My sister is bringing over her girls tonight, and we’re gonna have a picnic up here followed by fireworks.  I haven’t really celebrated the 4th for a couple of years, so it’s a nice step forward for me.  This day is special for a number of reasons, and it’s nice to feel in a celebratory mood again.

I went out this morning and picked up some extra fireworks because the neighbors (and I use that term loosely because they are not neighborly in the slightest) are British.  They have treated my parents and my cousin like crap for the last few years, so today, they are gonna get to experience the booms and bangs and flashes of an old-fashioned, all-American, to-hell-with-the-British-Empire celebration.  I hope, sincerely hope, that they have the audacity to call the sheriff’s office tonight and in their smug British tones complain about the noise.

That’s all for now.  Happy Independence Day!