Independence Day All Month Long!
JULY 5, 2008
Happy Fourth of July to all my bloglandia friends, where our community expands well beyond the borders of the United States!
Did you know that one of our founding father's, John Adams, thought this day of independence would actually be celebrated on July 2nd? That is when the first vote of congress was taken, after agonizing days of debate, looking for a unanimous vote from the thirteen colonies which took two more days to acquire. The final vote was on the 4th and congress took a holiday while our declaration was sent out to be documented and printed. On July 8th the declaration was read aloud to the public for the first time in Philadelphia and the celebrations began! On July 26th it reached the capital of Virginia! All signatures of congress were gathered over the summer with the final signature on the 2nd of August! This is not what I learned in my school history classes!
We celebrated this 232nd anniversary by feasting with friends in the beautiful town of Sonoma, California under blue-smoke free skies and a canopy of dazzling fireworks.
Our beautiful hostess and friend Elizabeth...
Guests gathered on the patio to eat appetizers and sip lemon drop martinis, pomegranate spritzers, Prisoner Zinfandel, and Sonoma County Fumé Blanc...
Wasabi deviled eggs and potato salad took to platters...
as did the Pineapple coleslaw...
and Heirloom tomato bruschetta...
Alas... I have no pictures of the key~lime marinated chicken, pulled pork sandwiches, salmon cakes with Wasabi aioli, the fresh from the garden beet and green bean and goat cheese salad, or grilled corn, as I was too busy talking and eating...
Elizabeth slices the fig gallette with figs from her garden...
while I dish up the fresh strawberry shortcake
and manage to take a picture...
then we all sat back for spectacular fireworks that lit the night sky and brought friends together from one side of the continent to the other...
This beautiful afternoon~evening captures for me my appreciation for the founding fathers and mothers of our constitution and the sacrifices made by so many... setting the foundation for the life I live and love...I think John Adams would have been pleased...