Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Hello Summer Hodgepodge

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge! Who's ready for summer?  If you've answered this week's questions add your link at the end of my post, and then go say hi to your neighbor on the list because that's the way we roll round here. Here we go -
1.The first day of summer lands on the Hodgepodge this week. What are ten things you'd put on your list of  quintessential summer activities? Will you try to manage all ten this summer?

Only ten? My list has at least twice that number, but I'll pick ten in an effort to be brief-ha! 

Roast marshmallows in the outdoor firepit, watch a baseball game, visit the farmer's market
stargaze, make a peach cobbler, dine al fresco (often!), watch the sunset from the back of the boat, have an ice cream cone, daydream, watch fireworks, see an outdoor concert, catch a fish, and make a summer playlist.  

I did not mention swimming because I live on a lake where swimming is a given. Cornhole, boat rides, and BBQ's are also standard summer fare here. And there will be a homemade strawberry shortcake on the menu sometime before the leaves declare it autumn. 

Also, I'm not good at keeping things brief. 

2. Do you collect seashells when you're at the beach? What do you do with them once you get them home? What's your favorite place to comb for seashells? How many of these 'world's best beaches for hunting seashells' have you visited? Which one would you most like to visit?

Calvert Cliffs State Park (Maryland), Jeffrey's Bay (South Africa), Sanibel Island (Florida), Shipwreck Beach (Lanai Hawaii), Ocracoke Island (North Carolina), Galveston Island (Texas) and The Bahamas

It depends on the beach, but if it's one known for shelling then yes we collect seashells. I have some from my favorite 'shelly' beach sitting in a tall jar in my bathroom. I've been to three spots listed, and in fact we used to like to camp near Calvert Cliffs. You can find shark's teeth on the beach there, which is kind of cool. 

My favorite place in all the world to hunt for seashells though is Marco Island Florida. 




3. At a snail's pace, shell out money, come out of your shell, go back into your shell, drop a bombshell, happy as a clam, clam up...which 'shell' phrase most recently could be applied to some event or circumstance in your life?  Explain.

None of these are an exact fit at the moment. I'm waiting on my grandson's arrival later this summer, so perhaps 'at a snail's pace' works? 

4. What summer activity do you dislike? Why?

Hmmm...what's not to like about summer? How about applying mosquito repellent? Other than that I can't think of a thing I dislike about the season. 

5. What's something you see as quickly becoming obsolete? Does that bother you?

Small town bookstores, small town florists, small town stationery shops.  Does it bother me? A little. I enjoy shopping in all these sorts of small town places. I do use Amazon for a number of things, and I get it, but I think when small businesses go under a town loses a little piece of it's heart. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm going to see my mom for a few days and while I'm in town I'll be attending a little reunion of 'kids' from my high school church youth group. Many of these 'kids' I haven't seen in decades, so I'm looking forward to catching up, and seeing all the ways we haven't changed. We reconnected and organized ourselves on Facebook so yay for social media. 

Hubs will be at home keeping Daughter2's pup company while Daughter2 is on holiday. Hubs likes to make Daughter2 nervous by telling her he's going to teach the dog to swim while she's at the lake. She's a greyhound and they're not known for being big water dogs, but....

https://www.facebook.com/viralthread/videos/811236792382339/

#goals



24 comments:

  1. Fun questions this week, Joyce! I'm with you on the potential demise of small-town shops. We "shop local" whenever we can. Amazon is so convenient, but you are so right that a small town loses a piece of its heart when small businesses shut their doors.

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  2. The beach with all the seashells and starfish is beautiful. You have so many fun things listed to do this summer. Peach cobbler and strawberry shortcake sound delicious!

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  3. We've always liked going to Chincoteague Island, not for the shells, but we did okay there. My son is one who can just walk along and spot shark teeth without even trying. Me? I could go over the beach with a fine-tooth comb on my hands and knees and still probably never find one!

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  4. Have a wonderful time with your friends...you'll probably pick right up where you left off without skipping a beat.

    May the swimming lessons go well...

    (My computer was ultra skitzy this morning so my first entry #8 goes nowhere; #9 seems to be okay. Sorry for the confusion that will cause.)

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  5. Oh that poor little greyhound! And there are so many things about summer that you mentioned that I also love, including dining al fresco, which happens a lot! And mine would be peach pie rather than cobbler. Enjoy this summer week, Joyce, and thanks for the Hodgepodge!

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  6. Summer is the season I appreciate when it ends. I just can't do the heat anymore. I loved summer when I was a kid. We have a couple spots that are great for finding sharks' teeth but I tried to get the girls to leave the shells on the beach for other creatures to use. And then there's the whole we live at the beach so collecting an overabundance was quite easy to do. :) I saw that little video on Facebook a week or so ago. I think it was in reference to teachers and I hope they're all enjoying some relaxing and fun times all summer long. :) I agree with you on the small town shops. I always travel the back roads when if possible and it is heartbreaking to see the small, southern towns. They look like ghost towns. There is one small town about an hour and a half from here that got a grant to bring it back to life. Sadly, it didn't last.

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  7. Amen to small town business. Back in the day, every small charity depended on Mom and Pop. Almost all small businesses would support the local charities. Now, Walmart makes a big deal about each store donating $1,000 a year to one local charity. That is it. The others have to struggle to make ends meet.

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  8. I just bought a big jar to fill up over time with shells that we collect here. Also, Venice is the shark tooth capital, so I need to find some of those too! If I can be bothered to get up from my beach chair and search :-)

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  9. Waiting for a baby to come does seem to be a "snail's pace", but they sure grow up quickly, once they arrive, as you'll soon discover!
    I love your beach pictures...so many shells!!! I've never seen anything to compare to that!
    I'm with ya' on the insect repellent, and it's a MUST if you go outside, here.
    Enjoy the time with your mom, and your old friends, too :)
    Kathy (Reflections)

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  10. Hi Joyce,
    I enjoyed your summer list. How on earth could I have forgotten baseball? ;-) We have plans to go see the Brewers play the Twins in August. I do listen to the Brewers just about every day play on the radio. I love baseball. :-)
    Happy Summer,
    Carla

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  11. Marco Island...I'll have to visit there one day. Sounds like my kind of place. You have a great summer 'to do' list! I'm always up for roasting marshmallows! I can only imagine how time is passing so slowly as you anxiously anticipate the arrival of your grandson. Have a fun and safe trip with your mom!

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  12. Sounds like you have a wonderful summer ahead of you! We don't have mosquitoes unless we go up north, I don't miss them at all. Have a wonderful time with your mom and your friends from church.

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  13. What a great summer list! Life's a holiday at your place and the only thing I could think of to add would be croquet and making homemade ice cream. That was one of our favorites. We had a reunion of our church group a few years ago. It is such fun to catch up with old friends. Enjoy your summer. That little one will be here before you know it.

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  14. You definitely are a summer person! What a hoot to get together with your old youth group. Enjoy your time with your mom. The baby anticipation is worth it. Oh the sweet noises they make when they are so little. Enjoy!

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  15. Your fun posts almost inspired me to love summer, too... but then the mosquito repellent brought me back to earth.... but it sure was great reading. Thanks for posting and as always thanks for this fun meme!!!!

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  16. Oh there's nothing as slow as waiting for the birth of a grand baby! It's getting close! We don't have to use insect repellent living here but we sure need it when we are visiting Melody. And your right...totally DISLIKE that, lol. Enjoy your reunions and visits!

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  17. It's so funny because I've lived in Florida for 26 years and have never been to Marco Island. I'm very surprised because I was actually very close to it too and just never got there. I might have to make a trek down south . . .

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  18. I forgot to add eating an ice cream cone :) I love small shops and the feel they give a town. I shop on Amazon often but love browsing small shops in little towns.

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  19. Well, you made me thing of many things when I saw you list for summer. Guess I didn't put my thinking cap on long enough. :o)) And, I so agree with you about #5, Amazon and big discount stores have killed small towns, ours included. Know you are getting more and more excited about little man's arrival!

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  20. Your summer sound like tons of fun...especially the arrival of the little one...there is nothing to compare! Gorgeous beach with all of those shells...WOW! Have a great trip with Mom and the reunion sounds like a blast...I have reconnected with many of my HS friends...enjoy!

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  21. I'm back for Hodgepodge linking today ... I usually read but can't always blog. I did this week though - and it's good to be back. Great questions and love your pics of the sea shells today!

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  22. My apologies. I saw, after I posted my Hodgepodge answers, that you did include the Caribbean Sea in your shell collecting locations. Have fun at your reunion AND I agree that small businesses in small towns might be obsolete in the not too distant future. That will be a very bad thing.
    Have a great weekend!

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  23. I love your summertime list! Strawberry shortcake is great. I love peach cobbler and roasted marshmallows, too.

    I hope that you have a wonderful time with the "kids" at the reunion and with your mama. :)

    Have a blessed weekend!

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  24. Catching up here and there on all the blogs I've missed while my computer has been "down". I may use this HP for my post tomorrow, since I didn't get to answer these questions!! Cute video!!

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