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. 

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 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 599

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here on Wednesday (April 23rd) to share your answers. See you there! 

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? 

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

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?

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? 

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

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Pressed Between The Pages Of My Mind

Whoohoo! We've reached the halfway point in the A-Z Blog Challenge today, with 13 letters down and 13 left still to write. Go us!   

 M is for Memory

'the power or process of recalling what's been learned and retained, 

especially through associative mechanisms; the fact or condition of being remembered; 

a particular act of recall or recollection  

In this season when we refer to the term memory we're talking about one of three things- 

Remembering...pretty much anything. Why did I walk downstairs? Into this room? Out to the garage? Why did I come into the pantry? What did I do with that statement-receipt-document? What did she just tell me her name is? 

Names are tough in this season. I used to never ever ever forget a name. I was once the Director of a large preschool and kindergarten and I knew 300 names and the faces to go with. Now someone introduces themself and my brain short circuits. I try to give myself a mnemonic when I meet someone new to help remember their name, otherwise it flies right on out into space.

Initially when things like this happen you wonder if you have some sort of serious memory disorder, but most of the time it's just plain old aging. Not always of course and if you're truly worried you should see a doctor, but everyone I know who is my age-ish says the same thing. They're not as sharp as they were a decade ago. They don't remember names the way they used to, and multi-step tasks require greater concentration than one would think. 

Less multitasking, more let me give this my undivided attention and get it done. 

Hubs and I have many a conversation that goes something like this-'What't the name of those people who lived next door to us in xyz state? They had a daughter who was friends with our daughters and he worked for a software company and blah blah blah.....' 

Then hubs will answer with a name that's close but not quite right, like he'll say Joe and I'll say no it was Jim, Jim!! Yes! Jim!! And then we put our heads together and come up with the last name and a few more details and then we congratulate ourselves and also feel a little bit like we just finished a 5K. 

A lot of thinking in this season requires a collective brain. Truth man. 

Remembering the past...if you're on Facebook I'm sure you'll agree those timehop photos are like a zinger to the heart. You're scrolling along when all of a sudden BAM! there's your daughter at her high school graduation. 

So you look at another picture, then another, and before you know it two hours have passed and you haven't done any of the things you intended to do, because you've spent the better part of a morning traveling down a rabbit hole. 

And then there's your children having children. Few things wing you back a couple of decades the way your kids having kids of their own does. I think we're always looking for all the ways our grandchildren are similar to their parent, the child we birthed.

And when you do get a glimpse, in a look or a gesture or the way they turn their head just so, it makes your heart go squish. 

Watching your grown children feed and love and care for their children takes you back to that time in your own life...to the exhaustion and the frustration and the sweetness most of all, and how ding dang fast it's all gone by. 

Making new memories...this is true and important in every season, but I think I'm more aware of it in my third act. Hubs and I are both currently healthy and we're active people. I was at the doctor Monday for my physical and she asked if I'd had the pneumonia vaccine and I said 'am I 'old' enough to need that?' 

Sometimes I forget my age. 

I want to enjoy spending time and doing things with the people I love, talking to the most interesting little people I know hearing about all they are discovering, wondering and loving. I want to meet new people and see new places, hear other people's stories, what they've experienced in their lives. 

On the whole I think we remember the milestone events that happen within the life of a family, but I want to remember some of the smaller moments too. I so wish I had more pictures of my girls with my own parents. We never lived in the same town, so photos with either set of grandparents are typically of the birthday or holiday celebration variety. These are of course very special, but it would be sweet to have more of the everyday ordinary snaps taken with them. My mom played such great imaginative games with my girls and I wish I had captured more of that. 

My grandchildren (and my children for that matter) don't always want to have a picture taken, but I annoyingly persist and eke out a few every now and then. They'll thank me someday. My dad died unexpectedly young and I treasure the pictures I have of him with my girls. It's cliche to say it I know, but it's also true...we're not promised tomorrow. 

Easter, 1992

We have today and today is as good a day as any for making a memory. One that will feel tender and precious as we look back on it in the years to come. 

Linking this post with Talking About It Tuesday hosted by Joanne at Slices of Life 

Top O' The Mornin' To Ya

Happy St. Patty's Day friends. Are you dressed appropriately? Everyone's a little bit Irish today, right? 

'May the grace of God's protection

and His great love abide

Within your home and within the hearts

of all who dwell inside'...an Irish blessing 

I do have some Irish in me and wore my green sweatshirt yesterday. The sleeves have big hearts at the elbow. Hubs and I have matching T's we'll wear today. He might not know we're gonna match, but we are. We have a call with our financial planner this afternoon and when we booked the time slot his admin reminded me to wear green. It's just a fun little tradition that's easy to do. 

My daughter bought a box of Lucky Charms for the kids to have for breakfast today, which is definitely a treat. Nana might have to indulge too. I'll be making my traditional once a year corned beef dinner with cabbage and red potatoes that we all enjoy, hubs will likely have a Guiness, and that's about the extent of our celebration this year. 

Let's talk weekend. Plus a day or two extra because I'm all over the place on my blog these days. 

Wednesday hubs and I had an appointment with our attorney in the nearby small big city. We've redone our wills and trust and needed to make it all official with our signatures, so we made a day date of it. Nothing says romance like signing your will, but it's good to have it done. 

It was a gorgeous day so we went to lunch at one of my favorite places right after. This little restaurant sits at the edge of a park and we asked for a table outside so we could soak up the sun.  

I had a yummy tomato basil soup with crusty bread and a lightly dressed salad. Hubs had a croque monsieur. The menu is French, and dining here makes me feel a little bit like I'm sitting in a European cafe. 

We walked through the park after lunch and stopped at a little dessert spot for a cup of gelato. It was breezy...

I had a mix of half strawberry-half marscapone, which essentially tasted like strawberries and cream and was super deliziosa. 

How many countries can I reference in a single post? 

Thursday we had a real estate errand to run and that took most of the morning, but at least it was a fun real estate errand. Stay tuned. 

Also, we're not moving. Carry on. 

Ain't no procrastination like tax procrastination, but I finally sent our organizer off to the accountant. Even mailing it was a headache. I drove to the post office that's a little further away because I wanted to stop at Publix on the way home and that was the direction I needed to go. I arrived at the post office and stood in line for fifteen minutes, only to finally get to the counter and discover I did not have my wallet. Bother. 

My daughter asked why I didn't just use Apple Pay, but technology is never my first thought and I was silently a little bit panicked wondering where in the world my wallet might be. I flew out of there and raced home. 

Which is where I'd left my wallet, but ugh. I had to go back  to the post office and stand in yet another line and I never made it to Publix. Once I got home we all loaded up in the car to take the birthday boy for his celebratory cone. 

I told the grands he would probably eat the whole thing in a single bite, two at most, but nope. He licked that cone like it was his last meal, and savored every bite. 

In other news, the little boy grands are playing baseball and you forget how completely inconvenient kids sport practice times are. Let me remind you...dinner time is when they are. And two different teams with zero overlap in the days and times so meal planning and execution has become a little more challenging. Thursday night hubs grilled two pork tenderloins so we would have leftovers for Friday night and that worked out well. 

The weather was fabulous and he made us pork fried rice on the griddle with the leftover meat, which was so good. 

He loves the view from his grill station. 

Saturday we did some chores around the house, watched some Tennessee basketball, and then hubs and I went over to our friend's house for dinner. He's Italian and made his family's recipe for braciole, which I'd never tried. He sent us home with some of the secret sauce and I need to figure out how to duplicate it. I think the sauce is key. 

We were supposed to have storms here overnight on Saturday into Sunday, but they mostly missed us. We did get some rain, which I'm happy about because rain this time of year helps bring the pollen down. We're entering prime pollen season here, and it's not my favorite. 

So what were you up to this weekend? Anything fun or productive? 

I'm linking this post today with Holly and Sarah and their weekly Hello Monday blog party. Hop over to share your own recap and read what other bloggers have to say. Sláinte!

Tap Tap...Is This Thing On?

I was looking back at my recent posts and they're pretty much all Hodgepodge all the time, and I guess that's because life here lately has felt a bit 'hodgepodge'. Here's some of what we've been up to in February.

Well there's been no down time lol. 

We pretty much just drop where we are these days. The 'kid's are still here with us, and while I'm not in charge of the littles there is still so much that needs doing on a daily basis. I know my daughter manages all the everyday type of household and childcare chores on her own on the regular, but we're all here together so we're trying to help where we can help. 

They're somewhat unpacked here, but they also have bags in the garage and some stashed in the storage room, and things in the attic all of which hey've needed to access since the weather has warmed up. Everything else they own is still in storage and I know they are just so ready to be settled into a home of their own. 

Waiting is sanctifying. Patience is grown in seasons of waiting. I explained to my oldest grandson recently that we learn to wait by waiting. That even when we feel like nothing is happening God is always working out His perfect plan for our lives, which might even include something as simple as what house we will live in next.  

making lemon bars with my granddaughter using lemons picked right off our tree 

Hubs and I know this time together is a gift. Yes it's exhausting, and yes everyone will be glad to resume (or establish) more normal routines, but we also know love that runs deep, that sense of security and precious relationship are built moment by moment. I keep that thought front and center and am so grateful for all these moments. 

marshmallows in the firepit

In other news...I'm buying a lot of groceries. A lot. The first couple of weeks the total was shocking, but now I'm just like whatever. We're not eating out much so I'm sure it all balances out in the end. My daughter and I have been going to the store together and sharing the cost and when we finish paying and combine our two receipts we both kind of gasp. 

Besides all the meal planning and meal making and meal clean up there's laundry and our usual weekly commitments with volunteering, real estate-ing, dinners with friends now and then, and grandchildren wanting our attention. It's nice that we can fill in whatever gaps need filling. We can keep an eye on the 2-year old while momma showers, make breakfast for the whole big hungry crew, I can be available to stay with the kids while the parents run with hubs to look at a house or two, that sort of thing. My son-in-law has a birthday this week and we told them to go out to dinner one night. Alone. Happy birthday!

Speaking of real estate...there's not a lot on the market here currently. They found a house they wanted (mostly). It wasn't perfect, but we've all let go of perfect, and the house was warm and lovely and only 2 miles from us. It was overpriced and the seller wouldn't come down enough to make it make sense so it wasn't meant to be. 

Hubs and I have bought and sold a lot of houses over the course of our married life, and whenever we house hunt I tell myself if it doesn't work out for whatever reason then it's not our house. It can still be disappointing though, as you really need to imagine yourself living in a place before you make the offer, and once you do that you can't help but get excited thinking a place might be yours. 

Typically this is the time of year where the market picks up and we're hoping that's the case this year too. I've enjoyed seeing some of the homes they've considered and we've taken the kids to a couple too. As my daughter says, 'it's good to know the kids can be happy in any house' ha! While mom and dad don't mind a few projects some of these homes are in need of far too much reno. One was also in desperate need of a thorough scrubbing (shudder!), but the kids look around and claim bedrooms and check out the outdoor space and declare it all GREAT!  

Besides all the busy-ness with extra peeps in the house, hubs and I have been working to wrap up our tax organizer, secure a beach house for a summer holiday, track down the covers we need for our outdoor furniture before the pollen really falls, finalize plans for a wine dinner for 20 we're hosting with another couple, manage a huge tree removal from the backyard (these tree guys are amazing)...

 ...and honestly about a hundred other 'things' both large and small. 

We've also had some friends dealing with a really hard thing that's left both hubs and I feeling a little bit down. And then there's America, mad all the time and filled with so much bickering and whining my brain hurts from trying to understand how we've gotten to the place we're in and can we even find our way out? Is this the new normal???

Daffodils are blooming. 

It needs to be said.  Spring is a reminder of so much goodness...hope, beauty, warmth, light, forgiveness, new growth, fresh starts...

Last week some friends invited us to join them for a couple of days in North Georgia at an Air B & B they'd rented in a pretty little vineyard (Buckley for anyone local reading this). 

What a fabulous get away and a beautiful venue! The cabin was so well appointed and the view could not have been nicer. There's a screened porch that overlooks the river and you can make the short walk over to the tasting room if you feel like it. 

We drove down on Tuesday and once we'd dropped our bags we headed in to Ellijay for lunch. 

We sat outside and had a fun waiter who loved to talk. Hubs and I split a salmon BLT and an order of Brussel sprouts and the summer-like day called for a glass of Rosé. 

We came back to 'our' winery after lunch and enjoyed a tasting there in the sunny sunshine of the vineyard. 

We had dinner 'at home' both nights we were there, courtesy of our friends as she had done most of the prep work at home. Easy peasy, for us anyway. Tuesday night we played cards after dinner and talked and it was just so nice to be with friends we've known since college. We've lived a lot of life with these two and they are definitely our people. 

Wednesday we drove into the nearby town of Blue Ridge and meandered through some of the stores we enjoy. I bought these imported Italian chocolates with balsamic which might not sound good but trust me, they are super delicious! 

The center is soft and nougat-like and the balsamic isn't overpowering but it's definitely there. The taste is somewhat similar to a chocolate covered cherry, not as sweet and minus the liquid you get with those. 

We grabbed lunch on yet another patio, sharing a charcuterie board and a small flatbread pizza. The weather was absolute perfection both days.

After lunch we made our way to a hillside winery called Roo Mountain Vineyard.  

Their tasting room is beautiful (no kids allowed here) and their outdoor space has an absolutely gorgeous view. 

It was hard to peel ourselves away, but we eventually managed that and spent the pre-dinner hour sitting beside the fire pit behind our sweet little cabin. 

There were more cards after dinner and we crashed pretty early. Everyone was up and on the road to head home after breakfast on Thursday. 

It was a perfect little break. 

When the noise in your head grows a bit too loud tell it to hush and get yourself outside...

With friends you've known forever. 

I highly recommend. 

This post is linked with the Hello Monday party hosted by Holly and Sarah. Hop over there to read more or add your own weekend recap to the blog list. Also, because I haven't spent much time online this past week my reading list is long. I likely won't get back to read the posts I've missed so if you wrote something recently that was great, newsworthy, funny, or even only slightly interesting let me know and I'll hunt it down.  Enjoy your day!