I love parties.

And family gatherings.

And fireworks.

And crowds.

Crowds?

Yeah, even crowds.

So on this 4^th of July, a day of parties, gatherings, fireworks, and crowds, I make two declarations.

Declaration #1: Today sucks!

Bet that one caught you by surprise—the where’d-that-come-from, what’s-that-on-the-bottom-of-my-shoe, where-in-the-world-is-he-going kind of surprise. Are you surprised?

So what’s so sucky about today? I’m in Wisconsin (and there’s neat stuff going on in town and around the state, so that doesn’t suck).

Two brothers, two wives (I’m not talking about me, the brothers each have one and only one wife), a sister, and her granddaughter are playing cards right now even as I type this. In Texas—my beloved (oh, be still my beating heart) state.

And I’m not there.

Which sucks.

See! I'm not there. Thanks to Cynde Kunetka for the photograph.

Did I tell you I love parties?

Declaration #2: Today begins a month-long blog party.

So what in butterfat heaven does that mean?

That means I extend an invitation for you to join the blog conversation. How? By simply making a comment, but not just any kind of comment. I’ll clarify in a moment.

The first week of August, I’ll announce the winner.

Winner? Of What?

Glad you asked.

An Amazon.com $20 gift certificate (I thought $10, but my lovely wife said, “That’s too little. Why not twenty?”—and therein you see the difference between miserly me and generous her. Don’t you just love her? I do.).

So what kind of comment?

Based on a previous post’s theme and today’s party theme, offer a recipe for all of us to try, one generally associated with a summer-time picnic. I will grill, refrigerate, mix, bake, or whatever at least three of the suggestions and determine a winner based on my favorite. It’s that simple.

To put a little more seasoning into the recipe challenge, if you try someone else’s recipe, comment and encourage. Please be honest but respectful—I’ll axe your comment if you aren’t; but I don’t expect to wield any axes in this crowd—you all are great!

Some suggestions.

1)      If it’s complicated, I don’t do complicated.

2)      If it’s exotic, I do exotic but exotic in small-town Wisconsin means fresh-not-canned pineapple.

3)      If it’s expensive, send cash. 🙂

So what does this have to do with the ONE, HOME, and the JOURNEY?

Nothing but…

Everything.

Question: what’s your recipe? My grill, oven, and/or refrigerator await your answer.