Each holiday I like to decorate the porch and July 4th is no exception. Halloween by far is the most extensive decorations but a few patriotic pieces has spiced up my porch. I had this red, white and blue flower wreath that I added a few flags to make it more festive.

Then in the giant urn that is currently holding some summer flowers I have added a few more flags.

And not to be forgotten, I have added two garden flags.

I actually do not have a physical flag. On my roof facia I can see where a flag holder was put up but the previous owners probably removed it. After all these years I probably won’t buy a flag but I do remember growing up getting out the flag to hang in the front of the house.

I am not sure if my family felt any particular national pride per se but it was something you did in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Perhaps they felt more connected to previous wars and lost loved ones.

My maternal Uncle died in World War Two. He was aboard the U.S.S. Pringle that was attacked by a Kamikaze Pilot on April 16, 1945. The ship sank and my uncle perished.

If you want to learn more about the event and see photos of both crew and the ship, please check out this link. https://www.usspringle.org/uss-pringle–home.html

There is a copy of the final letter my Uncle sent home before his death please a few photos.

Ray Arvel England Aug 28, 1924 – April 16, 1945

So many have given their lives for our freedom. Don’t forget this important sacrifice, especially on the 4th.

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While researching for a good patriotic poem to share, I noticed that there really wasn’t much available out there. I found most “poems” were put to music and have become beloved patriotic songs. That’s ok, nothing like a catchy tune to remember our country by. I did check out a few Spotify playlists of patriotic songs. Songs varied from “Born in the USA” to military marching songs. A lot of variety. But I will stick to the classics.

Do you remember in school standing up and facing the flag and saying the pledge of allegiance. Every homeroom class started that way. I found out that my Grandnephew does the pledge in the quad of the school every morning. Good to know this practice is still in place.

Do you know what the red, white and blue represents in our flag? Red stands for courage or bloodshed of those who sacrificed for our freedom. White stands for purity. Blue stands for justice. Together they tell a story of unity, strength and our collective identity as Americans.

Some Interesting Facts

George Washington never ran for president

Unlike his successors, George Washington never actually campaigned to be president: He was simply chosen by the popular demand of the electoral college. This happened for both his first and second terms in office, with the elections of 1789 and 1792. He was also the only president ever to unanimously receive all electoral votes.

Half of all U.S. presidents came from four states

Here’s some presidential trivia for you: Virginia, Ohio, New York and Massachusetts are the home states of half of all U.S. presidents. Eight are from Virginia, seven from Ohio, five from New York and four from Massachusetts. Only eight presidents were born west of the Mississippi, and only 21 states were the birthplace of a president.

July 4th is a date that is repeated for Presidents

Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, both Founding Fathers, died on July 4, 1826, exactly fifty years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Another President, James Monroe, also died on July 4, in 1831.

Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States, was born on July 4, 1872.

The 4th will be here in a short while, I need to get busy getting set up to enjoy the celebration. Thanks for checking out my blog.

I have a clear memory of me, as a 15 years old girl, walking home and thinking that we are about to celebrate the 200th anniversary of our country’s independence. I also remember thinking if I am still around in 2026 I will have the opportunity to celebrate the 250th anniversary. Well here are in 2026. The time is here and the celebration is next month.

Now I don’t remember what I did the celebrate the 200th. I assume I saw fireworks or did a BBQ. Life was simpler back then. No streaming services, no internet, no social media, no Pinterest to tempt you to celebrate big. Back then we probably still had TV without cable. Limited channels and limited shows. Education was restricted to PBS stations and was rather dry. But now we have the opportunity to learn and educate ourselves now with endless resources. I plan to immerse myself in the American Revolution and learn a little bit more about the start of our country. If time allows I will post my genealogy of the American Patriots in my family tree.

I don’t plan on celebrating big. I have a dog that will probably be scared by all the booms and bangs that happen on the 4th. So I will be home with the doggie doing my own thing. I will do simple things that give me pleasure and have this blog as a reminder of what I did. Below is my plan for patriotic celebration.

I know it is not a lot and is not involving other family and friends, but a quiet celebration is what I am looking forward to.

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It is that time of year where I add to my Lenox collection. I have been collecting for several years so the options are getting less frequent. Lenox does retire pieces as they add new pieces to their collection. I happened to notice in my collection there was a set of plates (12) for each day of the twelve days of Christmas.

I completely forgot I had these plates. Looking forward to using them the next time I have a Christmas dinner party.

But onto what I bought this year. As I mentioned last year I have been focusing on the annual snowman figurines. So naturally I added the 2025 snowman to my collection. He is very cute.

I think he is a cute addition to the army of snowmen I have collected. They use the holly leaf design on his scarf that matches my plates. I can imagine a dinner table with all my snowmen down the center being cheerful and welcoming to all who eat at my table.

The other piece I bought was a small domed cover dish. I am thinking Brie or a cheeseball. Or perhaps some molded butter. It is not huge, but very cute.

Just when I think I was done, I got an alert from Amazon that this double dip bowl was on sale so I could not resist.

I have always enjoyed my Lenox pieces and have many Lenox Lynn Bywaters snowman figurines. I bought most of them many, many years ago. Of course back then I though $35 was expensive (or something close to that price, I guarantee that it was not even close to $100). LOL, now most of them are $150-$300. Oh that inflation. There is just something so cute about these figurines that my admiration for them has not waned even after decades of collecting.

Lets hope next year has a bunch of new goodies.

Thank you for checking out my blog and hope your holidays are special.

As you know I love Halloween, so I like to do the front porch and walkway to look spooky or fun each year. This year I took a tumble and fell on my arm and head. My fault, I tripped over a water spigot when chasing a runaway pumpkin. Scabs are all healed and head is hard enough to sustain the injury. LOL. I must say I am getting a tad bit old for this stuff. But every year I get excited and want to display my Halloween stuff. Can’t blame this girl.

This years theme is my crypt and the spooky spiders that guard it. The spider web was a bit weak but those spiders have been in a box a long time, maybe they forgot how to make a good web.

Enjoy the video and thank you for checking out my blog.

I have had this idea on my bucket list since last year. Using Halloween cookie cutters and a bag or corn tortillas I made homemade tortilla chips.

This was super easy, but I would say cutting thru the tortillas was a bit of a struggle. I found if I wiggled the cutter a bit it would cut thru the tortilla better. Frying them up just took a few minutes, then sprinkling them with salt to get that yummy taste.

It was more work than necessary but at least I tried.

I used the following shapes, pumpkin, raven, bat, cat and pumpkin.

It was a nice little Halloween appetizer. You should try it just once.

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While looking at Amazon, I found these cute Lenox Christmas Cones with scenes in them. They are about 12” tall and light up. I am such a huge fan of Lenox because their items are very elegant.

They should be delivered this Sunday and looking forward to adding it on my bookshelf.

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Every year I purchase the Lenox Holiday pieces to match my china set. I have a bunch of pieces and add a few new pieces each year. Lenox will release complimentary pieces to match the place settings. I usually buy around Black Friday as the new releases are out and with a good sale price.

I got a larger piece which is the Lenox Snowman Cookie Jar.

Then I got this cute peppermint swirl candy dish with two snowmen.

Of course I wanted the cute snowmen salt and pepper shakers. I have a few shakers so there will be plenty on the Christmas table.

Then of course I picked up my third year of the annual snowman.

He looks so cheerful and happy. He makes me happy.

I wanted the Christmas Cupcake but Macys did not sell him. But lo and behold I found him on sale on Amazon from the Lenox shop and it was on sale.

Although I have not used the full set in years. I am hoping once retired that I can host Christmas again and have a table setting like below.

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This year I did not see as many scary movies as I did in the past. Sometimes I just cannot make the time for a two hour stint to see a film. I do better kinda watching oldies but goodies and doing other chores at the same time.

SIGNS

A classic film by M Night Shyamalan. What I like about this film is how they figure out the different signs from the past to the present that prepare them for the event of today. Signs are everywhere. Sometimes comedic scenes, some intense scenes, Both the adult and children actors are good.

THE SIXTH SENSE

This is another film from M. Night Shyamalan. The first time I saw it I did not realize he was dead. Bruce Willis does a great job acting in this film. Some scary scenes and I feel bad for the boy.

ROSEMARYS BABY

I love the older movies. Mia Farrow does a great job acting like the meek woman who turns for help to only be betrayed over and over again by those around her. The older neighbors who are a coven of witches/devil worshippers who trap her into becoming the mother of the antichrist give older people a bad name. Lol. A classic film.

APARTMENT/ A7

This is basically a remake of Rosemarys Baby. But instead of her husband betraying her in the classic movie, it is life and the missed opportunities that drive her to the apartment where she will fall victim to the devil.

PRACTICAL MAGIC

A classic to watch every Halloween. I love this film. I really want to live at that house and eat pancakes (the non poisonous kind) outside with the ocean in the background.

HELLBOUND

Imagine if the face of God came to you to tell you the exact second you are going to die and then to be dragged to hell by 3 monsters but not before they throw you around and burn you to a crisp. I would be terrified. And the world goes crazy and fanatical groups try to persuade your thinking. Scary as heck. And now I am watching season two.

THE JUDGE FROM HELL

Even Demons make mistakes. For accidentally sending the wrong person to hell, this demon is sent to earth to kill off murderers. Imagine you are sent back as a judge who lets horrible people off without a punishment then finds them later and kills them by making them relive the horror of their victims death. Then for fun, branding their forehead with the word Hell on it. All in a days work until you fall in love.

ITS THE GREAT PUMPKIN CHARLIE BROWN

A childhood classic. Every time I watch this little cartoon I am transported back to my youth excitingly waiting to see this show. Back in those days you looked at the TV guide to find out the time and day it was playing and planted your butt in front of the television set. No streaming services, no DVR, no VHS or DVD. Pretty much you snooze you lose. I still love the part where Charlie Brown goes trick or treating and always gets rocks.

That was it for Halloween movies and shows.

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Making pumpkin bread in autumn always makes sense. Baking goodies, the aroma from the kitchen, it all screams autumn. Of course I cheat and make it from a box, but that is fine because it does use real pumpkin.

The box does make two loafs which is fine when I use to go into the office. But it is a lot to consume. I am not good about freezing stuff like this as I tend to forget it is in there until years later. lol.

But it is a tradition in my household to make pumpkin bread. So let the tradition begin.

Happy Autumn and thank you for checking out my blog.