The bad news is, it’s like 105 degrees out there.  Whadda ya gonna do.  That seemed like a very long weekend, most likely because of the holiday thrown in the mix last week.  We had a good Fourth, speaking of the holiday.  We headed out to Mom’s and had a festive ‘que dinner, at least as much as we could with the intermittent rain.  Dave and Larry brought lots of fireworks so we had a nice barrage of firepower too.  The kids shot off most of the stuff, although I just couldn’t help throwing just a few firecrackers.

Friday I had lots of plans, but, go figure, went to the Brooksider instead.  We didn’t go inside though, just unsociably sat outside on the deck and enjoyed the evening.  If you haven’t been to the good ol’ Brooksider recently, they’ve made considerable upgrades to the deck.  No reason to go in and get all smoky when they spent all that time and money fixing it up outside, I figure.  After hanging out down there for a while, we went across the street to the grocery store and picked up some dinner; Pork chops and potatoes to be exact.  The rest of the evening was spent hanging out our own back deck, grilling up some grub.   Came out pretty well…  I’ve been on a “fresh herb” kick lately and I think I need to be a little more judicious in my seasoning.  Just doesn’t quite have the PUNCH of dried herbs it seems.  Have to start snipping the plants a bit more liberally.

Saturday we got up and decided to go on a moderately long motorcycle ride.  Kind of test the feasibility of taking a longer trip, I suppose.  I had actually never ridden on the interstate, so that was an adventure in itself.  We ended up in lovely Kearney, MO, for no particular reason other than it seemed like a nice distance.  We hung out there for a while, cruised through the Jesse James farm and had a drink at Sonic, then headed over to Smithville and back home via 169.  The whole trip was just about 100 miles, and we fared pretty well.  Everything but my arms that is… I burned the crapola out of my upper arms where the wind blew my sleeves up and exposed my farmer’s tan.  Ouch.  Would we make it 250 miles or 300 miles in one day?  Well, that question wasn’t fully answered I don’t think.  We were ready to get off the bike when we got home, I’ll just say that.  After our heads quit vibrating, we made a tasty lamb chop dinner and spent the rest of the evening reading.

Sunday I had the bright idea to go lay out at the pool, to try and even out the sunburn I got the day before.  As I read that last line, I realize the sheer folly of my reasoning.  I guess my mission was accomplished;  My entire front side is now glowing a nice shade of radioactive red.  What was I THINKING??!!  Sheesh.  Anyway, we hung out there for a few hours and then spent a little face-time down at the Brooksider again.  After that John and Susan W. came over for dinner, so we fired up the grill again.  We broke out the rotisserie and did a pork loin, with more fresh herbs of course.  I hope that stuff grows back quick because I’ve been clipping it like crazy.  After that we watched Entourage, and then I went and slept in a tub full of aloe vera lotion.