Here I am with my daughter Kayti, circa 1988. Oh, the hair! The visor! The shorts! The glasses! And Kayti's little visor looked like a pith helmet. Such fun times, even if we were fashion challenged!
But the golf tournament came to an end as my parents aged and sold the house, and by then I was too busy with writing and my own life to miss it much. But it did mark a turning point in the year--for those of us in south, Labor Day brings the hope that the temperatures will start to drop enough that we can stand to go outside again! And one of the downsides of work-at-home self-employment is that a holiday just seems like another day. The most I'm likely to manage is cooking burgers on the grill. If it's cool enough...
How about you, REDs, as we are all in the self-employed boat? Is Labor Day a THING for you? What will you be doing?
RHYS BOWEN: Coming from a country where we don't celebrate Labor Day I'm afraid we don't do much. I love barbecues and picnics but I have a husband who shies away from wasps, bees, etc etc. He's the only man I've ever met who insists on having a napkin and a side plate at a picnic. I think we have a friend coming into town and will take her for a meal or a drink but that's about it. And as for the rule about not wearing white after Labor Day. If the temperature remains at ninety plus, I'll keep wearing white! So there.
DEBS: But, Rhys, it's also Bank Holiday weekend!
JENN McKINLAY: I live in AZ, so it's just another hella hot day for us, which we'll spend in the pool most likely. When the boys were younger, we'd take off to San Diego to run around on the beach for a long weekend as a farewell to summer. Now that they're older and one is in college, we can't just throw them in the car and go. Darn it. As a kid in CT, it was just an extra day off to goof off and run amok in the neighborhood, which was always fun but I don't remember it being a big deal. I do think it would be pretty sweet to have a Labor Day once a month, because I really think we all work too much for too little and could use a day to catch our breath.
DEBS: Jenn, if you have two seconds, give us an update!
LUCY BURDETTE: Yes, I think we should have a labor day every month! But would we would pay any attention? Debs, your parents' party sounds like so much fun! Our golf course has their Labor Day club championship tournament every year and John will be playing. They throw a nice lunch party on Monday so we might go to that. or, we might go see WHERE'D YOU GO BERNADETTE, which I'm dying to watch!
HALLIE EPHRON: Labor Day never used to be special, but it is now. When I was pregnant with my first, my due date was August 15. But because I didn't want to be pestered about whether I'd gone into labor YET, I told everyone my due date was Labor Day.
And that's when My lovely Molly Kate was born. An aside: my mother did have a thing about not wearing white after labor day... or black patent leather, either. She was a New Yorker.
DEBS: Hallie, that is SO cute!
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Labor Day was a joke in my family, because my sister and I thought we were the only kids in the world who wondered "Why is it called Labor Day when no one works?" Then we would go off into gales of laughter. But now, I actually do think about unions, and how our system of "work" has changed, and continues to change. As for me, I will be on an airplane coming back from a crazy week of book tour, and I cannot begin to tell you how much fun it will be to be home and see my dear husband after 11 (very fabulous) days on the road. The couch beckons. BUT. My book is due Tuesday. So much for the couch.
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: For those of us in the northeast, Labor Day also makes a climactic turning point - here in Maine, the temperatures start to drift down pretty soon after the holiday weekend. Time to order your firewood, if you haven't already, to start thinking about fall chores, and of course, the last hurrah before school gets into full swing. For years, my friend Mary and I would round up our kids and take them to Old Orchard Beach for the day - Maine's longest white-sand beach, with a small amusement park, and old fashioned boardwalk, and enough deep-fried foods to put you into the coronary care unit. This year, I'm doing at again, but with a more grown-up crew: the Smithie, Youngest (moving in day is Tueday at her uni!) and a special guest, the Sailor's sweetheart Veronique, who is getting her first glimpse of Maine in the summer while she stays with us for a mini-vacay! I'm so glad she's here, because it's getting us all out of the house and actually doing fun things to mark the end of summer.
DEBS: Readers, are you taking a day off? And, if so, how are you spending it?
And now our Monday feature--
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Although I don’t have to work, John is working until noon, so we haven’t made plans for anything special. We might grill if the weather cooperates, but I’m really looking forward to simply curling up with my book . . . .
ReplyDeleteI don't wear white as it is, so I'm safe on that rule, LOL. I am going to work this morning, as usual, and maybe take Ann Cleeves to the beach for the afternoon, if it doesn't rain, because the crowds should be gone by then. Grilling hamburgers for dinner, definitely, and a fresh corn-tomato salad.
ReplyDeleteEdith, our local butcher does a Labor Day special (also for 4th of July and Memorial Day) of 6 wagyu beef patties with brioche buns for $17, so our freezer is stocked for burgers! I have corn, too, but the tomatoes are store bought--our market and garden tomatoes are pretty much finished. We will have some tomatoes later in the autumn from the farmers who put in a second crop.
DeleteWhen I was young, my family lived in East Montréal but we went to our cabin, 1-1/2 hour from the city, for the summer.
ReplyDeleteLabor Day meant the end of the holidays so we were always a little sad, packing to return home and then to school.
Today it is raining a lot here but I'm very happy, I'm going to brunch with one of my brothers who is coming back from visiting
London and who will tell me all about his trip with photos.
School used to start after Labor Day here, so the holiday always marked the end of summer. It was a day for family, good food, and fireworks at the local community park if it didn't rain. Today I think I might get a jump-start on my first ever batches of apple butter, pear butter, and pear honey, if I'm feeling extra ambitious. The first two will cook in a slow cooker, so after prep, there's nothing to do except sit back and await the goodies (fingers crossed).
ReplyDeleteAnd I'd like to add that I really like the addition to the blog, where y'all update us on your news. Thanks, Reds!
thanks for noticing and please send us some fruit butter when you're done:)
DeleteFlora, your butters and honey sound fabulous!! Let us know how they turn out!
DeleteSame old rainy Monday here; luckily nothing special was planned. My favorite Labor Day memory from when I was young was when my family spent the weekend at the Jersey Shore.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! It always feels like tomorrow should be back to school!
ReplyDeleteDebs, your 1988 look brought back so many memories! Of course there were shoulder pads in that blouse, too, right? Except for the visors, that could have been me and one of my girls in the photo.
ReplyDeleteBeing, and being married to, someone self-employed for the last 40 years, we only do holiday stuff when dragged into it by others. Even though Steve is technically "retired", he still works every day. He was working when I woke up at 7:30 this morning! If we get it together to celebrate anything it usually falls to me. We have already had two big social nights already this weekend, so we will probably just throw something on the grill tonight.
Also, with all our daughters spread all over the country, it takes huge effort to get them all together. And they were all here a few weeks ago to celebrate Steve's 70th.
Karen, no shoulder pads, lol. I always had to take them out, because I am built like a linebacker in the shoulders. I'm just envious of my thirty-something waist...
DeleteAren't we all, Debs!
DeleteHallie, I was enormously pregnant with my last child on Labor Day, too! But she wasn't born until the 9th. Nothing like having a bun in the oven in the summer, right?
ReplyDeleteIt was a VERY hot summer, too... we were in an apartment with a/c only in the bedroom, and I was beached on the bed in the coolth, darting out into the kitchen for food and scurrying back to my bunker. For weeks.
DeleteSO true about a bun in the oven in summer. 2nd was due in late Oct. She was very big baby, I was a very tiny pregnant woman, I gained a lot of weight and needed special hose and orthopedic shoes! Worst summer ever. But she was a cheerful, charming baby, so there was that.
DeleteI was pregnant all three times over summer, but my first was born around Thanksgiving. The middle one was born at the end of August, but when I was pregnant with that last kid we had no A/C, and we had weeks of over-90 temps. I made my husband have air conditioning installed in my seventh month!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteKayti was born at the end of June--two weeks past her due date--and boy was that a long month.
DeleteMy first was born mid-June a week late, and I practiced my squatting - all extra 55 lbs of me - to plant my tomatoes before he came out. Determined to get the garden in!
DeleteWHERE'D YOU GO BERNADETTE was as much fun to watch as it was to read, so go and enjoy the AC Lucy Roberta!
ReplyDeleteI have no memory of Labor Day as a child, not one, so I guess we didn't celebrate it. All I remember is that school started the day after.
We went to a gala wedding last night. Our across the street neighbors, Staci and Cheryl, both in their fifties, got married. Staci's father is a multimillionaire from New Jersey, and he pulled out all the stops. The ceremony was a blend of Jewish tradition, including the chuppah, the Seven Blessings, and the breaking of the glass. In this case two glasses, well, because. The Christian part was vague. It often is. And then came the party, open bar atop the Strathallen with a 360 view of our beautiful city. Here came the non-Jewish part, those bacon wrapped scallops. O.M.G. I snatched one every time they came past me.
Dinner was incredible, and I won't post the menu, but my filet was cooked to perfection.
It was raining by the time we got home, a gentle rain that lasted all night. Temp in the low sixties, definitely quilt weather. This afternoon, presuming it clears, we will go to the annual family gathering for burgers and dogs from the grill, dishes to pass, corn on the cob, good company, and with any luck, homemade ice cream.
And so summer in Western New York comes to an end. I've seen the odd red and gold and orange leaf on the ground. The geese are honking and veeing south. The last of the everything vegetative to eat is in the market stands, and all the flowering plants are 75% off, time to load up on perennials and get them in the ground. (Or for Erin, PhD student in renaissance horn at Eastman and our new gardener to plant.)
Time to make soup and bring in the firewood and be sure the pet safe ice melt is by every door.
And get ready for BOUCHERCON!!!
Ann, all that sounds so idyllic! I love soup and stew weather, but for us it will be another month. My daughter already has all her fall decorations out--I think she's hoping she can hurry it up!
DeleteAh, what a lovely description of your weekend! A bit farther south in CT, I'm looking forward to soups and stews as well. I think my only celebration today will be eating leftovers from my sweetie's birthday dinner two nights ago. So much pulled pork left! And the black bean and corn salad for the vegetarians. Also, arepas to hold all that food. Anyone hungry? Come on over!
Delete-Melanie
Absolutely. Just heading out now to march in the Labour Day Parade. And believe me, with the government we now have in Ontario (proudly anti-labour) we need to show all the strength we can.
ReplyDeleteam I the only one with allergies that kick in at the first sign of fall? Honking and snorting and blowing my nose... Usually lasts about 4 weeks.
ReplyDeleteRight there with you, Hallie. Time to break out the Flonaise for a few weeks. Sigh.
DeleteRagweed!!!! It hit us weekend before last! Ugh.
DeleteYou are not alone, Hallie. It's wicked bad this year.
DeleteLabor Day: the local pool closes and in Cincinnati, temps will be pushing 90...again. I'm not sure when Labor Day fireworks became a tradition, but they're here.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in college, I worked in a Cape Cod seafood restaurant. Sunday night of Labor Day weekend was, for the college kids, our last night together before we boarded the bus and headed back to college.
I am retired from the day job so I work whenever now. Looks cloudy and probable rain here in NY. We had no special plans - kids and grands are off with other grandparents and the whole street, neighborhood, city empties out for last fling of summer. ( School starts tomorrow)It's kind of pleasant.There is a huge old Army terminal near here, now refurbished for other purposes. Big indoor "block party"/food fair today so we might take a look.
ReplyDeleteGoing with last first - I entered the giveaways for Deborah and Julia. I didn't need to enter the one for Hank because I have my signed copy already.
ReplyDeleteAs for Labor Day, I'm off from my job. The boss took us out for lunch last Thursday because it was yearly evaluation time (they are very pleased with my performance). Then Friday they let us out at noon time so we got a 3 1/2 day weekend.
But I don't celebrate it as some monumental holiday or something. I've got schmucks in the neighborhood doing that fireworks thing and that's annoying. The schools are already back in session.
Yes it is the unofficial end of summer but for those of us who don't really mark things that way, it is just another long weekend where I get an extra day to not have to stress about work.
But at least the tourists go home.
I tried to think of things to do this weekend. Some comic stores were running big sales but they were far enough away so as to make the drive unappealing. Then I was looking for something to do yesterday and just couldn't work up the enthusiasm to get dressed much less go out and have to deal with "the public".
So I'll just take the day once more to read a book and watch the 48 hour M*A*S*H* marathon.
Thanks, Jay! Hope you win a book!
DeleteGrowing up we never celebrated Labor Day because, ironically enough, my father was a union construction worker and as often as not, they were furiously trying to finish a project before Ohio weather turned too bad to work outdoors.
ReplyDeleteI so miss the days when Labor Day meant the start of the school year. In my area, schools started returning around August 15, with almost all of them having at least one week of school in already.
We have blissfully nothing planned for today except grilling salmon to be served with corn on the cob and melon. The perfect taste of summer, in my book.
Susan, our schools now go back the middle of August, too, but the school year doesn't end any earlier. I miss that whole Labor Day/school supplies/fall clothes vibe. It was such a great seasonal marker when we were kids. Here, of course, the stores are already pushing fall clothing, but you cannot wear it!!! We will be up to 99 again by the end of the week. Ugh.
DeleteLabor Day is usually just some grilling out some hamburgers here, but today my daughter and her family will be stopping by for lunch on their way back from a weekend at the lake, so we'll have a bit more. Actually though, I've decided to make it easy on myself by visiting one of our local restaurants, Moonlite Bar-B-Que, and buying chicken and fixings. I have fruit to put out and a dessert, but I'm into easy today.
ReplyDeleteOh, my father was a stickler for Memorial Day and Labor Day fashion rules (yes, my father--hahaha). He put away his felt and wool hats by Memorial Day, and his straw hats weren't worn after Labor Day. He was always the one most concerned about how he looked, not my mother. Of course, in his real estate business, it was important to dress well. We kids just always thought it was a hoot that he was the fashion plate of the family.
Oh, the felt and straw hats. Those were the days!
DeleteTake it easy, Kathy, and enjoy your day!
Labor Day didn't mean much to me until I started representing with injured workers at the same time researching the labor movement for my historical series. Labor Day is a big deal and organized labor is near and dear to my heart. So I'm spending it getting ready for a deposition and cleaning my kitchen because OMG!
ReplyDeleteHappy Labor Day all! The great cleanout continues in my husband's "junk" room. I had no idea he had so much crap in there. And still it comes. Granddaughter arrives Thursday evening and he is the one who volunteered to house her there so I am not in the least sympathetic to his plight. I would love a grilled dinner, even hot dogs (!), but same said person says it is too hot to grill outside. And it is supposed to hit 100 later this week. Houston is hot but not usually that hot; it's 90 now. When we lived in NE Ohio we'd go to a friend's pig roast he hosted for a ton of people. Actually my husband Frank supplied the cooker and did the cooking of the pig(s). It was great fun and lots of delicious foods and conversation. Those were the days!
ReplyDeleteHappy Labor Day! I am laughing about the baby being due on Labor Day! Was Molly born on Labor Day? If she was born on August 15, then she shares a birthday with Princess Anne, the Princess Royal. The comment about a side plate at a picnic is also funny!
ReplyDeleteMy Labor Day plans include staying enscounced in a cooler house (it is very hot outside!) and reading an Advanced Copy of FATAL CAJUN FESTIVAL and maybe watching Shetland on Britbox.
Just entered the giveaways!
Diana
I'm off today. Much needed day of relaxation. Honestly, I think I need about a week off. Unfortunately, that's not an option.
ReplyDeleteShalom Reds and fans. I like to go to bed late and sleep-in in the mornings. So, even though I am retired, Labor Day Monday is another excuse for not getting up in the morning. I also rue the sunrise being later and the sunset is earlier. Therefore, even though fall has not yet begun, the scent of winter is not far behind. Many folks of our town travel religiously “down the shore” which means the Jersey shore. Hence, the streets are somewhat quieter today. My roommate treated me to Wendy’s for brunch and we had the restaurant to ourselves. On the other hand, I have a dear friend who lives on the Delaware shore and she celebrates the fact that the summer crowd will finally be leaving. And they will once again be able to get to the grocery store in ten minutes rather than the 45 minutes or longer in the summer due to the traffic. I will spend the day listening to baseball. I am from New York City originally, so I will listen to and root for the Yankees. I will catch up on a few podcasts. All my life, I have been a fan of radio and now we have the equivalent of radio “on demand.” I probably will take a nap. And I probably will get some reading done. I am currently reading “eBay for Dummies.” Which I think is due back at the library tomorrow, so as I’m not close to finishing I may have to renew it online today. A friend of mine, died last week, and the funeral is Wednesday. So I’ll need to make sure I have a dress shirt that’s laundered to go with the not very often used suit. I go camping once or twice in the fall with friends. I need to check my borrowed tent to make sure it’s all good and ready to be used. Labor Day. Just a lazy day.
ReplyDeleteFinishing a book that's due TOMORROW!!! Ack!!! Have a great day, everyone!
ReplyDeleteI cleaned the bathroom for my "labor" but otherwise had a normal retired person day. I did put away my white sandals.
ReplyDeleteWe celebrated my niece’s marriage all weekend and attended a Peter Frampton concert. Now we’re back to relaxing at Hammonasset Beach State Park in CT where I enjoy the seasonal changes seen during my morning walks. We were taught about not wearing white after Labor Day too!
ReplyDeleteIt was a quiet weekend and Labor Day here at our residence. Nothing special just my immediate family. Tacos for dinner. Television in the evening. Boring.
ReplyDelete