THANKS For The Hodgepodge

Welcome to our Thanksgiving edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. I'm truly grateful for all who participate here each week and for the friends I've made, both online and in real life, via my little corner of the Internet. 

1. Talking turkey...are you cooking the turkey this year? Does ham belong on a Thanksgiving day menu? When it comes to gravy do you pour it over your whole plate, skip it altogether, or land somewhere in between? Cranberries-homemade or jelled right out of the can? Do you look forward more to the main course, the savory sides, or the desserts? 

*I know there are at least a couple of bloggers who participate here who live outside the US and won't be celebrating Thanksgiving. If that's you feel free to adapt the questions to your December (or any) holiday meal.

I'm not cooking the turkey this year. We'll be celebrating with my daughter and son-in-law, and he'll smoke  the turkey on the grill. He's got skillz. I love ham and am not opposed to having one at Thanksgiving as long as there's also turkey. I've never served ham at Thanksgiving, but my son-in-law's family always has both, so we're having both this year too. 

 As far as gravy goes, I'm not a huge gravy/sauce person. I like to keep it light. I like gravy on my turkey and maybe just a tiny bit on the dressing but my plate definitely won't be swimming in it. I like both homemade and straight out of the can cranberry sauce and we'll have both this year. I definitely look most forward to the savory sides, with dressing being my fave. 

2. Holiday movies...tell us your favorite and what it is about the film that makes you love it. Is it the film itself or a memory it stirs? 

White Christmas. Partly because I love the story and the music and especially the dresses (swoon!), but also because my girls used to love to recreate the Sisters song whenever we watched, and that's a sweet memory. Daughter1 might have even sung the first line of that song in the toast she made for Daughter2's wedding. Pass the tissues please. 

3. A favorite way to give back and help others? 

I volunteer in a local soup kitchen every week and I really enjoy that. We make a hot lunch and I enjoy the team I work with and interacting with the folks who come in. It's generally the same crowd so you get to know some of them a little bit. It's not my reason for doing this, but one of the effects this weekly task brings is the way it shifts my perspective about so many things in my own life. 

Besides the soup kitchen we support several organizations with our dollars and our prayers too. Samaritans Purse, World Vision, Compassion, Young Life, and St. Judes. I also like to donate the cost of an ultrasound to pregnant moms considering abortion. Seeing and hearing their baby's heartbeat is often a game changer. 

4. Name a place or setting you encountered this month that made you feel grateful. 

We had friends visit a couple of weeks ago and the Saturday weather was sheer perfection. The sky was a brilliant blue and we were outside most of the day. 

There's something about a beautiful sunshiny blue sky day that stirs my soul. Beauty in the great outdoors stirs up feelings of gratitude for me. 

5. Knowing what you know today, if you could redo yesterday what would you do differently? 

I'm answering these on Tuesday so yesterday was Monday. Would I do anything different? Yes, and I'm just gonna leave it at that. 

6. Spill your own random thought here. 

Let the games begin...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

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Bucket List Check Up Check In

If you're here looking for the Hodgepodge questions you'll find them one post back. 

Just before my mid-September birthday I made a fall-ish bucket list. I gave myself an end date of November 21st so it's time to check in and see what I did and didn't do. 

1. I was a teensy bit ambitious thinking I'd host an actual party in the new space. I forgot we didn't have furniture, but oh well. I did host some of my family for a BBQ-regular burgers as opposed to smashburgers, but there was some Cornhole played so calling it a win. We set up a folding table and made do, and that's fun too. 

2. Decorate for fall. I didn't go all out but there were pumpkins on the porch, fall colors on the mantles, and autumn spice candles burned throughout so yes. Done.

3. Vote. Yep. 

4. Visit a state new to me. We spent a long weekend in Minnesota for a friend's daughter's wedding, which was my first time in the North Star State. We were in Minneapolis and had a great time. Check. 

5. Attend a football game. Sadly no. We wanted to go to a big game and were invited to two different Clemson games by some neighbors, but neither date worked with our travel schedule. We like to get to at least one VOL game each season, but that didn't happen this year either. We watched and sweated and paced and wrung our hands and cheered a lot via the TV, but no in person games this fall. 

6. Make a new fall recipe from a cookbook I own. Question-what constitutes a fall recipe? I'm going to put a checkmark beside this one because I did pull out several cookbooks and ended up making. a recipe I hadn't tried before. 

It's from Amy Hannon's Love, Welcome, Serve: Recipes That Gather And Give cookbook, and I made her chili and brown sugar pork chops with pan gravy. I don't have a picture because it wasn't exactly picture worthy, but hubs and I both agreed it was delicious. This kind of comfort food says fall to me. 

7. Pay for a soldier or veterans meal. I didn't get to do this, but am still on the lookout for the opportunity. I did thank several veterans we encountered as we waited in line to vote, and I try to always do that when I see the hat or jacket on someone. 

8. Shop for outdoor furniture. Yes times ten. We shopped and we bought and we're excited to see it all in place, probably sometime in February. 

9. Leaf peep and lunch in the nearby mountain town. Hubs and I drove up to the nearby mountain town of Highlands NC in late October on a beautiful Friday afternoon. We enjoyed the autumn colors, browsing the shops, and lunch at Wild Thyme Gourmet.  

10. Make a Christmas list and buy at least four gifts. Check. Actually check check because I managed to purchase more than four. 

11. Hike a trail new to me. Hmmm...we did quite a few 'walks' that were new to us when we were in the UK. I wouldn't call them hikes, but we were out in the countryside so I guess it might count? 

We haven't hiked any new to us trails at home. Helene made hiking a bit of a challenge in our area this fall, with many trails blocked or deemed unsafe due to fallen/falling trees and water hazards. We'll get back to it though. 

12. Attend a fall fair. Does Oktoberfest count? I'm going to say yes, because it was a fair, it was fall, and vendors were present. 

13. Memorize a Bible Verse- "The Lord Almighty has sworn, "Surely as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen." Isaiah 14:24 

I wanted a verse to remind me during the contentious election cycle that God knows the end from the beginning. 

14. Sort out the guest room windows. I found what I want but haven't pulled the trigger yet. We've been consumed by the outdoor project this fall and this little project won't be super cheap so it's on hold until the new year. My response whenever hubs says he wants to buy something...anything...could be a new toothbrush or could be a new car is 'we got a waterfall'. 

15. Book a summer beach house. Not yet. My daughter asked me about it recently and we agreed to chat about dates when we're together for Thanksgiving. 

16. S'mores in the firepit. Nope. We intended to do this one weekend then got busy doing other things. We might still make this happen sometime before year's end. 

17. Write ten gratitude cards to people I'm grateful for. Check. I bought a package of Thanksgiving cards and sent them with a handwritten note to ten different friends/family members. It felt good to put into words what they mean to me. 

18. Visit a pumpkin patch. I bought pumpkins from the big bin at the grocery store but we never made it to an actual pumpkin patch. There's always next year. 

This was fun. I managed to complete 11/18 tasks and I'm okay with that. I probably should have revisited the list more often than I did to refresh my memory about what I'd written, and will do that next time. I'm going to make some sort of winter list to start after the calendar flips to the new year. Who's with me? 

linking this post today with Talking About It Tuesdays

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 579

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Guess what our theme is? Answer the questions on your own blog, then waddle back here tomorrow to add your link 'to the table'. See you there!

1. Talking turkey...are you cooking the turkey this year? Does ham belong on a Thanksgiving day menu? When it comes to gravy do you pour it over your whole plate, skip it altogether, or land somewhere in between? Cranberries-homemade or jelled right out of the can? Do you look forward more to the main course, the savory sides, or the desserts? 

I know there are at least a couple of bloggers who participate here who live outside the US and won't be celebrating Thanksgiving. If that's you feel free to adapt this question to your December (or any) holiday meal.

2. Holiday movies...tell us your favorite and what it is about the film that makes you love it. Is it the film itself or a memory it stirs? 

3. A favorite way to give back and help others? 

4. Name a place or setting you encountered this month that made you feel grateful. 

5. Knowing what you know today, if you could redo yesterday what would you do differently? 

6. Spill your own random thought here. 

Monday Morning Gratitude

Hello Monday and all who read here. How was your weekend? Ours was nice and when I look at our December calendar I'm grateful for some less busy dates now. Linking today as usual with Holly and Sarah for their weekend recap postings. 

Thursday night we attended our third wine dinner in as many weeks. That is not the norm, but somehow November was event-ful. Literally. 

Thursday's dinner had a French theme and the food was wonderful. From the starter featuring quiche lorraine with black pepper puff pastry and a charred lemon hollandaise to it's conclusion, which was a chocolate eclair with Bavarian cream, dark chocolate, and whipped cream, it was all so good. 

It wouldn't be fall without my daily snapping of the sunrise. Autumn skies are some of the prettiest. 

Did I tell you that in last week's Hello Monday post? And the one before that too? Probably. I can't help myself. Nothing reminds me to feel grateful for a brand new day like a pinky pink sunrise sky. 

Friday evening our tiny town had a sip and stroll type of event with a few shops staying open later than they normally do and the downtown lights showing off.

We might live in a small town but they do Christmas lights right. There are a million (for real) and it's all set to music. You can walk through or tune your car radio to a particular station and hear the carols played. The big tree will be lit the week after Thanksgiving, and there are stalls where you can make s'mores on fire tables sitting in the street. It's a fun month to be downtown. 

Hubs and I went Friday night to check out the shops. I bought a Christmas gift and we walked through the tunnel of lights. I recommend. Really helps amp up your Christmas spirit. 

Look who we ran into...

After we walked and shopped we went to a local sushi place for dinner. We sat at the bar and relaxed. So enjoyable. 

Saturday hubs did yard work and I did housework and sorted out a few Christmas details that needed sorting. Our next door neighbors came for dinner and we made Smashburgers on the griddle which were delish. I made a caramel apple cake for dessert but forgot to take a photo of the finished product, which is pretty much par for the course here. This is just before it went into the oven. 

When it's baked you drizzle a little more caramel over the top, then add a dollop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. 

We love our next door neighbors and we have lots of the same friends and end up at a lot of the same events. Still we try to pencil in dinner or a glass of wine now and then, to really catch up on things. We're busy and all of our friends are the same. I don't know what I imagined this season would look like but I definitely imagined more of less lol. 

We have some friends who want to get us together with another couple for dinner and between everyone's travel schedules and already booked events and family commitments we've settled on a date in late February. Huh? My kids laugh because they know if they want us to stay with the grands while they travel they need to book early. 

Sunday hubs needed to preview some real estate properties and I went with him to weigh in since I also know the client well. More about that in another post. I'm looking forward this week to time with family, my favorite meal, and counting my blessings. 

p.s.-sunset skies are pretty great too. 

Monthly Musings-November

I'm participating today in the Monthly Musings link up, hosted by Holly (Pink Lady Blog) and Patty (Good, Better, Best) on the last Thursday of every month. We're sharing our musings one week earlier this time around because next week is THANKSGIVING. 

Does anyone else feel as though we're roaring like a freight train towards 2025? Thanksgiving is my favorite and I look forward to savoring Autumn's last hurrah. 

Any holiday parties on tap? 

Always. We do love a party, and although we're not hosting any in December we will be attending several.  I look forward to sparkly clothes, bubbly drinks, and twinkling lights. 

We have both a wine dinner and our neighborhood party the first week of December. We have a Santa Pub Crawl set up with a big group of friends the second week in December (always a blast!), and we have friends hosting a party in their home the third week in December. Par-tay! 

This was the pub crawl group photo from two years ago. We missed last year as hubs was under the weather, but we're looking forward to this year's fun. 

Best holiday prep advice? 

In the age of internet everything it's easy to get caught up thinking we have to do x or y when really there are no rules. We can also feel pressure (from others, but oftentimes from our very own selves) to keep things the same year after year, but if you find a tradition no longer brings you (or your family) joy it's okay to let it go.  Enjoy the people in your very own house. Leave space in your day, in your calendar for a cup of tea beside the tree. Don't let the reason for the season get lost in the busy-ness of making your home/tree/table look or feel perfect (psst-there's no such thing as perfect).  

Here's what I like to remember when December rolls around: 

The first Christmas was simple and mine can be too. 

3. Share a holiday recipe that's a crowd pleaser. 

This jalapeno cranberry dip is scrumptious, always a hit, and easy to put together. I thought I had a picture but have spent a ridiculous amount of time scrolling through old blog posts tagged Christmas with no luck. There is a photo in the recipe link. 

4. What holidays do you celebrate in November and December? 

Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and of course bidding adieu at the stroke of midnight to the year that was. 

5. Favorite beverage? Alcohol or alcohol free. 

Champagne of course. 

6. What part of holiday prep is a total struggle for you? 

I wouldn't call it a struggle necessarily, but wrapping is probably my least favorite holiday task. I do love to buy all the pretty paper, ribbons, tags, and embellishments, but actually doing the cut and tape part is just eh. 

7. Go-to holiday party outfit?

Well I mentioned in a recent Wednesday Hodgepodge that I love my sparkly pants. I'll post it again in case you're like me and too lazy busy to click over lol. 

I have a black velvet dress I might wear if there's a call for fancy-ish, the sleeves are sheer. This was taken at a holiday party last year-

I also have a black velvet top with a big black satin bow at the bottom where it sits on the hip that I really love. And a black velvet jumpsuit. Hmmm. I guess I like black velvet for holiday happenings.  

8. Do you send out holiday cards? 

Yes. Sending and receiving Christmas cards (or new year's or whenever people want to send them) is one of my favorite things. We've moved a lot and have friends scattered far and wide so I really enjoy touching base at the holidays. If there's a photo, even better. 

This was last year's card. Some years feature the grands, some years it's just me and the hubs. It depends mostly on what logistics are like in any given year, and I think you know this year they've been a little challenging. I'm already planning on a big family photo next year, once my oldest daughter and her family are living back stateside. 

9. Black Friday shopper? Yes or heck no? 

Heck no. I mean I'm not opposed to popping inside a shop or two if we're out and about, but I don't get up early or make a special effort and I never have. I'm more of a Cyber Monday shopper these days. 

10. Do you listen to holiday music before or after Thanksgiving? 

Typically after, but I'm not opposed to people who want to get a jump start on their Christmas spirit. We haven't played Christmas music in our house yet and won't until we get past turkey day. 

Well this was fun. Feel free to play along. Merry Thanksgiving everyone! 

Hodgepodge Favorites

Welcome to another week in The Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Here we go-

1. What was your favorite part about growing up in your hometown? 

Without a doubt it would be the neighborhood. We walked to school, rode our bikes with abandon, chased fireflies and played big games of tag and kick the can with all ages teaming up together. We knew our neighbors and there was a strong sense of community. Family. Friends. Fun. And the freedom to figure out life and our place in it.

As I was answering this question I remembered writing a post in my early days of blogging on this very topic. You'll find it here-My Very Own Wonder Years. 

"There was a time when the world was enormous...Spanning the vast, almost infinite boundaries of your neighborhood. The place where you grew up. Where you didn't think twice about playing on someone else's lawn. And the street was your territory that occasionally got invaded by a passing car. It was where you didn't get called home until after it was dark. And all the people, and all the houses that surrounded you were as familiar as the things in your own room. And you knew they would never change."

Kevin Arnold, The Wonder Years

2. Do you prefer 'material' gifts or 'experience' gifts? If you answered experience, tell us about one you've received and enjoyed. 

Here's how I feel about gifts...when I receive a gift I want it to say 'I thought of you'. Or 'I remember once you said you loved x and I saw x so I got it for you'. 

Some of my favorite material gifts are small inexpensive things that in some way suggest the giver has taken the time to really think about me before they just go out and buy something for the sake of buying something. It could be a hedgehog apron or a weekend in NYC. They're of equal value in my mind because they show intent and thought and planning...my favorite kinds of gifts. 

My hubs has planned two birthday getaways with an element of surprise and both showed a lot of forethought and planning. To me that was the best part of the whole thing. 

3. Is brown a color featured prominently in your home decor? Your wardrobe? What's one brown thing you own and love? Of the brown foods listed here which one is your favorite and/or most often consumed.. brown sugar, brown rice, pretzels, coffee, dates, cloves, German chocolate cake, whole wheat bread?

Is it featured prominently in my home? I guess you could say that. I like real wood and we have a lot of it in the form of beams, furniture, and wainscoting. Our wood leans toward the darker hues, which to me make a house feel warm and cozy.  The dark tones need to be balanced with light coming in somewhere, but for the most part I love the dark woods. 

Off the top of my head I don't think I have a lot of brown in my wardrobe. I do have a pair of heels I love and some brown boots, but in terms of tops, dresses etc no brown. 

I like all the foods listed, but if I have to pick a favorite I'm going to say pretzels. I always have pretzels in the house. 

My favorite brown thing I own and love? 

The little brown dog of course. 

Always livin' large. Remember his money shot-

Except there was no money lol. He did get his ten minutes of fame and was a happy distraction for over 91,000 voters during that very strange season we dubbed 'the pandemic'.  

4. Which 'Charlie Brown' character do you relate to most? If you're not sure, you can take a fun quick quiz by clicking here-Which Charlie Brown Character Are You?  or another one here-Charlie Brown Quiz. I got the same answer on both. 

I could have answered this without the quiz-Charlie Brown. 

Chuck is an ambivert and so am I. As the quiz describes...both introverted and extroverted depending on your mood or the situation (true). You're gentle and lovable (I hope so), determined (some might say stubborn) and hopeful (an eternal optimist). You mean well and care deeply about your friends (yes). When it comes to failure, you stay optimistic (of course), press on, and cheer for your friends to keep on going (keep going friends!)

 5. Favorite item you've purchased this year? 

I feel like I've made a lot of purchases this year, both large and small. We recently bought a slew of new outdoor furniture, two outdoor rugs, and a couch for the lower level family room so declaring that my favorite. Technically it's not going to be delivered until sometime in the new year, but since the deposit hit the credit card in this calendar year it counts. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

How about some random cuteness? Time is a-flyin' and I never posted any pics from our quick 24-hour visit with the Tennessee grands, which happened a whole week and three days ago. I meant to, but somehow I seem to always be a few steps behind here.

Sugar with her double ear infection and sweet baby J wanting to bust loose, but we powered through and snapped a photo. They're the sweetest-

Happy Wednesday Hodgepodgers! 

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Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 578

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here tomorrow to share your answers. See you there! 

1. What was your favorite part about growing up in your hometown? 

2. Do you prefer 'material' gifts or 'experience' gifts? If you answered experience, tell us about one you've received and truly enjoyed. 

3. Is brown a color featured prominently in your home decor? Your wardrobe? What's a favorite brown thing you own? Of the brown foods listed here which one is your favorite and/or most often consumed... brown sugar, brown rice, pretzels, coffee, dates, cloves, German chocolate cake, whole wheat bread?

4. Which 'Charlie Brown' character do you relate to most? If you're not sure, you can take a fun quick quiz by clicking here-Which Charlie Brown Character Are You?  or the one found here-Charlie Brown Quiz. I got the same answer on both. 

5. What's a favorite item you've purchased this year? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

The Weekend

Good Monday morning everyone. We had a nice weekend and I hope you did too. The weather on Saturday was A++, and I'd like more of it please.

Joining Holly and Sarah today for their regular Monday morning catch up. Here's mine-

Thursday was a full day. Hubs had an appointment at the dermatologist in the nearby city and I went with him so we could meet the designer at the outdoor furniture store soon after. We had lunch in between and agreed we'd play it cool when the designer showed us the plan. 

Note to file-I am not good at playing it cool. Hubs doesn't like to car shop with me because I ooh and ahh instead of acting like they're crazy for asking us to pay what they are asking us to pay and I guess the same concept could be applied here. 

We absolutely loved the plan the designer created for our outdoor space, which somehow includes a new sofa for the pool table room inside, but whatever. The designer is all about flow and having the indoor space draw you gently toward the outdoor space, hence the new sofa. 

The sofa we have in that room currently is probably 25 years old. It was very well made and has held up extremely well, is neutral in color, and has moved with us here there and everywhere. Time to retire. 

Anyway, back to the design plan. Not gonna lie, it's a lot, but then the space is a lot and it needs furniture.  I know us, and while we could fill the space two or three pieces at a time over the course of two or three seasons, we decided to just bite the bullet and get it the way we want it now. 

Actually not now, but sometime early in the new year because some of the pieces are made to order. We've had our current teak furniture for 20 years and are so ready for a change. I'm excited to see it all in place. 

Hubs and I ended up in Barnes and Noble for a quick minute and I had my first and most likely only Peppermint Mocha of the season. 

I don't normally do flavored coffee drinks, but it sounded good and I was cold. Also, I haven't been in an actual Barnes and Noble all year and I forgot how much I love this store. 

Friday we had friends coming for the weekend so we spent the morning getting ready. Hubs vacuumed and I baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I dusted and he blew leaves off the porches and then a neighbor dropped by with a bag of key limes from their tree and to check out the outdoor project, and then company pulled in. 

Not really company as these are college friends who knew us before we were us. Their daughter just got married and we'd made plans to have a lake weekend sometime after to decompress. I know when my girls got married I enjoyed talking details after the fact with friends. 

We went out for Mexican food Friday night, then came home and played cards for a long while. We played the game called Swoop. Do you know it? Really fun. 

Saturday morning we had a leisurely breakfast then sat out by the waterfall for a bit. The weather on Saturday was absolutely glorious. Bright blue skies and gentle fall temperatures. 

We wanted to be out in it so early afternoon we drove up to a nearby winery we'd never been to before. We made a stop on the way to take in beautiful Table Rock Mountain. 

Table Rock is an open rock face that overlooks the Blue Ridge region, and it's a significant Cherokee landmark. Hubs and I have hiked to the top and let me tell you that hike is not for sissies. The Cherokee believed when their god had a feast this was his table. It's a really interesting spot. 

The winery we visited is under new management and we enjoyed sitting on the patio, listening to some live music, and a flight of wines. We gabbed the whole time because when you've been friends for almost 45 years you never run out of things to talk about. 

Time is fleeting and precious. Love your people. 

We got back to the house late afternoon and watched some football, relaxed, some of us might have even napped, and then hubs grilled steaks for dinner. We picked our first two lemons from our lemon tree and I made a lemon vinaigrette using one for our salad. 

It's the little things, right? 

We played more cards as we watched our favorite Tennessee Volunteers lose to Georgia. Oh so sad, but that's how it goes sometimes. Our friends headed for home mid-morning Sunday and hubs and I piddled around putting stuff away, we watched more football, I got my Christmas card sorted and ordered a couple of gifts, then tried to catch up on my blog.

So what fun things did you do this weekend?

Appreciating The Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Thanks for joining the fun here on Wednesdays. Here we go-

1. What's something you think is under appreciated. Explain.  

Gentleness. The world is harsh. It often seems like everyone is shouting and nobody is listening.  When I encounter someone who speaks gently, who is able to make their point without name calling, swearing, or belittling another I find myself wishing there was more of it. 

2. As winter approaches how do you stay productive? 

Hmmm...am I productive in the winter months? We're more like bears who hibernate in order to conserve energy to be used later. We go mach ten here three quarters of the year so I actually view doing less as being productive in it's own way. Winter is a time to hunker down, catch up on some of the longer books on my to-read list, rest, and make plans. 

3. What's a popular food you don't like? 

I'm not a big fan of quinoa. Or kale. I'll eat both but they're not something I choose to cook/eat at home. I like brown rice, couscous, and chickpeas all of which are good substitutions for quinoa in many dishes. And while I don't care for kale I do love spinach so why eat kale? 

That being said,  I'm not a picky eater at all so if I come to your house for dinner and you serve me quinoa with a side of kale I'll eat both. 

4. What do you think is more interesting-art or history? Elaborate. 

I enjoy both I guess for different reasons. Art is so often a reflection of the times in which it's made so in a sense we need art to help us understand history. If I have to choose I'd say I don't want to live in a world without art, but I find history more interesting. 

5. What advice would you give to someone half your age?

Develop a habit of daily prayer. One sentence or whole pages. 

Start a simple stretching or exercise routine. 

Wear sunscreen.

Think for yourself. 

Cultivate a grateful heart. 

Read more, scroll less. 

Print your pictures. 

Write it down. A single sentence about your day or big thoughts about your life. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

42 days until Christmas...how's that for random? 

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Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 577

Another week, another set of Hodgepodge questions. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here tomorrow to add your link to the party. See you there! 

1. What's something you think is under appreciated. Explain.  

2. As winter approaches how do you stay productive? 

3. What's a popular food you don't like? 

4. What do you think is more interesting-art or history? Elaborate. 

5. What advice would you give to someone half your age? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Monday Morning Musings

Before we get to our weekend recap I want to say a heart felt thank you to all of the men and women who've served this land I love in some branch of the armed services. I have so much respect and admiration for those who take this path and for the many sacrifices they make. Their families too. My dad was a career marine and my son-in-law was in the Army, and I'm both proud and grateful today for their service. 

Linking this post with Holly and Sarah and their Hello Monday party happening today-

Our weekend kicked off with a trip to the lawyer's office Friday morning. Hubs and I had some financial stuff we needed to deal with and we finally made ourselves book an appointment. Who else loathes talking about anything related to taxes, wills, estate planning, and such? 

We had new wills made about fifteen years ago, but our girls were in college then, and we lived in another state, and so much has changed that it just made sense to update. We also spent some time figuring out if we need a trust or don't need a trust, or if you're me, what even is a trust? 

These are the sorts of things I want someone else to figure out and then just tell me where to sign, but I adult-ed like an adult and we got it done. We spent an hour and a half with the lawyer and he did let me know he won't charge us for the twenty minute sidebar he and hubs had discussing their mutual love of bourbon. We got home just in time for hubs to meet a tree guy about a big tree (sob) that needs to come out. 

The fun never ends 'round here. 

Friday afternoon I baked a batch of mini cupcakes to take to an evening event. I did minis because I feel like a sweet bite as opposed to a whole cupcake is what most people want at something like our once a month Friday evening socials. In November the organizers always recognize and honor any Veterans and active duty military in the neighborhood which I love to see. 

These are banana cupcakes with a peanut butter frosting and I used this recipe- Peanut Butter Banana Cupcakes. The icing is fabulous, so light, and I think would be really good on a chocolate cake or cupcake too. I had a big bottle of fall sprinkles so why not

Saturday morning hubs went to our quarterly HOA meeting and I went grocery shopping.  Like I said...it was a weekend chock a block full of excitement. Have you seen this in your market? 

I know pickle juice is supposed to be good for you and we always put some in our Bloody Marys, but that might not be what they mean when they say it's good for you -ha! It's also good for leg cramps, electrolyte replenishment, and your gut, but this is quite the jug isn't it? I can't imagine how long it would take me to consume all of that. 

I don't like grocery shopping on the weekend, but since I didn't do my pre-weekend shop I had no choice. Also, I wore shorts. The weather has been so warm it's hard to know how to dress. 

We've been walking most days, and while it doesn't feel like summer it's warm for fall. My basil plant is happy though, and still going strong, so Saturday afternoon I snipped a bunch and made pesto to use on Sunday. We watched a lot of college football and hubs and I went out for Thai food Saturday night. 

Daughter2 and her hubs and kiddos had been at my son-in-law's university homecoming all weekend long, and we were sort of on their way home so they made us an overnight stop. I hadn't seen these grands in two months and was so happy to have some in person time together. 

I might come back and add pictures to this post later, but they arrived close to dinner time Sunday, and Sugar was not feeling her best. Big brother made a beeline for the toy box and then we ate and did baths  and I kind of forgot about taking any pictures. 

Daughter2 and I have been baking along with The Great British Bakeoff this season and had this crazy idea we'd be able to do the week 4 bake (caramel) while we were together. No way that was happening Sunday night. 

We might try to add this one in at the end or somewhere in the middle when a bake pops up that we're unable to complete for our own 'technical' reasons. We make the rules and we say it's okay. 

We didn't do a lot but somehow the weekend flew right on by. And I love waking up to Monday morning coffee with a daughter in the house. 

Have a great week everyone!