FORE! It's 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. Here we go-

1. August is National Golf month...do you play? Do you enjoy following golf? Have you ever been to a professional tournament? 

I do not play golf, but I enjoy following golf. Not in an over the top way, but I have my favorite players. Golf is huge where I live and lots of my friends play. It seems like a commitment, and it already feels like I don't have as much time as I'd like for my current hobbies, so have resisted joining in this one. 

I enter the lottery for Augusta tickets, but so far we haven't won. Hubs and I went to the Barclays when we lived in NJ one year. 

His company had a booth there and if you worked a shift you got in to the tournament. 

Our shift was first thing early morning and only lasted an hour so we had the full day to watch players. It was a lot of  fun. 

Also I like golf clothes. Does that count? 

2. Astronaut Jim Lovell of Apollo 13 fame passed away this past Thursday. Are you interested in outer space and what's happening today in terms of space exploration? If space travel became common in your lifetime would you go? How do you personally relate to the idea of exploring something vast and mysterious...does the idea excite you, intimidate you, or something else? 

I'm interested in space, and my hubs is super interested. He often shares with me things he's reading relating to space, and I also follow a couple of space related sites on social media. 

I won't be venturing in to space, but that has more to do with my propensity for motion sickness than a lack of interest or fear of the unknown. 

3. Describe your communication style in three words. 

Too many words. 

4. Do you have a favorite cookbook? A favorite celebrity chef? Do you watch any cooking shows on TV? 

I know you can get any recipe you need or want online now, but I still love cookbooks. There's something so aesthetically pleasing to me about a hold-in-your-hand cookbook. I have a few favorites depending on what I'm making, and I know which book has my squash casserole recipe, which one has my favorite peanut butter cookie , which one has the stuffed peppers we like, and so on. 

I go to my Joy of Cooking book often, and have several Junior League cookbooks from around the south that have recipes I love in them. I have quite a few cookbooks that are lovely but probably not well known. I like Nigellas cookbooks and own a couple of hers, and I own some of the Pioneer Woman cookbooks too. 

Some of my favorite well known chefs are Bobby Flay, Ina Garten, and Geoffrey Zakarian. And while he's maybe better known as an actor I love following Stanley Tucci too. He has some wonderful recipes! 

My daughter2 and I always watch The Great British Baking Show Together when new seasons roll around. I like The Kitchen and the chefs there. 

5. As a child did you have any back to school traditions? If so, did you carry on those same traditions with your own children? Do you have any back to school traditions you've started on your own? 

The only real tradition I remember from my own childhood would be buying new back to school clothes and shoes. We didn't do a first day photo that I can recall. I do have my 'school pictures' that were taken at school sometime during each year. 

My girls definitely got new clothes prior to a new school year. Then they'd have a little fashion show for dad. I took a front porch first day of school photo most years. 

Those back packs don't look heavy at all. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

When hubs and I were leaving Harbour Town to go back to our airbnb in Palmetto Dunes on Thursday night I spied something pink out of the corner of my eye. I told hubs I thought it might be a Roseate spoonbill. 

Now I know that sounds like a true old lady thing to say, but y'all they are such beautiful birds and I've never seen one up close. I don't care if I sound like a Progressive commercial, these birds are unusual and so pretty.  

Also, we've always loved seeing birds in the wild. That's not something that happened once we hit a certain age. Yes hubs turned the car around for me so I could see for myself,  and there they were-

Their beaks look like spoons. 

Your fun fact for today. Have a nice week everyone! 

A Summer's Tale

I mentioned in yesterday's post that there was one anecdote from our week in Hilton Head I wanted to share separately. But first, the back story. 

Because there always is one on From This Side Of The Pond. 

Also, it's not as much fun if I just get straight to it, so let's roll back time to the 1990's. 

Remember the 90's? 

Thirty years ago but whatever. Hubs started working in 1985 for the company he then stayed with for thirty years. The company's headquarters were in Northern New Jersey and we lived there two different times during his career. He started as a rep in Richmond, but we moved not too long after (1989 to be exact) to the main office in NJ. As hubs says, those were some of the most fun years of his work life and this was mostly due to his colleagues. 

Colleagues who became friends. 

New Jersey geography is funny. It's a tiny state but there are many many towns squished side by each and lots of traffic. Lots. Hubs office at that time was situated almost in NYC. Not quite, but close enough you had to get into all the Lincoln Tunnel traffic just to get to work. 

I know young adults today talk a lot about how they can't afford to buy a house, but let me just tell you in 1989, five years married, working good jobs, and we bought a house with no air conditioning, a one car garage, an hour+ commute in some of the world's worst traffic, and a mortgage interest rate of more than 12%. 

Hey, the 90's wasn't all neon windbreakers, beanie babies, and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. 

I'm not saying it's not tough out there today, but our expectations for the kind of house we'd live in were pretty small. 

Anyway, what does all this have to do with Hilton Head in 2025? 

I'm getting there. This post is 90% a trip down memory lane and 10% present day. Back to the 90's. Work friends lived in various towns all around the office town. Nobody lived in office town, and very few lived in the same town as any other but that didn't stop us from socializing together. We thought nothing of driving 45 minutes to have dinner or go to a party at someone's house on weekends. 

We were all young (ish) and most of us were raising children and trying to get ahead, but also loving life and sharing life and encouraging each other in whatever way we could. It's a mega ginormous beast of a company today, but back then it still felt a bit like family. 

After five years in  New Jersey (that first stint) we moved to Maryland, still with the same company, and other friends moved around too. Some we kept in contact with for decades, are still in contact with today. Some have visited the lake and some were in our lives for just a season. When we think back on those friendships, those early hard years of working like crazy and raising children, we think of them with tenderness. 

Okay, back to 2025. Finally. We had plans to go into Harbour Town on Thursday evening, but the kids were worn out and decided they wanted to stay home and order pizza, so hubs and I were on our own.

We walked around for a bit and had a drink at the Quarterdeck's Umbrella Bar in the marina there. 

Charcoal roasted oysters and spicy strawberry margarita with a view. 

We shopped a little then decided to grab dinner at The Crazy Crab. So cute! It's exactly what you think of when you think of a beachside restaurant with it's nautical decor, fishing nets, that sort of thing. 

We'd ordered our food when we noticed a family being seated at the table beside ours. There was a mom with her three small children and what we guessed were the grandparents. As they were seated hubs said,  'that guy looks just like Dan C'.  So I looked more closely at his wife and said, 'you know I'm pretty sure that IS Dan C.' 

Dan C. and his wife are some of those 90's work friends I mentioned above. Friends we haven't seen since the 90's. 

So hubs said, 'Dan?' and the guy immediately turned his head and then he did a triple take before giving hubs a big hug. Their daughter was born about a month after my youngest, and now here she is with her three kids, and we're all grandparents trying to cram thirty years of catching up into an aisle conversation at a Hilton Head restaurant. 

We exchanged new contact info and since they live in HHI now, and also want to come our direction sometime, we hope to make another get together happen. 

I'm a sucker for a small world story. Hubs and I marveled at the odds of this happening and they're miniscule. We've had a few in our lifetime and they always make me feel grateful. I guess some would call it coincidence, some say serendipity. I say it's just one of the many ways God shows us He's got this whole big-little world in His hands. 

Linking today with Joanne at Talking About It Tuesdays 

About Last Week

Good Monday morning friends. Trying to get back in the groove here after a week away so lots to catch up on both in real life and in blog life. Grab your coffee because I'm going to jam a week's worth of activity into a single post. It's my niche. 

Actually I have one more related anecdote to share in it's own post so there will be a p.s. tomorrow. 

Linking with Holly and Sarah and their Hello Monday hop, and also with Kym and her most recent Everyday Image photo prompts, which this time around are -at home, station, selfie, beginning and/or end, pebbles, and scenery. 

Let's get to it...

We live on a lake so typically stick close to home in the summer months. We haven't taken a whole family vacation since my oldest daughter got married, so this year we decided to get the entire gang together and head to the beach. 

We chose Hilton Head because a.- it's beautiful and b- it's a reasonable drive from here. Daughter1's hubs couldn't stay the whole week due to his work commitments so we wanted to make the location somewhat convenient for him. 

~scenery~

Hilton Head is beautiful. It's lush and makes you feel like you've escaped somewhere tropical.  The whole island is very well planned and signage is low, so you're not looking at billboards every few yards. 

~scenery~

The landscape features beautifully manicured lawns and golf courses, soaring Palmettos, threadlike Spanish moss dripping from the trees...

...and beach grasses growing along sandy dunes. 

~scenery~

We rented a house through Airbnb and it worked out well. It was situated near the front end of the Palmetto Dunes section of HHI and the location was perfect. 

~at home~...for the week anyway

The property backed up to the lagoon,  home to so much beautiful and interesting wildlife including huge chatty osprey, blue heron...

...or the grandpa birds as my grands call them, and something called snake birds. If you've never seen one they're wild. They look like a snake as they come out of the water, but then when you see the body you relax because you realize its a bird and not a snake.  

Of course there was the neighborhood alligator present too, because no trip to the island is complete without one. 

The house had a little dock perched over the lagoon and it was not designed with little people in mind. 

I think they left one section open to pull kayaks in and out, but we kept a tight grip on the kids eager to watch the gator. 

The pool was a big hit...

The house had three suites on the lower level and two bedrooms upstairs, one with bunks, for the kids. There was a big table for dining and we ate most of our meals in because dining out with five under the age of 8 is not an every night kind of thing. I'm sure I don't need to explain lol. 

We all drove separately and hubs and I took our time getting there. We took the back roads because I-95 is one of the worst roads in America and we love small town USA. My favorite thing about a road trip is seeing something new, especially if it's historic. A sampling of my google history from the drive shows the following-

Gold mines in South Carolina, Redcliff Plantation, images of purple sage (relating to our audio book), egrets vs. herons (all egrets are herons but not all herons are egrets), the Long Cane Massacre grave, does Spanish moss kill trees-the answer is no, and what is a Barbados nut plant

There's more but you get the idea. It was a nice ride and there was zero traffic. We stopped for lunch in Bluffton, about thirty minutes before reaching HH, a casual spot that had the most delicious blackened mahi taco-

So good, and they came with a warning-ha! 

As we got nearer the ocean I could just feel the tension leave my body. Salt air does that. 

Initially when we saw the forecast for the week we were a little nervous. There was a lot of rain predicted and while we did have some rain it was mostly overnight and we had beach time every day. We had rain one afternoon just as we got back home, but mostly the cloud coverage and breeze made it really pleasant for sitting, especially with small children. Daughter2 brought a tent with her but they only set it up a couple of days.  The sun shone but the clouds kept it from being too much. 

This is where I planted myself pretty much on the daily-

                ~my station~

We arrived Saturday afternoon, unloaded and set up house, then grabbed dinner at a beachside spot in Palmetto Dunes. The weather was threatening but didn't let loose until we were back home. 

We typically spent mornings at the beach, and half of us packed lunch and stayed into the early afternoon. Daughter2 and her crew went back to the house for lunch so they could settle Sugar for an afternoon nap. Our house was about a quarter mile from the beach so a super easy walk on a wide paved trail designed for both walkers and cyclists.  

I didn't walk. I drove, and actually hubs drove me because I'm still nursing my ankle. I wore the boot off and on and kept it wrapped while on the beach. I didn't do any swimming which was a little bit sad because I love to be out in the waves, but that didn't seem sensible right now. Hubs and I did take a couple of short walks. The sand was flat and packed and the beach is wide, so really nice for walking. 

Everybody thought so...

Daughter2 and her family also drove to the beach because the amount of gear with kids this age is a lot.

Daughter1 pulled a wagon loaded to overflowing with sand toys, boogie boards, a beach bag and her little miss, and then the two oldest boys rode their bikes. What a treat to ride a bike on the beach! 

The first few days we were there hubs also hauled his surf rod and assorted fishing gear down to the ocean to see what he could catch. Not a lot, but he and the boys had fun.  

Afternoons were spent mostly in the pool, napping, working puzzles, and in general relaxing until it was time for dinner, usually eaten at home. My son-in-law picked up fresh shrimp to go with the steaks he grilled. We each took charge of a meal and that worked out well. 

We went out for a big family dinner on Monday night-Skull Creek Boathouse for those who frequent HH.We went on the early side and didn't have to wait. It's a great spot, with a pier you can walk out on, wonderful food, and a pirate ship playground for the kids which they loved. 

Little Miss rocks the beach waves. I'm having fun buying matching dresses for the grandgirls when I can. These are from Stitchy Fish and they were so cute, and the fabric was really nice. 

As an aside, I try not to post pics of my grandbabies faces on my blog these days. Every now and then one will land there, but I check with mom first. My oldest especially doesn't really want their faces on the Internet and I'm also not posting swim suit pics, which is what most of my beach photos are. 

Okay, back to what I ate because I know that's why you're here. I had stuffed shrimp and it was scrumptious. Our server took a pic of us all at dinner and we took a few snaps of the whole family out on the pier later. The weather was delightful and I'm so glad we were there this week instead of the one prior when all anyone could talk about was the heat. Which was outrageous. 

One night we went to Shelter Cove for ice cream. I had Eskimo Kisses which was coconut ice cream with chocolate truffles covered in fudge. Yum! One grandson who shall remain nameless dropped his before we left the shop, but the server was really nice and gave him another. Vacationing with kids is not for the faint of heart lol.

The boys were skeptical when we told them the pebbles under their feet were mostly crushed oyster shells. True story though. 

~pebbles~

Hubs and I went back to Shelter Cove Friday afternoon to browse a gallery I'd seen that had some pretty things. Still looking for jut the right thing for our outdoor dining space. My son-in-law grilled fresh swordfish and more shrimp for dinner that evening. We taught the oldest grandsons how to play Mexican Train dominoes this week so there was one more game before everyone did some packing for our Saturday check out.  

Can't forget the selfie prompt. This is as close as we got...

~selfie~

A man on the beach noticed our attempt and helpfully intervened. Also, he was from some small town near St. Louis where hubs mother lived a long time ago, so a lot of conversation happened too. Hubs is firmly in the 'never met a stranger' camp. Not sure why I'm not wearing my sunglasses, but it was evening and I guess not bright? 

Except I'm squinting so it was bright enough. This is why I don't take selfies. Too much overthinking. 

And suddenly it was Saturday. Leaving is the hardest part. You wake up and take your coffee outside like you've done every day since arriving, and you smell the sea air and then sadly you remember you're getting in the car to head home instead of to the beach. Boo. 

Here's how it started-

~beginning~

Til next time...

~the end~

Hop over to Hello Monday and Everyday Images to see what others have been up to lately. 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 615

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here (on Wednesday of course) to add your link to the party. See you there! 

1. August is National Golf month...do you play? Do you enjoy following golf? Have you ever been to a professional tournament? 

2. Astronaut Jim Lovell of Apollo 13 fame passed away this past Thursday. Are you interested in outer space and what's happening today in terms of space exploration? If space travel became common in your lifetime would you go? How do you personally relate to the idea of exploring something vast and mysterious...does the idea excite you, intimidate you, or something else? 

3. Describe your communication style in three words. 

4. Do you have a favorite cookbook? A favorite celebrity chef? Do you watch any cooking shows on TV? 

5. As a child did you have any back to school traditions? If so, did you carry on those same traditions with your own children? Do you have any back to school traditions you've started on your own? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Share Your Shelf-July

It's the first Thursday of the month which means it's time to share what we've read the month prior. I had some good reads in July, although I didn't get to a classic. I have one on tap for August and to be honest reading Don Quixote in May should count as two. Linking with Jenn, Joanne, Marilyn, and Tanya today. If you'd like to add your titles or see what others are reading hop over to one of the blogs linked here.  

The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff

"I've learned how big of a dream it is to have a small life." 

This was definitely a favorite. A multi-generational family saga that explores themes of love, loss, addiction, and the enduring power of family ties. Various parts of the story are told by three different members of the Bright family spanning four decades. Each person's voice adds depth to what we already know. I loved the writing. 

Lillian and Ryan fall in love, marry, and have a daughter they name Georgette (Jet). Their happiness is complicated by a number of issues, some born in the past and some present day. The characters are complex, richly drawn, and flawed. You are rooting for them all. 

I don't want to spoil anyone's read, but this one definitely tugs at your heartstrings. Five stars for me. 

"I didn't know happiness could feel so sad'

Heartwood by Amity Gage

The fictional story of 42-year old Valerie Gillis, a nurse who vanishes somewhere in Maine, while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Her disappearance triggers a wide-scale search operation led by Beverly Miller, a female lieutenant with the Maine Warden Service. 

The narration is handled via excerpts from Valerie's journal, Beverly's perspective, and an additional character, 76-year old Lena Kucharski, a retired scientist who acts as armchair detective. Lena has a story  of her own too. While I understand the use of Valerie's journal, I think there would have been a bit more mystery without that piece. 

Is it just me or are there suddenly a slew of books about people disappearing in the woods? 

In this instance I was expecting more intrigue, a thriller even, but that wasn't the case. The author uses the lost hiker as a means to explore the unexpected theme of motherhood. Valerie writes letters to her mother in her journal. Bev the warden has a mother who is dying and there are complicated feelings there. Lena has a daughter who doesn't speak to her. 

Yes there's the search to find Valerie, but mothers and daughters and how they relate are at the heart of the story. Three stars for me. 

Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet  by Jamie Ford

I've been trying every month to read something that's been sitting on my Goodreads 'to be read' list for a long while and this one fit the bill. 

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is a work of historical fiction that tells the story of Henry Lee, a Chinese-American boy, and Keiko Okabe, a Japanese-American girl, who form an unlikely friendship in Seattle during WW2. 

The tale is told using a dual timeline and the format works well. We meet 50-something Henry in his present day life, a recent widower and father to a young adult son with whom he struggles to communicate. The story opens with Henry standing in front of the Panama Hotel which has been shuttered since the war, but has recently been purchased and is undergoing refurbishment. It's a spot that holds memories both bitter and sweet for him. 

In the clean up process, suitcases and other items that belonged to Japanese Americans sent to internment camps during the war are discovered in the basement. The story alternates between the 1980s (present day) and Henry's experiences in the 1940s. I enjoyed both timelines. 

I'll be honest and say that while I knew there were Japanese internment camps in the US during the war,  I didn't know much more than that. A poignant, tender, well-told story. Loved it. Four stars for me. 

The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian 

This book y'all. It's intense and had me from the word go. It's original and I'm a fan of original. The author has done a lot of research into the geo-political climate of Africa in the 1960's and it's woven in to the story in a way that's engaging. It feels like a thriller and it is, but there's history on the pages too. This is not a keep you up at night with the covers pulled over your head  kind of thriller. 

Unless you've got an African Safari on the calendar, and then all bets are off. 

It's 1964 and a popular actress (Katie Barstow) and her new husband (David Hill) decide to bring a group of their Hollywood friends to Tanzania to join them for the second leg of their honeymoon. For most of the group this will be a photo safari and the first few days start off gently enough. Things go awry pretty quickly and by awry I mean yikes! 

This was a page turner for me. You should know going in there's some violence of both the two-legged and four-legged variety. Four stars for me. 

Parent's Weekend by Alex Finlay 

Five college students go missing during Parent's Weekend at a California university. All are pretty much a mess in some way, or at least they come from messy families. There are some cliches here which grate, but the plot grabs you. 

There are a lot of people in this book and I found myself flipping back to the intro page often to re-check the helpful cast list. On the plus side, I really liked the lead FBI agent Sarah Keller with her nice kids and her smart, caring husband. She felt relatable, capable without being over the top, and also really likable. 

I read this in a day with my toes in the sand. It was a good beach read and held my interest to the end. An easy read, maybe not memorable, but enjoyable nonetheless. 

So what have you been reading? Send any new favorites my way!

A Midsomer Hodgepodge

Welcome to August and this week's 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. The midpoint of summer (believe it or not) is August 7th. Describe a perfect summer day. Have you had one this year? 

A clear bright blue sky, although a few puffy non-threatening clouds are okay too...coffee on the porch, a book on a float on the lake, an outdoor shower, friends dropping by, hubs grilling a steak to perfection, music under the starry night sky...that would be one formula for a perfect summer day. 

We've had a few. 

That being said there are may ways to have a perfect summer day. Case in point-

2. What's one thing you wish you knew before starting high school? 

There's a lot of pressure in high school, both socially and academically. Lots of big feelings you're trying to manage. These can be, and often are, wonderful years, but you're still learning who you are and who you want to be. These are not the best years of your life. 

3. What's something that bothers you if it's not done perfectly? 

The way the dishwasher is loaded. Ridiculous I know, but there is a right way lol. 

4. What's the most overrated food you're convinced people are just pretending to enjoy?

Matcha

What's a trendy food you actually do enjoy and would say is definitely not overrated?  

sushi, oysters 

5. Wrapping it up this week with five fun this or thats...

personal stylist or personal chef? 

Stylist for sure

dance like nobody's watching or sing like nobody's listening? 

hmmm...I've been known to do both, but probably singing

unlimited tacos or free pizza?

free pizza

bookshelf organization-by size or by genre? 

by genre, but then within genres by size

ten minutes late or ten minutes early? 

early of course

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Vitamin Sea...

...for when life feels a little too salty.