Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 226

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here tomorrow to share answers with the world wide webbers. See you there! 

1. On Saturday July 4th America celebrates her Independence. (If you're not American,  feel free to answer in terms of a national holiday in your own country) What is your favorite thing about the day? Your favorite food on the 4th? Do you fly a flag at your house? Fireworks-yay or nay? Any special plans this year?

2. What's something you recently got for free?

3.  The Statue of Liberty, The Liberty Bell, The Washington Monument, or Mount Rushmore...how many on the list have you seen? What is your favorite historical American monument, and why?

4. When it comes to the news are you more ostrich (stick my head in the sand) or hog (they have room to take a whole lot in)? How much attention have you given the recent news reports regarding ISIS and the acts of terror they've perpetrated against those who do not share their beliefs or support their cause?

5. We're talking plain ice cream...vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry? Choose one.

6. Share a song you love containing the word 'stars' in the lyrics or title?

7. Describe and/or say goodbye to June with an acrostic.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Mishmash

Just a mishmash of things because that's how life feels at the moment. Very mishmash. Like why won't this first line of text move to the left? 

1. Power was restored here yesterday afternoon so whoohoo!

2.  The hydrangeas everywhere you look are absolutely gorgeous this year. More gorgeous than other years it seems so maybe they love an Arctic winter.

In times of transition it's so easy to get bogged down in the negative. I'm a naturally optimistic soul, but even an optimist can struggle with the in-between seasons of life. Hydrangeas are not small dainty blooms. They're big and bold and in your face, demanding you look up and take notice and most every yard in my mom's neighborhood seems to have at least one bush.

When I see the huge bursts of blue and purple loveliness I remember that God is also big and bold...that if I just look up I'll see He's in complete control of where and how I bloom too.

3.  I've been power walking the streets of my childhood most mornings and am reminded of how much I loved growing up here. Neatly trimmed lawns, the elementary school tucked right in amongst the houses, mothers pushing strollers and walking dogs.

The sound of a mower and the scent of freshly cut grass. Does anything whisk you back to childhood quicker than the scent of freshly mown grass? I pass kids riding their bikes to the pool, and remember so well the freedom of my childhood. How I roamed these streets with one friend or a pack of ten, and how a summer day felt like forever.

I'm so thankful for the safe place I called home, for the love and security I was given as a child, and for the freedom to grow up with wide eyed wonder and innocence.  I know not everyone can say that and I don't take it for granted.

4.  This mug belonged to my dad more than 20 years ago, and whenever we'd visit hubs would eye it with envy. Now he's totally legit.

5. My girl loves her some fro yo.

6. Okay, six things.

I need to write about how I can't write, at least not in the way I normally do on this side of the pond. I have no routine here, I'm wearing the same thing every three days because our clothes are a disorganized jumble, paperwork is tucked into bags and pulled out in an attempt to get it together, and just aaaagh!! I'm a person who has always needed space and right now there isn't any. Not the literal kind or more importantly, not the figurative kind either. That's the one I really crave.

I know it's a season and a short one at that. I also know there are lessons to be learned in the waiting, in transition, in time spent here at my mom's and I feel like I'm failing the class. Writing is sometimes just a dumping ground for the day's nonsense, but often it's the place I put my thoughts for processing and making sense of them. When you fall off the writing wagon it's hard to climb back on.

Diving back in after ignoring my blog for a week at a time feels a little bit like joining a movie already in progress. When I write I tend to want all the parameters set perfectly in place before I pick up the pen (mouse). I'm realizing in this particular season that might not be possible.

So here I am, writing a bunch of blobbityblahblahblah, and you know it feels good. Not as good as when I'm organized and clear headed, but it's a start and it's something and sometimes a less than perfect something is better than a nothing.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Where is Thomas Edison When You Need Him

So I'm attempting to blog from my iPad and it's not going well which is how it usually goes when I blog from my iPad. Not well. I'm also in a busy public library taking advantage of their wifi and basic electricity because we are on Day 3 of no power at my mom's house. Pesky storm.

Tuesday evening we were on our way to meet my brother for some delicious Indian food, which btw hubs and I had been looking forward to all day, when the weather alert on my phone began buzzing furiously-Tornado Warning!! Seek shelter immediately!! The sky was growing darker and greener by the minute and there was crazy scary lightening striking every which way, and then my brother phoned and said they were heading to their basement and we better pull over and stay put.

There happened to be a Walgreens Drug Store on the corner so we pulled in and very nearly blew away running the long five feet into the store just as the skies let loose in a powerful way. Do you know what I observed about Walgreens as we hid from the storm? Walgreens loves windows and has a lot of them. A lot a lot. As in the whole complete entire front of the store. We moved to the pharmacy in back which was better and waited out the warning for the next thirty minutes.

The worst of it blew on by so we headed on to the restaurant because it would take more than a tornado to keep us from our Indian food. Driving home most traffic lights were out, and pulling into the neighborhood we realized the power was out there too. We figured it would return sometime during the night, but sadly that was not to be.

Small problem(s) in the neighborhood.

There's another pole just like this one down a few feet further so yeah, it's Thursday and still no power. There were trucks on site today so here's hoping!

We woke up Wednesday morning to the sound of my moms neighbor pounding on the door at 8 a.m. That's a little early for company except bless his sweet thoughtful heart, he'd driven three towns over in search of an open shop and was holding a carton of hot Krispy Kreme coffee in his hands for us to share.

And just like that, the world felt less harsh. May there be small kindnesses in your day too. 

Reading, Writing, Hodgepodging

Yes Hodgepodge is so a verb. Welcome to your mid-week fun in the form of a Wednesday random. Newcomers are always welcome to join in here, but please don't link unless you've actually answered the questions. Do hop over and say hi at least to the blogger who linked before you, because we're friendly here on this side of the pond. 

1. June 23rd is National Pink Day. What's your favorite something pink?

I love the color pink, particularly the softer shades. I often dressed my girls in pink and there's something about a blond haired toddler in pastel pink that to this day tugs at my heartstrings. 

I think for my answer though (no that wasn't my answer, that was the introduction to my answer) I'm going to say a peony. So sweet and lovely and definitely a favorite of mine. 

2. What did you enjoy most about gym class when you were in school? How about the least?

I wasn't a very athletic child, at least in comparison to some kids my age, so I think I enjoyed discovering there were physical activities I was good at. I loved basketball and gymnastics especially. 

As far as least favorite? How about the whole showering at school in the middle of the day nonsense, or sometimes almost right after getting to school if you were unlucky enough to have gym first period? Do p.e. teachers still stand at the shower door with a clipboard and check off your name after a shower? Second on my list of least favorite would be the rope climb. The gym felt ten stories tall on those days. 

3. What memory is brought to mind by the smell of roses?

I love roses, but I'm not sure their scent brings to mind anything more than simple summertime. My dad grew roses and there was often a rose bud in a vase on our kitchen table. 

4. Do you prefer to read or write? 

Do I prefer my left hand or my right hand? My first or second child? Chocolate cake or a chocolate bar? I enjoy both so much, and in my mind it's impossible to separate the two. I'm fairly certain the best writers are also readers. Reading takes me inside someone else's head and experiences. Writing takes me inside my own. 

5. Sam Keen is quoted as saying, 'Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.' Would you agree? Is laziness ever respectable? How will you be lazy this summer? 

I agree to a point. I don't think a summer respite necessarily fits the definition of lazy. Lazy means not doing something you should be doing, an unwillingness to work. Rest is a necessary part of life and summer seems the logical time for that to happen. We can't shirk all of our responsibilities but we can enjoy a slower pace, longer daylight, and time with friends and family who are also enjoying a slower pace. I know I accomplish more when I take time to recharge my batteries. Life is rarely an emergency and summer helps me remember that. 

6. The Florida Keys, Disney World, or a resort somewhere on the Gulf Coast...which Florida destination would you choose (and why) if the trip were today?

Definitely a resort on the Gulf Coast. I could use a week there right about now. It's a place I completely relax and decompress and also a place where so many happy family memories have been made. 

I will add though, if my girls and son-in-law could join us, I'd probably change my answer to Disney. 

7. What's a question you hate to answer?

Where's home? 

I guess I don't really mind answering this question, it's just that the answer is long and complicated (at least the way I tell it-ha! ) so sometimes I just say...'We've moved a lot.'  

8. Insert your own random thought here.

So last we spoke it was the Hodgepodge. One whole entire week ago. We've had a busy few days weeks months so finding time and space to blog has been a challenge. 

You should know that in my head I'm blogging. 

And I'm so hoping to get back into some sort of rhythm here shortly. In the meantime, I'm grateful for the Hodgepodge and the friendly faces that keep coming back here. Thanks for riding the wave of transition with me! 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 225

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

1. June 23rd is National Pink Day. What's your favorite something pink?

2. What did you enjoy most about gym class when you were in school? How about the least?

3. What memory is brought to mind by the smell of roses?

4. Do you prefer to read or write?

5. Sam Keen is quoted as saying, 'Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.' Would you agree? Is laziness ever respectable? How will you be lazy this summer?

6. The Florida Keys, Disney World, or a resort somewhere on the Gulf Coast...which Florida destination would you choose (and why) if the trip were today?

7. What question do you hate to answer?

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Hot Hot Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's edition of the Wednesday Hodgepodge! So glad you've joined the fun here today...add your link at the end of my post, then run say hi to your friends and neighbors.  Here we go-

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1. June is National Great Outdoors Month. Have you spent any time appreciating the great outdoors this month? If so where, and if not do you have any plans to enjoy the great outdoors before the calendar turns?

The great outdoors is my favorite place to be pretty much anytime of the year and June is no exception. Even in the middle of a very chaotic month we've found time for walks, coffee on the patio, and evenings outdoors. 

Also, I'm going to a little reunion with summer camp friends where we'll walk beside the river, catch up around a campfire, and sip coffee under a blanket of stars. The great outdoors is good for the soul. 

2. What's a current hot button issue for you?

Political correctness run amok. Y'all I am just too worn out to delve into all the ways this makes me crazy, but suffice it to say it does. 

3. What's a food or treat that 'disappears like hotcakes' in your house?

Hubs favorite-Ben and Jerry's Cherries Garcia frozen yogurt. 

4. How hot is too hot?

Making a two hour car ride in 90 degree temps, high humidity and no air conditioning qualifies. That was me last week, and by the time I got to my mom's house my back was literally stuck to the seat. I do like sunshine and warm weather though, and as long as the a.c. is working or I have a pool, lake, or ocean to dip in, I'm okay with hot. 

5. Do you have an artistic outlook on life? What does that mean to you?

I think so. I try to find the beauty in life...to appreciate the small things, and notice what's around me. I like a lot of space and quiet, time to think and write, reflect on experiences I've had and also the natural beauty this world presents. That's all part of having an artistic outlook.   

6. What's one question you'd like to ask your father, or one you wish you could ask your father?

My dad passed away many years ago, but I wish I could ask him more about a typical day on the farm growing up. We've heard a lot of stories about his youthful shenanigans but I'm curious now about the ordinary days. I'd probably ask more questions about his military service too, if given the chance.

7. Something you learned from your father?

Lots of things, although sometimes it's hard to separate what I learned from my father from what I learned from my parents as a team. Probably the biggest things would be to work hard and do the right thing. 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

We bought a car on Monday, which is what people do when they're in the middle of a move. Also, yesterday we celebrated 31 years of married life. We didn't even exchange cards this year because ain't nobody got time for that when they're moving from point A to point C via point B. 

Last year we were in Portugal celebrating our 30th. This year we're at my mother's house with our disorganized stuff and lots of little aggravations to be dealt with as we sign leases for apartments, furniture, car storage and also there's that house we're building down south.

Hey it can't be all roses and charming medieval villages now can it? We're still married though, so it's all good. 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 224

The Hodgepodge is back in action this week after a short break. I was actually moving house, so using that term 'break' rather loosely. Anyway you know the drill...answer on your own blog, then hop back  here tomorrow to share answers with friends and random strangers. See you there! 

1. June is National Great Outdoors Month. Have you spent any time appreciating the great outdoors this month? If so where, and if not do you have any plans to enjoy the great outdoors before the calendar turns?

2. What's a current hot button issue for you?

3. What's a food or treat that 'disappears like hotcakes' in your house?

4. How hot is too hot?

5. Do you have an artistic outlook on life? What does that mean to you?

6. What's one question you'd like to ask your father, or one you wish you could ask your father?

7. Something you learned from your father?

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

The Shallow End

I will never catch up here. There I said it. Life has been a wee bit overwhelming here of late and I don't want to bore you with the details, but really I kind of do. How 'bout we compromise with long story short? We're officially without a residence since we closed on our home in North Jersey last week and are waiting to break ground on our house-to-be in South Carolina sometime in the sometime.

In the interim we (and all our stuff plus one old, large, confused dog) are living at my mom's in South Jersey except for this past weekend when we house/pet sat for my sister in Philadelphia and then later this week hubs is going to SC to meet the MG which is supposed to be arriving today, but I'll be staying here with my mother and the dog and also going to a reunion in Maryland after we buy a new car hopefully tomorrow.

What's new with you?

Honestly, we've had some crazy moves in our day, but this one ranks right up there in terms of pushing the logistical frustration envelope.

Yes that is so a thing.

I have a million trillion thoughts swirling in my head but I think I'll let them swirl a little longer. My daughter wrote a sweet sweet post on 'home', and reading it I felt inspired to do the same except see paragraph 2. Sometimes a little bit of space between my transitions and my words helps me make better sense of things, and I'm pretty sure this is one of those times. There are many things I want to ponder and record, and I'm going to give myself time to do just that. For now, let's jump into the shallow end of the pool.

Philadelphia.

My sister and her hubs and son had a weekend getaway planned so hubs and I said we'd house/pet sit. They have a beautiful backyard in the middle of the city, an oasis of calm we truly relished. We spent a lot of time sitting in their backyard talking about a hundred and ten things because we can't help ourselves, but also propping up our feet, breathing deeply, and marveling at the roses and rhodies growing in a quiet corner of their pretty garden.

Saturday we played tourist with a stop in the Art Museum where there's something for everyone. In our case that would be Monet's soft paintings of the French countryside for me, and room after room after room after room after room of medieval armor for the hubs.

Afterwards we made our way over to the Reading Terminal Market (a must-see if you're in Philly) to shop for dinner and see what we could see. The Market is one of the oldest in the US and home to over one hundred merchants selling fresh produce, meats, cheese, flowers, baked goods, crafts and more.

As an aside, the chaos, noise, and choices in this place are surely some sort of metaphor for my life right now, but I'm not going to bother thinking it through tonight.

We braved the steamy heat and threw a little history into the mix too, with a stroll past Independence Hall and a leisurely walk through the colonial graveyard at Christ Church before making our way back home.

Or at least the place we called home for the weekend which is sometimes all you need.

The Wedding Film

I know I should be blogging about all the move comings and goings, but I'm watching my daughter's wedding film instead. I'm slightly obsessed. We used Remedy Wedding Films out of Atlanta and they were wonderful in every way. They spent the day with us, but you hardly knew they were there. And the finished product? C'est magnifique!

See for yourself-

Moving into the Weekend

The packers have been here all day and my house is a complete jumble so of course blogging makes perfect sense.  I have about a dozen lists going just now, so what's one more?

1.  Seeing some of the items going into boxes reminds me I really should have been more ruthless in getting rid of a few things, particularly in the kitchen. One poor packer has been wrapping dishes the whole ding dong day.

Actually there were two of them wrapping dishes most of the day, but I'm pretty sure the #2 guy couldn't take it anymore so he moved on to the picture frames.

2. I might have too many dishes.

3. And picture frames.

4. That's the kind of thing I'll worry about on the other end.

5. Except all of our belongings are going to storage, so I probably should have worried a little more on this end.

6. Oh well.

7. In cleaning out drawers and closets and cupboards I have come across approximately 45 keys, 1001 paper clips, and at least fifteen eyeglass cleaner cloths. We won't discuss the envelopes, pens, or hole punchers.

8.  Neither hubs nor I can figure out what any of these keys lock or unlock. Most likely they belong to lock boxes we no longer own, luggage long since retired, garages in homes sold in decades past, gym lockers in gyms we no longer visit, and your guess is as good as mine.

9.  We did find the key to our desk so not a total wash.

10. We rented an apartment today. Hello 1984! That's the last time I rented an apartment, back when hubs and I were newlyweds. We'll be cozy this next year-ha! I'm excited though, because guess who is going to be my neighbor?

Daughter2!

She's excited too, mostly because she's a teacher and Monday is the last day of the school year, but also because her momma is going to be nearby for a change. Hello 2008! That's the last time I lived less than 700 miles from my girl. I feel sure I'll have more to say about this another day.

11. So in that way we like to do things, which is complicated and everything all at once...the a.c. on my car has been acting up. Third summer in a row which is super annoying. We've made two big expensive repairs the past two summers, but now they are saying it's a-nother bigger expensive part that needs replacing. Hubs called me from the dealer and asked how I felt about a trade in today.

Whaaaat? Is he serious? He was serious. Did he forget we were moving today? Isn't that enough for one day?

Yes. It is.

Even my pup says so, and she should know...

...she's an old hand at this move stuff.

A Moving Hodgepodge

Welcome to the weekly Wednesday Hodgepodge! So glad you joined the fun here today, and if you've answered this week's questions be sure to add your link below. Please link only to your Hodgepodge post, as that's what this meme is all about. I think everyone knows that, yet I always get a few links that are completely unrelated, and ain't nobody got time for that!

One item of business to note-there will not be any Hodgepodge next week (June 9/10).  It's crunch time here in terms of our move, and I'll be busy signing papers and hauling bins and boxes from here to there. Thanks for understanding! The HP will return the week after-June 16/17. 

Now on with the show-

1. What's something you're looking forward to in the month of June?

Daughter 1's birthday, a weekend reunion with summer camp friends, seeing the completed lake house design drawings, closing on our house in NJ.  It's a big month on this side of the pond!

2. In what way have you come full circle?

Lots of ways, but for now I'll just say we signed the papers to close on this house the day before our 25th wedding anniversary back in 2009. We'll be signing the papers to sell this house just a week before our 31st, and somehow that feels full circle. 

3. Lonely Planet lists 10 spots in America you should see in 2015 and the reasons why. How many on the list have you seen? Which one on the list would you most like to see?

Queens NY, Western South Dakota, New Orleans, Colorado River Region, North Conway NH, Indianapolis IN, Greenville SC, Oakland CA, Duluth MN, and the Mount Shasta Region CA.

I've spent a lot of time in Greenville and think it's a lovely little town. Both my girls attended uni in Greenville, and we're moving to that general area, which I'm really excited about. My answer today would be the Mount Shasta Region because it's billed as a hikers paradise and we enjoy hiking and the great outdoors.  

4. A song that describes your mood right now?

The first thing that popped into my head was Dizzy by Tommy Roe. It's an old song and it's really about a girl and a boy, but that first line fits me to a T right now. 

'I'm so dizzy my head is spinnin'...like a whirlpool it never ends.' 

5. Strawberry ice cream, strawberry short cake, strawberry pie, or strawberries right off the vine...your favorite?

There's nothing quite like a strawberry eaten right off the vine so that's probably my favorite. I do love strawberry short cake too, and wouldn't say no if you set a piece in front of me. 

6. Aesop's birthday is celebrated on June 4th, although there is some disagreement as to whether or not that's accurate, or if he was even a real person.  Regardless, the name Aesop is associated to this day with many well known fables. Which of the following best applies to something in your life right now? The Tortoise and the Hare (Slow and Steady wins the race), The Ant and the Grasshopper (Be prepared), The Fox and the Goat (Look before you leap) or The Crow and the Pitcher (Necessity is the mother of invention)?

The Ant and the Grasshopper. We're moving into a rental for probably close to a year, and we're trying to anticipate what we'll need to have with us and what is okay to send to storage. I'm erring on the side of preparedness. 

7. The answer is yes...what's the question?

Is there much going on in your life right now? 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm not sure how much blog reading I'll be able to do in the next few days. I have movers coming this week, and I guess I need to face the music and have lunch and dinner with friends finish the great clean out of 2015. We had some furniture hauled away yesterday, the little red car will be collected for transport today, and oh yeah...we still don't know where we're going to live. 

I suppose that would make some people anxious, but honestly we've moved enough for me to know that 'every little thing is gonna be alright'. Maybe I should have picked Bob Marley as my answer to #4?

It's All Fun And Games Til The Movers Come

It's me. Blogging on a Tuesday about something other than the Hodgepodge. That's here somewhere too, but I wanted to catch up a little before my computer is put into a box and reconnected somewhere. Not exactly sure yet where that somewhere will be, but baby steps right?

It will be somewhere in the Palmetto State. In a rental we have yet to rent, but we're working on that. In the meantime we're going to spend a couple of weeks at my mom's house while we run here-there-and everywhere, which is pretty much S.O.P. for us no matter what state we call home.

Currently we're on the pre-move party circuit-Ha! Last Thursday my neighborhood book club met, and they surprised me with the sweetest gift. A pillow from our little lake town which will be perfect in our  new little lake town. Saturday night a group of neighbors took hubs and I out to dinner, and the friend who organized it also invited two other couples to join us as a surprise. So fun!

The photo is a little dark, but the night was bright.

We have the best next door neighbors. The woodsy space between our two yards is where mama fox births and raises her kits and our neighbors love watching this scene unfold every spring as much as we do. They gave us the most special gift-

That's our mama fox and two of her kits. A sweet reminder of the natural beauty and amazing animal life we've been surrounded by for the past six years.

On Sunday we filled the car to the brim (again) and trekked down to my mom's to unload and also attend my nephew's birthday party. After my third or fourth trip in from the car with an armload of boxes my mom said, 'Wow-how much are you bringing?' um....a lot?

Sunday evening my sister and her husband had friends and family over for a cookout to celebrate the birthday boy turning 9 years old. The weather was lovely and the kids ran around like 9-year olds do before wrapping up the evening with some sparkler fun. Or fire on a stick as my nephew likes to say.

We left my mom's early Monday morning since hubs was playing in a golf tourney Monday afternoon. Why yes, we are moving in a week but we're golfing and going to birthday parties and hoping fairies come in the night to finish all the bits and pieces that need finishing.

And finally...it only seems appropriate my lilac bush chose this year to finally bloom. We planted this back when we had the patio done four years ago, but this is the first year it's bloomed. I'm so happy I got to see it happen and smell the sweetness. A part of me thinks it's God's way of saying don't forget to bloom where you're planted.

And we will.

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 223

Hello Hodgepodgers! One item of business before we get to this week's questions...there will not be any Hodgepodge next week (June 9/10).  It's crunch time here in terms of our move, and I'll be busy signing papers and hauling bins and boxes from here to there. Thank you for understanding! The HP will return the week after-June 16/17. 

Now back to this week...here we go-

1. What's something you're looking forward to in the month of June?

2. In what way have you come full circle?

3. Lonely Planet lists 10 spots in America you should see in 2015 and the reasons why. How many on the list have you seen? Which one on the list would you most like to see?

Queens NY, Western South Dakota, New Orleans, Colorado River Region, North Conway NH, Indianapolis IN, Greenville SC, Oakland CA, Duluth MN, and the Mount Shasta Region CA

4. A song that describes your mood right now?

5. Strawberry ice cream, strawberry short cake, strawberry pie, or strawberries right off the vine...your favorite?

6. Aesop's birthday is celebrated on June 4th, although there is some disagreement as to whether or not that's accurate, or if he was even a real person. Regardless, the name Aesop is associated to this day with many well known fables. Which of the following best applies to something in your life right now? The Tortoise and the Hare (Slow and Steady wins the race), The Ant and the Grasshopper (Be prepared), The Fox and the Goat (Look before you leap) or The Crow and the Pitcher (Necessity is the mother of invention)?

7. The answer is yes...what's the question?

8. Insert your own random thought here.