Fireworks in a Little House

Happy Independence Day! Thanks to God's provision and the blood, sweat, and tears of our dear old forefathers, we get to live peacefully in this country with many freedoms and the chance to think and act creatively.

Here's a sample of creative thought and action right here:

This has been Dad's brainchild for the past couple of months (at least that's as long as I've known about it.) It's an Adirondack chair and table that he crafted with his bare hands (I was impressed!). And a handsaw, of course...or whatever kind of saw. Actually, a true Adirondack chair would be painted white (being from the Adirondacks, he knows these things) :) But he didn't paint this one, because white wouldn't look that nice on our porch.

Back when we were visiting Grandpa Pitz and Dad was looking through Handyman magazines, I mentioned that the wheels were turning...and look what happened!

So, it's the 4th of July, and I'm so glad I don't have to work today. We cleaned house because it was Time To Do It. Ethan is amazing us all with his neatness (which is almost extreme for a five year old!) One of his jobs is to move shoes in the utility room so that I can vacuum under them, and this how he did it:

They were not that neat before he moved them, and nobody told him to line them up like that!

I found Mom in the kitchen making watermelon balls a little while ago, and eyed the melon covetously. (I'm still awefully curious about that fried watermelon).

"You can't touch my watermelon!" she said. How grinchy. Oh well. Someday I'll move away and fry all the watermelon I want to and then she'll be sorry. So there. Just kidding! If you knew the experiments my Mom has put up with...I sure do love her.

Right now, Mattie, Connor, and Ethan are purchasing fireworks with Dad. We're having the Fritz's over for hamburgers, sausages, and (unfried) watermelon later on. Oh, and Mattie's lovely patriotic cake, which she courageously assembled with a badly swollen wasp sting! Now that's a true cook.

(I took a picture of Mattie and her cake, but it won't upload, so I'll try to put it on tomorrow probably.)

Last night, we went to some friends' rental property near the fairgrounds to see the firework show. I wasn't too excited, honestly, but once we got there it was great! Mom said "Whoa, Cass, two parties in a row." Yeah, yeah.

Fireworks are so expressive! The explosions of light and color are the tangible counterpart of abstract joy. The firework show was what my brain looks like on the inside when I'm happy :)

Epiphanies, expanding and expiring, one after the other, too close and too quick to be caught and packaged. Fireworks in a little house. That's what it's like inside when I'm happy.

Ethan was just in here with Mattie, glorying in his loot (after returning from the firework store). He had some firecrackers that look like tanks, and also some that look like snakes. Eying Leyla, he said,

"I'm gonna scare Ley Ley with my snakes. Cute little baby kitty!" Poor Ley. A bath and fireworks in the same day! It's Independence Day for most of us, but nobody said anything about cats.