A Summer Bucket List

The calendar says summer which means it's time to revisit my spring bucket list and move on into this new season. This was my spring bucket list...

I kept it short and sweet and still didn't do all I'd planned. I did a lot though, and there were so many fun spring happenings that didn't make the list which means I pass. 

Not that it's a test, but I don't like leaving lists uncrossed. 

Go to a Farmer's Market...not yet. I'm adding this to my summer list because I still want to get there. We just did not have a weekend where it worked this spring, but summer's my favorite for fresh produce and lots of grilled fruits and veg. 

Tackle the attic. Oops. Nope. And now it's hotter than h e double hockey sticks up there so I think we'll push this task off until autumn. Pretty sure last winter I moved the task to spring and since I'm not worrying about it in the heat of summer I guess you'll see it again when autumn rolls around. Hi hubs! 

Kayak. Done. Once but at least we got out there. We'll do more kayaking this summer and nobody will love it more than the little brown dog. 

Dye eggs with the kids. Celebrate Easter. Host dinner. Wow, raise your hand if it feels like Easter was a hundred years ago? In reality just two months. Well, technically a lot longer than two months, but you know what I mean. 

Anyway, this one was done-done-and done and I loved it all. 

Write a love letter. Hmmm...I'm going to say yes because I wrote my grandson a birthday letter four days before summer rolled in. I think when I put this on my bucket list I was thinking more of the hubs, so maybe I can still make that happen. I like writing letters and we still need to officially celebrate our anniversary. 

Hike a trail new to us. Nope. I wish we'd been able to do this, but between the weather and my ankle we didn't get to this one. We don't do a lot of hiking here in the summer because it's so hot, but never say never. 

Host a Derby party. Yup. Whoohoo! It was lots of fun too. 

Pick strawberries and make jam...fail. There's always next year, and thankfully daughter1's mother-in-law makes strawberry fig preserves and always shares. 

Visit a garden. Does my daughter2's raised beds count? Ha! 

Probably not, but I loved seeing all her plants and look forward to tasting something she's grown. 

See a ballet. This was one of my favorite springtime activities. Daughter1 and I went to the International Ballet's performance of Don Quixote to celebrate her birthday. The costumes were beautiful, the dancing exceptional, and there's nothing quite like a mother-daughter day to bring the smiles.  

Spring was busy. While I only managed to complete half my list, there were lots of fun spring events that happened, but weren't listed....my sister and niece came out to the lake one weekend for brunch, the 'kids' moved out and into their own home, we had a whole week with both girls and all the grands in the house, took our first boat ride, celebrated a soon-to-be new momma, a grandson turning three, 41 years of married life, and more. It wasn't dull. Or quiet. 

Now bring on summer...

Linking today with Joanne for Talking About It Tuesdays...hop over to her blog (Slices of Life)  and see what everyone else has to say on this last Tuesday in June. 

Sum-Sum-Summertime Hodgepodge

Welcome to the mid-week random known as 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. Summer officially begins this week (in the northern hemisphere)...what was your favorite thing to do in the summer when you were a kid? What do you like most about summer now? 

My favorite thing? Oh my...lots of things....spending all afternoon at the neighborhood pool, going barefoot, a week at camp, big games of kick the can with dozens of kids from two and three streets over, sitting on the ice cream freezer to keep it from moving while my brother turned the crank...

...the freedom to be a kid and believe anything is possible. 

What do I love about summer now? 

dining al fresco, daylight that lasts until 9 PM,  fresh fruit, swimming, and sitting outside beneath a starry night sky

2.  Something you'll celebrate this summer? 

June is a big month for us and we've already marked a nephew's birthday, a nephew's high school graduation, a daughter's birthday, a grandson's birthday, our 41st anniversary, and Father's Day. Whew! Lots of fun family events and milestones.  

My oldest grandson has a birthday in July, as does my momma who will turn 95 years old. And we love celebrating our nation's birthday on the 4th, one of my favorite days of the year. 

3. Summer tastes like? Smells like? Sounds like? 

Tastes like...red, ripe, watermelon, ice cold sweet tea, hamburgers on the grill, peach cobbler

Smells like...charcoal burning, coconut oil, freshly mown grass, and chlorine

Sounds like...crickets chirping, kids laughing, water splashing, childhood 

4. June 18th is National Splurge Day...what's the last thing you splurged on? What might you splurge on today? 

I splurged (only a little) on some jewelry to wear to a wedding we're attending. In my defense, I had purchased several dresses and narrowed it down to just two. One was pretty pricey but I preferred the slightly less expensive one, so adding the jewelry made it all come out even. Something like that. I might have even saved money-ha! Hi hubs! 

I don't think I'll be splurging on anything today, but never say never. 

5. Share a favorite summer quote, saying, song lyric, or meme. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

In these very troubling times I remind myself every day He's got the whole world in His hands. 

'You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.' Isaiah 26:3 

Ten On The Tenth

Joining Marsha today for her monthly 10 on the 10th prompt which is this-

I didn't do a year end recap on my blog this year, so I'm thinking this might take it's place. Scrolling back through the prior year's pictures it's funny the moments you see captured there that were so special as you lived them, but that were then pushed to the recesses of your mind as time rolled forward. It was fun to pull them out and dust them off.  

Here are ten for keeps..

1. A new little someone to love joined our family in February. 

The baby shower my daughter's friends hosted for her was truly so special. 

These friends praying for Sugar, who arrived just a few weeks later, is a moment I don't want to forget.

My own momma meeting her for the first time a few weeks later is another memory I'll treasure. 

2. There was a whole lot of lake fun this year-

3. Cousin time was for sure a favorite...

And even with all the comings and goings and people moving countries we still managed to squeeze in a whole lotta fun with grandkids in the house. 

4. Lots of happy celebrations happened this year, including a 2nd birthday..

Fireworks on the 4th of July...

A summer bridal shower and traveling to two different weddings of kids we knew when they were still just kids...

5. There were some fun weekends spent with college friends...

6. A great big outdoor project that will be enormously enjoyed in 2025...

7. Tea in Cambridge with my daughter on my birthday was a 5-star highlight from 2024...

That day was part of a fabulous trip to England taken with my hubs to mark our 40th anniversary....

8. Not enough sister time in 2024, but what we did have was special...

And I loved that my momma had a day at the lake with her three girls plus one granddaughter all together...

9. As always I am so grateful for the beauty that surrounds us...

10.  And last but not least, there was the Christmas holiday spent with littles to round out the year.

There was an awful lot to love in 2024. I knew this of course, but looking back and writing it down helps make it all stick. And while I'm sure I could have made a list of things I'd rather forget, it felt really good to count my blessings. 

'Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.' Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Hodgepodge Is Coming To Town

Hello Hodgepodgers! I hope you're enjoying all the blessings of this most wonderful time of the year. A reminder there will  not be a Hodgepodge next week (December 25th) since Christmas lands on a Wednesday this year. 

There will be a Hodgepodge link up on January 1st BUT!! I'll post the questions on Sunday (December 29th) to give everyone a couple of extra days to get their answers written.  

December 25-NO Hodgepodge

December 29-questions posted for the first HP of the new year (Volume 583)

January 1-the link goes live

Okay, back to today...here we go-

1. What's one thing you want to get done before the calendar flips to a new year?

Not a big deal, but I do still plan to tackle my pantry clean out and reorg. 

2. What's something that brought a smile to your face this year?

This little ray of sunshine, our newest granddaughter who's dubbed Sugar on my blog because she's pure sweetness and the smiliest baby I know-

3. What do you like on a cracker? Do you have a favorite cracker variety? 

I'll answer the second part of the question first since that's easier. My favorite is a Carr's Water Cracker, the cracked pepper variety especially. What do I like on it? Lots of things. I often have crackers with pimento cheese or chicken salad on top for lunch so how 'bout I don't overthink this one, and just go with that as my answer. 

4. Do you have plans for ringing in the new year in a fun or special way? Are you typically awake at midnight on the last day of the year? 

On a normal day I'm sound asleep at midnight, but I try to stay up to ring in the new year on December 31st. This year some neighbors are having a few of us over for a get together and we'll go to that, which should be fun. Bonus we can walk. I don't like being on the road on New Year's Eve. 

5. What are three words that describe your year? 

Is spendy a word, because I feel like this has been a spendy year. My three words are- 

spendy, tender, full 

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

I bought this Williams Sonoma advent baking calendar for my daughter2 this year because she loves to bake. Tanya (The Other Side Of The Road) shared several Advent calendars on her blog in November, and when I saw this one I knew I had to get it for my girl. Thank you Tanya! 

The calendar is so cute and really well-made. A French patisserie where the doors open and you find numbered boxes inside, each one containing some sort of baking tool or accessory. Many of the boxes hold holiday cookie cutters, one had pastry bags, pastry tips, another had the little shaper tools you use to smooth, shape, and texture cakes, etc. 

I took the calendar to my daughter when we went for Thanksgiving and she Marco Polos me every day to let me know what was in that day's box. Most boxes are small, but there's a bigger one close to Christmas we're curious about. This gift was a win. 

I'll be blogging some between now and Christmas, but in case you're signing off the Internet for the holidays I want to wish you much peace and joy as the year winds down. 

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A British Birthday Bonanza

I've had the most fun time celebrating my birthday this year. I'm in one of my most favorite places in all the world with some of my most favorite people.

Hubs and I hopped the pond on Monday. Barely. We were supposed to fly out of Atlanta at 5 PM and we even boarded the plane, got comfy, and settled in for the duration. Four hours later we were still on the tarmac. 

Bother. 

There was a problem getting fuel to the wings or some such nonsense, and after turning off the power twice so umpteen people could attempt a fix they decided we should de-plane and wait in the terminal. There was one more possible correction but that would take an hour so we were told to stay in the general vicinity of the gate. Everyone was very cooperative and well behaved and collected all their belongings to wait inside. 

A little over an hour later they said we could re-board and would be taking off in about thirty minutes. The crowd cheered and got a little bit excited as everyone re-collected their belongings and re-boarded. We did not feel overly confident as we were sitting by a former Delta flight attendant who said she didn't think we'd get out on this particular plane. 

She was correct. 

We sat on the plane about another half hour when they announced the flight had been cancelled. No fanfare, just 'it's been cancelled'. At this point it was 11 o'clock ish and we got in the queue with everyone else on our flight to figure out a plan B. Hubs was already on the phone trying to shortcut what we knew would be a big ginormous hassle.  Not his first airport rodeo. While we were waiting a fellow passenger informed us he had just received an email saying he'd been automatically rebooked on a flight leaving at 11:55 PM so we checked our messages and found the same. 

Course we were in terminal F and the new flight was leaving from terminal E in thirty minutes, which if you know the Atlanta airport you know is a train ride away. 

I was forced to do what I have sworn I would never do again, and that is run through an airport. Never say never. 

We made it-yay! but our bags did not-boo. Our original flight found a new crew and eventually left Atlanta sometime after 1 AM, and our airline app said our bags were on that flight. We opted to plant ourselves in baggage claim and wait it out. The airport could deliver but it might be a couple of days or more, and we felt like going ahead and getting them same day was the better option. 

Three hours later we had our bags and only a small headache  

We rented a car as we're going to be hopping around a bit, and I gave hubs a pep talk before we took off. He wasn't the least bit worried, but I needed to hear the pep talk myself. Our driving instincts are so ingrained that you don't even realize how much so until you're once more sitting right, driving left. 

Turns out it's a bit like riding a bicycle and hubs fell right back into it as soon as we left the airport. When we lived here cars did not come equipped with all the warning sounds they do now. If you're too close to a curb or another car your vehicle lets you know. Fifteen years ago you learned that the hard way. You shredded tires on sharp curbs and lost a mirror or two. C'est la vie. 

It was an absolutely beautiful night when we pulled away from the airport. The sun was setting and as we zipped past fields of gold and green lit up by a full bright moon, the affection we hold for this place, this country, welled up all over again. 

Little Miss had gone to bed by the time we finally arrived at our daughter's house, but we hugged the boys, chatted a bit, then hit the hay.  Our girl left a few of our favorite sweet treats on the guest room dresser to say welcome back. We slept soundly and felt surprisingly good Wednesday morning. 

My birthday. 

It was a grand day made so sweet by so much. My daughter made us a wonderful breakfast and we savored a cup of coffee at her kitchen table which was filled with little people and their chatter. After breakfast we walked to a nearby park, saw where the boys are attending school part time, then wandered a little further to one of their favorite coffee shops/Italian markets. 

I could have filled two shopping bags with goodies from the market side, but settled for a Cappucino instead. 

We walked back home and momma made her crew lunch, then got her littlest one ready for a nap. Then hubs manned the fort (and by manned I mean he had a short nap on the couch while the boys watched a movie and little miss slept) and my daughter and I went out and had ourselves the loveliest of afternoons. 

Tea on the sixth floor of a hotel restaurant overlooking Cambridge. The sun was shining. The sky was a brilliant blue. We sat on a glassed in patio and we had a whole complete entire conversation, uninterrupted. 

We started with a glass of Prosecco because hey, it's my birthday, followed by a beautifully served traditional afternoon tea. 

There were small sandwiches...egg and cress, cucumber and mint, curried chicken salad...along with scones with jam and clotted cream (why is this not a thing in the states???), and then a selection of sweet treats including a lemon meringue tart, a chocolate mousse, and a piece of raspberry swirl cake. 

It was perfect. 

We browsed in a couple of nearby shops before heading home and then it's possible I had a short jet-lag induced nap before we went to dinner. We rode a bus into the city center for dinner at The Eagle. We're all about a great pub and this one is special. The Eagle opened in 1667 as a coaching inn and is the second oldest pub in Cambridge. 

It was in this very spot in 1953 Francis Crick announced he and James Watson had discovered 'the secret of life' after coming up with their proposal for the structure of DNA. 

More importantly I had my first plate of fish and chips with a side of mushy peas. 

Cheers to beautiful birthdays and another trip around the sun!