Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Weather Wisdom In The Wednesday Hodgepodge

Welcome to another edition of the Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you're visiting from the A-Z Blog Challenge you'll find my letter W post by scrolling all the way down to question #8. If you've answered the questions today add your link at the end of my post, then go say hi to your neighbor. Hodgepodge links only please!

Here we go-


1. This is the last Hodgepodge in April. Share something you learned this month. 

I still dislike blogging from my iPad.
There's a lot more to the home build category called 'lighting' than just lights.
God can use the weather to remind me He is God. (see #8)

2.  It's National Poetry Month, and we all know you can't escape an April Hodgepodge without a little poetry. Keeping the first line as is, change the rest of the wording in this familiar rhyme to make it your own - 'Hickory Dickory Dock...

Hickory dickory dock
It's mid-life on the clock
Experts said
This season you'll dread
But I'm telling you really it rocks. 

3. What were one or two rules in the home you grew up in? Growing up, did you feel your parents were strict? Looking back do you still see it that way? 

Elbows off the table would be one. My dad said that most nights during dinner to at least one of his offspring. Another would have been more general-obey your parents.  

I don't think mine were overly strict, but I've always liked rules and never had much of a rebellious nature. We did know if Dad got called in to a situation we were in trouble, but mostly I grew up feeling very well-loved. 

4. Tell us about a kitchen or cooking disaster or mishap you've experienced. Do you have many from which to choose? 

I haven't had many noteworthy cooking disasters, but I do have a kitchen story. I could tell you about the time my sister and I started a small fire in the kitchen while my brother was babysitting aka in the den talking on the phone. We were melting butter for popcorn (on the stove because it was 1970 and we had no idea microwaves were in our future) and forgot about it until we came back downstairs and saw the orange glow. 

My brother put it out immediately, but still much shrieking ensued and it was shocking to see how much soot a teeny tiny little pan fire could produce. We did not tell the parents. It seemed like a wise decision at the time, but days later my mom was vacuuming the living room drapes and couldn't figure out where all the 'black dust' was coming from. She had her suspicions because mothers always do. Slowly over time the whole story was told, including the part about how a neighbor one street over had knocked on the back door because he'd seen the flame from his own kitchen. He even checked all the cabinets to make sure there were no stray sparks. God bless good neighbors. 

5. Plant a kiss, plant doubt, plant a tree, plant yourself somewhere...which on the list have you most recently planted? 

Plant yourself seems appropriate. We've have had a spring filled with travel and we're not done yet. 

6. What's your most worn item of clothing this time of year? Are you tired of it? 

My jean jacket which is perfect for springtime weather. Am I tired of it? Never!

7. I'm wrapping up the A-Z Blog Challenge this month and our Hodgepodge lands on letter W. What's one word beginning with W that describes you in some way? How about a word to describe your home, also beginning with W?

Myself? Thats easy-wordy!
My home? Welcoming, or at least I like to think so. 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Using this space for today's A-Z Blog Challenge-

W is for Weather 

I'm  going to talk about three of  my favorite things today- motherhood, the weather, and Gods amazing grace. 

Back in early April my Daughter1 and her husband took a belated honeymoon to Hawaii. They'd been planning this trip, anticipating the holiday, looking forward to it for months. My son-in-law has very little down time given his profession, and they were so excited for the break. Whenever I'd talk to my daughter about the trip she always always always spoke with tremendous excitement about the weather, how she absolutely could not wait for a solid week of sunshine. And I'm her mom and her happiness matters to me so I started praying about the weather. 

Sometimes Hawaii sees a fair bit of rain, particularly Maui. Hubs had a meeting in HI once where it poured rain all day every day. Plus we lived there when I was a tiny tot and when I'd talk to my own mom we would comment on how much Daughter1 was really really counting on sunshine, and my mom would casually say she remembers it raining there pretty often. 

As the trip got closer I started checking my weather app a little too often and the forecast was not looking stellar. I know the islands can have different weather depending on precisely where you stand, so I used their hotel address and y'all the rain! It was like rain every day, and not a 20% chance, but 80%, 100%. I did not say a word. We all know weather can change so I just kept praying for sunny skies somewhere in their week. This is what mothers do. We hear our children's heart desires and we lift them up in prayer. 

So off they went and every day I would look at my weather app and I'd click on the day and it would say showers. Nothing but showers. The little raindrop icons would fall across the screen and still I would pray for sunshine somewhere sometime. Around Wednesday I started adding a little ps- if its raining every day, may they make the best of it. 

I knew they would, but I also knew how disappointing it would be to travel from the rainy PNW to Hawaii for a full week of rain. And from where I sat, thousands of miles away, with just what my app was telling me, they had rain almost all day every day. My daughter wasn't posting any pictures or texting because she was on holiday, so I could only go by what I could see on the screen. 

The week floated by and after they were safely home she phoned to tell me all about it. After she'd gushed a few minutes about the resort and the food I said, 'Well how was the weather?' And she said-Absolutely gorgeous!! She said she thinks it may have rained one night while they slept, but other than that it was picture perfect. 

 One night? Huh? 

And in that moment I thought of how so many times all we see are those rainy rain drop icons falling across our screen, but behind the scenes God is making something beautiful.

24 comments:

  1. Wonderful! I am so glad Hawaii was wonderful! They deserve the break!
    Loved your kitchen story! I'm #1 today because the dogs got me up!

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  2. Glad the honeymooners were able to get away and so happy the weather was gorgeous.

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  3. Love. love LOVE the weather story!!! What a kiss on the cheek from God!
    Have a good week!

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  4. Love the story about your daughter in Hawaii, Joyce. Whenever I hear about bad weather in Texas, I call my #1 to see if she's ok. Most of the time she tells me that that it's a beautiful sunny day. I never tried blogging from my ipad but I'm sure I would not like it. Have a great week.

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  5. Your comment about your Dad in #2 reminded me of mine too. Dad had 'the look' that we three kids knew meant trouble! He didn't even have to say anything...that LOOK was scary, plus we knew we disappointed him. Joyce -Have a great day in the SC mountains!

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  6. Blogging from an iPad- I am so very sorry. Not an easy thing to do. Love your weather story, mine is not so happy. I will say, with my weather story, there are some beautiful rainbow stories. God does keep his promises. Have a super, awesome week!!!

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  7. Fun poem, Joyce. :-) I enjoyed reading about your youthful adventure with fire. From my own experience, I'm wondering if older brothers are a wise choice for a babysitter. Lol We too are always interested in the weather where our kids live. I especially appreciated the metaphor at the end.

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  8. Your answer to number 8 was just what I needed this morning! Your poem was cute and your description of yourself ... I think you may be correct in that assessment. :-) How wonderful it must be to never be at a loss for words!

    I can't blog from my iPad. It will only let me do a couple of paragraphs and no more. And I also cannot load pictures from the iPad.

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  9. Oh boy...my dad too. So many times Mom would ask us if we wanted her punishment or should we wait for Dad to get home! Yours mom, yours!! LOL It was all about love though. Enjoyed your answers and especially #8. Praise God always!

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  10. Aww, nothing like the prayers of a mother, no matter how old they are. So glad they had great weather and a nice vacation. I love the way jean jackets look, I just haven't found one that fits me right. I think I have one tucked away in my closet that was too tight, but I'm going to pull it out and check ;)

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  11. I don't like blogging from my iPad or tablet. I tried once from my phone and gave up.

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  12. Enjoyed this as always, especially the honeymoon story. It's soo true about our kids isn't it? I feel like I am constantly praying about something that seems so important to one of them, lol. Hard to think that for all our love, He loves us more! Have a good week!

    OH, and just got an ipad for the first time and quickly discovered it is NOT for blogging, lol

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  13. You are so right, blogging from an IPad is no fun and that's exactly what I had to do for this weeks HP since we are on the road. Good questions and good to be back with the HP.

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  14. Lovely job on the hodge podge this morning.

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  15. From what I know about you, I would've chosen those same "W" words to describe you and your home :)
    I loved your "W" post so much! So glad your daughter and hubby had a great holiday!
    Kathy (Reflections)

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  16. That is one great kitchen story. How quickly things can happen. We still melt our butter for popcorn on the stove top. I am so happy that their trip to Hawaii turned out to be perfect. I have to say when we went to Europe in 2011 we had our share of days with horrible winds and rain yet I would do it all again in an instant!!!

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  17. I too dislike blogging from my IPad - posts end up being so basic looking and no frills. Wow your kitchen fire was worse than my disaster. Weather can be so changeable. I can look out my back garden and there will be dark clouds, look out the front and the sun's shining. Good luck with the last few letters of the A-Z. I just have one to finish off and schedule as we are away at the weekend. Phew hard work but fun too.

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  18. Hi Joyce,
    I like your kitchen story. :-) I like how your mom noticed something not right as she vacuumed. That sounds like me with my boys.
    I loved how you wrote up your W - Weather. Your story made me smile.
    Carla

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  19. Yea its so tricky blogging from an Ipad. i have done that several times and get typos.

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  20. You're poem is way better than mine. ha.

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  21. We've found that the Wailea side of Maui is the least 'weather' prone and often the weather is predicting what's on the other side. Which is why we always stay in Wailea. :)
    I do have to say that our PNW weather has been spectacular this Spring. Can't say that Seattle has been as good but better than usual anyway. X says his apartment (all 400 sq ft of it) has been stifling this Spring because of the good weather.

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  22. A doff of the cap for completing the A to Z Blogging Challenge, given your house construction and all. I did not participate this year, I just didn't have the energy. Maybe next year? I love my faded jeans and ball caps. All the best to you as Summer rapidly approaches.

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  23. Praise the Lord! I am so glad that they had gorgeous weather for their honeymoon. That is great. :)

    I loved your version of Hickory Dickory Dock!

    Have a blessed day. :)

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  24. Elbows off the table- YES! We had that one too. I couldn't put my elbows on the table now if I tried. LOL I saw the pictures of the new home progress and it's wonderful! I know you must be getting so excited!

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