Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Accomplishing The Hodgepodge

Somehow we've landed in the last week of May. Does anyone else feel like it was just Christmas? June is one of my favorites so no complaints here. The Hodgepodge is rolling right along too...answer on your own blog then hop back there tomorrow to add your link to the party. See you there!
1. What makes you feel accomplished? Explain.

It's the little things. Hosting a dinner party. Completing a tough hike. Keeping a plant alive for an extended period of time. Successfully preparing a complicated recipe. Building a house. Writing. 

2. If you had your own talk show, who would your first three guests be? Tell us why.

Princess Catherine because I adore her, Tim Tebow because I so admire how he has used his fame for good, and the President because he's the President. 

3. Do you have a great burger recipe? What's in it? What do you like on a hamburger and where is your favorite spot to order one out?

I don't really have a recipe, just good ground beef, lots of salt and pepper, and one of our favorite steak seasonings, either Sauers or Chicago. I need lettuce, tomato, mayo on my burger with a side of dill pickle. I don't do the fast food thing so much, but there are a couple of local spots here that make a good burger. I do like Red Robin's burgers too. 

4. What's the biggest anxiety producing thing you do on a regular basis?

It's a toss up between flying and docking the boat. Now technically I'm doing neither, but!...I am flying that plane from my seat, and while hubs is normally doing the actual boat docking, the first mate role makes me sweat.  

5. This is the last Hodgepodge of May. Tell us about your summer plans.

Well, first and foremost I'M HAVING A GRANDBABY! Other than that it's all about the lake. Lots of company coming and going, so lots of boating, corn hole, and porch sitting. I'm also going to a little reunion with friends from the church I grew up in, and I'm really looking forward to that. A fun, busy summer. 

Is there any other kind on this side of the pond? 

6. Insert your own random thought here.


A neighborhood friend invited me to lunch last Friday, along with two other women. Three of us lived in the UK at roughly the same time, but didn't know one another there. We went to a gorgeous spot out in the country, a small farm with an interesting menu and a spectacular view.


The weather was picture perfect, and it was a completely lovely afternoon.




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Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Five Minutes of Visit

If you're looking for this week's Hodgepodge questions, keep on scrollin'. 


Linking with Five Minute Friday on a Tuesday because I didn't have five minutes on Friday. We had a full house this weekend, which makes for the perfect segue into this week's prompt...

Friday's word prompt-visit


The idea of house guests sends some people running for the hills, but around here we make up beds, gas up the boat, fluff the porch cushions, and say come on over. Sidebar-I'm a bit of a control freak and it used to be when company was coming I'd exhaust myself trying to make every little thing just so.


Over the years I've learned that visitors don't care about just so. In fact sometimes just so stresses them out. They care about you, their host. They want to sit on the porch in their yoga pants and hear what's new with you. They want to play dominoes and listen to soft rain on the roof.


They want you to hand them a stack of plates and let them set the table.


They want to bring snacks for the boat or chicken salad for lunch or homemade Italian sausage for the grill.


They want to come upstairs in their pj's sans makeup and done hair and see you in your pj's sans makeup with undone hair too.


They might even do your hair if you ask nicely.



They don't judge unless you're so busy running around doing that you miss the point of a visit with friends, and then they might sigh and say they wish you'd just sit a spell.


I haven't completely let go of my need to make things comfortable but I do cook ahead, put on my glasses and my sweatpants with the coffee, and watch the sunrise over the lake with my guests. I'll wear a swim suit and breathe in the scent of sunscreen and the water right along with the view.


I will float in my pink flamingo.


And I will make time to visit. Time to remember the years roll by...


That moments make a memory and these are the times of our lives.
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Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 309

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then fly back here tomorrow to add your link to the party. See you there!
1. What makes you feel accomplished? Explain.

2. If you had your own talk show, who would your first three guests be? Tell us why.

3. Do you have a great burger recipe? What's in it? What do you like on a hamburger and where is your favorite spot to order one out?

4. What's the biggest anxiety producing thing you do on a regular basis?

5. This is the last Hodgepodge of May. Tell us about your summer plans.

6. Insert your own random thought here.


Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Stereotyping The Hodgepodge

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge! It's been raining buckets here, but I guess we need it. I'm hoping this means we'll have a pretty long weekend. 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 comments make the world go round. Here we go-
1. What color is prominent in your home? Are you glad about that or wishing you could cover it up or remove it?

I'm in a new house, so not thinking about any re-painting or changes in appliance, trim, flooring colors just yet. My house is filled with a lot of neutrals (creams, browns, tans) and splashes of color (blues, dark red, orange). I am really happy with all of that. 

2. What's something you'll NEVER do again?

Well never say never, BUT...building another house from the ground up is highly unlikely. 

3. Tell us a couple of ways you fit the stereotypes associated with your gender, and a couple of ways you don't.

I guess the ways I fit would be those associated with being a wife and mother. That was something I always wanted, and they're roles I very much enjoy. They satisfy on a level that is beyond anything I received from my career.  I know not all women want to have children, or even marry, but I think the stereotype assumes we all do. I also enjoy cooking, crafts, and homemaking in general which all fall under the heading of female stereotype. 

I enjoy watching sports which I think goes against type. I'm also not helpless and am pretty independent. 

4. May is Motorcycle Awareness Month. Have you ever owned a motorcycle? Ever ridden a motorcycle? If the opportunity presented itself would you hop on a motorcycle and go for a ride?

Does a short ride around the block on my cousin's motorcycle 40+ years ago count? I've never owned a motorcycle, and would prefer hubs not own one either. He doesn't. I can definitely see the appeal, but the dangers associated with riding outweigh the thrill for me. Nobody's surprised are they? Maybe if we lived out west where there are lots of wide open spaces, but otherwise I'll pass.  

5. If someone wanted to understand you, what should they read, watch, and listen to?

Read-My Utmost for His Highest and Anne of Green Gables-what I aspire to be and a lot of who I am

Watch-HGTV -I'm all about home and hearth these days.

Listen To-70's music is my jam. 

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

So we've joined a cult. Ha! Not really, but sort of. It's the Big Green Egg cult and if you own one you know what I mean. When you purchase the grill a whole world of accessories opens up to you, and I've been told each and every one is essential to creating the perfect BBQ. ahem. If you get the special pan you need the special rack. If you get the special rack you need the special spatula. And on it goes...



Tell me, who here owns a Big Green Egg? What's your favorite thing is to prepare on the grill? What's your #1 must-have Green Egg accessory? Any grilling secrets we should know? 




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Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 308

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here tomorrow to add your link to the party. See you there!
1. What color is prominent in your home? Are you glad about that or wishing you could cover it up or remove it?

2. What's something you'll NEVER do again?

3. Tell us a couple of ways you fit the stereotypes associated with your gender, and a couple of ways you don't.

4. May is Motorcycle Awareness Month. Have you ever owned a motorcycle? Ever ridden a motorcycle? If the opportunity presented itself would you hop on a motorcycle and go for a ride?

5. If someone wanted to understand you, what should they read, watch, and listen to?

6.  Insert your own random thought here.
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Monday, May 22, 2017

A Wrinkle In Time

Recently I was face timing my daughter and the whole time we were talking I was extremely distracted by the lines in my neck. Raise your hand if you know what I'm talking about.

You're not 20 are you?

You're probably not even 40 because I know at 40 my neck was still smooth as silk. I'm something more than a decade beyond 40, but I know these lines weren't there last year. It's like you go to sleep one night, wake up in the morning, and aaagh! What happened?

Face time is all about seeing the person you're speaking to, but you're also looking in a mirror as you talk. I'm not one of those women who fight getting older to a ridiculous degree, and I think I'm pretty good at celebrating the age I am...still that doesn't mean mean I love everything about it.

I might have made a list and those lines on my neck are at the top, but there's more.

I don't like my picture taken without warning. It's all about angles and holding the chin up, lipstick applied, not standing sideways, does my hair look reasonable...

Speaking of hair, I can't just throw my hair up in a ponytail and go anywhere other than for a workout. Even then it's gotta be brushed and smoothed and neat. Messy hair on my daughters somehow still looks adorable. Messy hair on moi just looks messy. Also a little crazy.

I can't see without my glasses. This is one of the more distressing parts of aging and nothing makes me feel old quite like my eyes. I know I'm not old, but declining eyesight is a constant reminder that I'm not young either.

I don't leap out of bed in the morning. I kind of slink which sounds ooh la la, but trust me it's not. Getting out of bed in the morning never used to require a brain. These days I need to take inventory. Unfold one leg at a time, put one foot on the floor and test the waters, generally make sure everything is working before any forward motion occurs.

I've never worn a lot of makeup but sometime in the last couple of years I realized I need lips and eyelashes so I don't leave home without them. If you saw me ten years ago sans makeup you'd think I was fresh faced.

What's the opposite of fresh faced? Yeah.

If I want to remember something I write it down. Anything-to buy, to do, to quote, to look into further, you name it I write it down. If it doesn't get written down it's like it never existed.

I love a good nap, and I'm going to be a Nana.

Wait wait wait! Those aren't negatives! Come to think of it, what's the big deal about a few lines in your neck when there's a grandbaby in your arms?

God sure knew what He was doing, didn't He?

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Hodgepodge Hoarding

Thanks for stopping by today, and welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge! If you've answered this week's questions, add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the person linking before you. It's the neighborly thing to do here on a Wednesday. Let's dive in-
1. May 17th is National Pack Rat Day. Sidebar-should we be celebrating this? Hmmm...

Are you a pack rat? Even if you're not a full fledged pack rat, most people have one thing or another they struggle to part with. Tell us what's yours.

I'm not a pack rat, but there are things I have trouble parting with. I probably could be more of a rat, but hubs likes everything pared down and clutter free, so he keeps me in check. What do I hang on to? Books, photographs, text messages, cards and notes I've been sent that mean something to me...not a lot really. At the moment hubs would say furniture because our extra garage bay is full of it, but in my defense some of that will be going to my daughter, just not immediately. It's not pack-ratting, it's storage.  

2. What are two things you know you should know how to do, but you don't?

Tie the knot hubs has shown me seventeen times and pull a water skier. I don't know if I really want to learn the latter, but hubs wants me to learn so I can pull him behind the boat. I think I'm better suited to being that person on the boat who frantically shouts when the skier falls and then wears an anxious look on her face until the downed skier is collected. Every boat needs one. 

Also, I'm going to tell you that I probably will learn to confidently drive the boat with a water skiier in tow because hubs will teach me, and encourage me, and challenge me and I will accept the challenge. And in all likliehood I will end up loving it because that's kinda how I roll when it comes to trying something new.  Resist, then embrace. It's my superpower. 

3. Do you crave sugar? Do you add sugar to your coffee and/or tea? Do you use artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes? When dining out is dessert a given? Are you someone who has slain the sugar dragon, and if so tell us how you did it.

Do I crave sugar? I don't think so, my cravings lean more towards the salty side of life. I have not eliminated sugar from my diet, but I don't think I go overboard either. I don't drink soda, and never put sugar in my coffee or hot tea. Occasionally I'll drink a sweet tea, but I don't like it overly sweet and so many of the restaurant varieties are so sweet they make my teeth ache. I don't use artificial sweeteners, but I have been known to check the dessert side of a menu before deciding on an entree when we're dining out. 

I don't snack on sweets at home, and I don't make dessert unless we have company, but I do love a good dessert. If we're in a restaurant that makes a good dessert I'm going to order something to share with hubs. 

4. What's a trend it took a while for you to come round to, but now you can't imagine living without?

Pretty much anything technology related.  I LOVE texting, but I remember being reluctant early on. Did you read my answer to #2? 

5. What's a song that reminds you of a specific incident in your life? Please elaborate.

This is hard, because when I thought about how to answer I felt like songs remind me more of a time in my life as opposed to a specific incident. There's probably many, but I'll go with Little Darlin' by Poco. I listened to that song while I was in labor with my first born, and when I hear it I think of those first few hours and weeks with her. 

I feel certain some of you need educating, and you can listen here

I don't really know why that became THE song, but I do know we loved the whole album (Legend) and wore it out. Remember how exciting it was to get an album and love every single song on it? Well this was one of those.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Do you feed the hummingbirds where you live? We've always had a feeder, and love watching these amazing little creatures up close. We put a feeder on the kitchen window and waited a few days, but no birds. I knew we needed something bright to attract them, so on Saturday hubs and I bought a gorgeous bright red mandevilla. 



You can't see the feeder, but you can see the plant.
And my sweet girl. 

Anyway, we set it on the deck near the feeder, and about five minutes later there came the hummingbirds. Talk about something that craves sugar-ha! We make our own sugar water and don't add any red food coloring to it, as we read that wasn't good for the birds. The feeder itself has a red base, so that helps. 

Happy Wednesday Everyone! 



Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 307

Here are the questions to the Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then skip back here tomorrow to share answers with the universe. See you there!
1. May 17th is National Pack Rat Day. Sidebar-should we be celebrating this? Hmmm...

Are you a pack rat? Even if you're not a full fledged pack rat, most people have one thing or another they struggle to part with. Tell us what's yours.

2. What are two things you know you should know how to do, but you don't?

3. Do you crave sugar? Do you add sugar to your coffee and/or tea? Do you use artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes? When dining out is dessert a given? Are you someone who has slain the sugar dragon, and if so tell us how you did it.

4. What's a trend it took a while for you to come round to, but now you can't imagine living without?

5. What's a song that reminds you of a specific incident in your life? Please elaborate.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Monday, May 15, 2017

How I Spent My Mother's Day Vacation

Let's start with tulips because everybody needs tulips in their weekend. 


These arrived on Saturday courtesy of Daughter1 and my son-in-law who live way on the other side of the country. Honestly, the world would be a better place if we all had fresh flowers in our lives, don't you think? I mean is there anything better than opening the door to a bouquet of tulips? I think not. 

Unless of course it was opening the door to find my daughter there holding the vase. 


Since she's busy preparing for next year's Mother's Day that's not happening, so tulips via the delivery driver will have to do.  


I love the scrunchy ones best. 


We spent a good chunk of Saturday dealing with framing. I think I've made it clear how I feel about hanging pics with my hubs, but rest assured no one was harmed in the hanging of these six prints that needed to be spaced precisely one inch apart in height and two inches apart in width on a wall in our great room. 

Never mind that the framer attached the wire on the backside of each one at a different height, but not waaaay different. Just enough different to make my head swim. However, we persevered, we swore, we got 'er done, and are really happy with the end result. 

Mother's Day Sunday could not have been lovelier. First of all the weather was absolutely spectacular. Daughter2 drove out to the lake and spent the night Saturday which always makes for a great weekend. She brought me a beautiful serving dish from one of my favorite shops in town, along with some other fun little add-ons she knew I'd love, and we whiled away the hours sipping cups of steaming coffee and chatting on the porch.

True story-hubs and I are pretty sure we could live on our porch.


Mother's Day the three of us went to church, and then my sister and her family joined us for lunch. I'd made a pork tenderloin and a homemade blueberry pie which was yummy. I'm rediscovering my cooking groove and am really enjoying preparing meals for guests like I did in the old days.

The old days being pre-house build.


We went for a short boat ride and my niece took the wheel so that was fun. Did I mention the perfect weather?


Also that the sweetness of this girl makes my heart sing?

Everyone headed home around six and then our builder and his wife texted to say they were nearby, so we said come on over, and they did. There might have been more porch sitting because there's no place better for spending time with friends and family.

We took a little sunset cruise since the water was smooth and the sky was pink, then they headed home and hubs and I called it a day.

A very good day.

Thursday, May 11, 2017

One of These Things Is A Lot Like The Other

Note: I wrote this post late Thursday, then saw the word prompt for Five Minute Friday. Adding my link to the group there too. Visit Kate Motaung's blog and see what other writers had to say. Better yet, why not share your own five minute entry?  Today's prompt-Mom

As I was reading Hodgepodge answers yesterday I realized I didn't answer part two of question one, which basically asked how my experience as a mom was different than my own mother's experience. And since it's almost Mother's Day I thought I'd expand on that a little.


That's me with my mama. I guess I really am a brunette-ha! And apparently my obsession with beautiful weather started early.

I've been a mother for almost thirty years now, but when I think about Mother's Day it's my mother who comes to mind first, as opposed to my own role as mom. I know I'm so fortunate to have my mother still in my life, in my girl's lives, and soon in my grandson's life. Her first great grandchild. Course logistics are nuts, but we will find a way to introduce them face to face, and I know she's looking forward to that.

Me too, but this post is about her not me.

My mother loved us well. Really that is the thought that looms largest in my mind when I think about my mother. I have never once in all my life doubted the sureness of my mother's love. What a wonderful legacy and one I hope my children claim some day.

When I think about how our experiences differ a few things come to mind, but also a lot of similarities too. My mother raised four children and I raised two, so there's that. And she had a son which is not something I can speak to, although I will have a grandson which I know will stir up all sorts of new feelings in me.

My mom was a mostly stay at home mom and I was mostly a stay at home mom. We both worked off and on as our children grew, my mom as a librarian and me as a speech pathologist and later a teacher. We've both spent much of our adult lives volunteering in some capacity as well.

Back when I was in elementary school my mother was the phone chairperson for our area Christian Women's Club. I'm pretty sure her official title wasn't phone chairperson, but that's what we called it because she had to spend a lot of time on the phone taking reservations for a monthly luncheon, and handling some of the details. Probably more to it than that, but to a child's mind that was the gist of it.

No such thing as the Internet back in the day, so no online reservations or emailing information or avoiding human contact. It was all done the old fashioned way, and for you 'kids' reading here today, that would be a telephone attached to a wall that you dialed and that sometimes rang busy so you'd have to keep dialing until the busy signal quit.

And you had to talk to people when they answered because they mostly answered. We didn't screen calls and there was no voice mail. In fact I don't remember anyone having an answering machine of any kind, so conversation happened. Sometimes long conversations that had nothing to do with why you were calling. I remember we bought my mom  a little telephone for her charm bracelet that year because it seemed so fitting.


One of my favorite things as a school aged child was having my mother as room mom for my class. My younger sister was just one grade behind me, so she alternated from year to year whose room she volunteered in, but I loved it when she was in mine. She also dedicated countless hours of her life to filling various volunteer positions in our church and those are both things I enjoyed doing as a wife and mom too.

My mom was a military wife and moved a lot in her married life. I've moved numerous times as well,  so we have that in common. I think we both enjoy homemaking and handled picking up and setting down somewhere new pretty well. We would not call ourselves brave, but we can be when a job transfer calls for it.


My mother is an avid reader and was and still is a wonderful cook. Those are both activities I learned at her knee, and still enjoy. My girls also share a love of books and being in the kitchen too, and this makes my heart so happy.


My mother has an artist's eye and a gardener's green thumb. Alas I do not. I think these are things I associate with the role of homemaker because they were so much a part of my own mother and my childhood memories. In my head I have an artists eye and a gardener's green thumb, but in practice not so much. My mom has a way with flowers and can plop a bunch of blooms in a vase and they look amazing. I plop the same bunch and they just look plopped. Things grow in her yard and when I ask her how she says she didn't do anything special to make it happen. My mom sets a gorgeous table and irons linens like a pro. I do love a beautifully set table, but fall more into the 'good enough' category when it comes to ironing. My mother has made beautiful scrapbooks over the years too and while I try I never quite match her skill in those areas.

We both love shoes which has nothing to do with mothering, but seemed worth mentioning anyway.

My mother established so many wonderful family traditions around the holidays, and I think we're alike in that way. We want to make special occasions feel special and we both probably cling a little too tightly to some of that, but we're learning. We've both loosened the reins there in recent years, and Christmas still comes and it's still marvelous.

And we still bake too many cookies because some traditions are meant to be held tightly forever and ever amen.

Technology. This is one of the ways our experiences have differed, but more as we parent adults rather than small children. She didn't have to deal with a lot of technology in raising children, and even my generation mostly bypassed the craziness parents today have to navigate. When I was a kid we had a couple of phones in the house, and four channels on the TV. I don't remember it being a big deal, and although a couple of my friends had a phone in their bedroom, we never did. Even the friends with a phone in their room still shared the same line with the rest of the family, so not really 'your own phone'.

Social media was in its early stages when my girls were in high school and college so technology wasn't a huge deal in the heavy parenting years. Unless of course you count me trying to understand how it works-ha! My mom has email but uses it sparingly, and she loves to read my blog so at least she has her priorities straight.

My mom and I like to talk about spiritual things. We pray for our families, pouring out all the fear and worry, hope and gratitude, we feel for our children and our children's children, and in that way we are are very similar. I enjoy conversations with my mom about scripture or discussing something I've read in a book or puzzled over with my ladies Bible Study group. My mom thinks I'm a good mother and I appreciate that so much, even on the days it's not true.

Especially on the days it's not true.

My mom has been a superstar grandmother and has showered her grandchildren with love, prayer, and quality time. This is something I hope we share as I join the world of grandparenting this summer.


I think all mothers feel they've managed some aspects of parenting well, and some areas less so. There's regret over situations or seasons with our children where a mother wishes she could get a do-over, one more chance to make everything perfectly perfect. I feel that myself as a mother, but as a daughter?

As a daughter I never expected my mother to be perfect. Her love for me was perfect and that's always been enough.


And in that way I hope I'm exactly like her.
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Wednesday, May 10, 2017

From The Hodgepodge Desk

Welcome to the new and improved Wednesday Hodgepodge! Less questions, more fun! For me anyway. teehee Thanks for playing along today. If you've answered the questions add your link at the end of my post, then go say howdy to your neighbor. Here we go- 1. Share a favorite memory of your mother or share a favorite something from your own life as a mother. If you're a mother (or stepmom) tell us how your experience as a mom differs from your own mother's experience.

My most favorite memory of my own mom is sitting snuggled up beside her on the living room couch, my little sister snuggled up on the other side, as we listened to her read aloud. Books feature large in my childhood, as does my mother's sure love.  

I also have very vivid memories of her sitting with my sister and I to cut out paper dolls. My mom is artistic and was always so careful to cut them just so, never taking off a tab that would have to be taped on later. I always wanted to take great care with mine the way she did hers, but usually became impatient and lopped off the tabs. My mom would always fix them for me though. She could make any little wrong right.  Happy Mother's Day Mom! I got the best one. 

2. In May we celebrate teachers (May 9) and nurses (May 6) both. Most every family has at least one in their midst, so tell us something (or a few things) you appreciate about the teacher or nurse on your family tree.

My daughter2 is a teacher and easy to appreciate. That's her on the right in this photo, waaaay back in July, hard at work setting up her new classroom. She moved from third grade to kindergarten this year, which in teacher speak is the equivalent of starting from scratch. Her sister was in town visiting so we went over and helped her cut, hang, and sort. 

Also, teachers have summers off, right? 


This girl always wanted to be a teacher, and as far back as I can remember she set this goal for herself and worked hard to make it happen. Teaching comes naturally to her. She loves children, words, books, and being in charge. Ha! Her mother's daughter for certain! She is organized, creative, hard working, dependable, patient, and funny. She has high expectations but knows all children cannot be put in the same box. She has a mega watt smile that can light up a classroom, a dark day, or a life. I know it's lit up mine. 

It's easy for teachers to feel under appreciated and discouraged these days, but I pray she continues to use her gift for a long while.

3. Chicken salad, egg salad, tuna salad...which would you go for if all three were on the menu? On bread or a bed of lettuce? If you answered bread, what kind of bread would make it the perfect sandwich?

These are three of my favorites, and on any given day I could choose any of them. I like chicken salad fixed a variety of ways, but it must be white meat only and either small bites or shredded, no big chunks. The egg salad needs plenty of mayo and the tuna salad too. And as much as I love tuna I really do need to be in the mood for that one, so how about we go with egg salad on rye and put an end to all the overthinking? 

4. Do you have a desk? Is it organized? If so, share your secret to keeping it that way. If you don't have a desk, where in your home do you take care of family paperwork and business? Where do you normally sit to blog?

I do have a desk and it's mostly organized. 
Can you be partly organized? Is that a thing? 

It's totally a thing. I need to go through my files and purge, which is something I haven't done since the move so in that sense it's not perfectly organized. Everything is filed, I just need to weed out some of last year's paper, so let's say I'm semi-organized. 

I keep bills to be paid in one spot, file receipts as I go, have pen-stapler-paper clips-scissors within arm's reach and my calendar handy for easy reference. Also, the paper shredder sits just behind the desk, and if I'm offering an organizational tip that would be it-keep a working shredder within reach and use it often. Don't let paper accumulate. 

I like to write on the desktop as opposed to a smaller device, so almost always blog from the office. This room is tucked away in a far corner of the house so it's quiet, and I like quiet for thinking and writing. Given it's location (below and behind our screened porch) we didn't expect to have much of a a view from this room, but...


Alternately inspiring and distracting. 

5. When I was nine years old....

I had long hair and skinny legs. I loved to read and still played with paperdolls and my sister. I liked to swim, ride my bike, and roller skate. 

I was in the fourth grade and loved my teacher, mostly because she was pretty. My dad returned from Vietnam and Okinawa that year, and he visited my class to talk and share pictures (slides). I remember being slightly disappointed he didn't wear his uniform, but so proud he was there. 



That's me on the right and my little sister on the left, front and center which was her modus operandi back in the day. We're wearing silk p.j.s my dad sent from Okinawa. 

My siblings and I all remember the day that same year, he took us to the circus and bought us every edible treat we asked for. This was soooo unlike my dad, which is probably why that day stands out in all of our memories as a favorite from childhood.  

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I think I finally have one fireplace mantle to the point I can quit fussing with it. 



This fireplace is in my keeping room, an extension of my kitchen.  I love all things French and already owned the Epernay sign, but I was excited to find these jars in an antique/home decorating shop just a couple of weeks ago.  




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Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Hodgpodge Questions-Volume 307

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. I'm going to try a 5-question format this week. Several of you said you felt seven was too time consuming on a regular basis anyway so let's see how this goes. Rest assured there will always be one to make you think, because what fun is the Hodgepodge if every answer comes quickly and easily?
1. Share a favorite memory of your mother or share a favorite something from your own life as a mother. If you're a mother (or stepmom) tell us how your experience as a mom differs from your own mother's experience.

2. In May we celebrate teachers (May 9) and nurses (May 6) both. Most every family has at least one in their midst, so tell us something (or a few things) you appreciate about the teacher or nurse on your family tree.

3. Chicken salad, egg salad, tuna salad...which would you go for if all three were on the menu? On bread or a bed of lettuce? If you answered bread, what kind of bread would make it the perfect sandwich?

4. Do you have a desk? Is it organized? If so, share your secret to keeping it that way. If you don't have a desk, where in your home do you take care of family paperwork and business? Where do you normally sit to blog?

5. When I was nine years old....

6. Insert your own random thought here.


Monday, May 8, 2017

Summertime's Calling Me

I've got company on the calendar pretty much every weekend from now through September, with the exception of two weekends where I'm traveling, and a block mid-July through mid-August where I've said no to company because I'm gonna be a grandma!!!

Yes, with an exclamation point or three.

Babies come when they're ready, and since mine is arriving cross country I need a wide open window on the calendar that will allow me to travel as soon as Baby Boy decides he needs his Nana.

Which I'm pretty sure will be the moment he's born.

Besides a brand new grandbaby to love, I'm realizing this summer will be chock-a-block full of so many of my favorite things. Unlike last summer which was filled with a few of my favorite things and then the house build. Remember that? Ha!

I know there are people out there who hope to sail through the summer months with nary a house guest, but we are not those people. We're looking forward to houseguests who love boating, swimming, and corn hole with plenty of 'trash talking' on the side, because that's what sporty folks do.

Is cornhole a sport?

Also, I'm not sporty.

Cheers to tall tales told and "remember whens" shared around a crowded dinner table full of familiar faces. To marshmallows roasted from the comfort of an Adirondack chair, and fireflies lighting up the night.

Summer company means appetizers on the porch with a glass of wine. It's pulling up to a dockside cabana for a lazy lunch and dinner on the BBQ with candles in a beach pail.

It's the scent of sunscreen and honeysuckle. The flick of a wrist and the toss of a line as you wait ever hopeful for a nibble.

It's a flying leap off the dock into the crystal clear waters of a Carolina summer afternoon.

We had a summer preview this past weekend when hubs brother and sister-in-law came to stay. They asked last Thursday for a date as they have a similarly full calendar, and I said how about tomorrow, and BAM they were at our front door Friday afternoon.

Sometimes spur of the moment is the very best way to make the fun happen.


Daughter2 and her boyfriend drove out to the lake for the weekend too, so officially a party. My Pacific Northwestern daughter will laugh when she reads this, but it was cold here over the weekend. Cold for South Carolina anyway.

Still we squeezed in a great Cinco de Mayo meal at a local Mexican spot on Friday evening, boat rides on Saturday with lunch al fresco at a waterside eatery, a big family dinner in the dining room  that night, a little bit of pool, and a lot of fireside chatting all wrapped up cozy in blankets out back.

Summer is most definitely on it's way...


 Are you ready?

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Hodgepodge This Is The Wednesday

Hola amigos, and welcome  to the merry month of May and the Wednesday Hodgepodge! If you've answered this week's questions add your link at the end of my post, and if you haven't answered, what are you waiting for? Also, be sure and say hello to your next door neighbor on the linky list before running off, because that's what good neighbors do.
1. Can you tell I'm embracing a Cinco de Mayo theme here this week? Do you like Mexican food? What's your favorite dish? How about on the side-black beans, pinto beans, refried beans, rice? What about heat-mild, medium, hot? Will you celebrate with Mexican food and drink on May 5th aka Cinco de Mayo?

I love Mexican food, one of my favorites. Hubs loves it too, the hotter the better, so sure we'll probably celebrate with a Mexican dinner on Friday. In terms of heat, medium works for me, but more towards the hot side rather than the mild. 

I normally opt for enchiladas with either black or pinto beans on the side, but my absolute favorite Mexican dish is a healthy serving of chips and guacamole. Yum! 

2. Ever been to Mexico? For work or holiday? Love it or no? If you haven't been is this a place you'd like to visit? Can you speak Spanish?

I've been to Mexico a couple of times, both trips were to Cancun, but different resorts. My first visit was the tail end of what was a working trip for hubs. I met him in Mexico at the end of his meeting along with some other work folks who'd stayed over, and it was a lot of fun. The second trip was just a few years ago with a group of our college friends. We stayed in an all-inclusive and had a fabulous time. 



No I don't speak any Spanish. 

3. What's one thing you may accomplish this month?

I may get some pictures hung. 

Actually it's more of must than a may. I currently have seven pieces at the frame shop, so it's going to happen. 

4. If you were mayor of your village, city, or town, what's one thing you'd like to see changed, done away with, revamped, or accomplished? Is serving in public office something you've ever seriously considered?

No I've never considered running for public office. As far as our little town is concerned, I haven't lived here long enough to comment on changes that need to be made. It's small, quiet, and the lake takes center stage, so not a lot to complain about. 

5. What's something that may be popular, but that you just don't get?

Starbucks on a daily basis. Weekly basis. Really the whole Starbucks obsession.

6. Can't let this week slip by without mentioning Thursday May 4th is Star Wars Day. As in 'May the 4th be with you' ahem. Are you a fan of the Star Wars series? Exactly how much of a fan are you? On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being 'I've seen every film, own the action figures, might have dressed as Darth Vader for Halloween one year', and 1 being, 'what's a Vader?' -where do you land?

I loved the first three, which are really the middle three, which I believe is why they lost me. I don't love it enough to engage in all the before and after stories, but I did really enjoy those 'first' three films and I do know what 'a Vader' is.  I guess I'm about a 3. 

7. Scroll back through your blog posts and in three sentences or less tell us the general theme of your fourth blog post. Does it still ring true today? Is it a topic you re-visit on your blog from time to time?

I know you'll find this shocking, but my fourth blog post was entitled 'Home is Where the Heart Is' and was all about answering the question- 'Where is home?' Next to the weather home is pretty much my go-to blog topic. 

Have I re-visited the subject on my blog? Ha! According to a word search on my blog, only about 600 times in some form or fashion. And yes, that fourth post still rings true today, some eight years later. 

Click here to read if you're so inclined. 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I've been mulling over the Wednesday Hodgepodge because there have been a few weeks recently where getting the questions posted has stressed.me.out. 

I don't do stress, so a little fine tuning is now in order.  

I've been posting Hodgepodge questions here since November 8, 2010. That's a lotta brain cells y'all. I still very much enjoy answering the questions and interacting with everyone who participates here on Wednesday mornings, so I'm not quite ready to let it go entirely, but I am ready to make a couple of adjustments.  

Some weeks I have the questions set up days in advance. Other weeks I'm too busy to give it five minutes thought and end up scrambling to post the questions by 12:30 AM on a Tuesday. I'm typically not on my blog over the weekend, which means I have to write the questions on a Monday. 

I like to write a regular old blog post on a Monday, so that's double the trouble and pretty sure that's what's making me twitch when I think Hodgepodge posting. For the sake of my sanity, here's how it will work going forward-

I will still post the questions on Tuesday.  Sometime. They may very well be up by 12:30 AM Tuesday morning, or they may not go up until 10 AM. I will do my very best to have them up before noon, how's that? 

The link will still go up sometime Wednesday morning, and I vary the timing on that so east coasters and west coasters have equal opportunity to be one of the first blog links posted. Hopefully everyone is visiting someone, so nobody should be without a comment regardless of where you fall on the list. 

Also, I'm going to cut my brain some slack. Beginning next week the Hodgepodge will contain six questions (as opposed to seven), plus that random thought of your own added at the end.  In the course of a year that's 52 less questions I have to come up with and I feel like six is still plenty to answer.  I will see how it goes, but I might even drop back to five. 

If anyone has a question they think would be fun for a Wednesday Hodgepodge send it my way. I will give you credit in the posting. I try not to repeat questions, and I try not to ask yes/no questions, but other than that I'm open to suggestion. 

Whew. I feel better already. Happy Wednesday all! 




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Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 306

Hola! Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog then scoot back here tomorrow to share answers with your amigos. Here we go-
1. Can you tell I'm embracing a Cinco de Mayo theme here this week? Do you like Mexican food? What's your favorite dish? How about on the side-black beans, pinto beans, refried beans, rice? What about heat-mild, medium, hot? Will you celebrate with Mexican food and drink on May 5th aka Cinco de Mayo?

2. Ever been to Mexico? For work or holiday? Love it or no? If you haven't been is this a place you'd like to visit? Can you speak Spanish?

3. What's one thing you may accomplish this month?

4. If you were mayor of your village, city, or town, what's one thing you'd like to see changed, done away with, revamped, or accomplished? Is serving in public office something you've ever seriously considered?

5. What's something that may be popular, but that you just don't get?

6. Can't let this week slip by without mentioning Thursday May 4th is Star Wars Day. As in 'May the 4th be with you' ahem. Are you a fan of the Star Wars series? Exactly how much of a fan are you? On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being 'I've seen every film, own the action figures, might have dressed as Darth Vader for Halloween one year', and 1 being, 'what's a Vader?' -where do you land?

7. Scroll back through your blog posts and in three sentences or less tell us the general theme of your fourth blog post. Does it still ring true today? Is it a topic you re-visit on your blog from time to time?

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Monday, May 1, 2017

Rolling Into May

Hello whoever is reading here today. Is anyone still reading here? Is anyone still writing here? Ha! It's not that interesting, but I'm glad you've stuck around.

We had a nice weekend. Hubs was traveling last week so Friday night was a wash. He didn't get home from the airport until almost 9 PM which is practically my bedtime so, like I said, 'not that interesting'.


Saturday morning we made our first spring trip to the local plant nursery. Raise your hand if your eyes are bigger than your gardening skills. I just love all the pretty things, including two pillows and three botanical prints which I know are technically not plants. They do add beauty to a space though, and now they're mine.


I've been looking for cute pillows for my covered deck and I love the color and the pattern on these.


This wall in my kitchen has been waiting for the exact right something and I feel like these prints are that something. Never mind how many holes went into my freshly painted walls to get these where I thought they needed to be. Hubs was not a happy camper, but the prints cover all the tries so calling it a win.


Daughter2 and her boyfriend and our favorite greyhound came over after lunch and we took a boat ride. Wonderful while you're moving, but we stopped by a friend's dock for a quick hello and the humidity about killed me. I won't even mention what it does to my hair! Plan on seeing me in a ponytail and ball cap from now until October.


Isn't she just the cutest? I can hardly stand it.


The boys had just enough time for a quick game of corn hole while I got dinner on the table. I'd fixed BBQ in the crock pot with all the fixin's (that's baked beans and cole slaw for those not in the know) and it was yummy. Note to self-use the crock pot this summer so you're not a slave to the kitchen while everyone else is out having fun.

I took this pic from our screened porch. Our lower level driveway makes the perfect court.


You've heard of a pool shark? Well Daughter2's boyfriend is the equivalent in corn hole, but I'm going to beat him before summer's end. Gauntlet thrown.

After church on Sunday hubs and I made a run to Home Depot to pick up a screen and also odds and ends we forgot to buy at the nursery on Saturday, namely new garden gloves for me and fertilizer for our freshly potted plants.

This is so not interesting, but let's carry on.

Raise your hand if you spend a bajillion dollars at the nursery every single weekend from May -October? I love all the patios, decks, porches, and assorted outdoor spaces we have here, but it's gonna take a lot more pots than we've currently got on hand to make it look lush.

Question-does it need to look lush when all you really care about is the lake right in front of you?

Some friends invited us to drop by Sunday afternoon and we decided it was an MG kind of day. I haven't ridden in the MG since we left NJ, and I'd kind of forgotten how much I love it. Perfect convertible weather too-


FYI-convertible hair and lake hair have much in common.

We spent a fun few hours on their deck beside the water, and more friends dropped by, and then more friends dropped by, and before you knew it the clock read 7 PM and I was re-thinking my dinner menu. Re-thinking is code for, 'Do I really have to cook dinner???' Hubs read my mind, so we had ham and cheese sandwiches on the deck and turns out that was the perfect way to wrap up an end of April weekend.

So what interesting or not so interesting things did you do as the calendar rolled towards May