A little later today I'll indulge in my favorite 4th of July ritual. Not watching fireworks or soaking up sun or eating too much, but reading the Declaration of Independence. Besides, I did two of those things yesterday.

Friends formerly of Portland, now of Los Angeles, are in town and I got to meet up with them yesterday. We went to Portland's annual Waterfront Blues Festival and walked around in the sun, checking things out, occasionally listening to music (the Zydeco was my favorite - there's something about it that seems about as opposed to the blues as you can get, but I wasn't complaining), and mostly just talking and enjoying one another's company. They were staying at a newly opened hotel in downtown called the Nines and after the festival, they invited me back to check it out. It's one of those weird things about hotels that they have public spaces so a person can go look them over or meet people or have dinner, but it's pretty rare that you actually do. So it was great having an excuse to be able to give in to my curiosity, not to mention possession of a room key which allowed access to the non-public floors. We went to the restaurant area (which reminded me of the restaurant I visited in Honolulu that is accessed by going through a furniture store) and sat for a happy hour drink, then my friend's husband left to pick up some of her family to bring them to the restaurant for dinner. It worked out that my family couldn't make it, so I stayed on and had a fabulous meal and got to catch up with her mom, aunt and uncle. (I spent a lot of time with these people in high school - her family (well, pretty much everyone's family) were so much more agreeable to be around than my own.) Since I don't eat beef - and that is a heavy feature of the menu - I had chicken for my protein and it was terrific. I also tried a green bean dish I'm going to have to try to replicate - they were sauteed quickly with thinly sliced onions and almonds. Then the icing on the cake for the carbohydrate lover that I am was the pureed potatoes which were obviously made with cream. Ho man, so good! I don't eat like this often and my stomach is still recovering. I don't know how many hours in a gym it would take to burn all that off - and I really don't care. One of life's great pleasures, so far as I'm concerned, is a good meal in happy company and I'm a firm believer in setting aside the internal calorie-counter every once in awhile and enjoying food in a way that we don't in our day-to-day lives. Oh! I was wrong about something...the icing on the cake wasn't the potatoes (though, did I mention?, sooooo good!), it was the Cakebread Chardonnay. I've said before how I'm not one for Chardonnay, but I'll certainly make an exception for Cakebread any time. I had a water bottle in my purse from the earlier time out in the sun and at the end of the meal hated wasting the final glass left in the bottle so much that we were very uncouth and smuggled it out in my plastic bottle. It's sitting in my refrigerator right now; I don't think it'll be there long.

I was so replete that I had a hard time sleeping last night. Even had I not been planning to go to the gym this morning, I think I'd be going anyway just to wake myself up. I feel like an utter slug this morning and I think if I don't do something to force myself to move around today, this gorgeous and clear 90 degree day will see me sitting in front of a fan napping away the hours, maybe breaking up the time with some reading. Not that that's a bad thing, but living in the Pacific Northwest has taught me not to take a sunny day for granted and to get out there and enjoy each of them as much as possible.

I've had my morning tea, I'm sort of vertical, and it's time I got this holiday started by giving thanks for all of the things I get to do and be as a result of the untolled sacrifices made by many other people - both past and present.

Have a happy (and safe) 4th!