Top 'O The Monday To You

Another full busy week here, and then the weekend was party party party. Let's catch up...

Friday I finally got the tax organizer submitted to our accountant and it felt so good to have that job done. I needed a block of time to finish it up and Friday morning was pretty much the only block of unclaimed time I had all week. From the post office I went directly to the salon for a long overdue, much needed, mani/pedi. It was wonderful. 

Friday evening hubs and I went to a St. Patty's Day get together in our neighborhood clubhouse. They called it stews and brews and everyone brought either a soup, bread, salad or dessert. 

So many yummy soups with a lot of variety. The organizers brought both small and large containers, so you could have a bowl of one or a flight of several. 

The room was decorated for St. Patrick's Day and two neighbors set up an Irish Coffee bar which was fun and festive. Hubs and I wore our matching tees but I forgot to snap a picture. Pretty much par for the course here. 

We were up early on Saturday to make the trek to Tennessee for still more celebrating the birthday girl, aka my mother-in-law. Last weekend she was at the lake to spend time with all her great grands, but this weekend was all about her own children. 

I snapped this picture on our drive over on Saturday morning. This road repair and construction as a result of Helene (a year and a half ago!) has got to be one of the biggest ongoing projects in the country in terms of size, cost, manpower, and plan. 

We arrived at my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's home about 2. There was a big Bass tournament happening on the river all weekend long, and we had fun watching the fishermen from their deck. 

We had a lovely family dinner Saturday night at a nice restaurant (Foothills Milling for the Tennessee peeps reading here), and it was so good!

My sister-in-law made a fun bingo game and when she called a square everyone told a story about my mother-in-law that fit the topic. Hilarious. Our server heard more than she ever wanted to know too lol.

Sunday morning coffee on the deck before we all headed to church together.  Right after the service there was a lovely little reception in the atrium for her many many MANY friends to come have a sweet treat and visit. She's been a member of this church for over 50 years and is very well loved. 

Mary (Life In A Small Town)  came by the reception too and it was fun to see her there. She and her sibs went to school with hubs and his sibs and we were all glad she stopped by. My mother-in-law loves her whole family and she brought her a sweet hyacinth which was so thoughtful. Did we take a photo or were we slacker bloggers? You decide. 

Once the reception ended hubs and I along with one brother and sister-in-law went to a nearby brewery to meet up with some college friends of ours.  A great day and always fun to see some of our favorite people who knew us when. 

Again, we forgot to snap a picture. Oops. We did have a photographer my sister-in-law knows come take some pictures at the church and a few family shots too, so I'm sure I'll add one to my blog once we get them back. 

We hung out at my brother-in-law and sister-in-laws house Sunday evening and will be home by lunchtime today. 

Barring crazy weather or crazy traffic of course, both of which are possible. 

Hope you had a nice weekend spent with people you love. Linking today's post with Holly (Pink Lady Blog) and Sarah (Sunshine and Books)  for their usual Monday morning party. Why not add your link there too? 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 645

Here are the questions to this week's Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back on Wednesday (March 18th)  to share answers with all the lucky readers. See you there! 

1. St. Patrick's Day lands on March 17th. Do you believe in luck? Are there things you do thinking they'll  bring good luck or  things you avoid because they're considered bad luck? 

2. Forest-lime-sage-mint-olive-emerald...what's your favorite shade of green? 

3. In Ireland the meal on this day is often a hearty beef or lamb stew served with colcannon (mashed potato mixed with cabbage and leeks). In the US corned beef and cabbage is the more typical St. Patty's Day meal. Will you/did you mark the day with one of these dishes? Baked-fried-roasted-mashed...what's your favorite way to eat a potato?

4. What color of the rainbow best represents your personality/mood today? Tell us why. 

5. Which 'lucky' quote resonates with you. Elaborate. 

 'Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.' E.B. White 

'Diligence is the mother of good luck." Benjamin Franklin 

'Luck is where opportunity meets preparation.' Seneca 

'Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect.' Ralph Waldo Emerson 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Et Tu Hodgepodge?

Welcome to another week in the Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions, add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Here we go...

1. Are you a naturally trusting person? Is trust built on logic or 'gut instinct'? Does everyone deserve a second chance? Elaborate. 

I'm a naturally trusting person for the most part. I like being given a second chance myself and I want to extend one whenever it seems like the right thing to do. That being said I do think a second chance might depend on the nature of 'the initial crime/offense'. We can forgive wrongdoing while also setting boundaries to prevent being taken advantage of, lied to, hurt in some way a second time. Or third, fourth, whatever the case may be. 

Wow, that got deep fast. 

Is trust built on logic or gut instinct? Hmmm... a bit of both I'd say, but I'm going to lean more towards gut instinct. Like I said. I'm a naturally trusting person. 

2. 'Beware the Ides of March'...March 15th on the ancient Roman calendar, these words were made famous by William Shakespeare in his play Julius Caesar.  Caesar was assassinated on March 15th 44 B.C. Have you read any Shakespeare? If so, do you have a favorite? Have you ever been to Rome? 

When I was in the 6th grade, which was still elementary school where I grew up, we put on the play A Midsummer Night's Dream, which I think was my first exposure to Shakespeare. I remember not quite understanding it all, but also having so much fun with the play. 

I feel like I want to re-read some Shakespeare as I don't know it well and probably haven't read any since high school. I started thinking about some of his well known titles and realized I've been to more than a few of their settings...

The Merry Wives of Windsor-

Only one of of us was actually a wife when this was taken-ha! We spent a lot of time in this town when we lived very nearby. 

Romeo and Juliet aka Verona-

Celebrating our birthdays with pottery, opera, and amazing food in the beautiful city of Verona 

The Globe...

And his birthplace, Stratford-Upon-Avon to name just a few. Quick sidebar-Daughter2 went on an overnight with her grade 8 classmates to Stratford and they did some cool things like a wig workshop and a sword fighting demo. I know she remembers it well because there was also a little mischief made, which the moms remember. Hi Daughter2 teehee. 

I've been to Rome and loved it. 

Europe has changed so much since we lived abroad and I don't have a burning desire to go to some of the bigger cities there anymore. I adore the countryside and village life and wouldn't mind more of that in terms of European travel. 

3. Do you like a Caesar salad? If given the choice between a garden/house salad or Caesar which do you order? Anchovies or no? What's your favorite salad dressing? 

I love a Caesar salad and will most often opt for that if there's a choice. I do not like it (or any salad for that matter) swimming in dressing, but I do like Caesar dressing. 

With or without anchovies? Either way is fine. 

My favorite dressing is currently a champagne vinaigrette. I like Hidden Valley Light Ranch too, but again I go really light on the dressing. My family always wants to add more.. 

4. Where do you typically work (or blog if that's easier) at home? Do you have a dedicated home office space? Are you happy with that space? 

Right here whenever possible-

I do have a semi-dedicated office where I sometimes work and sometimes blog. It's mostly where bills are paid but I do blog there now and then too. I like the space, it's roomy and I can see the lake so there's that. We had a Murphy bed added to the room for the overflowing houseguests we often have here. The room is mostly an office, but also serves as additional sleeping space when needed, which is useful. 

I often blog from the couch in the evenings while watching tv. I really like blogging while sitting at my dining room table with a view to the front yard. It's a sunny spot and there's something about the order in this particular room I find helps with my concentration. 

5. Snow drops, daffodils, lenten roses, crocus, hyacinth, or early tulips...what's your favorite early Spring flower? 

Impossible to choose! If you make me pick I suppose I'll say daffodils because they're generally the first ones up here and are bright and cheery against the gray skies we so often see in February. I have iris popping up now and they usually arrive on the early side of spring too. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

My March mantra-

Happy Wednesday everyone! 

The ABC's Of April

For the past many years I've participated in a writing exercise known as The April A-Z Blog Challenge. It started way back in 2010, but my first time participating was 2011. I've participated almost every year since (I missed a year or three in there somewhere) and am going to try again in 2026. 

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the challenge, it's simple. In theory anyway. You blog every day in the month of April (except Sundays) so 26 days of posting, which conveniently is the exact same number as the letters in our alphabet. One letter per day which makes it fun. I like puzzles and this exercise has always felt  a little bit like working a puzzle. 

There are literally hundreds of participants, but you choose the category your blog best fits, and then you can read those blogs that appeal to you. There are a lot of people working on books, a lot of sci-fi, gaming, that sort of thing which doesn't particularly interest me, but there are also categories like family, parenting, personal journal, cooking, and travel and those are more my cup of tea. 

You're not required to have a theme but I like a theme. It brings structure to the many random thoughts I'm trying to capture and I need that. I've never participated in the theme reveal link up before because I'm usually flying by the seat of my pants, still trying to decide on a theme on March 31st. 

Lisa reminded me about the Challenge with her post and theme reveal here, and I decided to commit to one on the spot. I can overthink with the best of them, but had an idea and ran with it. 

The Things We Keep: An A-Z of Ordinary Objects

My plan is to wander through my house and write about 26 seemingly ordinary objects and the stories  behind them. Do I have 26 ordinary objects to write about? I think so. I mean I hope so, but you should also know I tend to wing these challenge posts. That strategy has worked for me just fine in the past and I guess we'll know soon enough how it goes this time around.

Hop back here on April 1st to see where we land. 

Actually hop back here tomorrow for the regularly scheduled Wednesday Hodgepodge. I'll keep that going alongside the A-Z challenge in April, which is always a lot, but the Hodgepodge is my wheelhouse and it's comfy there. 

For more information go here-The April A-Z Blog Challenge...sign ups are March 23-April 4.

The Weekeend Merriment

'Twas a whirlwind of a weekend filled with family, food, fun, and birthday festivities. My mother-in-law turns 90 years old this week and I don't think she'd mind me telling you. I mean she's a dynamo who can run circles around all of us 'kids' so why not tell the world your age? 

She will be celebrated by family and her at least 1000 friends all week long, but we kicked things off here at the lake with a great-grand palooza. All five of her greats were here and it was wonderfully chaotic and sweet. 

Nana (that's me) might be tired today but it's a good tired. 

I took pictures but I try not to post any of the kids faces up close here, so I'm not sharing many. We laughed a lot and enjoyed being together and that's the main thing. 

Daughter2 and her littles arrived Thursday afternoon and since Thursday is my volunteer day I'd planned ahead with a roast in the crock pot. Yay me!  Her hubs was working his way this direction and would arrive Friday afternoon to join the party. 

Friday morning I had a hair appointment so while I was there daughter2 went over to her sister's house and spent a few hours. Just one of the joys of living close. The cousins played so well together and it was nice for their mommas to have time together to chat and catch up. 

Meanwhile...back at the ranch....

Hubs was manning the BBQ he'd started in the literal middle of the night Friday. He was up at 3 AM putting the pork butts on the Big Green Egg, and we all agree this might be his best effort yet. So delicious! 

Hubs brother and sister-in-law arrived from Tennessee late afternoon, bringing the birthday girl with them. One son-in-law made it here around 5, and the other ended up in late surgery so had his dinner with our dessert. You have got to roll with these grown kids work commitments and such. 

It was forecasted to be a rainy weekend, but Friday was so nice and really warm and we sat out on the patio and talked, hula hooped, fed fish, and chased small children. 

Dinner was BBQ courtesy of the hubs, baked beans and cole slaw ala me, and homemade mac and cheese made by Daughter1. Everything was yummy. I ordered a cake from the Publix Bakery because hubs said I shouldn't try to add one more thing to the already full schedule by making one from scratch. 

The cake was delicious, but they forgot to put the cross mark on the H in happy birthday, and there was a small crack in the icing so not the usual perfect you get from Publix. If I'd baked it myself I would not have missed that H, just sayin'. 

Still so pretty though! 

We lit the candles and sang happy birthday and then the absolute precise second the song ended my middle grandson blew the candles out before anyone knew what was happening. He did not miss a beat. It was hysterical.  

I got these gorgeous tulips from Publix too and they were the most beautiful shade of fushia, which you don't see a lot of in the tulip world, or at least I don't. 

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law slept at Daughter1's house so after breakfast we all met up there. Which is just four miles from me in case you've forgotten. The three littles played and hubs and his brother and sister-in-law went to watch the two oldest grands at their baseball practice. Dad was coaching and they had a lot of fun. 

Daughter2 took her two back to our house for a nap, but my mother-in-law, daughter1 and I had a nice long chat on her screened porch which was lovely. 

We had going out to dinner plans booked in a local Italian restaurant for Saturday night, which let's just be honest and say is a bit of a crap shoot in terms of how it will actually go when you're talking small children. The two oldest boys thoroughly enjoy ordering from a menu, but restaurant dining with the three and under set (of which there are currently three) is anybody's guess. 

Turns out it was a really great fun family night and everyone was happy, hungry, and eager to help Grandma with her cannoli. 

The oldest with the youngest is just so precious. 

Sunday morning we took up a pew and a half in church which made my heart so so happy. Daughter1 and her family left after church to go her in-law's house to celebrate her father-in-law's birthday, but everyone else came back here for lunch before the Tennessee crew headed back home. Daughter2, who also lives in Tennessee but a different part than her grandmother, aunt, and uncle, stayed until Monday morning. They'll go home around lunchtime and the house will be quiet once more. Messy too, but it's the quiet we'll notice and love a little, but also hate. If ya know ya know. 

Hope your weekend was filled with lots of happies too. I'm linking today with Holly (Pink Lady) and Sarah (Sunshine and Books) for the Monday morning weekend recap link party. Hop over there to see what others are doing and sharing too. 

Have a great week everyone!  

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 644

Here are the questions to this week's Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog then hop back here Wednesday (March 11th) to add your link to the party. See you there! 

1. Are you a naturally trusting person? Is trust built on logic or 'gut instinct'? Does everyone deserve a second chance? Elaborate. 

2. 'Beware the Ides of March'...March 15th on the ancient Roman calendar, these words were made famous by William Shakespeare in his play Julius Caesar.  Caesar was assassinated on March 15th 44 B.C. Have you read any Shakespeare? If so, do you have a favorite? Have you ever been to Rome? 

3. Do you like a Caesar salad? If given the choice between a garden/house salad or Caesar which do you order? Anchovies or no? What's your favorite salad dressing? 

4. Where do you typically work (or blog if that's easier) at home? Do you have a dedicated home office space? Are you happy with that space? 

5. Snow drops, daffodils, lenten roses, crocus, hyacinth, or early tulips...what's your favorite early Spring flower? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Share Your Shelf-February

Hello friends. It's the first Thursday of the month which means it's time to share what we've read the month prior. The link to join or to see what others are reading is hosted by Joanne (Slices of Life) and Dara (Not In Jersey).  

Here's how my February looked-

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

I've been reading (or re-reading as the case sometimes is) a classic piece of literature every month and this month it was Huck Finn. I chose this one because my book club is reading the Pulitzer Prize winning James by Percival Everett in March, and the stories are related. I've been told you can read James having never read Huck Finn, but I thought it might be a good time to revisit this American classic. 

First things first...I listened to this one on Audible. It's narrated by the actor Elijah Wood who does an excellent job. That being said, I'd forgotten about how often the 'not nice' word is said in this book, and hearing it said aloud many times over was jarring. So there's that. 

At the start of the narration there is a little spiel about the times in which this book was written, the accents and language, the saltiness if you will, but the first time that word rolls off the narrators tongue you're shocked. Or at least I was. 

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is told in the first person and the tale is known for it's very colorful description of people and places along the Mississippi River. It's set in 1840's Missouri and begins where Tom Sawyer ended. Huck has faked his own death/murder to escape his abusive father and he soon reunites with Old Jim, an escaped slave. The pair decide to float down the river to the town of Cairo Illinois, a freed slave settlement,  but of course they run into more than a few problems and adventures along the way. 

It took me a couple of chapters to get in to the flow of the storytelling as Twain wrote this in vernacular English and I had to really concentrate to follow it at first. Quickly though I was caught up in the story and am glad I revisited this one before diving in to my book club selection. James is the same story but told from the slave Jim's point of view so it will be interesting to compare. I've just started that one so will share my thoughts on that next month. 

The Museum Of Failures by Thrity Umrigar

I liked this one, although it got off to a very slow start for me. I loved this author's book Honor, and while this one wasn't quite as good, it was still an engaging read, particularly once the plot picked up.

Which I'm gonna say was almost too late.  

Remy Wadia left India for the US, taking with him a barrel of resentment directed towards his cold and sometimes cruel mother. He married an American woman and has kept his distance from his mother and homeland ever since.  Now he's returned to Bombay with plans to adopt a baby from a young pregnant girl, and to see his elderly mother once more. She's in the hospital and has completely stopped talking. 

Remy is overwhelmed with guilt for not realizing how serious her illness had become and he devotes himself to her recovery before planning his return trip home to America. In searching for something in his mother's home he stumbles across an old photograph that needs an explanation. Family secrets are revealed, and Remy finds himself reexamining his entire childhood and the relationship he thought he understood with his parents. 

I gave it three stars because I felt like I was two-thirds through before I was invested in the plot. 

This Book Made Me Think Of You by Libby Page

I loved this one. An original plot, and a tender read I finished in mostly one sitting. 

Five months after her husband Joe dies Tilly Nightingale receives an unexpected gift. Before his death Joe had arranged with a local bookseller to give Tilly a book a month for that first year she'll spend without him. There's also a letter of encouragement to go along with each book, and I especially loved the way the author didn't rush or minimize the grieving. Really well written. 

Through the gifted books Tilly finds her way through grief and loss, finds courage to step out of her comfort zone, and along the way discovers new things about herself while also getting reacquainted with the person she was prior to her husband's death. Four big stars for me. 

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy 

Emphasis on the word dark. Why is this book so popular? I don't think Reese Witherspoon and I have the same taste in books lol. This is one of her book club picks, and  I started to mark it DNF, but knew there was a twist coming and was curious enough to see it to the bitter end. Eh. 

I've heard it described as an atmospheric eco-thriller and honestly if I'd heard that before reading I would for sure have passed it by. The seed bank topic was a little bit interesting, and such a thing does exist (there's one in Norway designed to protect biodiversity in the case of a worldwide catastrophe) but the author got a little preachy and it went a bit strange for me. The twist was definitely twisty, just not enough for me to give this one more than three stars. 

The plot follows the Salt family (dad Dominic and his three children-Fen, Raff, and Orly) living as the last inhabitants of a remote island near the coast of Antarctica (Shearwater). They've been given the task of protecting the world's largest seed bank, and now tides are rising and the island is being evacuated. Researchers who had also been on the island working have already left, and the family is charged with packaging up the seeds for transport off the island. 

In the middle of this work, there's a terrible storm and a woman (Rowan) washes ashore beaten up from her voyage and barely alive. Rowan isn't completely truthful about why she's there and the family might just be keeping a few secrets of their own. 

It sounds pretty good doesn't it? And parts of it were, but overall it was not for me. 

So what have you been reading lately? Send anything you loved my way please. And I hope there's time for a good book in your day today!