Wednesday, June 20, 2012

In the Good Old Wednesday Hodgepodge Vol 82

Welcome to the first official Hodgepodge of summer. Temperatures were in the low 70's here yesterday and are supposed to soar up near 100 today. Hello Summer! Here are my answers to this week's questions. Add your link to the bottom of my post and then do the neighborly thing and go visiting.


1. Summer officially rolls in with the Hodgepodge, for those of us in the Northern hemisphere anyway. What song says summer 2012 to you?

In short, we've had a year.
I'm longing for simple and this song takes me there-


2. What is the quintessential summer food?

Watermelon.
Nothing says summer is here like red, ripe, watermelon.

3. I've spent a lot of time traipsing up and down the NJ turnpike in recent weeks. Did you know the rest stops on the turnpike are named after people who lived or worked in NJ? Clara Barton, Walt Whitman, James Fenimore Cooper, Molly Pitcher, Joyce Kilmer, Thomas Edison, and Grover Cleveland just to name a few. Of those I listed who would you most like to have known and why?

Definitely Thomas Edison. All that intelligence and curiosity...I'd love to see his reaction to the computer age!

4. At what age did you move out of your parent's house and what prompted the move?

I guess it was a month before my 18th birthday. I went off to university and while it didn't feel like I was leaving forever I never really did live at home again. I spent the first two summers of college working as a camp counselor about an hour from home and once I graduated from uni I started working in Tennessee and then got married. I'm glad it was a process. Glad that as we pulled out of the driveway on that long ago August day I was blissfully unaware I would only be coming back for holidays and visits.

5. What's more satisfying to you-saving time or saving money?

At this stage of life I'll say saving money. We're coming off a six year spending bender-think university tuition and all the bells and whistles that go along with it. Saving is bound to feel good, don't you think?

6. Name something you think brings out the good in people.

I think we see the good come out in people when they work for something outside of themselves. It might be something on a global scale like the way the world united to help the tsunami victims or the people devastated by the Haitian earthquake. It might be something smaller and closer to home like preparing meals for a family dealing with a seriously ill child. Either way, it seems when we see people's lives turned upside down we stop and count our own blessings and in doing so feel prompted to give-act-do. Be better. Sometimes I wonder if God allows a certain amount of suffering in this world in order to force us outside ourselves.

7. This last question comes to you courtesy of Kathy at Reflections...are you taking a vacation or staycation this summer? If so where are will you go? If a staycation is on the calendar have you made any special plans to fill the time?

We don't have either on the calendar. We do have an out of town wedding to attend in July and there are a couple of other weekends planned as well but nothing too big. Hubs and I are hoping to get away for a few days later in the summer but nothing definite yet. We're on the go a lot so I'm sure we won't be sitting around twiddling our thumbs. Perhaps I should pencil that in because did you read my answer to #1? Sitting around twiddling our thumbs sounds pretty good right about now.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I was struck by a thought recently and its kind of random so I'm dropping it here. Last Saturday I posted a picture, taken on our wedding day in 1984, on Facebook. The photo generated so many comments, and as I was scrolling thru the list I had to smile at all the many ways I am connected to the commenters.

There were comments from family of course, but also friends from elementary school, high school, summer camp, and the church I grew up in. Also, friends from university, our early married years in Virginia and Ohio, friends from the Maryland years, England friends who are now scattered all over the world, blog friends, friends I've met thru other friends and friends from my current home.

Now tell me, where else but Facebook could I get all these people together?

33 comments:

  1. I find it very interesting that we answered many of the questions in similar fashion. Could you imagine what Thomas Edison would have been able to do with a computer? He would have given Bill Gates and Steve Jobs a run for their money, eh?

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  2. Sit back and have some watermelon. Relax and catch your breath. You've earned it. :)

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  3. What a thought about God maybe bringing us crisis situations to bring us outside ourselves ... to make something GOOD come out of bad?!!? :)

    PS love facebook - a place to bring friends from all phases and ages of life together!!!

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  4. I agree with your random thought Facebook is great for getting all kinds of people together. I found a couple teen age best friends I had been longing to reach and now we keep contact. Ilove it for that.

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  5. "Summer Breeze" was my Senior Class song in high school! I read the question as "what song that is current (popular now) is the 2012 summer song?" What song will I hear in the future that will remind me of this summer?

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  6. Happy Wednesday and first official day of summer...gonna be a hot and humid one on the East coast...I hope you are indoors today! Love all your answers as always...I need to work on a summer song. My Facebook page wouldn't load for an hour last night I almost had a melt down! lol! Sad I know!

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  7. I am so with you on the facebook comment. I have reunited with several of my high school chums that I have not seen or heard from in 40 years and one lives an hour from me. I have also been able to keep up with my daughter and SIL who have been in Moldova for a month working in an orphanage through facebook. love it!

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  8. I am a huge Facebook fan. I know it can be a time-sucking void if you're not careful, but the connections it allows us to have! I was crushed when I lost my dog in February. Under normal circumstances I could have expected a little sympathy from my family, maybe a friend or two, and maybe a co-worker. Thanks to FB and my blog, I was overwhelmed by the sympathy, understanding and comfort. It was amazing.

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  9. So many people give the raspberries to Facebook, but I appreciate it. It has allowed me to reconnect with High School/College classmates and to stay in touch with friends who live far away.

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  10. I love facebook. I wouldn't have the relationship I do with my nieces if it wasn't for it. I see what the nephews are up to all the time.
    Enjoy the heat!

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  11. My high school was named after Edison so meeting him would have to be my choice for that and for the reasons you stated.
    I loved thinking about the summer songs. For me it is Jimmy Buffet and the Beach Boys, and my all time favorite the Beatles "Here Comes The Sun".

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  12. Strangely I do miss my "normal" routine. I love having my sweet girl home and not in school, but she's driving me crazy and her brother to boot! I love having Darren around this week...but find myself fretting about how behind he will be...thankfully, he's not thinking that yet though! LOL! Yes, staying home and twiddling thumbs sounds good...but I never really do!

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  13. So sorry to have missed Hodgepodge this week, but our Clancy Man was a little more important last evening. :o) But, I would have agreed with you about Thomas Edison, and I do love your answers to #6 and #8.

    And, did you graduate from University Northern Iowa? I was just wondering as my niece is a Junior there and absolutely loves it, bitter winters and all.

    Happy Wednesday!

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  14. Oh yes, I'd love to see what Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Thomas Edison would have come up with together! And please do schedule some time to twiddle your thumbs... even when we don't have a "lot going on" it's too easy to not take advantage of the summer and relax a bit!

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  15. Great song choice! Your answer to #6 brought tears to my eyes. That is it exactly. We have an out of town family wedding in September and we can't wait. The six of us are going! Your random thought....so true. Facebook is really amazing.

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  16. Oh, it is has been around 50 degrees here. So, be jealous of that.

    I planted watermelon in my large garden!

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  17. Joyce, you never cease to amaze me with your wonderful, thought-provoking questions each week! Thank you again! Thanks to this meme, there's now a wealth of info concerning my views on all kinds of topics. One day, after I'm gone, my family will treasure this. (I hope!)

    I agree with your answer to #6, and you said it so much better than I could :)

    I'd forgotten about "Summer Breeze"! I'll have to add that one to my MP3 player 'cause it's among my favorites. Speaking about summer songs and feeling older...one of the Beach Boys turns 70 today! Ouch! Where did time go?

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  18. Today's the first day of summer? I guess on leap year its the 20th not 21st. Anyway happy summer to you! Hope the weathers treating you well, last weekend temperatures were at 100 degrees which is rare for northern california. I too am a watermelon junkie. I can eat about a quarter of a watermelon at once, usually the small ones.

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  19. Oh yes, Summer Breeze! Love that song too!

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  20. Isn't fb amazing that way?? I love it but sometimes I wish it wouldn't be so addicting... haha

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  21. Love your random thought. It's true, on FB you get to talk to so many different people. Love it!

    I had forgotten all about Seals and Croft. Loved them.

    Reading all these...so many of your moved out so young. Guess I was rather old when I did it. haha

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  22. i so love that song--but it has left me with a kinda mystery--where i live in virginia--my jasmine blooms early and is nowhere in sight come july--but the song speaks of the jasmine in bloom in july---must just in different parts of the country

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  23. Yes i did see For the Love of the Game a few years ago. I didn't like it as much as Field of Dreams though.

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  24. Summer Breeze is one of my favorites. What memories, I went to one of their concerts. They were on a round rotating stage. Good good concert back in the day, I was 18. Good memories!
    I am with you on facebook. I can keep up with all my family and friends in Arkansas, its great. I have reconnected with a lot of people, just last week a girl that I was friends with in 2nd grade. I love it!
    Hope you have a great relaxing week!
    until next time... nel

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  25. I'm up for twiddling thumbs too. Perhaps pool side though. ;)

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  26. I forgot how much fun blogging was until this week. Prior last post was Nov 1 last year! Thanks for hosting. Becky

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  27. Enjoyed participating in my first hodgepodge! Great questions!

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  28. I used to listen to Bread all the time...sure brings back some memories! I agree with you about Facebook. Some people look at it as a hindrance when I view it as an opportunity to have one big reunion!

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  29. I love that song too! I just heard it last night and turned it up and opened all the windows as I drove to drop a card off at the mailbox :)

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  30. University is why saving money moved to the higher priority in my life, too. My girl would have to choose a private school...

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  31. Thanks for the fun meme! This was my first time stopping by :)

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  32. Facebook is awesome. :)
    I love that song, too.... but what exactly does "blowing through the Jasmine in my mind."

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  33. Not a whole lot of thumb twiddling going on here either! Hmmm....maybe I should pencil that in too ;)

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