mistressofmuses (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mistressofmuses) wrote2024-07-05 08:15 pm
mistressofmuses) wrote2024-07-05 08:15 pm
Fourth of July:
Alex took this picture, but it was the best of the day imo.
I'm not terribly patriotic, particularly after All That from the Supreme Court, but it is also Alex's and my anniversary. 15 years together!
We went out for fireworks, and brought the dogs with. We'd brought that umbrella in the background of the above pic to make shade, especially for Cy, but he absolutely wanted to be in the sun the whole time.
Another picture Alex took. This one is from earlier in the week, but it makes me laugh.
We were trying to take pictures of Bella for her AKC registration (Alex wants to get her a PAL registration so that she can maybe compete in FastCAT, because boy does she like to chase.) She definitely would rather play than stand still for *boring* pictures.
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This is the first year in a long time that I've had the fourth of July as like... a separate holiday. I think the whole time I've worked at my current job, and at least most of the time at my job before this, I've taken the week or so around the fourth off as my main "summer vacation" time. This year it just didn't work out - my manager took part of the week off (though her plans wound up kind of sunk, too), and I wasn't sure I'd have the PTO anyway, after I had to use so much of it at the very beginning of the year when I got sick. Maybe I'll see if I can justify something in August.
But we are closed for the 4th, so it was at least one extra day off for me.
We made our traditional fruit salad, of only the fruits we really like:
Mango, nectarine, peach, banana, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, cherry. And a can of mandarin oranges that didn't make it into the picture. We were lucky this year, because we managed to get a lot of the fruit on sale, and it had a chance to ripen before we used it!
And assembled!
Alex also made a gallon of fresh-squeezed lemon-limeade, which we also put some of the berries from the fruit salad into. It was delicious!
We tried to decide between a couple different fireworks shows in neighboring cities to go to, and ended up picking based on which one had the better food trucks the most recent time we went, ha. We were hoping for the brisket we got a few years ago, though alas, that truck was not there this year.
We brought both Cy and Bella with us. Neither of them are reactive to fireworks, and Cy is deaf now anyway. Bella in general just doesn't care. Both of them would have been more unhappy being left alone for a long day and into the night.
Parking was a nightmare, but we eventually got lucky when the staff opened up a few extra spots in what's typically a loading area, and we snagged one. It was a bit of a walk from there to the fields, but not too bad.
Cy had a good time, especially for the first few hours! He was delighted that he could just keep rolling in the grass, and he wanted to play, haha.
Pit bulls of the sun.
When we arrived, there was some pretty awful bro-country artist playing (and I realize it may have just been a pander-y setlist, but I find lines like "an ice-cold beer never broke my heart" cringey.) After that, the music shifted to just some DJ stuff for a bit, and then the next performer was an 80s cover band, which was more generally crowd-pleasing. They were fine.
The BBQ truck we'd been hoping would be back was sadly not, though there were more food options this time than I remember from the last time. We didn't want anything too heavy, and while an elk burger was tempting, it sounded way heavier than we wanted. We ended up going for macaroni and cheese from one of the trucks (which sounded good, and was on the cheaper side). It was upper middle quality, haha.
And around sunset, we got some pretty clouds.
As the day wore on, Cy started to get tired. This was probably the longest day he's had in the last year put together! Both dogs were good all day, and Bella was even good about a couple random little kids who repeatedly ran up and got in her face without warning, trying to get her to react. (There was also a very polite kid who asked if he could pet her, which she was delighted by.)
The fireworks show itself was pretty good! It was a good show, and didn't feel too short. I would prefer that shows *weren't* set to playlists of vaguely patriotic song clips (some of which are glurgy, some of which are fine, and some of which just had the word "USA" in them and were included for that alone.)
Cy didn't even seem to notice the fireworks for a while, until he looked up and saw them, ha. Bella noticed, but minus a tiny startle at the first one, and then sniffing the air as the show wound to a close, she did not care at all. She just wanted the carrots we'd brought along, ha.
We waited for a while to try and mitigate the crowds, and we managed to find a slightly shorter route back to the car. The dogs were definitely tired and ready to be done with the night, and Cy was a bit stiff today.
It was a nice day, even if it did leave me not really wanting to go back to work today!
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I had the thunderjacket on him the whole time.
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Does the thundershirt help him?
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That first photo is awesome! I LOL'd when I clicked the cut tag and saw the pic of Bella holding her leash!
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I am very glad that the dogs don't react to fireworks. Almost everyone I know has dogs that are very upset by them, so I know how lucky we are that we've managed two dogs in a row that just don't care.
That first photo is great! It's hard to get both the dogs in a picture together without one of them making a weird face or looking the wrong way, ha.
Bella holding her leash was wonderful. She really is such a silly dog.
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Happy pups!
Happy anniversary!
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And the happy dogs. I'm so glad the fireworks don't upset them.
And thank you!
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Usually when I used to go watch fireworks, there was never actually music unless you were also tuned into a particular local radio station that was airing music to go along with the fireworks. It generally is what's considered "patriotic" but mostly because the patriots have tried to claim all of Sousa's music as specifically patriotic.
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We do have lots of people who shoot off fireworks all summer, despite it being illegal here, too. Most people go up to Wyoming to buy them; as soon as you cross the state line, there are just a ton of fireworks warehouses.
The fruit salad is a high point, not going to lie, haha.
Instrumental music wouldn't bother me nearly as much. (And having the 1812 Overture for the finale was the one part of the musical selection that didn't bother me.) This year it was a weird mix of stuff - some super gross garbage like "Proud to Be an American" that makes me want to puke; a really insulting like... dance mix? of "Born in the USA," which as usual, is not the patriotic song it's being made out to be, and having it over a techno beat sounded awful; some fine stuff like "This Land is Your Land"; and then annoying pop stuff like "Party in the USA." And weird choices like Fall Out Boy's "Fourth of July", which is really more of a breakup song, so maybe it was appropriate, lol.
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Okay, 1812 Overture is the BEST music for fireworks. This is me when I hear 1812 with fireworks:
And what the absolute fuck? Gross songs, and a gross cover of Born in the USA, which is a song I love and is NOT patriotic. Ugh.
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And yes: that really IS the best thing to imagine set to the song!
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Forgot to say, congrats on your anniversary! Love a milestone year!
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And thank you! 15 years seems like such a long time!
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I'm glad that the dogs are chill with fireworks and this holiday isn't the trial it is for some pet owners. Also, that top pic of the puppers is awesome.
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I am really glad that the dogs are both as calm about fireworks as they are. I know so many people who have pets that are super upset by them, and it sucks. So glad Alex got that picture of them - it's hard to get them both in a picture where one of them isn't looking the wrong way, or making a weird face, lol.
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Cy & Bella look adorable in each shot! <3 And that fruit salad looks absolutely delicious! The scenic shot of the cloud also looks nice! ^_^
Also congrats on your anniversary! ヽ(•‿•)ノ
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And thank you - I think they're both very cute dogs, though I know I'm biased, ha. <3 The fruit salad was very good.
And thank you! It doesn't feel like it's been 15 years!
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No prob! That's great, I'm glad you two have persevered for so long! It's an amazing accomplishment.