whimsical wednesday

happy fourth of july!  it's not every whimsical wednesday that is also a major national holiday but when it occurs,  we add whimsey to the day's celebration.

because my fourth of july was going to be spent at home, quietly enjoying the day to myself, i didn't quite know what i wanted to do differently today.  after some thought about the fourth of july, i decided i wanted to play with sparklers! sparklers were the best part of the fourth of july celebrations of my youth. i hadn't twirled a sparkler in years.  dilemma!  how to acquire sparklers without actually having to leave home to get them?  bright idea!  ask the neighbor, whose 12 year old boy would certainly want to do fireworks, to secure a box of sparklers for me when they did their fireworks shopping.  it was agreed, for a pan of my much loved brownies, that sparklers would be delivered to my door before dark.

the brownies were almost completely cooled when the doorbell rang about 8:30pm. amazingly tasty brownies and the most astounding box of sparklers were exchanged!  after goodbyes and happy fourth of julys to you, i was alone with my sparklers. the box only contained four sparklers, however, the sparklers were at least three feet long!  and "easy" to light at that.  as the remaining daylight waned, i was outside with the lighter and the box of sparklers.  as i was about to light the first sparkler, the neighbor's first firework exploded in the sky!  spectacular!  after watching their display for a few minutes, i lit the sparkler and relived what was, for me, the magic of july fourth.  the sparkler dipped and twirled and the flashes danced about without much assistance from me.  that huge sparkler lasted at least five minutes!  after that much excitement with a single sparkler, i decided to save the rest to share with the grandchildren. the three of us will have sparkler fun during their summer visit to the farm in august!

happy fourth of july!  did you include whimsey in your festivities?