And so, here we are, at the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
When I was a teenager, I found the 200th to be a wonderful celebration. I remember thinking how cool the celebration would be in another fifty years, in 2026 when we celebrated 250 years as a country. Now that we have arrived at that milestone, I find myself embarrassed by the leadership of this country and unwilling to take part in ceremonies coopted by the President and his cronies. I fear for this country at 300, something I will never see. Our kids will have to deal with that situation.
 |
| Ann's Flag Cake |
Rob and Dyce invited us over for a cookout, and wonderfully, it did not involve me cooking anything! Ann baked the flag cake above. I managed to channel our many at-altitude baking failures appropriately into modifying Ann's recipe. At long last, a successful cake!
 |
| Dyce Sprinkling Pimentón on His Deviled Eggs |
 |
| Soft Cheese with Pistachios |
 |
| Beautiful Evening to Sit on the Porch |
 |
| Burgermeister Rob |
 |
| Barbara's Potato Salad |
 |
| Rob's Corn (Elote) Salad |
 |
| Front Row Seats to a Wildfire Start |

Facing north towards Redmond, we saw just a few fireworks far away. The big show on Pilot Butte was behind the hill behind us. No matter. I purposefully disconnected myself from the America 250 celebrations and was not too much in the mood for fireworks this year. The sunset provided plenty of fireworks on its own.