This just in (a few hours ago)...

In keeping with tradition - given that today is solely dedicated to the tradition of celebrating the fact that we as a nation are free from the tyranny of British Rule! (Hey, look it up! - That's how this holiday weekend got started!), I have made it a point to follow (all-beit loosely over the years) the ever-popular annnual Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest held at Nathan's in Coney Island every July 4th.

This year, Joey Chestnut again beat his arch-rival Takeru Kobayashi, 68 - 64.5 - both setting personal best records, and Chestnut breaking his own former world record. The 10 minute contest featured 19 contestants, but the two of them easily beat out the others - making it an interesting show between two bitter rivals. This was American, Joey Chestnut's third win in a row - securing the coveted Yellow Mustard Belt for yet another year.

Happy 4th!!!!!!!!

Soo, today we once again celebrate our freedom from the tyranny of British rule. Many people will go to the beach, the lake, and have backyard BBQ's.

Today, we grilled out at my son Darian's place - his treat. We were joined by his "friend" Rachel and her parents. Had a great time - and the burgers weren't bad either.

Also - very important news here - I made home-made Ice Cream with my new-found trusty "old" Home-made Ice Cream Maker - strawberry to be precise. It was just de-lish.

In other news: Joey Chestnut held onto the Nathan's hot dog eating contest title defeating Kobayashi in overtime! Every year they do this big contest at Nathan's at Coney Island N.Y. The "athletes" compete for the coveted Yellow Mustard Belt. Kobayashi had won for 6 years straight. Read my take on the whole thing from last year's post here.

What a great country we live in.

Here's to a busy "Holiday" weekend...

Have you ever noticed how time flies when..... oh, never mind.

Had a somewhat busy weekend - largely at home.

Friday was spent running around town- literally - took one of my sons to the doctor (twice) - (Don't worry grandma, he's fine - just bumped his knee at football practice - now wearing a brace as a precaution.)

Saturday - Spent doing chores - lots of 'em!

Sunday - Church, more chores, (whew!) then a rather 'impromptu' good old-fashioned weenie roast in our own dinky little "illegal" firepit. (It's a no-no since we live within city limits - it's more of a gray area).

Monday - Had breakfast with my big brother, I went fishing with him and our good friend Mike. We caught 16 catfish between us (I had only 4 personally - Carl had three, Mike took care of the rest, as usual.) Four of them were in the 19+ inch range! (Sorry, no pics)

We also snagged a few turtles - me and Carl caught the same one at different times. I also got a really great-lookin' lobster-tan. (Sunburn)

On the way home we picked elderberries by the roadside. I spent and hour and a half (with my youngest son Austin's help - washing them and taking them off of the stems. (Only half done so far - whew!) Not sure what to do with them. I've heard you can make really great dessert wine or cordials with them. Perhaps some jelly. Who knows? (I'm sure Martha Stewart could help;)

That's it for now - I'm sure you've all been missing my little fishing updates - hope this tides you over for awhile.

Fun O' Th' 4th

Patriotism notwithstanding (please see previous post if you doubt me...) I sometimes chuckle when I think about all the fuss over July 4th. (Well, it is special in the sense that it does only come once a year.) Here is a brief history lesson:





July 4th 1776 - our nation signed and adopted a Declaration of Independence - which paved the way to our Revolutionary war with England. In that document we set forth our desire to become independent from British rule. Now, each year on July 4th we "celebrate" this defiant, patriotic act by: Getting drunk, Watching sports, Going to the beach/lake/pool and laying around in a nearly nude state, lighting explosivees on fire, BBQ-ing some sort of dead animal (that one's my favorite), or All the above.





Now, given the fact that A. we're not big drinkers & 2. Nobody wants to see me lying around a beach/lake/pool in a half-naked state I chose to go fishing instead. (We'll be at a BBQ later this evening - lighting explosives of course, & doing our part to celebrate freedom from British rule.)





Below is a sample of what I caught today. (The one that got away.)









Yes, it really was about that big. Oh well.



Speaking of July 4th traditions - I just read here that Joey Chestnut just defeated Takeru Kobayashi in the annual Coney Island Nathans Hot Dog eating contest. 66 dogs in 12 minutes! A new world record. He beat his own world record 59 1/2 (yes they count halves!) he set just two weeks ago at the qualifying event in San Diego. There was a lot of angst going into this year's competition - Kobayashi apparently had been suffering from a bad wisdom tooth and an arthritic condition in his jaw. However, the American (Chestnut) now holds the crown, er' the Yellow mustard belt! I was rooting for Chestnut last year when he narrowly lost by less than two dogs. This year, Kobayashi had a small reversal at the end of the competition (barf!) which reduced his final tally by even more! This is a photo of him celebrating after last year's victory. What gets me is not the gluttony of it all - yes it is a bit unsettling to watch! Rather, that this is considered a genuine sport. They really are athletes and judging from the appearance of the competitors - it isn't a "big-man's" sport anymore - look at the abs on that guy! The girl behind him in the picture is called "The Black Widow" she weighs less than 100 lbs. and gives all the guys a run for their money (depending on what kind of food they are competing with.) This is serious business - with serious money at stake apparently. Crazy isn't it? Heckuva way to make a living if you ask me.

Happy 4th everyone!

Could you pass?

So, I took a watered-down online version of the Citizenship test today. (Go check it out!!!!)

I did o.k., but admittedly, my grasp of civics needs at least a small improvement. My main problem areas were specific amendments - which ones don't deal with voting rights? (7th, 15th, 24th, 19th??????) How about when the constitution was written (1776, 1787, 1812, 1876??????) - it's 1787 if you were wondering. Can you name the original 13 colonies? ...or at least recognize them on a list and distinguish them in a multiple choice test? Pretty tough stuff for the average Joe (or JoAnne).

Don't get me wrong - I think it's great that we encourage (require) would-be citizens to learn about our history, culture and freedoms - a large part of how our country became so great. However, I was aghast at how much guesswork went into my own answers - and I consider myself to be somewhat well-informed (something that I should probably re-think...)

Maybe I would have done a little better had I paid more attention in civics as a H.S. senior instead of accidentally lighting my hair on fire, and other nonsense like that...... (Sadly, true story for another day - a long, long, long way off......maybe......)