July 4th Weekend

It's been a perfectly hot holiday weekend, complete with a pouring-down rain shower yesterday. This is July in Texas, it's supposed to be hot, so that's fine. As for the rain, we really needed it, so that's fine also.

On the 4th, we drove into Chappell Hill for their parade. That teeny tiny town gets so many visitors for their annual parade, probably because the festivities are old-fashioned and fun, nostalgic and nice. We've gone to that parade each year since we've moved out here, and the parade gets longer, and more popular, each time.

They had more vintage cars this year, and a huge herd of longhorn cattle, each animal wearing a saddle and holding a rider. Plus, the highlight of the parade--- the World Famous Marching Kids' Kazoo Band, made up of children of all ages, all wearing matching tee-shirts and playing a tuneless symphony on little plastic kazoos. Now if that isn't country, I don't know what would be.

We had lunch on the 4th with friends up the road...... and found out that J's daughter L just recently got engaged.  J showed us a  photo of her daughter and her fiance, and the expression on L's face as she's holding her blinged-out left hand up to the camera is just priceless and beautiful.

My husband put up a new mailbox at the end of our driveway.... the original one was old and wobbly, and not nearly big enough for some of the books that I order through the Half.com site.  On the first day that mail was delivered (after the 4th) our mailman left a note in the box, telling us we made a good choice and he thanked us for the new box. I had to laugh... did we buy that mailbox or us, or for him? Actually, though, with the larger box, the mailman won't have to drive to our back porch and leave over-sized book packages which will now fit into the new mailbox. So no wonder he's happy.

Orange Kitty is still on our porch..... friendly as can be, unless you get your hand or your leg too close to him, and then he tries to capture you with those long claws of his.  That cat hasn't grasped the idea of 'do not nip the hand that feeds you.'  When I go outside, I carry a long red umbrella and keep it pointed down towards the porch, just to keep Orange Kitty away from my legs.  I would give anything to get rid of that blasted cat. Something tells me that he'll be around till we get old and wobbly....