It's the Fourth of July again. Where does the time go? We don't usually do much on the 4th. When the kids were young we made a big deal of it with the BBQ and a trip to the fireworks, but not so much now. A quiet dinner watching the fireworks and the Boston Pops suits us just fine. We remember with great fondness though, the band concerts in the park that we used to go to with our friends Jack and Joan. We would take a picnic dinner and pack up all the kids and dogs and blankets for all and head for the band shell at Ganesha Park in Pomona, California, our old stomping grounds. We didn't wait for the 4th though, they had weekly free concerts with the city band playing their hearts out. The John Philip Sousa marches still give me chills. The kids and dogs would roll around and giggle while we grown-ups (all of 25) lounged on the blankets and enjoyed each others company with small talk. Those are the times that feed your soul. Joanie is gone now and that is still hard to believe.
We went to town late this afternoon and mailed off another order of kitchen towels then headed for Applebee's for an early dinner. That is something we don't seem to do much of, lunch in town is more our speed. But it seemed like a day to celebrate, not anything special, just glad to be alive and able to go out once in a while. Applebee's has several Weight Watcher's dinners on the menu. They are highlighted with a blue band and the point number. I tried their new Paradise Chicken Salad. I usually have their French Onion Soup, which I LOVE and it is only 290 calories and very filling for me. Bob always has a half sandwich and French Onion Soup. He was shocked when I actually branched out and had the salad. It had a nice serving of blackened chicken, pineapple, mandarin oranges, fresh green apple chunks, fancy greens and a great spicy balsamic vinaigrette. All for only 6 points. It could have used a little more pineapple and mandarins but I was happy with the very generous serving of chicken. Give it a try sometime.
Weight Watchers has been such a good plan for me. I'm sneaking up on thirty pounds. Yippee! There are so many wonderful high fiber breads in the market these days. That is what I love. If I have a nice sandwich roll I'm a happy girl. I love an English muffin and an egg for breakfast. I found a great 10 grain cracked cereal that is a winner, as well. It takes 10 minutes in a pan like the old fashioned oats, but boy is it worth it. I make a double batch and then we can just warm it up in the microwave the next morning. A little brown sugar and a splash of milk and yum!
Tomorrow I'm going to finish shortening the curtains for our bedroom window and then...hmmm, not sure what then. Bob said that I had better make the apricot jam if I wanted any apricots in it because they are going fast. The remnant of that old apricot tree really out did it's self. We managed to beat out the birds and the little red fox and have enough beautiful apricots for a small batch of jam. I think that sounds like a patriotic thing to do on the Fourth of July, make a batch of jam to celebrate the fact that I still remember how and have the energy to complete the project. Well, we will see what the morning brings and if there are any apricots left in my grandmother Lily's crock. One can hope.
No comments:
Post a Comment