Independence Day has a new meaning to me this year.
This year I am experiencing increasing freedom from my unhealthy eating patterns, and freedom of increased mobility!
This morning I contemplated running on the trail. But the sun was already blazing when I woke up. The gym is closed. So I worked out in our living room. 20 minutes on the stationary bike and then some crunches and plank. It was nice working out at home. I might do this more often. I set my Kindle up against the screen of the bike and watched a video on ballet exercises. I rented the "Eric Zimmer Dance Workout". I tried a few moves. I really like it. But my legs are still so sore from my leg workout, two days ago, that I kept it slow and easy. Did some stretching.
Then my daughter and I made a nice American 4th of July dinner for when the men come home.
I made barbecue beer chicken in the crockpot. I referred to the recipe from Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body. (http://www.fatgirltrappedinaskinnybody.com/2012/05/bbq-beer-chicken-crockpot/)
I added a chopped jalepeno. And we didn't shred the chicken and serve it on a bun. Just ate it! With some homemade, to die for potato salad and corn on the cob.
It was nice just being home cooking with my daughter. After we got dinner going, we each had a Coors Light and chatted a bit. Then she played the piano for me.
We got some fireworks for tonight. My daughter and her husband went to his mom and stepdad's boat. My son wants to go hang out with friends. So I am on dog duty. I am fine with that.
I am not big on crowds. And Honey Dog isn't fond of fireworks. So we will console each other.
I might even set off a ground bloom flower!
But I am looking forward to sitting on the deck when the sun starts going down. Having a beer. Reading.
I will probably play some piano.
I was reading about the history of the 4th of July and I stumbled upon some interesting musical facts.
I found an article called "The First Americans to Observe the 4th were Moravian Pacifists" from the Daily Beast (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/04/the-first-americans-to-observe-the-4th-were-moravian-pacifists.html)
I am not familiar with the Moravians. So I read: "The Moravians, a Protestant group in what is now the Czech Republic, had sent missionaries to establish the settlement of Bethlehem, Pa., in 1741.".
This is interesting to me, because my mother's family is from Czechoslovakia.
I also read about the composer Johann Friedrich Peter who wrote Psalm of Joy. It was performed at the celebration:
"The 1783 Independence Day celebration, as documented in the Salem Diary, started with trombone music, of which Moravians were fond. At 2 p.m., there was a Love Feast, a Moravian tradition that is more a celebration of community than a sacrament. People gathered in the church for a service that included a simple meal (usually coffee heavy with cream and sugar, plus a sweet bun).
As Moravians have long made music central to their worship, the service also included the singing of a “Psalm of Joy.” That gives the Moravians at Salem some claim to having come up with the first patriotic song celebrating the nation’s freedom. (This was years before Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star Spangled Banner.”)"
I have been perusing the internet this afternoon, trying in vain to find a recording for Psalm of Joy. I found on Moravian music site that has a recording, but it is on cassette tape. Who has cassette players anymore, I ask?
But I think I like these Moravians. A Love Feast with sweet creamy coffee and a sweet bun! :) They were said to be a pacifist group:
"They also had a strong pacifist tradition, dating to their founding amid the religious struggles of the 15th century as a “peace church.” Members were forbidden to serve in the military. They lived by the teachings in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount."
This year I am experiencing increasing freedom from my unhealthy eating patterns, and freedom of increased mobility!
This morning I contemplated running on the trail. But the sun was already blazing when I woke up. The gym is closed. So I worked out in our living room. 20 minutes on the stationary bike and then some crunches and plank. It was nice working out at home. I might do this more often. I set my Kindle up against the screen of the bike and watched a video on ballet exercises. I rented the "Eric Zimmer Dance Workout". I tried a few moves. I really like it. But my legs are still so sore from my leg workout, two days ago, that I kept it slow and easy. Did some stretching.
Then my daughter and I made a nice American 4th of July dinner for when the men come home.
I made barbecue beer chicken in the crockpot. I referred to the recipe from Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body. (http://www.fatgirltrappedinaskinnybody.com/2012/05/bbq-beer-chicken-crockpot/)
I added a chopped jalepeno. And we didn't shred the chicken and serve it on a bun. Just ate it! With some homemade, to die for potato salad and corn on the cob.
It was nice just being home cooking with my daughter. After we got dinner going, we each had a Coors Light and chatted a bit. Then she played the piano for me.
We got some fireworks for tonight. My daughter and her husband went to his mom and stepdad's boat. My son wants to go hang out with friends. So I am on dog duty. I am fine with that.
 |
| Honey the English Pointer. Honey hates fireworks. |
I am not big on crowds. And Honey Dog isn't fond of fireworks. So we will console each other.
I might even set off a ground bloom flower!
But I am looking forward to sitting on the deck when the sun starts going down. Having a beer. Reading.
I will probably play some piano.
I was reading about the history of the 4th of July and I stumbled upon some interesting musical facts.
I found an article called "The First Americans to Observe the 4th were Moravian Pacifists" from the Daily Beast (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/04/the-first-americans-to-observe-the-4th-were-moravian-pacifists.html)
I am not familiar with the Moravians. So I read: "The Moravians, a Protestant group in what is now the Czech Republic, had sent missionaries to establish the settlement of Bethlehem, Pa., in 1741.".
This is interesting to me, because my mother's family is from Czechoslovakia.
I also read about the composer Johann Friedrich Peter who wrote Psalm of Joy. It was performed at the celebration:
"The 1783 Independence Day celebration, as documented in the Salem Diary, started with trombone music, of which Moravians were fond. At 2 p.m., there was a Love Feast, a Moravian tradition that is more a celebration of community than a sacrament. People gathered in the church for a service that included a simple meal (usually coffee heavy with cream and sugar, plus a sweet bun).
As Moravians have long made music central to their worship, the service also included the singing of a “Psalm of Joy.” That gives the Moravians at Salem some claim to having come up with the first patriotic song celebrating the nation’s freedom. (This was years before Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star Spangled Banner.”)"
I have been perusing the internet this afternoon, trying in vain to find a recording for Psalm of Joy. I found on Moravian music site that has a recording, but it is on cassette tape. Who has cassette players anymore, I ask?
But I think I like these Moravians. A Love Feast with sweet creamy coffee and a sweet bun! :) They were said to be a pacifist group:
"They also had a strong pacifist tradition, dating to their founding amid the religious struggles of the 15th century as a “peace church.” Members were forbidden to serve in the military. They lived by the teachings in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount."
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