Neighbors and Pyrotechnics

Our neighbor across the street likes fireworks… a lot. I mean alotalotalotalotalot.

We are fortunate enough to live in an area where there is usually a pretty good Fourth of July Independence Day show just on our street. So we decided to invite people over to spend the day at our house then for those who were still here when darkness began to fall, we moved our chairs out to the driveway and watched a magnificent display. It was amazing and we only occasionally were hit with random shells. It had gotten a little chilly, so it was also a great excuse to pull out my quilts and show everyone before we wrapped them over our laps and legs to watch the show.

Independence and Incontinence

Ah, the joys of fireworks and pets. And the fact that neglectful owners forgot to let their dog out to go potty last night meant presents in the morning.

Okay, so I’ll freely admit that this morning’s little (well, not little) accident Lucy, our Great Dane, left us this morning was completely our fault. Without thinking of it, we both went to bed without letting her out to go potty last night. Part of it may have been because we were all on our back deck enjoying the fireworks from our neighbors party and we may have both assumed that at some point she went, but obviously that wasn’t the case. While I thought it was originally just poop, and rather nicely formed and solid turds at that, I stepped in wetness on my way to pick them up. Ugh, I really, really, REALLY HATE CARPET!!!

So I grabbed a couple old towels from the garage to sop up the mess and got out the carpet cleaner spray bottle stuff that I have to unscrew the nozzle off and hold the bottle at an angle just to get the damned stuff to come out and sprayed profusely all over the sites. Normally I would’ve just used a little vinegar after soaking up the liquid, but alas, hardwood floors are not the same as carpet. At least the carpets already look like crap so a little more won’t make any difference.

Well, I will admit that while the neighbors across the street were setting off fireworks last night, it was rather enjoyable to watch. Although dodging shells as the dropped back down wasn’t so fun, at least none of us were hit. Next year I’ll make sure she goes potty before we go to bed. Hopefully.

I hope you all have a happy and safe Independence Day. I mean, it is, after all, the only time of year (most) parents allow their three year old to handle a lighted sparkling metal stick burning at twelve-hundred degrees Fahrenheit.

Fireworks

I can understand people wanting to shoot off fireworks for the Fourth of July. But I don’t understand why people insist on bursting their bombs into the wee hours of the night on the days leading up to it as well.

Fireworks have their place, which is to mark celebrations on a grand scale. In my opinion, they do not belong in the hands of minors and drunks, but alas, that is usually where they end up. I suppose I’d feel different if we didn’t have cats freaking out the last few nights or kids trying to sleep. Then again, probably not. I’ve never really been a big fireworks fan, other than as an observer. At least our dog doesn’t mind them at all.

Although, I suppose I do have to thank our landlord for telling us that Independence Day in this neighborhood is pretty crazy before we moved in. However, I wasn’t expecting the sheer amount of fireworks going off. I mean, we moved from an area where there were quite a few white trash people across the street in various forms of mobile dwellings ranging from manufactured homes, travel trailers and old school buses that fortunately were out of view from the street thanks to a thick line of pine trees. But their blatant pyromaniacy was quite prominent. It makes me wonder why people can’t afford to buy their kids decent clothes, but have the money to spend hundreds of dollars on a few minutes worth of crappy entertainment. Okay, so now I’m just being mean, but seriously, the cost isn’t worth the end results. I can think of many other things to spend that money on.

I guess I just don’t understand the whole fascination with lighting them off myself when I can watch them at various places for free with better displays than anything sold on the market. While large crowds aren’t really my thing either, I’d still rather watch them at Fort Vancouver here in town or drive up to Longview, Washington for the display around Lake Sacajawea than watch our neighbors light off their inferior rockets. I know many people will disagree with me on this issue, but I’m just saying I can think of far more important things to spend my money on. However, I suppose I also must take into account that these displays are partially funded by sales of fireworks from official stands, so to that end, I also must thank those same people for funding these shows.