msfledermaus | A belly fulla sausage and eyes full of fireworks...

Fourth of July on the Island is special...breathtakingly special.

When it's the Fourth, my island ends up getting cordoned off with lots of traffic cones and a couple of cop cars to manage the crowds on the small and large bridges nearby. These cops don't let you onto the island unless you live there or have been invited there, otherwise we'd be swarmed with people looking for parking. If you make it past the cops,(which really isn't as hard as it looks) you discover that my neighborhood has become a big fat party where you jump from backyard to backyard, eating and drinking and sharing mosquito repellant. I lit lots of candles on the backyard table, and my friends and neighbors grilled hotdogs and lamb chunks until the first of the city fireworks started up...then we trooped up to our small bridge to get the best view in town. It was a slightly shorter display than past years, but it was still gorgeous, and we all ooohed and ahhhed and cheered at the big finale wrapping up the show...then back to the grilling, where we finished up the dogs and the pizza someone ordered for Ms Kitty. It was a lovely night, with the candles and the good company and just getting a chance to sit and chill out...

I still have hot dogs and cupcakes in my fridge. Now *that* is a balanced diet:)