Okay- it wasn’t entirely our fault that the day turned out so lazy. Friends were supposed to come over, but one of them got sick at the last minute so they couldn’t come. To be clear, they didn’t “ruin” our holiday by not showing up. We were perfectly happy to sink into a stupor, as you will soon see.
Usually my husband and I run a 5K on the 4th of July, but for several reasons (which I’ll cover in the next Weekly Rundown) we decided not to. We did not regret that decision! As my husband said, “I’m so glad we didn’t have to get up really early and drive 40 minutes to run in the heat with a bunch of strangers.” Yes, well, that’s called RUNNING A RACE. Instead, I went to the gym with my son.
This was the one non-lazy part of the day, because his workouts are HARD. I don’t usually do a dedicated “pull” day, but I did his workout with him. Ouch.
Shortly after we got home, I put together our July 4th vegan charcuterie board!
The thing in the middle is a cheeseball- recipe from Nora Cooks. I also made a big batch of “Texas Caviar.”
After this hefty lunch, I lay down on the couch to read. Funny thing about this couch… if I drift off to sleep, it’s like sinking into a black hole of DOOM. I ended up taking a long, long nap… I think it was around two hours. It didn’t help that my cat came and snuggled with me- who can get up when there’s a cuddly cat next to you?
When I was finally able to get off the couch, it was time to make a berry cobbler. And when that was done, I started dinner! We didn’t grill, because that would have meant going outside and getting hot. But we did have burgers and sausages- Beyond Burger for my husband, Beyond sausages for my son, and a Field Roast sausage for me. My daughter doesn’t like any burgers or sausages, so she had leftovers from the previous night.
Yes, that’s more Texas Caviar on my plate! We will be eating this for a few days. I made a huge batch since I thought we were having guests, so we have a LOT.
After dinner I was reading on the couch when the fireworks started. We have a crazy amount of fireworks going off in our neighborhood. I kept looking out the window and saying “How come I can’t see them?” My son said “Because we’re INSIDE.” Oh! You have to go outside to see fireworks? No, thanks. It’s hot and mosquito-y out there.
Two members of the family were not fans of the fireworks:
This photo was taken earlier in the day. At night they were hiding under the bed, obviously.
That was our 4th! While other people were going to parades and hosting barbecues, I was reading and catching up on my sleep. It was a good day.
How was your 4th? Did you celebrate?
27 Responses
Your 4th of July sounds perfect to me! No need for additional stress, especially if your guests had to cancel! I’d take that as a sign that you needed the rest.
The Swiss national holiday is on 1 August. I’m happy to see that people are turning more and more away from fireworks because of environmental concerns (air quality).
Fireworks must be quite tough on pets, too! Your poor cats!
Yes, I was wondering about fireworks up north, with the air quality concerns. We certainly had a lot of fireworks here!
I like your take on this- yes, it was a sign from the universe that we needed to rest! I definitely took advantage of it.
That Texas caviar looks great! We obviously don’t celebrate the fourth, but my Tuesday was just fine 🙂
I’m goad you had a nice Tuesday! 🙂 The Texas caviar is really good- I felt like we needed a delicious yet HEALTHY addition to the day.
This sounds so great, Jenny! Especially the nap with a cat. I love those lazy days!
We went to a parade and then went to my parents’ house for dinner. It was a full and lovely day, but much too hot and humid for me.
Yes, that’s the problem with the 4th of July- it’s in JULY. Funny how the heat and humidity never bothered me as a kid. And, interesting fact- we don’t have 4th of July parades here in South Florida. I guess because of the heat? Growing up, we went to the parade every year.
Poor kitties! We had a scaled back family celebration. Usually my SIL hosts a huge party, but because it was a weeknight she limited this year’s party it to the in town family. The highlight was that we all brought our dogs. In the past our dog has been very shy of other dogs, but she’s gotten mellow with age and the other dogs in the family are more mature as well, so they had a fun doggy play date.
Aw!!! We almost had a “doggy playdate”- the friends who were supposed to come over were going to bring their two dogs. I was very curious to see how our cats would react- Muffin loves everyone so I think she would have enjoyed it. Charlotte would have bee terrified though. Maybe it’s good they didn’t come- Charlotte had enough to deal with yesterday as it was.
A low key 4th sounds perfect to me, especially when the weather is gross and humid! We drove back home yesterday and I happily passed the kids off to Phil after doing a bit of unpacking and laid in bed for 2 hours. I was so so so worn out from the weekend. It was a fun getaway but sleep wasn’t great so I came back feeling pretty worn out and ready to get back on our normal schedule – and to have the boys sleep in their own rooms again! Sharing a room w/ Paul is totally fine. Sharing a room w/ Will is not. That is all.
We saw fireworks on Monday and had a big meal with some extended family so we kind of celebrated a day early and then yesterday was an ordinary day. I make a chicken tikka masala in the instant pot for dinner and my over-tired boys went to bed earlier than usual and both fought bedtime since they were so over-tired and over-stimulated from the weekend away. I do not sound very positive. Ha. It was a fun weekend and they had a great time with family, playing in the sand, enjoying the lake, etc. I just won’t be jumping to take them to the lake on my own again anytime soon!!!
I am all about low-key events, so your day sounds perfect to me. A nap! Good food! Some exercise! Being surrounded by your family!
Canada Day is on July 1st and we used to do a lot more to celebrate; this year I was recovering from a stomach bug so we just lazed around the house mostly. Which feels a little sad…but honestly was exactly what I wanted from the day! My husband took the kids on a long bike ride, we had Subway for supper. Not a single piece of patriotic clothing was worn. Oops.
ha ha… it sounds like that’s exactly what you needed. And I like Subway for dinner! I did wear my American flag tank top for the 4th, although no one saw it but my family. Oh well!
I am writing a post about this tomorrow, but as the human companion of a dog who is sensitive to fireworks, I officially hate the Fourth of July now. I wasn’t always this way. We took her to the dog park during the day and tried to exhaust her, but she was so scared. I’m officially a curmudgeon about the Fourth and next year I’m considering finding someplace* in the middle of the woods, far away from any neighbors or fireworks shows, and hunkering down with my dog for the months of July through October.
*This will not happen, obviously. I will never leave my house.
Yes, it’s a huge problem. Our cats were disconcerted, but they weren’t terrified, and they recovered pretty quickly. Tonight we’ve had a few fireworks- nothing major, not like last night, and the cats are okay. Poor Hannah! It must be hard for all of you.
Sometimes you just need a nice couch nap! I got up early to go run with my crew into Georgetown and we walked back. It’ was crazy hot and I also fell asleep out back by the pool for a little bit. WE had a low key day making homemade pizzas and watching a movie. Nothing too exciting over here either!
That sounds fun! And yes- the heat will definitely tire you out.
I ran a race in the am… hot and humid. went out to brunch with my running friends and then I was too lazy to much else… It poured in the evening and so I watched the local fireworks through my window. The big ones in the city were cancelled.
Well, at least you ran a race! Usually we run in the morning and then feel more justified being lazy during the day.
It sounds like you had a lovely Independence Day! We drove to Maryland and went on a 52-mile ride through the Maryland countryside and into Pennsylvania to ride through the Gettysburg battlefield. We then had a block party outside from 5:30-9. It took me hours to cool down afterward and it only got up to about 90° here. I can’t imagine how hot it must have gotten where you live.
Oh yes, it was HOT here! Your 4th sounds really fun, although i would have wished it to be ten degrees cooler. But, summer is hot.
I like the 4th of July- it’s become the one holiday where we usually go to my parent’s house instead of them coming to us, so this involves returning to my childhood town (well, next town over now, bc my parents moved when I was in college, but it still involves my childhood “area”). We also typically still go to the parade in my childhood town and it’s just nice in general to not be the one “hosting” for a change! It’s usually still pretty low key, though this year my sister + family were there too, so it was more chaotic than usual, but still pretty chill. We did see fireworks both the 3rd and 4th. My nieces and nephew had never seen fireworks before, so they were SUPER excited, which was cute to witness. 🙂
I think your reaction to the 4th is how I often feel on Easter. Our weather is always crummy on Easter in WI, and it’s just too close to all the Christmas hoopla I think for me to get all into “doing stuff” for another holiday. I feel like “everyone” is doing big brunches and family events and wearing spring dresses and making hams and I’m always like….ehhhh……. can we skip?? hah. We generally end up doing a little something, in part because I feel obligated, but I just don’t get much into it for some reason.
Well, it’s funny because Easter is actually one of my least favorite holidays, for a lot of the reasons you cited. Now, for July 4th- if I could go back to my hometown and see a parade I would love it! Unfortunately my hometown is hundreds of miles away and not family lives there any more, so I guess I won’t be doing that.
It sounds like the perfect lazy holiday to me 🙂 (ours looked very similar – minus the nap LOL).
The cheeseball and cracker plate looks amazing. And I love pretzel buns.
The nap was one of the best parts!
That sounds like such a great way to spend the 4th of July! I also took a nice long nap on Tuesday and it was very much needed. I spent the holiday at my mom’s house. We went into the pool with the dogs, played some games, and my stepdad cooked out.
I *have* actually seen fireworks outside my window before while I was inside! Sometimes it’s possible!
Being in the pool will definitely tire you out! I didn’t even have that excuse, ha.
I have to confess, I looked at the cheeseball and thought it was the weirdest looking loaf of bread I’d ever seen, and WHY did Jenny have all of those crackers AND bread and so few other things? LOL. Thanks for clearing things up. Was it good? (The recipe sure looked good…)
Your fourth sounds perfect. I love soporific couches.
You and my son are in agreement! He thought it looked like a ball of pizza dough. I thought it improved when I rolled it in pecans… but I guess it still looked like bread, ha ha.