with their picnic suppers watching. Although it was hotter than I would have liked, I had a lot of fun walking along and hearing the crowd cheer for the library as well as waving to my friends along the route.

Fireworks from Mayfield Days

After the parade Ward joined me at the fair grounds for the fire department chicken dinner which is one of their big fund raisers every year. As we were finishing our dinner, it was getting dark and it was time to find our spot to watch the fireworks. While there were plenty of people around, we had no problem finding a place for our blanket. The fire department put on a good show.  I could get a little mushy here and say that Ward and I felt like we were dating again. He has been working a lot of overtime recently and we haven't had much time to see each other. However, Friday was just about perfect as we snuggled together watching the lights in the sky.    Yes, that was a little too mushy. :)

Saturday had flea markets, a banana split eating contest, and a fun run among many other activities. I think you're getting the idea. I live in a place where simple things are still enjoyed. And for that I am thankful.  

*The name has been changed to be consistent with the Leave It to Beaver aliases.