In which we "celebrate" the worst holiday, and I'm missing something

 Yeah, I know, I haven't written here in yonks.

The world has continued being the world, I'm still loving the "new" job (it's been more than a year now!), and the farm is full of things that need doin' yesterday.  

And today is the 4th of July!  Yuck. My least favorite holiday.

But, since it's a day off, I can hang out with the next generation of Usual Suspects, which is NOT yuck!

Familiar faces (Sirie, Megan, Sandy) join me in welcoming youngsters
Gwenneth, Lore and Feylin, plus Josh's shoulder b/c he took the photo kinda wonky

It's a sunny day!  

However, July 4th around here is a day when yabbos are drinkin' beer and playin' with fire, and the ground is so-so-so-so-SO dry.  I would love to just grab the Dragon and escape to the woods...but no.

I did make time to go to the annual pancake breakfast with Jim 

Pancake breakfasts never have a decent cup of tea, so we went into town to get a cuppa
after we tanked up on pancakes.

before heading out to the local U-Pick strawberry farm to hang with the Young Suspects, 

Gwenneth had a full gravity/dirt experience in the strawberry field, of course

get dirty, and fill up a section of the freezer for winter.

I chopped and froze my strawberries from the day before taking a picture, so here's
a photo of raspberries, blueberries and black caps that I picked in the yard this morning.

With all the joy of hanging out with friends in the morning before I come home to scowl at the neighbors and their fireworks, I was still missing something.  

And someone.

Gail, Duana, Meagan, Patty, Sirie, me 
I see all these folks frequently except one.

I miss Gail!

For many years, we all spent the week of Independence Day up at the Renegade Rendezvous ridecamp, building trails.

FOOD was a major feature in our morning and evening gather-ups.  

And Gail's potato salad was always a star of the show.  

I figured, if I can't spend days hanging out with Gail, at least I can make Gail's Potato Salad--because she sent me the recipe.

(being me, of course I tweaked it a bit, and I suggest that readers are free to do the same).

Here's her recipe, plus my tweaks.

Gail's Potato Salad

Start with Yukon Gold or Red potatoes.

I used fingerling <ahem, "body part"> potatoes.   

There's a big section of the garden that has housed these potatoes for years and I've been trying to convince them to move to a different corner, without much success.  Digging up very young potatoes for this will help persuade them that the old address is no longer open for business, maybe? 

Maybe?  Sigh.

2 hard boiled eggs for each large potato.

I used 6 eggs because that's how many will fit in the pan I use for steaming eggs.  

So, my ratio is "a bunch of potatoes / 6 fresh eggs".

Next...

Chopped celery-about a stalk for each 3 potatoes, chopped green onions (to taste) finely chopped including green parts, mayo--I use Best Foods--to make as moist as you like, I add dry mustard to the mayo--to taste, and mix thoroughly. I don't add salt, thereby letting people salt themselves to taste.

I like celery, so I put in lots.  I like some but not tons of green onions, so in they went.  

We had generic light mayo on-hand, so that's what I used.  

The dry mustard is the not-very-secret ingredient.  I always ask Jim to adjust seasoning levels, because my sense of taste/smell is never acute and almost non-existent in summer when my allergies are full-blast.  He put in a bunch of dry mustard, a little salt, and quite a lot of paprika.  

It's best chilled a while. Sprinkle with paprika and enjoy.

We used smoked paprika, which is almost another not-very-secret ingredient, and threw it in the fridge for a few hours.  

Since I made a big batch, I put leftovers into containers for my lunches at work for the remainder of the week.  

What are y'all eating?   Who are you missing?  I'd love to hear from you.

As for this terrible holiday, stay safe, okay?