Happy 4th of July, Y'all!

Mr. Chateau Relaxo had some work to do first thing this morning, as world markets sure don't close for U.S. holidays.  I spent time in the studio painting a still life oyster shell from flat (2D) images.  Not as easy as it looks, especially when trying to get the right depth of field and shading.  Figured I needed to get some shells to study, as nothing beats working from the real thing.

We missed the morning parade, but there were still so many sights to behold up on the Northern Neck.  

Boy howdy, Carter's Creek was a-buzz with activity -- summer is in full swing!  Boats galore were pulling tubers, skiers, wakeboarders... you name it!

Maddie enjoyed a good fetch (or 12) in the creek, before joyfully rolling in a dusty patch of dirt. 

After she rinsed off by swimming even more, we headed over to Merroir to see a few of those real-life shells.  The place was packed -- wow!  Sure makes us look forward to having an oyster roast come Fall.

 

Back at the house, the evening was capped off with some low-key grilling and chilling.  Sweetie won our cornhole challenge, but it went down to the wire.  I'm thinking rematch! 

We finished the night with Meredith and Derek's 'thank you' gift from their recent anniversary travels.  Bet it shines as a new Chateau Relaxo tradition!

Happy 4th of July, everyone. Hope yours was wonderful.  Wishing you all God's blessings...