4th of July Table and More

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays (along with Christmas and Easter).  I have fond memories from when I was on the drill team in high school, and we marched in the Fourth of July parade. It was such a thrill to be there.  The parade route went through a neighborhood that to my young eyes was fantastic, and I decided that was exactly where I wanted to live when I grew up—right on the parade route, so my family and I could step right out our front door the evening before and set our lawn chairs out to reserve our spots.  I don’t know exactly when I realized that the reason the parade went down that street was because it’s a wide and busy road, and that the houses, though nice, aren’t really all that grand, but the memories of the patriotic music, all the flags, and the cool morning air when we got there early in the morning…I’ll never forget. Oh…and I forgot to mention another part of my young girl’s dream:  we’d have a BIG barbeque in the backyard with LOTS of people in attendance, and all would be decorated in RED, WHITE, and BLUE.  What fun!

Well…we don’t do the big, blow out party, but for all my adult years I’ve done some semblance of decorating and setting a patriotic table.  In fact, in my 4th of July bins I still have pictures of a Country Living spread that I fell in love with, probably in the late 80s.  My passion goes back a loooonnnnggg ways.

Now that blogging has entered my life—how FUN to get to share my tables with all of you!  So here it is, my FIRST 4TH OF JULY TABLE FOR BLOGLAND!  In anticipation, in our screened porch…

 

 

Let’s play Find the Differences!  Here, I’d forgotten that I’d wanted to use my PB tall, red sherbets, which you’ll see in the pictures above.  What a difference they made, yes?

My Longaberger bean pot was the perfect centerpiece.  And the PB glasses, trimmed in blue, are perfect for the flag stirrers.

The candles in the PB tall sherbets are floating ones, but I was afraid to light them and have the heat break the fragile crystal, even with water in it.  I love these stems, and they were a gift from my husband, so the risk wasn’t worth it (and PB doesn’t carry them anymore).

 

Even the log cabin is sporting a flag, and the whirligigs on the patio catch the light to bring some fun.  Those will go home with the grandbabies for the parade.

The wrought iron shelf is now decked out in R,W,&B too.

A McCoy vase holds lavender sans water, so it’ll dry.

 

I bought this wood “box” to hold plates when I serve buffet style.

 

I love slate…this heart was a happy find in an auction box lot!  Perfect for this girl.  :)  The beach towel?  At the ready for heading to the pool.

Then evening came, and even I was surprised by these AWESOME candle holders!  I’d gotten them at Kohl’s last year after the 4th, so I hadn’t seen them lit up.  Oh.my.gosh…what FUN!!

The fireworks are doing double duty—they’re decorations now, until the big day arrives.  And the glass gentleman??  Also an auction box lot; he’s George Washington, filled with red water.

Patriotic, chocolate-covered sunflower seeds.

And now for a few vignettes, inside and out~

Some of the elements of the screened porch table started out inside, as the centerpiece on the dining room table.

Because we have a storm door, regular wreaths don’t work, so I use a garland that can be pressed by the door and not damaged, then added the flags, which I had attached to twine with clothes pins for another project.

Every year when I buy our annuals I choose reds because they attract hummingbirds, and invariably, as the 4th draws near, I find myself buying blue ones too.  

I wish you all a happy and SAFE 4th of July.  Please take a moment to reflect on the freedoms of this great country, and the sacrifice of those who have served and currently serve to protect it and us~

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From my nest to yours~

Zuni

End of Summer...College Football is Here. 9/11 Tribute, The Ohio State University, 2011

Today my husband and I went to the OSU game--what a gorgeous day to be there to take in the sights! It's always a trip down Memory Lane of our days as students there.  I started taking pictures, not sure how I would use them for my blog, then they did a 9/11 tribute.  It was beautiful.

First, the band came in.  "The Ramp," it's called, and it's one of the highlights of the game.  (See them through the goal post and fanning out?)

 They marched into their formation--An eagle--the American symbol of freedom.
 The bald eagle was chosen June 20, 1782 as the emblem of the United States of American,
because of its long life, great strength and majestic looks, and also because it was then believed
to exist only on this continent...
      ...The eagle represents freedom. Living as he does on the tops of lofty mountains, amid the
solitary grandeur of Nature, he has unlimited freedom, whether with strong pinions he sweeps into
the valleys below, or upward into the boundless spaces beyond.  (baldeagleinfo.com)

 Then they unfurled The Colors.

Oh, say! Does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? 

YES! 

Before the band did their Script Ohio there was another tribute and a moment of silence.

In a stadium with 105,000+ people there was TOTAL silence...

They also recognized first responders out on the field, and asked all

first responders in attendance to stand and also be recognzied.

Here's what the OSU website says about Script Ohio:

First performed during the 1936 season, Script Ohio is the most indentifiable trademark associated with Ohio State Football and the Ohio State Marching Band. The script is an integrated series of evolutions and formations. The band first forms a triple Block O formation which will slowly unwind to form the famous letters. The drum major leads the outside O into a peel-off movement around the curves of the script, every musician in continual motion. The middle Block O revolves counter-clockwise as the other two rotate in a clockwise manner. Slowly the three blocks unfold into a long singular line which loops around, creating the OSU Marching Band's trademark.

I'm linking to:
The Tablescaper ~ http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/ for Seasonal Sunday

and

Susan from Between Naps on the Porch ~  http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/  for Tablescape Thursday