Okay.....I've heard of my neighbor's plans for the holiday upcoming.....NOT invited. A family affair. I know, I know. Understood. I KNOW I'm not alone here, knowing that my Fourth of July is going to be just another day here at StoneCrop Park. No visitors, no festivities, no fireworks (might set the hay on fire, anyway), no food-laden tables with white bed-sheet tablecloths blowing in the breeze under the trees.......no bonfire. BUT, HEY! Like we're having a "virtual cruise" elsewhere on this board, can we please have a real 4th of July Festival here? Please? For just a few of us? Each of us can bring something. Just say what. I'll supply the beautiful farm setting, the pleasant country air, a firepit toward evening. We can walk down to the creek and fish for brown trout or just listen to the burble of the water. I have about five tables I'll put sheets over for all the food you'll be bringing. I promise good fair weather, not too hot or too cool and windy. I have a small stock tank I'll fill with ice so the drinks can stay cold. I'll even put a pond liner in the back of my big pick -up truck and fill it up with water!!! A real red-neck swimming pool! (don't laugh, I've done it) I'll rent one of those Epson projectors that work off your lap-top....we'll pop in a DVD and show a movie later in the evening on a white canvas stretched across the door of the barn and (with a sound system I'll rent also,) enjoy one of our favorite movies.....maybe "The Secret Life of Bees" and a "guy flick" for good measure. Your spouses are welcome, as are little kids and your dogs.....maybe your cats would feel a little intimidated, though. We can entertain them pretty well here........put them to work weeding the garden, cleaning the barn, just petting things, HARVESTING PEACHES, whatever keeps them happy. Bring sleeping bags. The stars are a wonder here....no city lights to pollute the night sky here. LOTS of fireflies this year, too. Whatchasay?
Great!! Just saw a sign this afternoon....REAL FIREWORKS... sort of made me wonder what the fake ones were like..........sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss (no boom?)
DH, two Golden Retrievers and I will have baby back ribs, potato salad, fresh strawberries with angel food cake and whipped cream, bean salad (kidney beans, corn, bell pepper, red onion, tomato, avocado, cilantro tossed with cumin, pepper/salt and vinaigrette dressing) in the ice chest in the bed of our pickup. Also bringing a tub of Smirnoff Ice, Green Tea, and Michelob Ultra. Jars of bubbles for the kiddos. Tennis balls for the pups. I'll have the camera to take everyones picture and a huge box of kleenex for all the tears of joy we're bound to shed when we all meet.
Lets get some more meat on the grill....and some baked beans and some ambrosia salad. I'll have watermellons in the creek cooling.....the kids can go down and bring them uP. Oh, lets make it a happy day! I'll bathe all the ponies tomorrow so they'll be shiney and there won't be any flies on them! And, the fields have just been cut, so it's pretty and hope the ticks won't bite! Plenty of parking. A REAL family celebration. And, we can watch the fireworks from Gypsy Hill park from the top of my hill at about 9:30! I have a game of "horseshoes", too, and the sand court to play it in! A charcoal grill and a gas grill and of course the firepit with a grill top I made. Rack of lamb, anyone? Wild boar? STEAKS!!! I'll make mom's potato salad and fresh cole slaw, southern style! There are some baby angus in the field the kids can go chase and play with. The moms are pretty placid. Lots of lights on poles when it gets dark, too. Ohhhh, I'd love to have you all here!!
I just wanna go down to that trout stream an wade along an listen to the water,thats all I ask.........am ,aybe a good buddy to share it with,well maybe just me an my blk lab,she's a good buddy
Change in plans...I can make it afterall. I'll bring my favorite desserts like Carrot Cake and Lemon Cream Pie. And since it's a long trip home to TX, if I can stay the night, I'll bring a Sour Cream Coffee Cake to have in the morning!
The lawn is freshly mown and SO GREEN! Tomorrow is suppossed to be just like today....perfect weather! (Picked up the doggie poopie piles where we'll sit later in the evening to watch the movie on the side of the barn....hey, isn't there someone here that specializes in that sort of thing???). Got the balloons and lanterns out.....Set out luminaries along the lane toward the house. AND TORCHES! Gotta have some torches to dress up the back yard and keep the skeeters away. I'm smoking a whole salmon and frying chicken. Potato salad and cole slaw....we already have baked beans. Maybe some corn on the cob would be nice, too. SOMEBODY bring the condiments (mustard, relish, salt, pepper, mayo, anything wierd you like, etc). Somebody bring the drinks and someone else bring paper goods (cups, plates, napkins).
Hey....I'll bring the Mexican Cornbread. That was always good with bbq, slaw, potato salad, and baked beans. How many pans do we need? For years at our neighbors big 4th party that was my chore.
Okay, my contribution will be oysters Rockefeller and Rose` wine for the morning after -- in the olden days this used to be my DW's and my specialty when we'd have overnight campouts with boating and camping friends down at nearby Sebastian Inlet State Park, where we could gather our own oysters from the river bottom. To heck with the old superstition that oysters shouldn't be eaten in months without an "r" -- this is a tough bunch and we can get away with it! And it's probably good that we'll be having them the morning after -- given the supposed aphrodisiac effect of oysters, there's no telling what might happen with this love-starved bunch otherwise!
Which reminds me of the story about the newlywed couple who had been convicted in April of making a spectacle of themselves by "doing it" on a public beach, and sentenced by the judge to thenceforth abstain from all sex for four months -- that is, until the month had an "r" in it, to help them remember. Well, May dragged on, and June seemed endless, July was torture, and by August they could hardly stand it -- and hot, to boot. So one night, after tossing and tumbling in the heat for hours, the husband got up from bed and made his way, in the dark, downstairs to get a glass of ice water. Heading back up the stairs, he bumped into his wife, who had likewise decided to come down for ice water, and they grasped each other to keep from falling. As they held onto each other there in the dark, breathing heavily, the husband asked, "What month is this?" and the wife replied, "I think it's Argust!"
OMG!. Gourdchipper! AND your job is to bring along plenty of stories like that to tell by the firepit!!! Wouldn't this be fun if we really could DO THIS!?
If we can have cyber corn, I'll bring cyber tomatoes and lettuce from our garden. I like them on the burgers. I'll also bring the other condiments. I think we need mimosas for the morning after. I'll bring some coffee cake also. I make a really good one.
Sort of off topic, but related to the 4th. My DIL is in an army band stationed at the base next to Arlington (I can never remember the name of the base - it might be Fort Myers). She also is in the Herald Trumpets. Since she's been there, she's played in the Capital Fourth concert. This year everything in the concert is being lip-synced (if that makes sense for bands). When they taped the concert, Kirsten couldn't be there, so someone else played. She will be lip-synching on either the trombone in the band or on the Herald Trumpet to someone else's playing. What a let down!
I'll bring Flint made Vienna Hot Dogs (in natural casings, of course) and on the way I'll stop at Lafayette Coney Island in Detroit Hockey Town to pick up coney sauce. Could someone from GA bring Vidalia onions?
Janet - if you remember some of the singers and the orchestra lip-synced at the inauguration - claimed it was too cold. Must be a new trend the president is starting. This way anyone,no matter how good or bad, can be in military bands.
Coffee, we'll need coffee for the morning after. I'll bring caffeinated, decaf, exotic and domestic. I'll bring a cyber barista station with all the machines to make whatever kind of frap or cap or other 'achino' you might want. Oh, and that latte stuff too. And, we've got to have Irish Coffee. The best I ever had came from a little place in San Fran; could somebody from the west coast swing by and grab some on the way to Jen's place?
Weejun...just stopped there and loaded up the ship from SanFran....Stuntgirl, the cruise ship will be parked in your yard at about noon, judging by the rate we are traveling....Tonight is anything goes night, and everything is free. We did extensive shopping while cruising in Hawaii, and have many exotic items for all of you. Flame dancers, hula girls, grass skirts, exotic drinks, and lots of leis for everyone (red white and blue of course). Everyone tonight will get leid, drink to excess and eat until they burst. And, we have a special additive, which removes all calories from the food, and no one gains weight. We also have found a supply of continence medication (from the deep forests of Hawaii) and no one will be incontinent. This will be a festival to equal none ever seen....c u there
Hey I've got an idea, could I just have this whole event catered so we all could just be waited on and enjoy each others company? I mean as long as we are imagining, let's go big. (No way in real life could I ever have something catered, hee hee.) You all could still bring your special treats if you want to share but you wouldn't have to, you could just show up at Stuntgirls place and enjoy. And I will hire a full array of caregivers for the event to provide distractions for our spice (spouses?) so they can have fun as well. See ya there!
Jules.....we have the whole thing catered...our chefs (6 star) have designed a 15 course meal, hired flame dancers and hula girls to cater, and special treats are the exotic Baluts, direct from the Phillipines. Caregivers are estimated to have 3 people assigned to each, so that proper distractions can be provided.... see ya there
I bring the Vidalia Onions, some Vidalia Onion Salad Dressing, Georgia Peaches and make a quick trip down to Plains and get some peanuts from former president peanut. I've got 4 cases of Corona Beer, 4 cases of Dos XX's, 2 cases of Sol and 2 cases of Modelo to bring. I'll also bring 3 dozen limes. For the faint of heart, I'll bring 1 case of Coors Light.
Now we need our virtual catering staff to get in the kitchen, peel those 3 bushels of peaches and whip us up some fresh Georgia peach cobbler for dessert with whipped cream or ice cream on top. No diets allowed today!
Now off to greet the hostess {{{{{{hugs}}}}}} for Jen and then {{{{{{hugs}}}}}} for the rest of the ladies, I can tell we are going to have a great time today!
WOOOOOOWWWWW! WHAT a PARTY!!!! I woke up this morning to my face in the mirror and muttered a faint ,"mornin', and happy fourth of july".....then, I saw this huge cruise ship coming across the mountain and everyone following!! All the noise in my yard.....caterers everywhere setting up. Neighbors are just standing around with their jaws dropped. And SO MANY of you are here early! Hi, everyone! HEY, JIMMY! (((((BIG HUG))))) ... hey, stop that! Mya, you come, too! Make LOTS of Sangria!! This will be the best "virtual party" EVER! Where's T-Joe....he hasn't shown up yet.
So good to finally get here. We had a great trip from Texas. Jen, your place is beautiful; thanks for sharing it with us all for the party. My goodness, we are certainly a good looking group! Phranque, thanks for picking up the Irish Coffee. Great idea on the catering, Jules. It will be a hoot to see uniformed servers offering my humble homemade 'tater salad to everyone. Okay everybody, let's get our first group pictures <snap,snap, click, click> I'll be taking a bunch of 'em today.
I'll be there, babe. Just ran into some t-storms I'm having to fly around. I forgot to ask, do you have a helipad for me to land on? If not, I'll just find a spot far enough away from ya'll so as to not kick up a bunch of dust. See 'ya in a little bit!
T-JOE!!!! WELCOME! I can't see you yet, but careful of those storms....There's a nice flat piece of land behind the house in the pasture. Try to avoid landing in the training arena, although that looks (from your perspective) like an ideal landing spot. But the surface is made of bluestone and is soft and would fly into the air and all over our food! MUSIC!!!! Blind Boys of Alabama and Hank Willliams Junior just stopped by......Can anyone send some other suggestions?
Phranque, are you out of your 'freakin' mind. Dump those Baluts in a bar ditch and don't bring them onto the property. Gag! Just noticed no one made fresh salsa and guacamole. I'll be a little late... just about got both finished...becaue you can't enjoy a good Corona with lime without a crispy tortilla chip stacked high with freshly made guacamole.
I'll be so glad to get out of the Texas heat. Jen, you're so gracious to offer your place for the celebration. Truly an INDEPENDENCE Day celebration for me.
I'm goin' outside now to supevise all the preparations ....... and to ride some. Going for a little trek up in the hills before everything gets started. (yes, for those concerned, I HAVE A WALKIE TALKIE WITH ME and John has the other.....there's a panic button it he can press....it goes for five miles). I'll be back real soon, you'll see. Hope those kids up the lane aren't firing thier fire works....my po' doesn't like that very much. He's afraid of umbrellas, too.
OH, OH......I almost forgot! OUTHOUSES!! Unless you don't mind 'going' in a stall, we have to get some of those fancy trailers delivered.....the ones they use on movie shoots that have nice facillities in them! I'll see what I can do!
Not sure who's doing the cheffing (oh the 5/6 star cheffss)..but I'm bringing reallll Texas BEEF for the grill.. its about the only thing I can offer.. Thanks for the invite and I'd be delighted to hitch a ride with any helicopter headed your way. Would also like to see your studio,Jen. Oh what a great day.. Thanks so muchhhh.