The Weekend

Good Monday morning friends. My blog and I are out of sync and need to get reacquainted. I spent last week helping get my mom moved which entailed, among other things, driving more than 700 miles (all local!!), and I have either a whole lot to say about it or nothing at all. I haven't quite decided. 

It was a bit of a tough week, with some bright spots too of course, but I think I'll put that on the back burner for now and just chat about my weekend, pretty blooming things, and how much joy motherhood has brought to my life. 

Backing up to Wednesday because the day was a beauty and for dinner I made this delicious one-pan chicken and spinach orzo which needs to be mentioned. 

The recipe calls for rotisserie chicken but I brushed a couple of chicken breasts with Italian dressing, roasted them, then shredded, and I liked the flavor this brought to the dish. Really good!! Hubs loved it and ate the leftovers for lunch the rest of the week. 

In other news I am in love with everything blooming in our yard right now.  

The color of these azaleas is so delicate. 

Thursday was my volunteer day, then I came home and washed my hair, made stuffed peppers for dinner, and crashed on the couch. 

Friday I spent most of the day with my mama who now resides in the Palmetto State. My older sister and my niece both live just a few minutes from my mom's new home and the three of us joined her for  a lovely Mother's Day luncheon there. 

I got back to the lake about 3:30 and met hubs at our local wine shop for a tasting. A vintner from Italy he’d met on one of his earlier visits to the lake was in town, so hubs wanted to stop by the tasting. I was exhausted so didn't stay long and we came home and had a low key Friday night. We had leftover peppers for dinner, then watched a movie-Solo Mio, which we thought was really cute. 

I'd love a trip to Italy right about now, please and thank you. 

Saturday morning we made a trip to Lowes to pick up more potting soil, dirt so hubs could repair the yard where the sprinkler repair happened the day before, and lightbulbs for our outdoor lanterns. I wanted to sit outside and blog and read, but it was a little too cool and cloudy so I planted myself on the couch instead. 

Hubs did a million things like clean the boat bimini, fix the yard where it needed fixing, repotted some tomatoes, and got ribs going on the Big Green Egg. Happy Mother's Day to me. He knows I've had a month week and has pretty much let me be. 

It warmed up some close to dinner time so we sat by the waterfall with a glass of wine which felt like a great big much needed exhale. The lake was quiet and the sound of the waterfall soothing. 

Also these ribs y'all. 

He has mastered it.  

Sunday. Mother's Day. We went to church and heard a really good message taken from James 3 about the power of the tongue, which I think gave everyone something to think about, or maybe that's just me? Right after church daughter1 and I sent the guys home and she and I went to see Devil Wears Prada2. A quiet theatre with chairs that recline and a tub of popcorn to share for our Mother's Day lunch. 

What more could a mom ask for? We both liked the movie and it confirmed my need for a trip to Italy. Also a pair of super chic sunglasses which I'll be adding to my birthday wish list. 

I bought both of my girls the same thing as a little Mother's Day gift this year, and went all in with my hedgehog theme. I ordered this wrapping paper from Zazzle and it was so cute and of great quality. I dislike flimsy wrapping. 

Both my girls have gardens and you know how we feel about hedgehogs. 

These watering cans are from Uncommon Goods and I saw them at Christmas time, but they sold out fast. I remembered them and went back and looked a couple of months ago and success! They're sturdy and  adorable both so I might have to go back and get one for myself too.  

My girls both gave me sweet gifts that confirm they know me well. I appreciate when there is thought behind a present.  

I came home after the movie and hubs and I finally!! took the boat out for this season's maiden voyage. The sun was shining and it was a gorgeous day to be on the water. We motored by a house hubs recently sold so he could snap some pics from the water to send the soon-to-be new owners, but mostly we just moseyed around  nearby coves before coming back to the house to get dinner going. 

Hubs grilled steaks and they were delicious. After dinner we took a short walk before deciding to jump back on the boat to try and catch the sunset-

A beautiful ending to the Mother's Day weekend and always a sweet reminder that God is faithful. 

Visit Holly (Pink Lady Blog) and Sarah (Books and Sunshine) to read more 

or to add your own weekend recap. 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 652

Here are the questions to this week's Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here on Wednesday (May 6) to add your link to the party. See you there! 

1. What's something you may do this month?

2. Hola! Hodgepodge Day lands just after Cinco de Mayo... how do you feel about Mexican food? What's your favorite dish? Do you make it at home or is it a strictly dine out option? 

3. When the children of today grow up what do you think they'll say about this time period? What do you most hope they remember? 

4. What advice would you give a new mother? 

5. What's a phrase your mother often said to you? If you're a mom do you say it to your own children? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Hello Monday Afternoon

I didn't have it in me to blog Sunday night, and then had some things to do here this morning, so going to try to catch up now. I took very few pictures this weekend which is partly why I put off doing my Hello Monday recap. I feel like these posts need pictures. 

Honestly I'm not sure what I did on Friday. The kids spent their first official night sleeping in their own beds in their own house Thursday night so we woke up to a quiet house Friday morning. When they pulled out of the driveway on Thursday hubs was a little sad and my daughter laughed and said, 'see you tomorrow' because that's life now. 

While it's nice to return to our quiet morning coffee routine we are also missing the hugs and chatter and big smiles we've been greeted with first thing every morning since mid-January. We'll get used to it. 

I think hubs and I went out to a little local 'dive bar' for dinner Friday evening. I only know this because I took a picture of one half of my BLT, which hubs thought was funny (as in odd), but I told him that's how I remember things now. Sad, but sort of true. 

Plus it was delicious. This place is tiny and low key but the food is homemade and tastes like your momma made it. 

I do know hubs spent the entire day on Friday cleaning both my car and the boat. And the dock too, because why not? I'm getting new tires put on my car as I type,  and hubs says you can't take a car for new tires without washing it first. 

I mean I could, but he couldn't.  

He came home from washing the car and said he was just going to clean the boat which is a job in itself since it's been covered all winter long, but he cannot ever do just one thing so he went ahead and waxed it too. 

With his sidekick of course. Then,  since he was there and had the power washer going, he also cleaned the dock. 

She's all ready for her first voyage of the season.

Now we just need the weather to get with the program. We have a rainy few days in the forecast, but hopefully later this week we can go for a spin. Ride? Cruise! 

Saturday I picked my daughter up at her house which is 3.7 miles from my house (just sayin'), and we drove a little over an hour to a baby shower for her sister-in-law. 

The shower was in a friend's home and the hostess did a beautiful job with the decorating, the food, and all the little nice touches that make an event feel special. 

It sprinkled on us a little so we ended up opening the presents inside, but it was a lovely event and a fun day. 

The hostess had these sweet little favors which are wildflowers on seed paper. You actually plant the paper and flowers will grow. 

My daughter rode home with her mother-in-law because her hubs was at their house with the kids so they could have an early Mother's Day dinner together on Saturday night. I came home and kind of wanted to flop on the couch, but hubs said he'd been 'lazy' and wanted to go out so we did. 

fyi-my hubs is never lazy. 

We went to a local place for Mexican food and a margarita which was fine. 

Sunday morning we went to church with the kids. We've been going to their church the past few Sundays and I really like the pastor. The messages we've heard have been excellent and they're going through 1 Corinthians one chapter (sometimes less) at a time. So so good. 

We arrived before the kids did and it's so sweet to see them running towards us. The kids come into church for the first part of the service, then go to their own classes before the preaching and Max held hubs hand the whole time. After church we went to breakfast/lunch with the whole crew. I always order breakfast, but the boys had lunch so everyone was happy. 

My daughter brought me the cutest hat as a gift and the sweetest cards. Hedgehogs are a thing for my girls and I so they always try to find me hedgehog cards when they can, and I appreciate it.

I haven't mastered the selfie. Carry on. 

Daughter2 sent her gift earlier in the week, and I knew I'd love it because it's from a company I order from myself-The Rifle Paper Company. They have hand painted designs...stationery and home goods, and I think they even do wallpaper too. The quality is so good. She sent this pretty tray-

And a stationery set (yes, I write notes and letters) in a pretty box-

There's a nice pen, pretty paper, and envelopes with fun seals that I can't wait to use. 

It was a gray rainy day so we came home and I put on my comfy clothes and spent the afternoon reading. Hubs had booked us a table at a nice restaurant in the 'city', but we decided before church to cancel and just go to brunch with the kids instead. We watched a couple of movies that evening and just chilled, all of which made for a very nice Mother's Day.  

And that's pretty much the weekend that was. Hope yours was filled with lots of happy moments too. 

Linking a bit late, but not too late, with Holly and Sarah for their Hello Monday weekend recap party. Have a nice week!

It May Be The Hodgepodge

Welcome to another week of Wednesday Hodgepodge-ing. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then be sure to say hi to your neighbor there. Here we go... 

1. Let's compare this May to last May. What's changed? What remains very much the same? 

I looked back over my blog from last May and it seems life is not all that different than it was one year ago in terms of the month itself. As far as what has changed in the last year, the biggest would be my oldest daughter's geography. 

She and her hubs and kids were living in Cincy last May, moved to the UK for six months, and are now living literally right down the road from us in SC so that's one big change. 

The grands are all a year older and so are we. 

2. What's something you may do this month? 

I may visit a farmer's market. They're opening up in our area now and that's something I like to do this time of year especially. We have a few weekend happenings on the calendar already, but hoping I can make it to the market some Saturday. 

Our town has a Thursday night music thing, where they close the main road and there's a band and food trucks, and it's just a fun night out. It runs April-October, but we haven't made it to one yet. Hoping to get there in May. 

3. Mother's Day is approaching (in the US of A)...in what way(s) are you like your mother? 

I've always been a lot like my mom. For starters we're both stubborn-ha! I'm gonna own it because it's true. We both love Jesus, books, shoes, beautiful gardens, and time in the kitchen. We see motherhood as a calling, we're independent, and we love our people and also our space. 

My mom will turn 95 on her birthday this year, so not all of these are part of her life now, but they're definitely what I associate with her and how I picture her in my head. 

4. Did you have a favorite book as a child? What was it and why was it a favorite. 

I had several favorites...Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, Charlotte's Web by E.B. White, Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne,  and Crow Boy by Taro Yashima are definitely at the top of my list. My mom read aloud to my younger sister and I all throughout our childhood, well past the point we could have read those same books ourselves. 

Growing up we had a formal living room and a den in our house, and we never played in the living room. That space was for grown up gatherings and holidays, but my mom would read to us there which made the time feel extra special. 

My sister and I would sit on either side of her on the couch and through those books we developed a real and lasting love of reading, as well as a shared language and a closeness with our mom that carries weight. There are several expressions from the books I mentioned that we still use today. They gave us lots of 'scope for the imagination', and if you don't know that expression then you've never met Anne. With an e. 

If you've never read Crow Boy by Taro Yashima, check it out. 

5. Are you more of a tortoise or a hare? Explain. 

I have always been a hare, but these days I'd say I'm 'a little more tortoise. I'm savoring slower mornings and a slower pace in general. Pretty sure people might still say hubs and I are a couple of hares though. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

In honor of Mother's Day I'm linking to a post I wrote back in 2012, a sort of ode to motherhood. You'll find it linked here -K is for The Keepers.  

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommas reading here today...

...most especially to my own sweet girls who are now mothers themselves, and who continue to teach me so much about so many things.

"For all the things my hands have held, the best by far is you."-Author unknown

A Hodgepodge Picnic

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 blog, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Here we go...

1. The Hodgepodge lands on National Picnic Day...will you celebrate? Do you enjoy picnics? Dining out of doors picnic or otherwise? What are three or four things I'd find in your picnic basket? 

I do like a picnic and dining al fresco is my absolute favorite. If we're somewhere with outdoor seating and the weather is conducive to it we will opt to sit outside. It's supposed to rain here on Wednesday so a picnic is unlikely. 

Three or four things you'd find in my picnic basket?  Fruit, something sweet, bread or crackers of some kind, and cheese. We do a lot of boat picnics in the summer and lean more towards the charcuterie style of eating there. 

2.  A time recently where you felt 'antsy'? 

I'm not a restless person so this is a tough one. I suppose I feel a little antsy about getting the 'kids' moved into their new house. Everything has gone super smoothly so far but we're all just anxious to have the keys handed over and get them settled. So many hoops to jump through in a move, and they have furniture in storage and some belongings here and some at the in-laws and it's not really my donut, but I feel a little antsy with all the boxes that have needed ticking. They've pretty much all been ticked at this point so just waiting now for closing day to arrive. 

3. As the saying goes...'when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.'  Do you like lemonade? When did you recently need to make lemonade out of lemons, figuratively speaking?

Well I suppose Easter Sunday might qualify. We envisioned a full pew at church and a full table for dinner, but my son-in-law ended up missing the whole day. There was no choice but to roll with it, he was on call and ended up having a very busy day, which I guess is par for the course on a holiday weekend. We had a nice time with his mom, dad, sister, and brother-in-law though. This is how life goes sometimes and in general we're good at making the most of things. I told my grandsons we might need to make a 'flat Daddy' to hold up in family photos when he's working. 

I do like lemonade, but what I really like is an Arnold Palmer-half lemonade/half iced tea. 

4. Recently five 'celebrities' made a brief (ll minute) foray into space aboard Jeff Bezos Blue Origin rocket. Did you hear about this? Your thoughts? If money were no object is this something you'd like to do someday? 

I did hear about it. I mean I suppose they were technically in space, but calling themselves astronauts feels like a giant stretch to me. As far as this being something I'd want to do someday? That's a hard no. A very very hard no. Like concrete lol. 

5. Favorite thing about the 'space' you're sitting in right now? 

I'm in my office and my favorite thing about it is the quiet. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I enjoyed posting some Easter throwbacks in this space in the weeks leading up to the day, and I think I might do the same now for Mother's Day which is the next holiday on tap. There are just three Wednesdays before Mother's Day is here, which is hard to believe but the calendar doesn't lie. 

I cut myself some slack on Wednesdays in the A-Z Blog Challenge and work the Wednesday letters in to my random thought space too. Two posts on Hodgepodge Day would be one too many for me. Here goes- 

T is for time passages

'the process of time going past'

My very first Mother's Day with the one who made me a momma...

1988

And here's that same little girl on her very first Mother's Day, with the one who made her a momma...

2017

'Time moves slowly, but passes quickly.' Alice Walker 

The Weekend Roundup

It's a two-fer today...linking with both Hello Monday (Holly and Sarah) and also with several bloggers who host a once a month hop called Share Our Lives. I'll add their buttons at the end of this post. 

First, the weekend. Let's discuss. It was gorgeous. Saturday and Sunday both were all day sunshine and low humidity which is my favorite. 

We had two neighbor couples over Saturday night for drinks and s'mores around the firepit. It's so hot and humid here in the summertime that we rarely have a fire then, but this springtime weather was made for one. I had the traditional Hershey bar option, but also bought some of the thin Reeses (have you seen these? oh my!) and nutella for anyone who wanted to spread that on their graham cracker before adding the marshnallow. Hubs made mine because he toasts them to perfection and I tend to get impatient and end up charred.  

Friends we hadn't seen in a while invited us to their club for a Mother's Day brunch and we had a nice time catching up. We came home to find our magnolia blooming -

We have a pygmy magnolia which won't get as tall as other varieties, but the blooms are still large and spectacular. After brunch we took our inaugural boat ride of the season.

We love to see what all has been going on around the lake during the winter months. This picture makes it look like I know what I'm doing-

Which I do as long as all the planets are correctly aligned. They were. Normally you'll find me here-

Hubs made smashburgers for dinner and they were so good. We followed this recipe and it's a keeper. 

We don't have one of those fancy smash tools, but hubs chef spatula, which he's owned for forty years, worked just fine. 

And no, he's not a chef. He just plays one on the internet. 

All this talk of food feels like an appropriate segue into today's Share Our Lives link up. This month's prompt is-your five favorite and five least favorite foods. 

I saw the prompt on Friday and have wracked my brain all weekend to come up with a food I don't actually like. It's a problem y'all. And then limiting my likes to just five? Also a problem. 

I saw a website saying the top three least favorite foods in America are anchovies, black licorice, and oysters. I love oysters and while I prefer red licorice I don't mind the black. And I like anchovies in some dishes so also not on my list. 

Other items that did make the list were fennel, mushrooms, capers, olives (what???), brussel sprouts, and coconut. I feel like mushrooms and coconut are two foods you either love or hate, there's no middle ground there. I'm on the side of love. 

After way too much overthinking my list of least favorite would be...

Liver and onions -blech

Kale- I've tried but it's just eh. I mean if I came to your house for dinner and you served kale I'd eat it, but it's not a favorite. I much prefer it in a salad as opposed to cooked. 

Tofu-no explanation needed, right?

Lima beans-I like them in certain dishes and I always add them to my homemade vegetable soup, but I don't want a side of limas with my meal. When my girls were little they absolutely loved them and whenever I had a babysitter coming they would get so excited because that meant they could have lima beans for dinner. Yay!! Rachel is coming! We get lima beans for dinner! I think they both still love limas. 

Sardines-  I will eat almost any kind of fish, but I've never acquired a taste for sardines. 

Whew! That was hard. Okay, now for my favorites. And these are just five of my favorites, but not necessarily my top five. Too much pressure. 

Watermelon-I love all fruits and could easily have filled the list of favorites with just fruit, but for the sake of variety I've chosen one and watermelon it is.

Popcorn-it's what's for dinner. I kid, but only sort of. When hubs traveled a lot for work I sometimes made popcorn my dinner. 

Steamed Blue Crabs- eaten on a picnic table beside the Bay whenever possible. I love a crab cake too, but sitting with friends around a butcher paper covered table where a bucket of steamed crabs are dumped and then picked is one of my favorite things ever. We lived in the Annapolis area for nine years and this is one of the things we miss most. Also what made us crab cake snobs. Just sayin'. 

A burger-cooked just right on grill with lettuce and tomato and a side of summer sunshine 

Egg Salad -this one kind of popped into my head out of the blue. There's something about an egg salad sandwich that takes me back to my childhood and it's still a favorite for me. 

So tell me what foods would make your love/hate list? 

I hope you had a nice weekend...ours ended with a four foot rat snake slithering across the yard. 

Fortunately for me I married someone who mans the grill, docks the boat, and loves to relocate a snake when relocation is necessary. 

Friday Faves-Episode 2

Who blogs late afternoon on a Friday? Just me? Who reads blogs late afternoon on a Friday? I guess we'll find out.

I love Friday afternoons. My hubs may be adding sand to the firepit patio as we speak, is washing down the chairs there, and in general making everything in that area of the yard squeaky clean for friends to enjoy tomorrow night, but I've declared it quittin' time and am sitting with a cup of tea, my laptop, and a gentle breeze on the deck thinking about blogging. 

We're retired. We can call it a day at 3 PM on a sunny Friday in May. 

Well hubs can't because he's a machine when it comes to yard work and chores, which I have to say, is not a bad quality in a husband.

I'm linking a little bit of this and that from the week that was today with Erika and Andrea on Friday Favorites. 

First things first...I'm still walking with the Better Me app and invited hubs to go with me one day this week. Normally I like to do these walks alone, listen to my book, and not think about my achilles and these hills. Hubs likes to say things like, 'These hills are so good for you!' and 'We should do this twice a day' while in my head I'm wondering why it is he bounces up the hills like it ain't no thing and I huff and puff like it is? 

Our neighborhood has walking trails through the woods that connect the various sections. I like hubs with me when I take any of the wooded routes, on the off chance we see a bear. We've never encountered one on a walk, but they are in the neighborhood from time to time. 

If hubs walks with me his number one fan gets to come too. 

Second fave-I had lunch with a friend on Wednesday, which was long overdo. And since it's graduation week at the local university we opted for a drive in the country and lunch with a view. Crazy storms came in later and the mountains were already feeling it, but still gorgeous. 

Another fave...On Thursday nights in tinytown they close the main street to cars, invite food trucks in and have a stage with live music. We hadn't been in ages but made it there last night, and it was so much fun. 

We got there early and had margaritas and shared some nachos before the main band played. We ran into lots of friends, which is one of the best things about small town living, and the weather was perfection. 

My favorite fave-I did some grocery shopping this morning while hubs was at a meeting and then sometime after he walked in the door with these-

Fresh flowers are one of my love languages and this arrangement is over the top. 

Lastly, I'm wishing all the mamas out there a weekend filled with the things and people you love. I'm so grateful to still have my mother in my life. She taught me how to mother and has loved me with her whole heart from the very beginning-

I'm so very grateful too for my own sweet daughters...

...who mother their littles with patience, humor, and intention in a way that makes my heart go to absolute mush.