Block Party Part I

Buck had a really fun idea to get all the neighbors together for a block party. The guys were all excited to show off their meat grilling/smoking skills, and the ladies were happy to fill in the gaps with salads, desserts, and chips. There was an ENORMOUS amount of food--we all maybe overestimated how hungry we'd be on a 103 degree day. It was sticky, sweating, steaming hot out . . . but, sweet corn!!!!

It was the first sweet corn of the season and we bought three dozen ears--THREE DOZEN! We decided to go fancy like Chip and JoJo. One of my recent magazines shared their thoughts on grilling corn, so we peeled back the husks, removed the silks, lamely attempted tying them back closed with green leafery, soaked the cobs in water flavored with a bit of sugar, and then on the grill they went to cook and steam--delicious!! Gabby even made a couple of the fancy butters they printed recipes for in the magazine.

We set up all the food under the neighbors' tents, we plugged in all the fans hiding in neighbors' houses and garages, and then filled the area with sporting event chairs.

The idea was to start late enough that the kids could play in the cul-de-sac while we waited for the sky to darken. Well, the sky did darken--incredibly quickly! And then the rains came down.





For a little while, we all huddled under the tents, and then I (because everyone seemed to think I was in charge of this event, lol) said, "Let's go home, enjoy our a/c, and meet back out here if the weather lightens up." Everyone liked this idea, and scattered.



When there was a break in the rain, everyone would run out their doors with their lighters to set off the fireworks we'd each bought a supply of . . . a little mist can't fight the power of explosives--





--but what that cloud had to offer sure could!! It went from day to night with alarming speed. Even more alarming--God's version of fireworks, lightning and LOTS of it! We (and our chickens too) decided hunkering down for the evening was a much better plan than being out in all that business.