How will I ever get the energy to go to work all of next week?

Ah, the 4th of July.

This week has been great. Any week you only have to show up to work for a mere 2.5 days is great. I had Monday and Tuesday off, and since I'm on summer hours and only work half days on Fridays, I had a 2 1/2 day work week. Next week will be challenging. To show up for a full 40 hours? Oh, so challenging.

On Monday, the 3rd, I continued my quest to sit on as many patios and decks as possible. I sat out by a pool, so does that count as a kind of patio? And then later in the evening, I sat on a deck at Maynard's on Lake Minnetonka, and that definitely counts. Good times with friends.

On Tuesday, the 4th, I went out with my small group to go canoeing down the St. Croix up by Taylors Falls. It was great - paddling, eating, playing ultimate frisbee on a football-field-sized sand bar? It was a very relaxing day in gorgeous weather. Unfortunately, there was a drowning (no one in our group, thankfully) that day at the place where we all pulled out of the river, and it made me realize that God really is in control. He created this gorgeous river and wildlife, but our lives in His creation are fleeting.

BBQ. Grilling out is such an American thing to do, and it's one of my favorites. However, I can honestly say this is the first time I've had the venison version of a brat. It was pretty good.

And then on to fireworks - both the "fake" kind (sparklers on the way to the real ones), and the real kind (in Stillwater, MN, over the St. Croix River closer to the Twin Cities). We discovered that using night shot on a digital camera while writing things in the air with sparklers can be quite fun: as in, how many letters can we actually get to show up in the picture? We were up to three when we ran out of sparklers.

Also, if you've ever wondered if you can walk through a drive-thru, well, I'm here to tell you, you can! DQ was in order after fireworks, and only the drive thru was open after 11pm, and since several of us didn't want to sit in the car any longer, I suggested we walk through. They served us quite nicely, and the cars behind us seemed to be amused by the whole affair.

And now I'm housesitting at the 'rents where I've been since yesterday afternoon, and life is good. I'm happy to have so much sunshine and hot weather, but I suppose a little rain every now and then wouldn't hurt. 'Cause now I'm forced to water my mother's outdoor plants. For those relatives who read this blog, I spoke with my parents earlier today, and they're doing well. They thoroughly enjoyed the Calgary Stampede yesterday, and have plenty of exciting adventures coming up soon.