Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Red, White, and Hodgepodge

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge! So glad you've joined the fun here today, and if you've answered this week's questions add your link at the end of my post. Be sure to leave a comment for the blogger linking before you because that's what good neighbors do. Here we go-


1.  How did you welcome the month of July, and tell us one fun thing you did to celebrate the 4th. (or the weekend for any non-USA residents playing along today)

How did I welcome July? I let it roll in at a leisurely pace. I swam laps with my daughter2 then relaxed poolside, had a nice long conversation with my sister, then another nice long conversation with my west coast daughter1, I barbecued chicken and fixed corn on the cob for a rare dinner at home with the hubs, and went to bed early. See question #3. 

One fun thing we did to celebrate the 4th? We're all about the boat these days-


2. Right now...what's your favorite red thing? white thing? blue thing?

My favorite red thing is watermelon, which also happens to be my favorite summertime treat, possibly my favorite food. White thing? I love my white swim shorts. I wear them over my bathing suit as a cover up and they dry super fast so they're nice for hopping off the boat and onto someone's dock or a casual lakeside restaurant. Blue thing? Lake water. 



I know the water isn't really blue, but from the back of a boat it sure looks blue.  

3. Wave the white flag, raise a red flag, fly your freak flag...which 'flag' have you flown most recently? Explain.

Wave the white flag. I wrote about it here, but in a nutshell...a home build on top of too much travel, then more too much travel, then not enough days between travel, then too many miles in the car, combined to force my surrender to exhaustion.  

4. According to Cond Nast Traveler these are the seven best places to visit in July-

a boat safari in Botswanna's Okavango Delta, Riviera Maya mexico (it's whale shark season and apparently you can swim with them), Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, Pamploma Sapin, St. Petersburg Russia, the Fuji Rock Festival at Mount Naeba Japan, the Salzburg Festival in Salzburg Austria

If time and money weren't factors would you want to see any/all of these? Which would you most like to see and why? 

Sure I'd like to see them all. Why not? I've been to Salzburg more than once and think it's one of Europe's most charming cities. I highly recommend. Of the options listed I'm going with the boat safari in the Botswanna Delta. There aren't rough seas in the Botswanna Delta are there? If I'm mistaken about the surf there then my second choice would be Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. They're on my to-see list and I intend to get there one day.  

5. Grilled cheese, pimento cheese, or mac and cheese...your favorite from the cheesy treats listed? 

Pimento cheese please. I used to make my own, but the Palmetto Cheese Brand is so delish I buy that now. 

6.  What makes you sweat?

People doing stupid stuff or really daring physical feats like cliff diving, or the opening scene in the movie Cliffhanger, or YouTube videos of truckers on those super scary narrow roads that wrap around a mountainside or those crazies who hang hammocks over deep canyons in the Alps. All of the above make me sweat. 

7. Your favorite movie with a 'patriotic' theme of some sort? 

I have a whole list, but I think I'm going to say Apollo 13. Maybe not what you typically think of as patriotic, but I love that film and when I watch it I feel pride in my country. The whole nation held it's collective breath in the summer of 1970 and the bravery, ingenuity, and adventurous spirit of those involved in getting that spacecraft home feels patriotic to me. 

Saving Private Ryan, American Sniper, Argo, and Act of Valor are some others I really love. 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I have a couple of posts I want to write related to the weekend, so will save some of my random for those. In the meantime...I was stung by a bumble bee on Monday afternoon. I haven't been stung by a bee in over 30 years. How's that for random? 



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24 comments:

  1. Ouch. Sorry the bumble bee nibbled on you. I don't know that I've ever been stung by a bumble bee, but a wasp got me once. I felt like I'd been punched in the back. I thought someone had hit me until I realized what had really happened. Hopefully your bite heals quickly. How are the mosquitoes treating you out there? Horrible here!

    I'm glad you're able to spend time enjoying your boat and the lake. That is wonderful. :)

    Have a blessed day!

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  2. I think it is interesting that you mention Apollo 13 as a patriotic movie. In a book I just read, Standing Next to History, Joseph Petro tells how he got involved in the Secret Service. He tells of a time he was in Vietnam in a foxhole with a South Vietnamese. He told the other man that at that time the USA had two men walking on the moon. The South Vietnamese said, "And yet, you and I are in the same foxhole waiting for the same enemy."
    Have a great July/

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  3. I hope your busy schedule allows for enough R & R Joyce. Sometimes we all need to wave the white flag and take some time out. Also hope the bee sting wasn't too painful.

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  4. The lake water appears to be a lovely blue! Enjoy!

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  5. Hi Joyce...I was glad to be able to link up today...thanks for hosting! Great questions... and if anyone asked me what color water was, blue would be my answer too :) Have a good one!

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  6. I agree with Wendy...sometimes we all need to wave that proverbial white flag....have a Joyful day, friend.

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  7. Good choice for the movie. I've not seen Act of Valor or American Sniper. I think we all generally think of water as blue. That made me chuckle. It's like we all say the sun rose. I think it's generally accepted speech. I'm not laughing at you, it's just that my friends accuse me using 'exact speech.' It's become a joke around here, and I think was developed during the two decades I homeschooled. :-) Thanks again for the Hodgepodge.

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  8. I love that movie too! Hope your bee sting gets better. Have a great week!

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  9. Lake water looks blue and glad you are enjoying some boat rides! At times, it is okay to wave that white flag.

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  10. Awww, you guys look so happy on your boat!
    Hope your July is a bit slower!

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  11. I don't know how I didn't know about Palmetto Cheese until our July 4th gathering when someone brought it. I don't see me ever having any other kind! I love Apollo 13 too.

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  12. I stepped on a bumble bee a few years back and my foot swelled to twice it's size before I made it back into the house. Ouch!! Hope your bite doesn't cause any problems. That water looks so inviting!

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  13. Ahhh...Apollo 13. I love that movie!! I think it is patriotic! It's such a classic (and true) story of overcoming odds by pulling together...what made this country what it is!!!

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  14. Hi Joyce,
    I love the photo of you and hubs. :-)
    I am happy you are enjoying your boat and the lake. Fun times ahead with those you love and entertain.
    Have a great week!
    Carla

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  15. It sounds like you welcomed July in a wonderful way! Ah, your boat...I swoon just looking at the pictures :) Once a boat lover, always a boat lover!

    Wonders never cease! I looked, this morning, and there was your 'linky', as plain as day :) I hope my fortune will last.

    Enjoy the week, and stay cool!
    Kathy

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  16. I love swim shorts, what a great invention! I haven't seen American Sniper but need to rent the DVD. Sorry about your bee sting, that stinks!

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  17. Enjoying your answers. We just had some watermelon over the weekend. I'm so excited for you with the house, lake and boat! I will have to put Salzburg on my Bucket List. I'm finally doing something off my bucket list next month, I'm so excited. I thought about putting Apollo 13, excellent movie. Ouch on the bee sting!!!

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  18. I thought about Apollo 13 as well. It wasn't about war and showed what America is all about. I eventually picked some other movies and a mini series.

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  19. Ouch on that bee sting!! I'm allergic and swell up like a balloon, so I scream and run at the first sight of bees and wasps. I'm so excited for you that you have your boat and are enjoying it ahead of getting the house done. Awesome!

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  20. Oh, you lucky dog, to be able to raise your white flag and give in to rest in a beautiful new house by the lake!

    That's something that you got stung. The bee population is still way down here and I haven't even seen many.

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  21. I watched the movie 'Everest' this week. I think if one of my children wanted to do that I would tie them up in the basement. I was a nervous wreck just sitting in my family room.

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  22. My son and daughter in law just got a new pool and I was ordered to get a bathing suit. I was so shocked to see there were swimming shorts and shirts. When did they come out with those? I like them!

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  23. Oh, I loved Apollo 13! Nothing gets me quite like the end of that movie. I was not around then, but I can only imagine how long those few minutes must have felt.

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  24. I recommend that you watch "The Walk." It's a movie starring Joseph Gordon Leavitt as Philippe Petit. He's the frenchman who walked on a wire between the two towers of the World Trade center in 1974. Some of the photography will give you butterflies and maybe make you sweat a little. A very well done movie. Enjoy your week.

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