4th of July plans?

We'll be going to Dane's youngest sister's house on Saturday the 2nd for their annual 4th of July celebration. They do a huge cookout and invite family and friends for a 'most of the day' party.

Our DD#2 and grandson arrive the night of the 4th. She'll be staying until Friday morning when she flies back to return to work. Our 13 year old grandson will stay with us until the end of the month when his grandpa drives back up to Ohio to do the annual maintenance on our house there. We're looking forward to multiple trips to the beach with him and just having him around to liven up our boring existence! Of course, I expect we'll change our tune after going non-stop for the first week ~ probably will bribe him to just stay quiet for a couple days in a row. LOL

bethk wrote:We'll be going to Dane's youngest sister's house on Saturday the 2nd for their annual 4th of July celebration.  They do a huge cookout and invite family and friends for a 'most of the day' party.

Our DD#2 and grandson arrive the night of the 4th.  She'll be staying until Friday morning when she flies back to return to work.  Our 13 year old grandson will stay with us until the end of the month when his grandpa drives back up to Ohio to do the annual maintenance on our house there.  We're looking forward to multiple trips to the beach with him and just having him around to liven up our boring existence!  Of course, I expect we'll change our tune after going non-stop for the first week ~ probably will bribe him to just stay quiet for a couple days in a row.  LOL

Now this is a different daughter than the one whose little girl you made the apple roses with, right Beth? What are their names? I think he sounds like a pretty neat kid at that age who wants to spend a month with his grandparents. I hope he goes back looking tan and Florida-ized! It'll be nice for Dane to have someone to drive back with, too -- ought to be a fun road trip for the two of them!

What are you planning on bringing to Dane's sister's 4th of July party anyway? Knowing you, I can't imagine you of all people showing up with nothing. I'm putting my money on some type of luscious dessert!

Are Dane's sisters and his family originally from Florida, or did they just end up there? That's two of them that don't live far from you, right?

Hey, speaking of Dane, how's the garage now that he did that work on it? Did it turn out to be cool enough to warrant all of his hard work? Just amazed at people like him and Jimmy who are so handy around the house.

I haven't really given much thought about what to make for the weekend of the 4th until you nudged me, Beth. It might be the perfect weekend for Brian to do something on the smoker. He was just saying the other day how it had been a while (for us) since he smoked something.

I do have a recipe I found recently for some smoked cabbage that I want to try. It's got a sausage filling and is perfect for the second rack of the smoker, along with some smoked nuts that I want to make, too. We're kind of sick of ribs (even Brian!), as Brian really made a lot of them for a while, and we've had a lot of brisket recently. Maybe an eye of round would be good. It's one of my least favorite cuts of meat for inside the house but I love it on the smoker -- comes out moist (whether or not you marinate it, which I would) and there's not a smidgen of waste either, as it slices up beautifully. You can make a sauce for it, make sandwiches with it and it's great leftover, and it freezes well, too.

Well, thank you, Beth! Brian just brought me some coffee (and some raspberry tea to take my morning pills) and we decided on a menu for the 4th. Marinated eye of round smoked with cherry and pecan wood (backup Mad Hunky rub in case we get lazy), smoked stuffed cabbage, some smoked Creole tomatoes with grilled charred green onions in them (my new stove has a fifth oval burner in the center that came with a grill!), and fruit salad (remember Brian doesn't care for potato salad and coleslaw would be kind of redundant). I'm going to pick up some nice potato buns from the store and make a nice red wine beef au jus sauce with thinly sliced onions for the sliced eye of round sandwiches. Cold beer for him and one of my nice new rosés for me!

I might even attempt a dessert if I'm feeling okay. After all, it's a three-day weekend so I have some time to whip all of this up, plus my helper extraordinaire. He loves chocolate and just got me all the stuff I need to make a Chocolate Soufflé Cake with Raspberry Sauce by Jacques Pepin. All I needed was some potato starch, which came in the mail last week from King Arthur (an excuse to buy some other stuff from there, too). It's one of those thin flourless chocolate cakes that we both adore, served on top of some raspberry sauce made with seedless raspberry preserves with a tablespoon of rum mixed in for good measure.

Thanks for the push, Beth, to plan something for the 4th!

Gosh Beth you know I am so set in my old ways now .I could not care about it one way or the other..I know I HATE fireworks..all weekend and till 2am.and the mess in my street and yard and on the roof

I am almost finished with grilling outside.To Hot and skeeters..

I got some really big lobsters .4 of them ,so If I can .. I will grill them..Sides??? Have no clue.Yet..

Oh and I am sure Tim will be bringing me food lol.

Crybaby wrote:
Now this is a different daughter than the one whose little girl you made the apple roses with, right Beth?  What are their names?  I think he sounds like a pretty neat kid at that age who wants to spend a month with his grandparents.  I hope he goes back looking tan and Florida-ized!  It'll be nice for Dane to have someone to drive back with, too -- ought to be a fun road trip for the two of them!

What are you planning on bringing to Dane's sister's 4th of July party anyway?  Knowing you, I can't imagine you of all people showing up with nothing.  I'm putting my money on some type of luscious dessert!  

Are Dane's sisters and his family originally from Florida, or did they just end up there?  That's two of them that don't live far from you, right?  

Hey, speaking of Dane, how's the garage now that he did that work on it?  Did it turn out to be cool enough to warrant all of his hard work?  Just amazed at people like him and Jimmy who are so handy around the house.

DD#2 - Robin and grandson, Jacob (Jake). Andrea - DD#1 is married to Jim and has GS Joshua (16) and Victoria (Tori) 12.

I have an industrial size can of peaches in the pantry. Why I purchased it at Sam's Club is beyond me! I must have had something in mind but cannot, for the life of me, remember what it would have been. I think I'm going to turn it into a peach cobbler. As long as it's in a disposable foil pan no one will ever figure out I made it in case it turns out crappy. LOL

All of Dane's siblings were born in the Toledo area. He has 1 'full' sister (same mother & father ~ their mother passed away when they were 3 & 4 yrs. old) lives close to the other sibs in Palatka (1 1/4 hr. from us), two sisters from a 2nd marriage, one in Toledo & one in Cincinnati. His youngest sister and two brothers all live within 3 minutes of each other on or near the Campground their Dad bought and ran for 30 some years.

The insulation of the metal garage door has helped somewhat with the heat coming in the garage. We still need to get some sun blocking film for the large single pane window that acts as an oven when the west sun shines. I don't know if I could afford to own a home if I didn't have him to do the maintenance and repairs. (which is reason enough to keep him around......LOL)

Beth wrote:DD#2 - Robin and grandson, Jacob (Jake). Andrea - DD#1 is married to Jim and has GS Joshua (16) and Victoria (Tori) 12.

You and your daughters both picked nice names for your kids.

Beth wrote:All of Dane's siblings were born in the Toledo area. He has 1 'full' sister (same mother & father ~ their mother passed away when they were 3 & 4 yrs. old) lives close to the other sibs in Palatka (1 1/4 hr. from us), two sisters from a 2nd marriage, one in Toledo & one in Cincinnati. His youngest sister and two brothers all live within 3 minutes of each other on or near the Campground their Dad bought and ran for 30 some years.

How sad he lost his mom so young.  Sure is nice he's remained close to his siblings.  Can't believe so many of them ended up living within such a reasonable distance of each other after all being from Ohio to start.  Big family, too!

Beth wrote:The insulation of the metal garage door has helped somewhat with the heat coming in the garage. We still need to get some sun blocking film for the large single pane window that acts as an oven when the west sun shines. I don't know if I could afford to own a home if I didn't have him to do the maintenance and repairs. (which is reason enough to keep him around......LOL)

This made me laugh as Brian often tells people that his motto is why do something you can pay someone else to do for you.  This is usually in response to someone's surprise at how "unhandy" we are.  Brian hates it when I'm willing to try to tackle something he doesn't know how to do, too -- especially if I end up completing the task, too!  Someone gave us a book on How to Repair Everything in the Home when we first bought this house.  I read thru the entire book, which irked him no end.  He said I was supposed to read one chapter at a time when I needed to know how to do something.  We ended up laughing hysterically when I responded, "Afraid I'm going to end up knowing more than you?"  Honestly, we're both terrible and you're right -- it does end up costing a lot to have to hire someone to do it for you.  The lady that cleans for me also does things for us around the house when needed.  She is long divorced and has four sons, the youngest of which just graduated from high school (37 to 18!).  She said she HAD to learn how to do stuff herself over the years and told me how YouTube has been a Godsend for her, as she can usually find a video on how to do just about anything.

Beth wrote:I have an industrial size can of peaches in the pantry. Why I purchased it at Sam's Club is beyond me! I must have had something in mind but cannot, for the life of me, remember what it would have been. I think I'm going to turn it into a peach cobbler. As long as it's in a disposable foil pan no one will ever figure out I made it in case it turns out crappy. LOL

Glad to hear someone else forgets what they bought something for.  And don't make me laugh, as I'm sure your peach cobbler will not only be delicious but will also be pretty as all get out!

Loved the pic of Maria with her shark hood, Jimmy! Thanks for sharing that with us. Too cute.

Crybaby wrote:Loved the pic of Maria with her shark hood, Jimmy!  Thanks for sharing that with us.  Too cute.

Oh Thank you!.... When I first saw the pic, I thought,"Gee, looks like the shark is ready to bite the big toe off on the client!" hahaha