I spent Canada Day in my hometown. I stopped by the local museum, walked along my favourite beach, had dinner with my best friend and her family (and took a dip in their pool) and ended the night watching fireworks with my boyfriend and my mother. A quiet but perfect day. I was completely unplugged when I was in my hometown so I'm just now getting caught up on what my fellow Canadian BlogHer's were doing for Canada Day. Zesty did some daytripping in small town Ontario. There really is nothing like a small town celebration.

When I was a little girl, my Dad would walk with my friend Sandy and me to the local fireworks display, where we would listen to the volunteer town band play patriotic songs. The night was all about fireworks, popcorn, watching the pre-teen boys watching us, and the fun walk home in the dark with a flashlight for light surrounded by fireflies and the sweet hum of a New England sultry summer night.

What's your favorite part of the Fourth of July fireworks show? Scargosun writes about the beauty that can be found by looking down while everyone else is looking up: "The colors and the light make everything appear so ethereal. The light is never harsh like say a fluorescent bulb or beating like the sun. It is a soft glow that brightens and then fades, then replaced by another. When you couple that with the inner glow of the faces watching the show, the world seems a very different place."

Summer brings a slew of superhero movies. This summer we have Hancock, The Dark Knight, and brought to you by the letter "I": Iron Man, Incredible Hulk Part Two, Electric Smasharoo and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, among others, such as Mans Doing Serious Man Things and Man vs. Creepier Mans with some Hot Twenty-five Year Old Actresses Thrown In. Do you enjoy seeing superhero movies?

What's happening this week in the world of fashion?  We have up and coming designers Sheila Frank and Dorothy Lee, fun in the sun, prairie dresses, and safari fashion.  Plus, an unsettling fashion trend: butt cleavage.

Venus and Serena Williams are about to make history. Again.Tomorrow will mark the third time the sisters will be meeting each other at the Wimbledon Ladies' Singles Final. Then a couple of hours later they will be playing as a team in the Ladies' Doubles Finals. I think the right word to use in a situation like this is "dominant". 

If you're in the US, this promises to be a fun and festive 4th of July! The Moon in Leo all but guarantees a party mood, plus the holiday falls on a Friday this year -- just perfect for today's barbecues and picnics, not to mention tonight's fireworks. So, Happy Birthday to you, USA! And many happy returns!

My favorite thing about participating in the blogosphere is the opportunity it provides to walk a mile (or two, or twenty) in the shoes of people in very different life experiences from my own.  I have been learning much lately by reading some of the blogs by parents holding down the fort at home while their spouses are deployed overseas in the U.S. Armed Forces.  Many of these families are blogging their journey with great honesty and courage.