Weekending

Hey pumpkins. Here we are rolling in to the last week of October. Can you believe it? I'm kind of waiting on a Progressive commercial to air where the 'older adults' do nothing but talk about how fast time flies. 

Anyway time is flying. 

So how was your weekend? I actually had a weekend home alone, except for the fact that I was barely at home. No matter though, because other fun things happened instead. 

Let's discuss. 

We were out of town last week and I have plans to write more about that tomorrow, but for now suffice it to say we arrived home Thursday night around 11 PM and hubs needed to be dropped off at a neighbor's house at 8:30 AM Friday. Fortunately he'd packed before we left town, and had most of his mountain of stuff ready to go which helped. 

He went with a bunch of guys to Talladega. Nascar for those not in the know. It's a great Eric Church song, but also a big car race. They were camping hence all the gear. 

Camping in a trailer and a motor home, but still lots of stuff was needed. I dropped him off then went over to Daughter1's house to give Little Miss her birthday presents. Her birthday wasn't until Saturday, but I like to give the grands their presents away from the hullaballoo of a party. 

Pink paper, pink ribbon, pink card, and among other things a pink dress inside. 

I left their house after a game of one of my favorite little girl games, Pretty Pretty Princess, which Little Miss was given for her birthday. I haven't played in about three decades, but just know if you're not the one who gets to wear the crown it will take some getting used to lol. 

I spent the afternoon at a neighbor's house playing Mah Jong. Tiles with a view...

Saturday was party day. Whoohoo! 

Little Miss was celebrating her fourth birthday with the sweetest little tea party with friends, so I headed over to Daughter1's house to help with some of the prep. It was a simple at home party (my favorite kind) and daughter1 loves to add special touches to make the day extra.

She used the teapots my mother gave her and seeing them there made me tear up a little. She would have loved to know her granddaughter and great-granddaughter were enjoying them.  

There were real teacups (also my favorite) that belonged to my grandmother and my mother-in-law both.

Little girls sipping tea in porcelain cups is so precious. 

Homemade scones, tea sandwiches and strawberry cake with sprinkles made by her momma. 

After I left the party I ran a couple of errands before heading home, where I got into my PJs and climbed in to bed at the ridiculous but glorious hour of 8 PM. 

Sunday morning I had plans to meet friends for brunch about an hour away. It was an absolutely spectacular day for a country drive and I got caught up on a couple of podcasts I wanted to listen to that I have not had the time for. 

I didn't get home until mid-afternoon, when I got back into my comfy clothes, worked on my blog, and watched a couple of episodes of a show I stumbled across that I'd never heard of but am now hooked, Perception, with Eric McCormack, which aired way back in 2012. 

Lots going on here this week (isn't there always???) including one birthday dinner for a grandson, one birthday party for that same grandson, one costume party, and one all important hair appointment. I won't say which of those things I'm looking forward to the most-ha! 

So what did you get into this weekend? Were you out on the town or tucked in tight before the sun went down? No judgement either way. 

Linking with Holly (Pink Lady blog) and Sarah (Sunshine and Books) for their regular Monday morning hop. Have a wonderful week everyone! 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 677

Here are the questions to this week's Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here on Wednesday (October 28th) to add your link to the party. See you there! 

1. What most recently gave you goose bumps? 

2. What does Halloween look like in your home and/or neighborhood these days? Do you participate? 

3. Pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, poppy, chia...your favorite seed on the list? What's something you like to make/eat that calls for one of these seeds in the recipe? 

4. What's the most (or one of the most) 'fall photos' you've ever taken? Share it here. Just one. 

5. Somehow we're rolling in to November next week. If your October were a chapter in a book, what would the title of this chapter be? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Let's Go Shopping

Hello friends. An extra special granddaughter has a birthday today which means she gets a letter here from her Nana. I accidentally started this tradition on grandson #1's very first birthday and it's a tradition I'm not ready to quit. Here we go-

Dear Little Miss, 

Today you are four. I would like to bottle you up and keep you at this most precious age for a lot longer than a single year, but time moves in one direction only and babies don't keep. 

That's okay too though, because each stage brings it's own delights. 

Here are a few of yours-

You love to shop. I mean for real. You are my favorite shopping sidekick, always up for a trip to any store, always interested in all you see, what we're buying, what we might buy, and when your momma asks if we should get A or B you reply with, 'you should get both'. You're our hype girl and we are here for it. 

You love pretty dresses, and if they're some shade of pink even better. Most little ones are not that excited to open a package only to discover the gift inside is clothes, but not you. Nope. You want to immediately take off whatever you happen to be wearing and try on the newest addition to your wardrobe. 

You love your stuffies and have a roomful. They're all girls and if Nana accidentally refers to one as 'he' you remind me of this fact. Each one has a carefully chosen name. 

You have a great big wonderful vocabulary and my latest favorite words to hear you say are 'unfortunately' and 'actually'. 

You can hold your own with your big brothers.

You're taking ballet now and if there is anything more adorable on planet earth than a tiny dancer I don't know what it could be. 

You love playing with your baby dolls, all things sparkly, all things pink, books, kittens, helping Momma in the garden, walks with Daddy, baking, swimming, and your Pawpaw. 

You're so animated when you talk and you have a lot to say. You sometimes need to use your hands too, and when you do I get a glimpse of your momma when she was your age. I want you to know it's a little bit too wonderful for words. 

Nana loves you so much my beautiful girl. You know your mind and have a big heart and big feelings and the best little giggle in the world. Always bloom where God plants you and keep spreading sunshine wherever you go xoxo.

"The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Isaiah 58:11

Back To The Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's edition of 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. This week's Hodgepodge lands on 'Back To The Future Day'. October 21, 2015 was the date the movie characters (Marty McFly, Doc, and Jennifer Parker) traveled to in the future in the 1989 film Back To The Future Part 2. 

Did you see the movie? Tell us a something about what was happening in your life in the fall of 2015. 

I did see the film and thought it was just ok. I loved the first one and the third, but didn't think the second was as good. The fall of 2015...hmmm... this is when it's good to have a blog, right? 

As it happens October 22nd, 2015 was a momentous occasion here as our dock was installed. No house yet, but we had a dock. I wrote all about it here-What's Up Dock

2. Which -ber month is your favorite? (September, October, November, December). Explain why. 

This is a toughie. If you make me choose I guess I'll say September. It's my birthday month, I love the 'back to school' feeling that hangs in the air, even though I'm no longer headed back to school, and although it still feels like full on summer there's the promise of autumn, cooler weather, and of course college football. Go Vols! 

3. Red, yellow, orange, bronze...your favorite fall color to wear? To eat? To see in nature? 

To wear? Orange. To eat? Probably red. To see in nature? All of them together but an orangey red and yellow sunset is definitely a favorite. 

4. What do you miss most about being 20? 

A few things spring to mind including my parents, the ability to eat anything I wanted anytime I wanted, a more civil discourse, and probably most of all the future stretching out endlessly in front of me. 

5. We're roughly three quarters of the way through the year. What's one goal, habit, or mindset you want to purposely carry into the final weeks of the year? Elaborate. 

For my own mental health...keep my holiday expectations in check. 

Going to be honest and say even writing that makes me tense. I don't think I ask too much, but I've been given feedback that suggests otherwise lol. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

2015 me had no idea how much fun would happen on that dock a decade later...

I will be away from my computer for a fair chunk of the day, so might not get around to reading your entries until later this week. Y'all can make up for it though by visiting each other : ) Happy Wednesday! 

The Weekend Edit

Hello friends. I hope you had a fun fall weekend and are ready for the week ahead. Here's how ours looked-

Thursday was a gorgeous day and hubs and I went into tiny town that evening for the weekly Jazz On The Alley thing happening there. We haven't made it to a single one all summer, and with only two or three left on this year's calendar we were determined to get to at least one. 

The town closes off the main street and sets up a big stage for bands to play. There are tables in the road and you can order food from the local restaurants or from one of the food trucks there and listen to music and chat with your friends. 

The weather was perfect and we saw lots of people we know which is always fun. 

Also our little town puts out an amazing Christmas light display and they're already at work doing the set up. I'm sure it's quite a job. 

68 days y'all. 

I've decided I might be that annoying person who wants to keep giving you a countdown. I didn't set out to be but somehow Christmas keeps popping up on my blog, and then I go check to see how many days until it's here and then I need to share. 

Back to October...Friday hubs and I started the day at the grocery store as he has a fun getaway coming up later this week and needed a long list of things to bring. Once that was done and organized we spent the rest of the afternoon at home. 

It might have been 86 degrees but I was sipping my afternoon hot tea on the patio anyway. Sometimes fall needs a nudge. 

Which apparently I provided, because we went to the neighbors that evening to play cards and while we were sitting on their back patio, fall rolled right on in. The temperature dropped at least fifteen degrees and it felt wonderful. 

The geese have been arriving which is a sure sign of the times. 

Saturday was chilly and we went to our middle grandson's baseball game one town over. Perfect viewing weather and I wore a sweatshirt the entire game. 

Meanwhile on the bleachers...

Best baseball sister ever has her own little entertainment set up. 

We stopped for lunch on the way home then settled in to watch our favorite Tennessee Volunteers BEAT Alabama on a picture perfect fall day. Lots of upsets in the world of college football this weekend and our game was one of them. 

At halftime we made the short ride over to another tiny town for their annual Oktoberfest celebration. They had televisions in the beer tent and it was fun to be in a crowd for the end of the game. Unless you actually went to Alabama you were cheering for Tennessee. 

This particular Oktoberfest is kind of like a small town fair with German beer and an oompah band. As the evening goes on other local bands play, and the whole thing is capped off with a fireworks display.

 Daughter1 and her family were there too and the kids had fun riding all the rides. We had brats and apple dumplings and hung out with friends. 

We love small town life. 

Also, we wore coats for the first time this season. And jeans and boots and I wouldn't have minded some mittens, but left those at home. 

Sunday morning hubs and I went to church, then once home I worked on a little project I need to complete before Tuesday. Hubs went to a friend's house to watch football and I might have had a nap on the couch while he was out. Golden Autumn Sundays are made for napping. 

Hubs grilled salmon for dinner and I finished some laundry and got a few things ready for the week ahead, which is going to be full. Very very full. 

Hope you filled your tank this weekend with the people and things you love too. Happy Monday! 

Linking with Holly (Pink Lady blog) and Sarah (Sunshine and Books) for today's Hello Monday hop

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 676

Here are the questions to this week's Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here on Wednesday (October 21st) to share your answers. See you there!

1. This week's Hodgepodge lands on 'Back To The Future Day'. October 21, 2015 was the date the movie characters (Marty McFly, Doc, and Jennifer Parker) traveled to in the future in the 1989 film Back To The Future Part 2. 

Did you see the movie? Tell us a something about what was happening in your life in the fall of 2015. 

2. Which -ber month is your favorite? (September, October, November, December). Explain why. 

3. Red, yellow, orange, bronze...your favorite fall color to wear? To eat? To see in nature? 

4. What do you miss most about being 20? 

5. We're roughly three quarters of the way through the year. What's one goal, habit, or mindset you want to purposely carry into the final weeks of the year? Elaborate. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

An Independent Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's edition of 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 there before you.  Here we go-

1. Do you think you're driven more by curiosity or comfort? Explain. 

I think curiosity is what makes us grow, and I want to always be curious. That being said, we need rest and stability in our lives (comfort) as a base for dealing with the changes growth brings, so I guess my answer is a combination of both. 

2. What non-food item is in your refrigerator or freezer? 

I keep my 'face roller' in there. I'm sure there's another name for it, but that's what I call it. 

And eye masks. I love them cold. 

3. Are you comfortable with silence? If you're home alone, do you like silence or do you need regular background noise? Do you seek out times and places to be silent? What's your favorite place to find silence/be silent? 

I am very comfortable with silence. Unless it's an uncomfortable silence and then I'm uncomfortable too lol. I often feel the need to fill an uncomfortable silence with a lot of chatter. 

I keep my house mostly quiet during the day. Sometimes if I'm baking or doing household tasks I'll have my book or a podcast playing, but mostly I like a quiet house. I need quiet, especially after a busy weekend, emotional experiences, a party, or lots of people kinds of events. My favorite place to find silence? Right here-

4. Carpentry, electrical, plumbing, landscaping...which skill would you most like to possess and how would you put that skill to use today?

Well I think my hubs was just on the phone with an electrician so for today I'll go with that one. We're trying to switch our internet provider and there's some sort of blah blah blah with a wire and honestly I am depositing this whole transition in hubs basket. Just tell me when it's over and make sure I have internet please. 

In general I think a plumber would be the most useful skill to have. 

5. Do you lean more towards being too needy or too independent? Which do you find harder to deal with in others? 

I suppose I lean more towards being too independent. Hubs might say stubborn, but I'm going with independent. I think it comes from years of being married to someone who traveled all the time for work and me having to manage all the things. So many things. 

In others I guess neediness is a little harder for me to deal with, but that really depends on what sort of need we're talking about. There are people who are sincerely in need and I have all the patience and compassion in the world for them. 

Then there are people who just can't be bothered to figure things out for themselves and ask someone else to do the figuring for them. Those situations are a little harder to take, but I try to always be kind which means sometimes dealing with another person's neediness. 

6.  Insert your own random thought here. 

My book club met yesterday and discussed The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett. Have you read it? What did you think? Did you read The Help? If so which did you like best?