4th of July?

I was trying to remember where I was last year for the 4th of July...then I received a great facebook post from my dear friend Katie Lyn (who now is officially a Doctor of Physical Therapy)  reminding me.  I was up at 5:30 am in Santa Fe, New Mexico, coffee in hand, waiting in line for Pancakes on the Plaza and afterwards heading to sunbathe at Cochiti Lake.  It was one of the best things I've ever done for the 4th, and our get-ups were just as entertaining.

This year I didn't hit the day with quite that much vigor.  Just another day here in Paris on the Independence Day of America.  But of course, why would I do any different?  Just like Thanksgiving, I have gone about my business and not really done much in the way of celebration.  Marie-Césare and I made popsicles with the new molds I bought at Ikea.  They were made of strawberries, so they turned out red...and that's about as close as I got to red, white, or blue.  We mashed the strawberries into a bubbly pulp, and strained out the pulp to leave the juice in the bowl.  Added a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice, and 2 Tablespoons of simple syrup.  The strawberries were "Mara des Bois" these strawberries here that come out only a certain time of year and most are no bigger than your thumb nail.  They are delightfully sweet, just like eating sugar so no added sugar was needed for the popsicles.  

We carefully poured the juice into the molds and added 2 or 3 chunks of fresh strawberries to each one.  3 hours later and they were finished!  And looked divine I might add.  We also made lemonade ice cubes with the flower molds I picked up.  The 'jus au citron' here is basically just squeezed lemons with no sugar and will make your tongue twist in directions you never knew were possible.  But she loved them. Here she is below "double fisting" her summer creations.  

So sad because its gone!

After the park we put an ice cube in her grape juice and the ice cube flipped upside down so the yellow flower was showing at the top.  She thought that was the best 'cocktail' she had ever seen.  So much so that she couldn't wait to pour her mother one as soon as she came in the door....our future bartender.  

My room is a complete disaster.  I've got one suitcase lying open for Belgium, another filled with things to go home to the States with me (and not come back), clothes piled on my table that are just not quite dirty enough to put them in the hamper, and dishes piled in the sink.  Thankfully I am going to have a couple of hours free during the day on Thursday to get myself together.  This whole 8-8 thing does not fair well with my organization or packing.  So forgive me if I slack a bit on blogging for the next couple of days.  I promise to fill you in on our picnic at Parc Monceau tomorrow, her classes at the Jardin d'Acclimitation, and our wonderful week ensemble.  

Happy 4th of July to everyone!! Hope you are all watching fireworks and having a great American cookout with your families!  Oh the things I would do for some BBQ and baked beans right now.....