Monthly Musings-May

It's the last Thursday of the month which means it's time for the Monthly Musings link up with Holly (Pink Lady Blog) and Patty (Good Better Best). Feel free to play along...

1. What am I looking forward to most this summer? 

Lots of things...dining al fresco, lake floats, the 4th of July, sipping iced coffee beside the waterfall, sunset cruises...

...jumping off the dock hand in hand with my grands, homemade peach cobbler, and casual entertaining with friends and family. 

2. Any favorite summer traditions? 

Some of these overlap with my answers to the first question but...

I always jump off the dock holding hands with my oldest grandson to help kick off summer. Hopefully his little brother will join us this year.  I tell him he will never be too old. 

We'll have to see about Nana but so far so good. 

We always watch the fireworks from our dock and shoreline because we have the best view of my across the cove neighbor's spectacular show. 

I make one peach cobbler every summer because summer says you must. Same goes for home made ice cream. 

3. Any summer travel plans? Please dish. 

We typically don't travel in the summer months. We live on a lake so people travel here lol. 

We're a little out of the box this summer as we've rented a beach house for a week for the whole family, and I'm really looking forward to that. The trip won't happen until later in the summer so there will still be plenty of lake time before and after. 

4. How do you red, white, and blue?

First of all, I love the colors...so festive! July 4th is one of my favorite days of the year. We have the flag flying on our dock and on the boat too,  plus a windsock on the dock and flag bunting hanging from the deck of the house. 

I have several t-shirts with patriotic themes/colors so will wear one of those on the holiday. This year I bought cute dresses for the grandgirls and will probably find something coordinating for the boys. 

We typically have a crowd here on the 4th. My girls are usually here with their families and we sometimes have additional houseguests around that time too. Last year hubs brother and his wife came, and we're hoping they come back again this year for the holiday. 

There are a lot of firework shows around the lake, some put on by people who live here, and then the marinas have pretty big displays too, so we'll definitely see fireworks. Not exaggerating when I say the best show on the lake is the one my across the cove neighbor hosts. 

Boaters come from all around the lake and anchor, both in our cove and in the waters around it, and she does an amazing job. When there's an especially beautiful firework all the boaters honk and it's so much fun. It stirs up feelings of pride in America and I love that. 

Hubs will grill something, and I like to make some sort of patriotic dessert, sometimes a trifle since I feel like you need a lot of people to eat one and we'll have a lot of people around. 

Oddly enough we don't usually take the boat out on the 4th. The lake is so busy that day, and since we can boat anytime we opt out of the crazy this day can bring. 

5. Beach, lake, or pool. 

Since I live on a lake it feels wrong not to answer with that one. Plus no salt-no sharks so winning! We swim in our lake and it's crystal clear. 

6. Favorite summer sweet treat? 

Strawberry shortcake, peach cobbler, and homemade blueberry pie. Just give me all the fresh fruity desserts please. 

7. Favorite sunscreens and self-tanners. 

I don't use a self-tanner. I wear sunscreen every day and like a lotion as opposed to a spray.  We go through it here and I'm not particularly loyal to one brand. I've got Neutrogena Ultra Sheer,  Bare Republic Mineral,  Tula Daily, Coppertone Sport, and Hawaiian Tropic Sheer Touch which might be my favorite. 

8. Best flip flops or sandals? 

I need a little arch in my flip flops, and while they're not inexpensive I do love the Olukai brand. 

I think this is the pair I currently own. As far as sandals go I like mine cute. I also like cute tennis shoes for summer and have several pair. 

9. How are you staying fit this summer? 

Lake life means you stay pretty active. Hubs and I joke we make about fifteen or twenty trips going back and forth to the dock every day, and while it's not steep it's also not flat, so there's that. 

We have kayaks and paddle boards and I love to swim. We have a pool in our neighborhood too, and I like to swim laps there. 

10. Favorite summer themed movies? 

Here's my top five...The Parent Trap (the Lindsay Lohan remake), Jaws, Dirty Dancing, Mamma Mia, and  The Deep (with Jacqueline Bisset and Nick Nolte). 

Come on summer...

We're ready for ya!

No Kidding It's The Hodgepodge

Welcome to 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's your favorite room in your house and why? 

Does a porch count? Because the porches in my house are definitely my favorite spaces and we use them like rooms. 

We have a covered upper deck, a screened porch off the kitchen, and then the lower level space with a covered patio, a covered dining space, as well as an uncovered patio. Lots of options for sitting outside.

The upper deck is my favorite because it's easy to just step out there first thing in the morning, and the view is so pretty. 

I do love the new lower level space, but we haven't spent as much time there yet. It does have the potential to become my new favorite, especially in the summer months. 

2. What's something that will instantly annoy you? 

Getting behind someone in the left lane driving below the speed limit. Even if they're driving right at the speed limit I can feel annoyed. It's the passing lane. Move over. Please. 

3. May 28th is National Hamburger Day...will you celebrate? How do you like yours? If you're not cooking at home is there a favorite place you like to go for a burger? Did you ever work in a fast food  restaurant? 

A hamburger on the grill is one of my favorites, and I think yes, we'll 'celebrate' (AKA-grill a burger on May 28th).  I like mine with lettuce, tomato, pickle, and mayo. I have never worked fast food, and there's not really one favorite place here for a burger. There is a place that's more or less a sports bar in town and they do make a good burger. 

4. What are three scents you like? 

It's hard to narrow it down to just three, but I'll try. I love lemon (or any citrus really) and also cinnamon in terms of candles and baking. For the third I'm going with the scent of freshly mown grass, which I wouldn't want in a candle or perfume, but which does have the power to wing me back to my childhood in the blink of an eye. 

5. What do you miss most about being a kid? 

I don't know if miss is the right word, because I don't have any desire to be a kid again. I do sometimes have a longing for the sense of carefree-ness I felt as a child. (I looked it up because carefreeness didn't sound like a real word, but it is indeed a real word). 

By carefree I don't mean free from having any responsibilities because I think we're made to have those, and I like having some responsibilities. 

I'm thinking more along the lines of not being weighed down by the world and all its trouble and strife.  The division, the conflict, the endless complaining.  I know that's part of growing up, taking those things on and trying to make the world better in whatever way we can, but the 2020's so far have been more than a little exhausting. 

My childhood was for the most part carefree, and for that I'm grateful. I was protected from the heaviness of the world that, while different than what we have today, was still there. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

I started this post a little late so will just say enjoy this last week of May...it's flown! 

Happy Wednesday everyone~

Hello Tuesday

Who else gets completely thrown off with their calendar by these Monday holidays? I don't know why it should affect me because technically everyday is Saturday when you're retired, but still it does. Here's how our long weekend looked-

Daughter2 wasn't heading back to her Tennessee home until late morning so Daughter1 came over with her kids and we broke in the griddle ala breakfast style. 

We've cooked on the griddle before, but this was our first time trying breakfast and it was a big hit. I made pancake batter and hubs added chocolate chips and cooked them on the griddle along with the usual couple pounds of bacon (these kids can eat), and eggs two different ways. 

We were going to have fried eggs, but the first two stuck so hubs regrouped and scrambled those. Then he figured out how much butter or oil he needed for frying, and those were good too. I absolutely love a big family breakfast and it was so much fun having it all outside. 

After the TN crew got on the road back home daughter1 took her crew back to their house, and hubs and I collapsed on the couch. 

Not exactly, but more or less that's what we did. We cleaned up breakfast and put a few things away but mostly we chilled on the sofa outside. I read and had a tiny nap and then we eventually got dressed to go out for dinner because I declared my kitchen closed. 

We went for sushi at a local place we enjoy and it was pretty and tasty. We decided we needed a small scoop of ice cream afterwards so we headed to the sweet shop where I had the most delicious raspberry and white chocolate bite and hubs had salted caramel. He said mine was better and he was right. 

It was still early so we drove by a lot hubs recently sold in a new neighborhood. He wanted to snag a picture with the sold sign up for the buyer who lives out of town. The sales manager was on site so we chatted a while and I got a tour of the model which I always enjoy. When I was growing up my mom would sometimes take me to see model homes in new neighborhoods and I always thought that was fun. I love to see how they're decorated.

Saturday we started the day at Lowes. Does every Saturday start at Lowes? Perhaps. 

Hubs has been working on adding some lighting to the waterfall and needed three more. It is looking so pretty! We also checked out their grills because we wanted to buy Daughter1 and her family a grill as a housewarming gift. They all seemed huge and since we didn't know the width of their grilling space we decided we'd come back later in the weekend to actually buy. 

Hubs never says no to a trip to Lowes.   

We left there and went to what was billed as Farm Fest, mostly because it was held on a farm and not because any farming was happening. I mean there probably was farming happening somewhere,  just not where we were. There was also a rodeo Friday night, but we missed that. There were some antique tractors on display, plus a running cotton gin which was kind of interesting to see, but truth be told we were there for the BBQ.  

It was a contest and we are all about great BBQ. Hubs makes a really good pulled pork so our standards are high. We bought tickets to get samples and each chef gave you a very small cup of pulled pork. The first guy gave us a rib and kind of won me over with that, but we made the rounds and then cast our vote. 

You don't think you're eating that much because the cups are really small but we were so full. There were a couple of other food trucks there too, but the only one we tried was the one selling lemonade. We had a limeade and it was also really good. 

There was a a big jeep show happening too, and loads of people brought their jeeps for everyone to see. They had an obstacle course set up for any jeep owners who wanted to try it and that was really fun to watch. We only saw one get stuck and have to be pulled out. 

On the way home hubs asked (since we were in the area) if we could go by the truck dealer and look at trucks because that's what he's considering for his next vehicle. I halfheartedly said yes. Y'all. This is one of my least favorite activities and one of his most favorite so someone's gotta give. Since we will need to buy something this year it had to be me. 

41 years in June and it's mostly the little things that get you there. 

It's funny because he loves talking about this model or that one, and pointing them out as we drive around town, asking if I noticed the wheels (huh?) or can I see how this one has running boards that retract but that one doesn't, and I guess these things matter?  I'm not a truck girl. I'm a fast car girl lol. 

We came home and watched a movie (Nonnas) which was super cute! I wish we'd known about this one when we lived near the city. Dinner was leftovers because my kitchen was still mostly closed. 

Sunday we went to church then out to breakfast right after. Once we were back home I read for a while and hubs watched some golf, and then we headed out to see the new Mission Impossible-The Final Reckoning, at the theatre. We rarely see movies in the theater anymore,  but we like this series and enjoy seeing them on the big screen. 

Also Tom Cruise is insane. The stunts! My palms were sweaty when we left the theatre. We loved it! We had popcorn at the movies and called it dinner. I was three for three on the kitchen closure. 

Monday we headed back to Lowes to purchase the grill and the cover and arrange to have it delivered assembled to daughter1's house later this week. Then we did a big grocery shop, and it was back outside to read and relax beside the waterfall. It was sublime. 

The weather was not the best Sunday or Monday and I always feel for people who come to the lake for the holiday weekend and miss seeing the sun. Still the rain held off until later Monday, so there was plenty of fun to be had. Hubs grilled us a steak and I made baked potatoes and a caprese salad with my home grown basil which is already thriving. 

If you have a dish you love that calls for pesto send it my way, because I'm going to have plenty. 

Hope your weekend was filled with the things and people you love. I will leave this very quick little video here, a poignant reminder of what it's all about. 

Omaha Beach Sand

Linking today with Holly and Sarah for their Hello Monday weekend recap party. Hop over and see what everyone's been up to...

Happy TuesdayMonday everyone! 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 604

Here are the questions to this week's midweek Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here on Wednesday (May 28) to add your link to the party. See you there!

1. What's your favorite room in your house and why? 

2. What's something that will instantly annoy you? 

3. May 28th is National Hamburger Day...will you celebrate? How do you like yours? If you're not cooking at home is there a favorite place you like to go for a burger? Did you ever work in a fast food  restaurant? 

4. What are three scents you like? 

5. What do you miss most about being a kid? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Friday Favorites Or Something Like It

Linking with Andrea and Erika today for their Friday Favorites hop. 

I've had a houseful this week and have been off my blog game. I always remind myself it's more important to live life than to write about it, but I do love to write about it too. Doing a little catch up here as we roll into the weekend.

With my ankle propped up on a cushion because it's still achy achy, hopefully not breaky. 

Here are a few snaps and snippets from the week that was...

Lake life. Hubs can spot a snake from the second floor deck. We don't see many, but occasionally one crosses the cart path and slithers over to the rip rap along the shore. I've been assured he's one of the good guys and since I've never seen a copperhead on our property I'm going to say that's true. 

I ordered new melamine dishes to keep in the outdoor dining space and I love them. My daughter2 had seen some really pretty ones at Walmart which I almost bought, but then I went down the rabbit hole that is the Internet and found these I liked better.  They're Pfaltzgraff and were also a great price, so I got a service for 8. 

Last Friday my daughter had to go to the DMV to sort out her new license and tags so we said we'd stay with the kiddos while she was out. The DMV is challenging enough without three little ones in tow. We brought donuts. 

So fun to be close enough to do little things like this. 

Friends we hadn't seen in a while came for dinner Friday night. We opted for heavy hors d'oeuvres and dessert and we sat outside and used the new dishes. I know the calendar says we've got another 28 days before summer is officially here, but they came by boat which means summer is officially here. 

Don't you think we should just declare Memorial Day weekend the start of summer and get on with it? 

Our butterfly bushes have started to bloom and we've seen quite a few butterflies too. 

Quick topic change...I had bananas that were a little too ripe so I did what everyone does and made banana bread with them. This recipe (linked here) is my absolute favorite-

It's got a little bit of coconut in the bread and a lime drizzle over the top which sounds odd but trust me it's delish. I don't add the optional coconut extract, just fyi. In other food related news I made the Ina Garten orzo salad one evening and it's a keeper.

 Orzo, red onion, cucumber, scallions, feta, fresh parsley, fresh dill, and a lemon vinaigrette. So good! 

The grands arrived. 

All of them I mean. Three live nearby but daughter2 came with her two to spend the week and it's been a fun sort of loud chaos. 

I have four chairs that rock and swivel in my keeping room and when the grands are here no two chairs face the same direction ever. 

Having both girls here is such a treat. You never get over that. 

Tuesday morning we went to Daughter1's house to play while she took her oldest (the mancub) to his new school for a reading assessment. He reads like a boss so it was basically just a box to be checked but they were out for an hour and the rest of us hung out in her play room. She's still getting that space organized so basically every single toy was fair game. 

Pretty sure we played with them all. 

Tuesday afternoon we took the kids to a park just a couple of miles from our house and spent the afternoon playing in the sand and sea. Technically the sea is a lake but you know what I mean. Also five kids along with sand toys, towels, sunscreen, hats, chairs, snacks, plus the kitchen sink but totally worth it. 

This park has shade and a playground right beside the beach too which is nice. I mentioned this in my Hodgepodge on Wednesday and someone asked if there were sandy beaches on our lake. The answer is yes. The sand on some is better than others and we have our favorites, but kids don't care as long as you give them a bucket and a shovel. 

On Wednesday we met for coffee and breakfast in a cute little shop one town over from ours. We love this little burg and spend a lot of time here. We did a little shopping afterwards and it was a fun outing. Maybe I'll call it an event, because with five under seven pretty much everything feels like an event. 

Daughter1 made dinner for us that night which was a treat. Course hubs and my son-in-law missed it because they were guess where? Baseball! Whoohoo! The season ended on Thursday evening and it will be nice for her family to be able to check out some of the other things there are to do in their new home town which is also our home town. 

My grandson is sad the season's over so that's something. It's not easy to be 'the new kid' and he really enjoyed playing on this team. 

Thursday we had big plans. Or another event if you will. Boating.

Our maiden voyage and everyone was along for the ride. 

Some enjoyed it more than others lol. The littlest grand is a mover and a shaker (pretty sure I've said that about all of mine) and she wanted to walk around as opposed to sitting while moving, which Nana and Pawpaw put the kibosh on, plus lifejackets and that age are just not great. 

I mean they're great in terms of doing what they're supposed to do, but they're designed for safety, not comfort. 

We got back to the dock and everyone had lunch and then the littlest three laid down for a rest and the oldest two hopped on the paddle boards. Hubs got a workout in terms of pulling out all the gear, but it's gotta happen sometime and I guess this was that sometime. 

Let me just add here that whoever came up with the swim shirts for kids was a genius. 

The mancub would stay on that board all the day long if we let him, he loves it so much. His momma got in the kayak in case anyone started floating out of the cove, but no worries. They had so much fun and I suspect will be over here a lot this summer doing this very thing. 

And that brings us to Friday which I'll save for next week's Monday recap happening on Tuesday due to the holiday. 

I never like to let this particular weekend go by without acknowledging the brave men and women who've given their very lives for the freedoms we continue to enjoy. On this Memorial Day holiday I not only want to honor them, but I want to live in a way that makes their sacrifices meaningful. 

My Dad was a career Marine and while he did not die in battle he did serve in three wars and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. I always think of that very special place on this very special day. Sitting beside row upon row of white crosses puts many things in perspective. 

May God bless America and may He pour out His wisdom on our leaders and citizens alike.