Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Mid Hodgepodge

Welcome to another week of Hodgepodging smack dab in the middle of May. Answer the questions on your own blog, then add your link at the end of my post. Be sure to leave a comment for the blogger linking before you, because we're all about being neighborly here.


1.  Tell us about a time you found yourself 'in the middle of nowhere'. Was this deliberate? 

Hubs and I enjoy hiking and have landed many times in the middle of nowhere. The first thing that came to mind was a trip we took one April to Dartmoor on the coast of England (to read all about it click here). 


We hiked for miles and miles without seeing another single solitary soul. Nothing but wide open gorgeous countryside and a whole lot of sheep. It felt like we might be the only people on the planet.  

2. What's something you're in the middle of today or this week? 

I suppose the home build would be too obvious an answer? How about furniture shopping? I'm meeting a friend today to sit on some couches and hopefully find a few other bits and pieces we need for the house. 

3. At what age do you think 'middle age' begins? What does it mean to be 'middle aged'? 

It used to be 40 was the magic number, but having lived through that decade already I'm going with 48. That was the first year of my life I considered maybe I'm not as young in person as I am in my head. The bookend of 40 used to be 60, but in my mind that's still very much middle age. 70 is the new 60. 

What does it mean to be middle aged?

I can't read the fine print without assistance. I wake up with mysterious aches and pains known in our house as 'sleep injuries'. I don't take good health for granted, and I spend a lot of time managing said health. I notice and feel gratitude for the small things. I enjoy watching my grown up girls make their way in the world. Life is not an emergency, but I do feel a sense of urgency about time, about the people I love, and about doing what matters for eternity. 

4. Ravioli, stuffed peppers, samosas, deviled eggs, steamed dumplings, peirogis, or a jelly donut...your favorite food (from this list!) with something yummy in the middle. Your favorite not on the list? 

Steamed dumplings or as they say in Shanghai-xiaolongbao. So delicious! I wrote a whole post about them (click here) when I recapped our trip to China back in 2012. 

5. Albert Einstein is quoted as saying,"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." Would you agree? Have you found this to be true in your own life? Feel free to elaborate. 

Oh absolutely I agree. We have a choice to see that opportunity for what it is or to wallow in the hard thing. My daughter and I were talking about this recently, and we decided that in order to know you can do hard things you have to do hard things-ha! I try hard not to wallow...I'm not always successful but I do try. 

6. What's a song you remember loving from your middle school years? Do you love it still? 

Pretty sure I still love most of them because 70's music is the best and you kind of can't help but love it. A few that popped into my head were American Pie by Don McClean, Benny and the Jets by Elton John, Come and Get Your Love by Redbone and this one- Operator by Jim Croce.  He was such a poet. 

I could list a hundred more...

7. May 18th is National Visit Your Relatives Day. Will you celebrate? Which relative would you visit if time, distance, and expense were not considered? 

Now that I know this I'll definitely pop in and see Daughter2, who conveniently is currently my neighbor. We watch a show together on Wednesdays so I guess that's how we'll celebrate. 

If time and distance were not a consideration I'd love to have a cup of tea with my momma and both my girls. East coast, west coast I don't care, as long as we're all around the same table. 

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

Is anyone watching the new TLC show called Outdaughtered ?The Busbys are parents of six girls-a five year old daughter and then the quints who are just over a year old. They are such a cute family, and I hope they stay above the fray that families seem to get swept up in once they get their own show. 

Their program airs on Tuesday nights, but my Daughter2 DVR's it and then we watch together on Wednesdays. 




26 comments:

  1. I agree that the 60s are still middle-aged. ;-)

    Thanks for hosting the Hodgepodge!

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  2. I've not watched Outdaughtered, but it sounds interesting. I may have to check into it.

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  3. Joyce - I LOVE your paragraph about what it's like to be middle-aged! Yes, I totally agree. And, I get those 'sleep injuries' too. Dang! Jim Croce's "Operator" - what a beautful song!

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  4. Joyce, I will definitely look out for Outdaughtered. Sounds right up my alley. Have a great week.

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  5. I like your song choice. I'm a huge Croce fan.
    I haven't seen the show you mentioned, but will have to check it out. Enjoy your daughter time :)
    I'm not seeing the link again today, so, if you wouldn't mind, could you please add me to the list. Thanks, in advance!
    Have fun furniture shopping. It's good to keep your mind occupied while waiting for the house to be completed :)
    Kathy (Reflections)

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  6. OH!!! Jim Croce- Yes, he was amazing and was taken way too soon. I am looking for a summer show to watch- thanks for the idea! I am right with you- when my body was needing assistance or mysterious pains when you wake up are sure signs of middle age. Your Middle of nowhere photo is amazing. Visiting England is on my bucket list. Have an awesome week!

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  7. You and your husband are brave souls to hike for miles and miles. This middle aged body could not make it more than a couple of miles without a potty break. Your description of middle age is right on. I could have listed dozens of songs from the 60's myself.

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  8. I agree that you can't help but love 70s music. Many of the songs remind me of when I was a girl and in my mom's car. Funny because the oldies from the 60s remind me of riding in my dad's car, even though it was in the 70s and 80s. I bet my kids think the same thing when I blast an old song and start belting it out :) Thanks for another week of Hodgepodge!

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  9. I loved your answers and no, I have not seen the tv show. SMILES

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  10. Oh I have to lovingly disagree. The Motown, HipHop music of the 50's and 60's has got to be the best ever. Your description of middle age has just moved me the other side. Shucks, I was hoping I had a few more years. HA! Have a great rest of your week.

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  11. Love all those songs as well, just so many "oldies" that put these new songs to shame.In my opinion. :o)) Haven't heard of that show but will definitely check it out as it sounds like one I would enjoy. Happy furniture shopping!

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  12. Oh, sleep injuries, that's what their called!!!!!
    Loved the middle aged and difficulties answer, good thoughts.
    Elton John was certainly the soundtrack for my jr. high years. You are right, there are so many good ones!
    Have fun watching your show with Daughter 2!

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  13. Haven't seen the TV show, but then we watch almost exclusively British mysteries and documentaries. We're pretty boring that way. I'd love to visit Dartmoor. With such a small island and such a huge population you'd think there wouldn't be any place in the middle of nowhere, but amazingly, there is.

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  14. Those are great songs! Can you believe that back in the day Mark and I saw Jim Croce open for Woody Allen in a small theater in the round. I have been watching OutDaughtered and I agree with you. Really sweet couple and hopefully they can stay that way!!!

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  15. I stumbled upon "Outdaughtered" last night and watched it and now have it set on the DVR. I do already stress that this cute family will someday be torn apart. I hope they learned something from the Jon and Kate Plus 8 debacle! That mother of hers though. Oh my!

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  16. Hi Joyce,
    I like how you described middle age. :-)
    I will miss next week, I hope to be out planting my garden. This year I will be selling at a market, so I added another garden plot. My 14 year old son is my helper, he enjoys gardening. We will be busy putting seeds in the ground.
    Thank you for the Hodgepodge and I will see you in June.
    Carla

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  17. "Operator" by Jim Croce will always be one of my very favorite songs - that and "Time in a Bottle". My Uncle was a musician and he would do covers of these songs. Now when I hear them I get very emotional! <3 Sherry

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  18. Were you walking a marked trail on the moors?it seems you could not only be in the middle of nowhere but also lost!

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  19. LOVE this one, Joyce! So glad to be HodgePodgeing again!

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  20. I hope that you have fun furniture shopping. I love looking at all of the furniture, but not making the final decision. I'm always afraid that I'll choose the wrong thing and not like it once I get it home.

    Have a blessed day!

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  21. Alan Jackson asks, "Remember when thirty seemed so old? Now looking back, it was just a stepping stone."

    I never thought I would live long enough to see 30. That is because my friends and I were stupid and we were voted most likely to die of something stupid (not really, but we should have been).

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  22. I definitely agree about 70s music--nothing else makes me sing along quite as much!

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  23. I now think 60 is young! Isn't it funny how the age you thought you would feel old at keeps moving. You're as young as you feel, right?

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  24. I love Jim Croce's music. You're right, he was a poet for the common blue collar man. He passed from this life way too soon. Thanks for the Hodgepodge!

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  25. Love, love, LOVE Jim Croce! A talented man who died way too soon.

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  26. I always love reading Katie's answers from the Preppy Emptynester. I am going to try & remember to link up next week.
    Oh, and I would totally pick steamed dumplings, too. Although I haven't been to China, I did eat some amazing steamed dumplings in China at Epcot...that's almost the same, right?? ;)

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