Welcome to the Star Spangled Giveaway Hop, hosted by Mama the Fox!

Today is star spangled indeed, as it’s Canada Day! So Happy Canada Day to everyone in Canada, and Happy Fourth of July to everyone in the U.S. this weekend. Which is even better for being a 3-day weekend this year. And next year too, so plan ahead!

So this hop celebrates patriot holidays for two countries, even if one of them – Canada – doesn’t actually have a star on its current flag. Although it has in the past.

But these are both patriotic holidays celebrating the birth/consolidation of separate parts into a semi- or somewhat unified whole. Sometimes like a family complete with table-pounding and shouting at family reunions. And the occasional insults hurled either across the table – or to the picnic table next door, meaning in this analogy, each other.

I remember fireworks where I grew up, the tiny suburb of Golf Manor in Cincinnati. It looks like they still do fireworks, just not this year. That’s probably true a lot of places this year.

But it’s still a time to celebrate – wherever you are. And in celebration of this bloghop I’m giving away the winner’s choice of a $10 Amazon Gift Card or a book, up to $10 in value, from the Book Depository. This giveaway is open, not just in the US and Canada as they are celebrating this month, but everywhere that the Book Depository ships.

So have a happy Canada Day, or Independence Day, or whatever and whenever your country celebrates its birth!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more star spangled celebrations, be sure to visit the other stops on this hop!

MamatheFox and all participating blogs are not held responsible for sponsors who fail to fulfill their prize obligations.

Welcome to the Star Spangled Giveaway Hop, hosted by Mama the Fox!

To go to the fireworks, or not go to the fireworks, that is the question. It’s July 1, the Fourth of July celebrations are later in the week, and some of us are managing a four-day weekend for the holiday. But Thursday night, or Wednesday night, there will be fireworks somewhere nearby.

For our furry friends, there will be too many fireworks WAY too close. All week. It’s a hard week for the cats and dogs who live with us.

I remember attending the local fireworks display in our little suburb of Cincy when I was a child. Impatiently waiting for it to get dark enough to start the show. The place we went doesn’t exist anymore. But then, I’m not there either, and the shows are bright in memory all the same.

In Alaska we didn’t go, for two reasons. The fireworks didn’t start until midnight, and even then, it wasn’t dark enough to be able to see much. C’est la vie – or c’est la view, as I originally typed.

We’re in a new neighborhood this Fourth, so we may go see the local show. Or we may be close enough to see it from our front porch whether we go or not. We’ll see.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more sparkly prizes, be sure to visit the other stops on this hop!

MamatheFox and all participating blogs are not held responsible for sponsors who fail to fulfill their prize obligations.