A Noisy Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. Thanks for joining in here today and every Wednesday as we talk about pretty much everything under the sun. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for your neighbor there. Here we go-

1. America celebrates turning 250 years old this year. Primary cities set to lead the celebrations on July 4th are Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington D.C. Other significant locations for celebrating will be Charleston SC and the 'historic triangle' which includes Jamestown-Willimasburg-Yorktown Virginia. 

Of the cities listed how many have you seen in person? Of the cities listed which would you most like to visit this year? Any plans to do so? What's one place in America you think everyone should see? If you're not American what's one place in the US you'd like to see? 

Of the cities listed I've seen them all. I've visited Boston...

and have lived in or around the others. I grew up on the NJ side of Philadelphia and my sister and her family (along with my mom) live in the city still. 

you have to run up the stairs and raise your fists like Rocky when you're in this spot

I've lived in the NJ suburbs of NYC twice. 

celebrating my 50th in The Big Apple

I also lived on the Maryland side of D.C. for nine years so am very familiar with D.C. 

                                Be still my heart

Daughter1 worked in DC after uni and I enjoyed spending time with her there. And my dad is buried in Arlington which is a really special place. 

I currently live in the Palmetto State, but in what's known as the upcountry as opposed to the low country, which is where Charleston is located. I have been to Charleston though and love it. 

I also lived in Richmond Virginia for a few years and have visited the three towns mentioned here, a lovely corner triangle of the country. 

I'm sure I'll be in Philadelphia this year, and maybe Charleston too. 

We've moved a lot. Can you tell? 

One place I think everyone in America should see? This one-

Arlington National Cemetery. 

If you visit D.C. make a stop here.

2. Three sounds you love to hear? 

children laughing, NANA!!!, and the many sounds of water including a gentle rain, waves lapping the shoreline or crashing along a rocky rugged coast, babbling brooks, and waterfalls including the one in my own backyard. 

3. Three sounds you hate to hear? 

chewing, the sound of someone flossing their teeth, and a dental drill

4. February 24th is/was National Tortilla Chip Day. Are you a fan? With salsa, guacamole, queso, or just plain please? Do you like nachos? With what on top? Is there anything (besides nachos) you make that calls for tortilla chips? 

I do like tortilla chips and my preference is to have them with a side of both salsa and guacamole. I like nachos but we have them very rarely. I'm good with whatever you want to throw on top. I don't like them soggy so go easy on any chili style toppings. Definitely lots of cheese, tomato, olives, onion, and jalapenos. 

I put a handful of broken (not crushed or pulverized) tortilla chips in the bottom of the bowl before adding my taco soup on top. So good! 

5. We March into March with next week's Hodgepodge...what's one thing on your March calendar that makes you smile? 

What isn't on my March calendar? Whew. Gonna be a busy one, but I'm looking most forward to a few days later in the month I've blocked to spend with my daughter2 and her kiddos. I'll go there during the week when her hubs will have some work travel, so it will be just us once her little ones go to bed. 

When we're together it's often related to an 'event'...birthday celebrations, Christmas, that sort of thing. It will be nice to have nothing we absolutely have to do. We plan to shop, watch baking, and solve all the problems of the world. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Do you follow The Leighton Show on social media or maybe on his youtube channel?  If you have teenagers this site is a gem. Even if you don't have teenagers you'll enjoy it. Parents send him texts their teenagers have sent and it's hilarious. 

He also has a book out called 'What Time Is Noon' which was a text message a parent received. He's easy to find online but here's a link to his Insta (The Leighton Show). It's one thing on social media that always makes me smile. 

Have a happy Wednesday everyone! 

Weekend Chatter

Hello Monday. Can you believe next week it's March and then summer and then Christmas? A slight exaggeration maybe, but only very slight. 

We had a nice quiet low key weekend here. It felt good to be home sleeping in my own bed and catching up on things here. Friday the sun shone and it was glorious. 

Hubs and I opted for a hike in a nearby state park and the weather was perfection. 

Thermometers don't lie-

The little brown dog was along for the ride, or maybe I should say run, because we moved at a clip the first two thirds of our walk.  

I think he smelled water and was itching to get to it. There wasn't a great swimming spot so that didn't happen, but it wasn't for his lack of trying. 

If we were following the strict rules of 52 dates in 52 weeks we'd be at number 20 this week. We're at 15 and we'll take it. We had company one week, hubs was away one week, I was away one week, there were holidays in the mix, so it's all good. We make the rules, right? 

We were home for lunch and then spent the afternoon chilling aka napping and reading. We made Greek chicken bowls for dinner and they were super delish. 

I used this recipe (more or less) and the marinated chicken grilled was really good, as was the dressing drizzled on top. 

Saturday we watched Olympics, jimmy rigged an electric shade we have that's ridiculous in design, and did a lot of lounging-reading-blogging. The shade is up high and has a battery that needs recharging, not often but often enough to be annoying. Hubs has to get out the extra tall ginormous ladder to reach it, on a staircase to boot, so he came up with a solution to make it easier next time. No pictures because I was responsible for holding the ladder. He survived. 

Saturday night we had dinner plans with friends. We went to a new-to-us Italian restaurant and enjoyed every bite. They started as a pizza place but are more than that now. I could have made a meal of appetizers.  Turns out we knew the wine manager and he brought us a plate of their arancini to start which were scrumptious. Hubs and I both had their lasagne (it's somebody's grandma's recipe) and it was served in small iron skillets which made for a great presentation. Also the portions were enormous and we took half home for lunches. 

Sunday we watched as much of the hockey game as we could before church and were excited to hear the final score when we came out of the service. I saw a lot of the Olympics this time around and loved all that viewing. There were some exciting moments, some beautiful moments, some patriotic moments, and overall thought they were exceptional. 

I spent a lot of Sunday afternoon organizing a few things I'm in charge of organizing and it felt good to get that done. We tried a new recipe for dinner and it received mixed reviews. Bun-less burgers which meant a lettuce wrap in place of the bread. I used this recipe, and I liked the lettuce wrap which was less filling. Hubs wanted a bun. 

I'm joining Holly (Pink Lady Blog) and Sarah (Sunshine and Books) today for their Hello Monday blog hop. I have a busy week. Honestly the next several are full to the brim with a combination of fun, family, tasks to complete, appointments to keep, relationships to manage, and people to love. 

One of my very favorite verses was part of my last week's lenten reading in the Psalms, and it's one that helps me stay grounded when life is moving fast-

"I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 18:1-2

Have a great Monday everyone. 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 642

Here are the questions to this week's Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here on Wednesday (2/25) to add your link to the party. See you there! 

1. America celebrates turning 250 years old this year. Primary cities set to lead the celebrations on July 4th are Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington D.C. Other significant locations for celebrating will be Charleston SC and the 'historic triangle' which includes Jamestown-Willimasburg-Yorktown Virginia. 

Of the cities listed how many have you seen in person? Of the cities listed which would you most like to visit this year? Any plans to do so? What's one place in America you think everyone should see? If you're not American what's one place in the US you'd like to see? 

2. Three sounds you love to hear? 

3. Three sounds you hate to hear? 

4. February 24th is/was National Tortilla Chip Day. Are you a fan? With salsa, guacamole, queso, or just plain please? Do you like nachos? With what on top? Is there anything (besides nachos) you make that calls for tortilla chips? 

5. We March into March with next week's Hodgepodge...what's one thing on your March calendar that makes you smile? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Gray Matters

Hello friends. I'm back home today after spending five days at my brother's house in NJ helping with my mama. My sister and brother-in-law (my mom lives with them) had the opportunity to take a big wonderful trip, some of it work related for my brother-in-law, and I hope they enjoyed every minute. We had my mom spend that time they were away at my brother's house.  

Caregiving is not easy and my sister and her family do so much on the daily for my mom. I'm thankful my siblings and I are a team as we try to make the best decisions we can for her. The 9th decade of life comes with some hard things and we want to treat her with the same sort of tlc she has given to us all our lives. 

While at my brother's I decided to try and meet Kym's everyday image photo prompt challenge. I spent a lot of time in the house sitting and commenting on the Olympics with my mom, coloring, reading, and thankfully getting out for a walk every day too. 

It was gray. Every single day. Gloomy gray. Not raining, but not a full minute of sunshine either. As a result most of these pics are gray too. Here are the most recent prompts, some of which required me to get a little bit creative-

middle-at work-shadow-weathered-pink-current project (quarterly)-sweet 

middle-my brother lives on a river and there are a lot of ducks and geese wandering the neighborhood. Some are swimming, some are sitting on the frozen water, and some are moseying down the middle of the street like they own the place.

at work-tree trimmers were at work removing branches from power lines in the area. This guy gave me a peace sign when I went by, but I missed catching it with my camera. Story of my life. 

shadow-honestly this was the hardest of all the prompts because the sun was out for approximately 3.4 seconds while I was in town. It was gray gray gray all day every day, so you have to look hard to see my shadow in this one. 

weathered-a tough one. How about the great outdoors? It's looking a little rough after weeks of snow on the ground. 

pink-my sister-in-law has quite the green thumb and the most robust Christmas cactus I think I've ever seen. It's just about finished blooming, but still has a touch of pink showing. 

Note to file: get a Christmas cactus

current project-my mom enjoys coloring so we did a lot of that while watching a lot of Olympic coverage. Pretty sure I could give commentary now on curling, women's slopestyle snowboarding, and the Nordic combined. 

sweet-my brother and sister-in-law are big on healthy eating and exercise so while sweets are not banned, they're not available 24/7 like some places I know. ahem. This is a good thing, right? Every afternoon about 3 PM my brother made my mom and I a cup of tea and there was always a little cookie to go with. 

My mama loves sweets so we had small desserts a couple of nights. A brownie bite and a spoonful of ice cream were the perfect combination. 

I've spent a lot of time thinking this week about how lucky we are to have in-laws in our family who love our mom and are willing to do whatever needs doing to make her feel safe and comfortable. What a gift. 

A Gem Of A 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. Before running off be sure to leave a comment for the blogger before you. Here we go-

1. The Hodgepodge lands on Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent. Do you mark this season in some way? Will you be giving something up or adding something to your life in this Lenten season? 

I didn't grow up in a denomination that celebrates Lent specifically, but Easter and the days leading up to that Sunday were definitely marked. I sometimes read a devotional written specifically for the lenten season, and this year am following the reading plan put out by She Reads Truth. It's focused on the Psalms and is called Bless The Lord. I like SRT and have done some of their other reading plans in years prior. 

You can order an actual book, or follow along online. 

2. Pancakes...are you a fan? Syrup or no syrup? Plain, blueberries, chocolate chips, bananas, or some other add in? Are pancakes on your menu this week? 

I like pancakes okay, but in terms of breakfast carbs I'd much rather have french toast or waffles. Pancakes are too heavy for me. Hubs loves pancakes and if we're out to breakfast he often orders them,  and then I can have a bite. That's all I need. Blueberry are my favorite, but they're not on this week's menu. I want a little bit of syrup and a side of bacon so there's something salty to cut the sweet. 

Pancakes with a view-

3. Tell us about a time recently when you felt 'spread too thin'. 

In this season of life it's rare I feel spread too thin. We're living the retired life and there's a lot less multi-tasking, less demands on our time unless we say so, less going in three directions at once. It's nice. 

4. What's your favorite jewel or gemstone? In terms of your wardrobe would we find more gem tones, pastels, black and white, or primary colors? 

I love the gemtones and feel like they suit my coloring. You'd find some in my wardrobe for sure, more than any of the other options listed. My favorite jewel or gemstone is a sapphire, with pearls a close second. Pearls are actually considered organic gemstones. 

5. What responsibility do you think is hardest about being in charge? 

Knowing you can't please everyone when making tough decisions. If you're a person who dislikes conflict as much as I do, then you know the struggle is real. The sooner you learn that someone is always going to be unhappy no matter what you say or do, the quicker you'll find  peace in whatever job or role you're managing. Do the right thing and sleep easy when your head hits the pillow. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

My favorite way to have pancakes is a pancake breakfast lakeside with all my favorite little people there-

Happy Wednesday everyone! 

I Cannot Tell A Lie...It's Monday

Good morning friends, and happy birthday George and Abe. 

Speaking of Abe, hubs and I watched a movie last week we hadn't seen before, even though it was released in 2011- The Conspirator with James McAvoy, Kevin Kline, Robin Wright, and more. The plot follows the trial of Mary Surrat, the first woman tried in connection with the Lincoln assassination. It was good and I wasn't all that familiar with her story. 

And as long as we're talking about Abe...how do you feel about the penny? The last were minted in November of 2025, and now the penny is no more. I mean except for the pennies we have stashed in pockets, purses, and jars, but I guess nothing is one cent going forward? Or two, three, or four cents either? Or twelve, thirteen, or fourteen and so on and so on. Hmmm. Is everything going to be rounded up or rounded down? I guess we're about to find out. 

Now let's put the train back on the track and discuss the weekend. Hubs and I had plans to celebrate with a nice dinner Friday night since I would be leaving town Saturday morning. We wanted to make a lobster risotto because that sounded fancy, and it's also something we've never made before, but we missed the lobster truck so went with plan B, which was also good. Hubs grilled steaks and he's mastered that so no complaints. 

My mom lives with my younger sister, but my sister had an opportunity to take a big trip so we shifted mom to my brother's house in NJ for the two week holiday. My older sister and I each took a week to be there too so everyone could come and go as needed. We don't leave my mom alone at all so having extra hands in the house helps.

Hubs drove me to the airport and I arrived with plenty of time to spare. It wasn't busy so I sailed through security, grabbed my Dunkin' latte, and settled in with my book until it was time to board. 

The flight was smooth and my brother picked me up on the Philly end and so all in all easy peasy. 

I've spent a lot of my life living in this part of the country, but I'm a Carolina girl now and I forgot about all the snow on the ground. 

When my older sister was here last week the temps were frigid, but I've timed my week better and I think it might hit the 50s so whoohoo! I love seeing freshly fallen snow, but month old dirty snow is not my favorite. 

Celebrating with my first Valentine ❤️

We spent the afternoon watching the Olympics and we did some coloring too. My brother grilled salmon for dinner, and my sister-in-law served a yummy Valentine's Day dessert, and all in all it was a nice low key day. I don't have a chance to hang out with my brother and sister-in-law all that often so it was fun to be in their house and talk about all kinds of things. 

Hubs stayed home with the little brown dog, and he had a good day too. A Clemson baseball game with our son-in-law and the two oldest grandsons, and then dinner at their house which was really nice. 

Sunday morning we had coffee beside the fire in their cozy kitchen nook and did some laundry for mom. My brother and sister-in-law went out for a run and I hung with mom, then they came home and I took a good walk in the crisp fresh air which felt great. 

It wasn't windy and I was bundled up. There's a lot of sitting in our week so trying to move when we can. 

My brother still coaches and had a track meet that afternoon so it was just us girls at home. I blogged, started my new book, chatted with mom who colored some more, became knowledgeable about curling, and watched still more Olympics. The next few days will be more of the same and I'm not mad about it. Hope your weekend was a sweet one too. 

Linking with Hollyand Sarah today for their Hello Monday weekend recap blog hop. 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 641

Hello Friends. Here are the questions to this week's Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here on Wednesday (2/18) to share your answers. See you there! 

1. The Hodgepodge lands on Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent. Do you mark this season in some way? Will you be giving something up or adding something to your life in this Lenten season? 

2. Pancakes...are you a fan? Syrup or no syrup? Plain, blueberries, chocolate chips, bananas, or some other add in? Are pancakes on your menu this week? 

3. Tell us about a time recently when you felt 'spread too thin'. 

4. What's your favorite jewel or gemstone? In terms of your wardrobe would we find more gem tones, pastels, black and white, or primary colors? 

5. What responsibility do you think is hardest about being in charge? 

6. Insert your own random thought here.