I have now added on a head spa treatment and a pedicure to my weekend of denial. Later I am going to a friend’s for a get together on her rooftop to watch the neighborhood fireworks. If it’s as hot as I think it will be I may not stay too long. H had heatstroke last week and is still a bit shaky so there’s an out.

What I really want to do is skip it and go see Sinners tonight. But I missed her birthday party a month ago so I need to do some showing up.

I too am celebrating my new haircut. I’ll throw a couple of snaps in the FB group.

Where did you get that tee, Jessica?

H had heatstroke last week

Oh no! She should absolutely take it easy. I should try to see Sinners this weekend.

Today I've signed up for more postcarding and have started the deep clean of my apartment. I finished scrubbing the bathroom floor and baseboards and the hallway baseboards. I'm taking a break now, but I'd like to declutter the kitchen and get the baseboards in there done today.

Aurelia, this is the site - [link]

Postcards are great, but not as my part. I need too much help to make it happen.

And I'm not good on the phone. I'm glad you can fill that role.

Thanks, Jessica.

Timelies all!

I'm sorry, Epic.

Mr S is here for two nights. He and Gary may be going to the local fireworks, but with the boy being so unfocused that may not happen. I'm staying home either way.

I don't regret skipping the parade (I took a nap to sleep off the end of the migraine), and going to Tim's brother and SiL's house did improve my mood. The great-nieces and great-nephew are hilarious and always entertaining.

Now that we're back home, our entire neighborhood smells like smoke and the backyard fireworks are non-stop. The cat is very unhappy.

We didn't go anywhere, but lots of neighbors were setting off fireworks. In particular the neighbor across the road and up a hillside had an impressive quantity of big bright boomers. Skinner was not pleased, but I drugged him and he settled down.

Local town's fireworks show didn't start until just after 11. Not sure what for the delay but it freaked out the cat since we'd just gone to bed.

Chicago’s official fireworks are tonight but last night was our typical boom extravaganza all over the city. It’s actually quite beautiful from up on my friends seventh floor rooftop. At ground level, it looks and sounds sort of like a war zone.

Milwaukee switched to drones for their big fireworks this year, and I’m glad to see that trending. But I won’t deny that there is something really awesome, in the traditional sense, about seeing the whole skyline lit up in dozens of places, all at once.

Still, it’s been kind of a strange holiday in Chicago. Roads and streets feel kind of deserted. Even my friends rooftop, which is normally jampacked on the fourth, was pretty sparsely populated. But I’m glad I went. It was good to socialize and to be with people who are as aghast as I am. Very little in the way of red white and blue rah rah stuff going on, even as fireworks blasted off all around.

I’m also glad I stuck around this weekend because I hear from another friend who is staying at the cabin this weekend that our next-door neighbor was shooting off fireworks until 2 AM. Happy I wasn’t there and especially happy the dog wasn’t there.