July 4 Plans? (or July 14 plans if French)

[clean]

July 4 falls on a Thursday this year.  Will you make it a long long weekend?  What are your plans? 
My summer class officially ends on Friday, but my exam is on Wednesday.  It is a computer graded exam so I should be done with grading well before anyone sparks up a grill!

Ive been invited to my girlfriend's parents' house ***  They immigrated from Columbia when she was about 2, so they have been here a while, but they dont always get the holiday traditions right... (Like when they served a 'traditional thanksgiving' that included turkey, and then a lot of Columbia dishes and no mashed potatoes or worse, no stuffing!!!).  They are big on chicken and fish, and dont own a grill. My girlfriend loves steak, but the parents wont eat more than a taste.  They have on rare occasion cooked pork ribs in an pan (boiled in its own grease in the oven.... I brought them real smoked ribs one July 4th but they wouldnt eat them because they were pink - from the smoke ring... like they are supposed to be... until they baked them another hour in the oven!)

Anyway, I will go, but I m not sure what to expect!! 

I may try to go to a movie that afternoon, depending on when they decide to have the meal. IF I havent seen Yesterday by then, that sounds like a good choice... I expect Spiderman would be busy and Im not really caught up on the 'multiverse'


Bastille Day if July 14 (a Sunday)  Will you crank out that red, white and blue banner?  (too early to plan that one, maybe?)  I should be in Florida. My mom is scheduled to have knee replacement the next morning.  I hope that the surgeon wont be toasting France til the wee hours!


*** When I first typed "girlfriend's parents' house" I had the apostrophe reversed... girlfriends' ... indicating multiple girlfriends!  She probably would not have found that amusing if she were to read my post!  But one is enough!

[polly_mer]

We are having a long 4th of July weekend.  We'll go visit friends and spend a good chunk of the weekend playing board games.  We've ordered some new ones based off of* suggestions on the board game thread.


*Ha, folks fell for the trap of giving out their pet peeves on words/terms!

[backatit]

We are going over to a friend's house for an early party, then our usual; stay home with the terrified dogs while our neighborhood does its darndest to blow itself up. We live in a rural area and our neighbors always seem to be attempting to reenact the actual battles...

[Puget]

I have a 6:15 AM flight on the 5th, so packing, watching the municipal fireworks from my balcony, then trying to get to sleep early so I can be up at 3:30.

This is the annual trip to the family cabin the in the mountains. Can't wait to get up there! Where I live now is lovely, but my heart will always be up in the western mountains.

[Antiphon1]

We're at home for the 4th.  Our town has a wonderful carnival, booths, parade and fireworks in the park.  Plus, this holiday works a little like a community homecoming.  Lots of families have reunions this week, so we get so see some out of town friends.  We love getting away to the lake, but not during the holiday weekend.  Way too boozy for the younger kids.   

[Bbmaj7b5]

Friends are having a party to celebrate a new US citizen.

[aside]

Visiting family in nearby city for the day, then back home for a fantastic view of the city fireworks from our balcony.

[Parasaurolophus]

You forgot June 24 and July 1. Typical!

[traductio]

On Canada Day, we're flying to Europe. On U.S. Independence Day, we're going to Brussels. On Bastille Day, we're avoiding the heck out of Paris (although we might be there in the days leading up to July 14).

[clean]

You forgot June 24 and July 1. Typical!

June 24 had already past by the time I created this post.

For what it is worth, on July 1, I get my teeth cleaned!

Besides, and any solid US citizen knows, nothing happens north of the border.  Even the weather radar on TV is blank. 

[hmaria1609]

I have Wednesday and the 4th off from the library.  I'm sure some folks are on the road already or soon will!

[ab_grp]

We are lucky to have the 4th and 5th off from work.  For the 4th, we will probably just watch all the many sets of legal and illegal fireworks from our back patio (fortunate to have such a good view).  We are going to try to grill some hot dogs.  Although we are ambitious cooks, I don't think I have ever had a homemade hot dog that I really liked.  I have eaten cold, boiled hot dogs at college football games that hit the spot.  I love 7-11 hot dogs and hot dogs made by possibly unhygienic street vendors.  For some reason, they just taste better to me.  But, we are going to give it a try.  There is some contention in the family about what condiments are allowed on hot dogs.  I am from an area in which only mustard and sauerkraut are appropriate.  Our 15yo apparently thinks ketchup is the thing to do, but luckily she's a vegetarian and wouldn't actually be eating one with us (she won't be home, anyway).    I'm sure our neighbors will also be lighting off tons of fireworks, and our house will be shelled.  I guess the city's enormous show is not enough. 

[backatit]

Why in the name of all that's holy do my neighbor's think that the 4th is a multi-day holiday that somehow starts in JUNE? Seriously people, we have WWIII going on out there right now - they are sending up something that sounds more like mortars than bottle rockets. The dog is under the blankets, and I will be calling the cops shortly. I don't understand why we have to withstand this multi-day barrage. My neighbors on Nextdoor feel similar, so it's not just me.

Signed, the Grinch, who misses Bonfire day, which at least is only ONE DAY.

[bioteacher]

Why in the name of all that's holy do my neighbor's think that the 4th is a multi-day holiday that somehow starts in JUNE?

I just vented about this in the venting thread. Do we live in the same neighborhood?

I have the 4th off. We will probably put some part of a beast on the grill. We might go see local fireworks in nearby town. Our town moved them to a later weekend so as not to compete with other towns. Heavy sigh.
I work on Saturday, so my work week this coming week is broken up in strange ways.
Our local "community days" will conclude with Fireworks on July 13th, when none of us will be in town.

[clean]

Will you have Watermelon on July 4?


Will you put salt on your watermelon?  (my grandfather always put salt on his.  In my youth I salted mine too. Now I no longer do.  )

What about corn on the cob?  Will you have corn on the cob? 
(I probably will, but as with my watermelon, I no longer soak it in butter and salt.  Tastes just fine without the fat and salt added).

I havent been asked, yet, but I may be making potato salad to bring to my girlfriend's parents' house.  Im not sure how many will be there, so I dont know if I will cook a moderate amount or a mass quantity