Post 4th Update

The 4th of July has come and gone for another year.  Bob had to work until 5 pm on Saturday the third.  When he got home, it was really hot, so we decided to go for a ride in our air conditioned Ruby car.  We stopped by Subway and grabbed a sandwich and headed north.  We cut over at the Three Lakes Road and ended up near Island Lake.  Since we were close, we stopped by Bob's parents house.  They were out on the pontoon, and we gave them a call on the cell phone.  It was about 8:30 and they were headed to the other side of the lake for fireworks.  They turned around and came back for us.  It was very windy, and coming back took some extra time.  We all piled on the pontoon and headed toward the far side of the lake.  We made it under the bridge without having to put down the top.  When we got the to location, there were tons of boats already there.  A private citizen spends thousands of dollars to put on a fireworks show every year.  It isn't publicized, but word of mouth does a good job of bringing in a crowd.  The show started at 10:08 and lasted about twelve minutes.  It was fantastic!  Every bit as good as the fireworks in Duluth!  The trip back to the cabin was nerve-wracking at best, and an Act of God that we made it.  The winds were nearly 50 mph and it was pitch dark.  We used the GPS and Google Maps on Bob's phone to watch for islands and such.  We were all soaked, cold, and tired when we got back.

On Sunday, the 4th, Katie came home.  While we were awaiting her arrival, we gave Ruby a bath.

And Jack helped.

Katie arrived and we headed out to the lake again.  We brought the dogs, and Hunter enjoyed fetching a stick and going for a swim.  Jack did the same thing that he did when we were washing the car. Spencer made his super-deluxe hamburgers for dinner and they were delicious.  Since the lake is low, we set up our annual fireworks bonanza on the beach with a campfire this year.  Steve and Sandy bring a big assortment of fireworks every year and we had the launch pipes on the beach, too.  We had tiki torches loaded with citronella, but Bob Sr. felt that burning an old couch off the pontoon might just do the trick.  Somehow the carcinogens in the vinyl helped to keep the mosquitoes down to a dull roar.

On Monday, the 6th, we went to visit my folks before Katie headed back to St. Paul.  We had pizza for lunch, and Mom gave Katie a set of dishes to use in her new apartment.  Dad is doing just great with his new knee.  We missed Ryan and Audrey and my brothers this 4th of July, but otherwise had a nice time.

I've been knitting some pieces for the Stained Glass afghan.  I was using some leftovers of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino yarn that I had used to make a set of Fetching Gauntlets for Katie.  I love that yarn and I love that pattern.  I decided to make at least one more set of them using the same yarn.  So, today I went to Superior and got a few more balls of Cashmerino.  The pattern is available for free at http://www.knitty.com/.  Here's how they look:

Be grateful and see the beauty in each day!