❤️ of the Home - July

 July 4th is a BIG holiday in America--our Independence Day.  It represents all that we hold dear about America--our freedoms for ALL.  Susan proudly hangs her flag. . . .

The 4th of July is a great time to pack a picnic and head for the firework display.  In 1982 a 4th of July picnic was the furthest thing from my mind.  I spent the 4th of July in a Washington, DC hospital because I'd just given birth to my second child the day before.  But I didn't miss out on the fireworks....Baby and I watched the National Fireworks display from our hospital window!

Here is Susan's Old-Fashioned Picnic Menu for your fireworks viewing:

She also provides these recipes and how to make them on her blog:

Summer White Bean Salad

Lemon Rice Salad

Crab Cake Recipe

Head to your local Farmer's Market to get fresh ingredients.  Susan has done a post about the Vineyard's Farmer's Market.  I went the week we were there in 2012 and bought a beautiful bouquet of flowers for the carriage house we rented.  Here they are on the little table in the garden where I drank my morning coffee and wrote in my journal. . . .

They were still looking good the day we left, so I left them on Susan's doorstep!

Be sure to buy some home-grown tomatoes and herbs for this recipe while you're at the Farmer's Market. . . .

And if they happen to have cantaloupe this sounds like a great summer soup. . . .

When I think of summer I think of the beach.  Susan has done a lovely post called  Come with Me to the Sea about the ❤️-shaped rocks and sea glass she's collected as well as one on Sea Shells.


I even found one while I was there!

Susan is a big fan of Beatrix Potter's whose birthday is on the 28th.  She has done two posts about her visit to Hilltop Farm:  Part 1, Part 2

Are you able to vacation at the ocean or lake during the summer?  Do you have a special 4th of July story to tell?

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❤️Take Joy❤️