The Friday Seven

I know it's usually dubbed the Friday Five, but I have a random seven so there ya go. Just a few stray thoughts and happenings from the past week and life lately linked with Andrea and Erika today. 

1. Did I tell you daughter1 and her family got a puppy? 

As my granddaughter loves to say 'he's a basket hound'. Oh my word, it's the cutest, and we absolutely do not correct her. In fact we all now say basket hound and likely will say it that way forever and ever amen.

He's super cute, as all puppies are wont to be. Pretty sure God designed it that way because puppies are puppies, right? As far as puppies go he's a good one. Basset Basket hounds are kind of low energy which is not a bad trait in a puppy. I've read they're sometimes called the couch potato of the dog world, and while I don't think I'd go so far as to say that, he is pretty chill. 

2. Did I tell you daughter2 and her family got a puppy? Their guy joined the family back in the fall but I don't remember mentioning it here and I don't play favorites. This handsome fella was a rescue and nearly a year old when they got him. 

fyi-A  one-year old dog is still a puppy. 

He's a real sweetie and has settled in well. The kids adore him. And because I know someone will ask our little brown dog is uninterested in these juveniles lol. 

3.  We had our monthly wine club dinner on Monday and it was one of my favorites. The food was so good. There was a Spanish theme to the menu and I meant to take pictures, but oops.  

One course was a Salmorejo which I'd never heard of before, but is similar to a Gazpacho. It's made from puréed tomatoes, bread, garlic, and olive oil and I might like it even better than Gazpacho. I found a recipe online I'm going to try at home. It's served cold so will be a nice summer treat. 

4. Tuesday was book club and we read The Indigo Girl. Our hosts had all sorts of indigo details on the snack table including this tea-

Have you ever tried butterfly pea flower tea? It's indigo in color and doesn't have a lot of taste. We added honey and lemon (and in some cases Prossecco) to give it more flavor, but the color was beautiful. I read the tea's benefits are similar to green tea, without the bitterness. 

5. My two oldest grandsons are playing on the same baseball team this season and they're killin' it. I've been running non-stop since April, and until this week hadn't made it to a single game. Hubs has managed a few, but I can't be in two places at once so priorities. 

Hubs and I drove to the field Wednesday night to see them play and the other team was a no-show. Boo.  Hubs had plans Thursday night but I trekked back to the field to finally see a game. 

I love the ballpark vibe. 

6. Thursday morning hubs and I met up with daughter1 to watch grandson #2 (aka Max on the blog) 'graduate' from kindergarten. I love this school they are part of so very much. It's a hybrid, so some days students are in a classroom and the other days are homeschooled by their mommas. The heart of this school is beautiful. 

Each 'graduate' is gifted a copy of Max Lucado's The Oak Inside the Acorn, and the Director's message and prayer were lovely. The kindergartners walked in to Pomp and Circumstance and I don't care if the graduates are six or eighteen or twenty-two, that song always makes me teary. 

As we waited for the program to begin they had a little slide show with a picture of each child in their cap and gown (precious!) and a tag line telling what each little person wants to be when they grow up. They flashed this sign too-

Class of 2038???!!. Can that be right? That date doesn't even sound real. 

They let the students toss their caps in the air at the conclusion of the event and I  guess it's in our DNA because they all knew just what to do. So fun! 

After graduation I drove the hour and twenty over to spend time with my momma and had a nice visit with her. Such a beautiful blue sky day...

I  made a stop at Costco when I left there since I was somewhat in the neighborhood. Not really, but definitely closer than I am when coming from home so it made sense. Plus hubs was out of his peanut butter stuffed pretzels and we can't have that.

7. I made a pot pie for dinner Wednesday night and it was so pretty-

I am all about dishes that make more than one meal these days. Have a great weekend everyone! 

Oh The Places We'll Go

Yesterday's Hodgepodge got me thinking about graduations and I decided to weed through one of my attic boxes for some pictures. Killing two birds with one stone so to speak...empty an album (or three) and write a blog post while I'm at it. 

Course I went down the rabbit hole pretty far and ended up sending pictures of pictures to some of my college friends and then hubs got in on it too and invited his old roommate to come for the weekend and this is how we roll. We couldn't quite make the spontaneous visit happen this weekend, but it will happen soon. 

Back to graduations...I'm not a Carolina sports fan (Go Vols!!) but I am an Eric Church fan and he gave the commencement address at UNC last weekend. I thought it was really good and worth a listen (linked here). 

I have no idea who spoke at my commencement and I have very few pictures from the day. Based on this photo it appears there was a professional photographer there (he's over my shoulder), but I guess we chose the diy route instead. 

I do know it was exciting and I did get a job, which was after all the goal. Some people say college wasn't all that useful in terms of their future employment, but in my profession it was very necessary and of course a lot of fun too.  

Remember panty hose? Remember weeding through ten pair to find one without a run? 

My parents gave me a briefcase as a graduation gift and I loved it so much. Made me feel officially adult. This was before the cute tote bag era we're in now, and you better believe I used that briefcase. I worked for a school system and in my role I traveled to more than one school so it was nice to keep all my paperwork together.  

Somewhere there's a picture of me in my cap and gown standing with my parents but it wasn't in the boxes I pulled out today. I promise they were there-ha! I found this one taken in my sister's apartment, and I'd love to know what we're saying. 

Look at the waist on those jeans! I guess it really is true, what's old is new again. 

Hubs graduated the December after my June graduation date and here I am cheering him on. That jumper was so cute. 

Also, he wasn't the hubs yet. 

Also I'm scanning actual photos which, let's be honest were not all that great to start with, but it was the 80's and we had no idea. We didn't take many pictures while in college, or at least I didn't. I have a handful and they're a real mishmash. Here's one from a date hubs and I had out hiking someplace. I couldn't say where? 

What I can say is I was definitely a natural brunette lol. 

I feel like today's generation of young women are more polished than my generation was in terms of hair/makeup/ skincare. Maybe we weren't quite as concerned with all that because we weren't photographed 37 times a day? I'm not saying we didn't care because we did love our hot rollers, but we didn't work out, drink gallons of water, or have a ten point skin care routine before going to bed at night like girls do now. 

We did have the best music though, and I'll fight you on that if necessary. 

I do have pictures from my girl's graduations, high school and college. One of my favorite pictures of my girls was taken on the day of daughter2's high school graduation-

Beauties. 

Both girls  had incredible speakers at their high school ceremonies, that's something I do remember. At Daughter1's ceremony the speaker was the first British woman to summit Mt. Everest and then later climb all seven summits. She was phenomenal. 

Plus my daughter was given the Principal's award which was a happy surprise. He said the nicest things about her. 

The speaker at Daughter2's high school graduation was a gentleman who was blind, but had accomplished much. I can't recall the details of  his story but I remember it as inspiring. 

Hubs and I still say we own some of the real estate their university sits on or at least it feels like we should. The campus is spectacular. They had photo ops before photo ops were even a thing. 

A rose garden...

Beautiful fountains...

Same fountains, another degree....

Today I'm off to see a little boy 'graduate' from Kindergarten. I know I know, it's not a true graduation, but we celebrate all the same. Marking life's milestones brings a lot of joy. 

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. 
You can steer yourself any direction you choose."~Dr. Seuss 

Pomp And 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, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Or all the bloggers if you've got the time. Here we go...

 

1. What's one piece of advice you would you give a recent or soon-to-be graduate? 

Congratulations! You don't have to have your whole life figured out. 

You may have to take a job that is something less than your dream job, and that's okay. Your first job is a stepping stone to your next job.  Prioritize your relationship with Christ in this season of enormous growth and change. 

2. May 15th marks the birth date of L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. At this point in time are you more in need of brains, courage, heart, or a trip back home? Explain. 

I'm going with courage. I want more of it. Moral courage in particular, which feels essential in these turbulent times we find ourselves caught up in, where truth is relative and everything is polarized.

3.  "There's no place like home" is an oft repeated line from Baum's book. When was the last time you felt the truth of that statement? 

Every time I travel I have this thought. I love getting away, whether for a long weekend or an extended holiday, but it always feels good to be back home, to sleep in my own bed. 

Actually sometimes it doesn't even have to be a trip. When I've been out of the house for a full day I might also have this thought. 

4. May is National BBQ Month...do you own a grill? Who does the grilling at your house? What's your favorite thing to throw on the grill? What's the last thing you grilled? 

Do we own a grill? Ha! We have a Big Green Egg used primarily for steaks and large entrees like pork butts, ribs, brisket, 50 chicken wings, that sort of thing. We have a gas grill we use when we just want to grill a couple of chicken breasts or burgers, a piece of salmon, etc., and we have a griddle we use for a variety of things...smashburgers, fried rice, fajitas and my favorite...

...making pancakes when the grands are all here. Hubs and I were just discussing the griddle the other night saying we want to do more griddling this summer. 

Hubs does the grilling here and also the cleaning of the grill after cooking. My favorite thing to throw on the grill would be a burger, but the last thing we grilled was a ribeye steak on Mother's Day. 

5. What's a memory you replay in your head when you need a little joy? 

There are many, but one of the first things that popped in to my head was daughter1 meeting daughter2 the day she was born. 

My parents brought her to the hospital and it was one of the sweetest moments of my life. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

"The earth laughs in flowers." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 653

Here are the questions to this week's Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here on Wednesday (May 13th) to add your link to the party. See you there! 

1. What's one piece of advice you would you give a recent or soon-to-be graduate? 

2. May 15th marks the birth date of L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. At this point in time are you more in need of brains, courage, heart, or a trip back home? Explain. 

3.  "There's no place like home" is an oft repeated line from Baum's book. When was the last time you felt the truth of that statement? 

4. May is National BBQ Month...do you own a grill? Who does the grilling at your house? What's your favorite thing to throw on the grill? What's the last thing you grilled? 

5. What's a memory you replay in your head when you need a little joy? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

A Charleston Weekend

It's always a little bit hard to recap a weekend where we did a million and ten things, but I'm gonna try. Hopefully it will not require a million and ten words.

It might.

Hubs and I flew to Charleston on Thursday morning and I feel I must digress here for a minute and tell you that I cannot even remember the last time I took a flight inbound or outbound from Newark that was not delayed. ahem. 

Moving on...Daughter 1's fiance graduated from medical school on Thursday evening, and we were so happy to celebrate with his family as he walked across that stage, the letters M.D. now officially behind his name. Also now officially a Captain in the US Army, because gaining his M.D. meant a promotion in rank. Whoohoo!

Choosing to become a doctor is not a small thing, it truly is a commitment to a lifetime of dedicated service and continued learning. Next on the agenda is a five year residency, which I'm pretty sure is not a walk in the park either. He's excited and brilliant and so looking forward to this next chapter with our girl by his side.

We stayed through the weekend, spent time with his family, and enjoyed exploring this beautiful historic city in weather that could not have been more perfect. Hubs and I played tourist all day Friday, beginning with a walk through Riverside Park...

You can see Fort Sumter from the water's edge. We didn't get out there this trip because you can only do so much in a single weekend, but another time I hope.

The Civil War began at Ft. Sumter, so lots of history round every cobblestoned Charleston corner. It's pretty peaceful here now.

We did take a carriage ride around town...

...followed by a delicious low country lunch in a well known restaurant called Poogans Porch where we dined, appropriately, on their lovely upstairs porch.

.
Funny story-standing in front of me when I stepped into the restaurant was a sweet friend I met via my blog. M lives in North Carolina and came to stay with me back in October along with another friend I'd met via my blog. She happened to be in Charleston for a couple of days with her daughter and another friend and we both ended up in Poogans Porch at the very same time.

'It's a small world after all....". Everybody sing!

Also you should know I'd just stepped off a carriage and it was breezy so my hair was crazy. I had a fried green tomato BLT sandwich with crab remoulade and it was positively delish. Hubs ordered their shrimp and grits, a dish he'd eaten for breakfast just a few hours earlier in another spot, but when in Rome, right?

NJ is not known for her shrimp and grits, so he fills up when he's down south. Plus, there are many variations to the recipe so it's not like you're actually eating the same dish twice. We agreed we should not live in Charleston because when someone sets a warm from the oven biscuit in front of you it's hard to say no thank you. Fortunately we logged a lot of walking miles this weekend!

Friday night we ate at Hank's Seafood which is another well known spot, famous for its seafood and maybe shrimp and grits, but we both had seafood. It was just the hubs and I, but we sat at a community table with people from Kansas City and discussed our mutual love of good BBQ. Food really is a universal language.

On Saturday we had a light leisurely breakfast in the East Bay Meeting House, a small coffee shop in the French Quarter that made me think of Europe. The fiance's family were all staying in a house over on Folly Beach, and had invited us to join them for a lunchtime low country shrimp boil.  I promise we did more than just eat all weekend.

That felt like it needed to be said.

The 'kids' picked us up, and we had an enjoyable afternoon chatting and getting to know his family a little bit better. There was boiled shrimp and baked grouper, corn and potatoes and a wonderful salad.  This post is a little heavy on food shout outs, but in all honesty, you can't go to Charleston and not talk about the food. At least I can't.

Saturday afternoon we drove back into Charleston so the fiance's sister's and her boyfriend, and another family friend could play tourist. The sister's boyfriend is not a local, so he wanted to see some of the area's historical sites too.

The homes in this town are to die for.  Seriously, I could just move right in, plop myself with a good book onto one of the umpteen covered porches and stay for a while.

I'd noticed a hotel's rooftop from the street level and wanted to check it out in person so Hubs and I, along with Daughter1 and her Dr. Captain rode the elevator all the way up inside the Market Pavilion Hotel late Saturday afternoon. The hotel lobby is quiet and elegant, so that's more or less what I was expecting to find rooftop.

The elevator doors opened and Whoa!

There's a pool! Literally right in front of you!  And lots of people and tables with umbrellas. It was lively and fun and the sun was shining so we sat up there soaking it all in. We talked and took pictures and enjoyed the lovely temperatures and maybe a glass of bubbly. There were views all across Charleston from up on that roof.

Saturday night we met Daughter1, the fiance, and his parents at a lovely restaurant called 82 Queen.  The restaurant's dining spaces are spread amongst three buildings with a beautiful patio in the center of it all. Our table was in a gazebo on the patio where an enormous magnolia tree grows, and the food and ambiance were delightful.

Hubs and I both said we needed a few more days, but the real world beckoned so we headed back home on Sunday afternoon. Home where we had to turn our heat on. Boo.

But happy for the memories made and for the exciting future awaiting the happy couple.

Mastered It!

It's Monday, right?  How about a recap of our very full weekend?
Is there any other kind on this side of the pond?

Let's start with trying to get out of town. What a nightmare! Okay, maybe more of a first world problem than a nightmare, but still it was aggravating. We were supposed to fly out at 3 PM on Thursday afternoon, and when I checked the flight status en route to the airport everything was a go.  As hubs was checking the bags we happened to see the word Cleveland on the screen.

Cleveland? As in Ohio? We're not going to Cleveland.

In fact we were going the polar opposite of Cleveland.  Not precisely, but roughly because Cleveland is north and we were traveling south.  Trying to travel south.

I could go on and on (and on and on) about all the rigmarole we encountered, but suffice it to say we did not get out on Thursday night.  Boo. We did get on an early morning flight for Friday, and when they told us that was our only option hubs and I looked at each other and said, "Let's not drive the hour back home only to get up in the middle of the night to come right back."

We checked into a hotel near the airport and headed over to the Ironbound area for dinner. Newark NJ is not a city I'd put on my 'must-see' list...in fact I'd probably tell you to take a wide berth around it, but there is a section of the city known for great eating, called the Ironbound. It's chock a block full of Spanish and Portuguese dining and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Fornos of Spain.  If there's one thing we know how to do around here it's how to make lemonade out of lemons.

Sangria and Spanish omelet anyone?

Daughter2 picked us up on Friday morning, and after breakfast drove us out to the school where she'll be teaching. We got to meet the principal who is fabulous, and daughter2 showed us around the school and inside her classroom. Seeing my baby girl sitting in her official teacher's desk made my heart happy. There's nothing quite so special as seeing your child's dreams come true.

Friday night we met up with family downtown for a pre-graduation celebratory dinner, and then met up with more family who had come to town on Saturday for a pre-graduation celebratory lunch.

Our family likes to do everything in a pack...there's a lot of us.
Just ask the boyfriend.

Downtown Greenville South Carolina is one of my favorite places to be. Hubs and I went for a run both mornings we were there, and enjoyed strolling through their fabulous Farmer's Market on Saturday morning.

Falls Park is so pretty....almost makes me like running.

Almost.

Of course we took pictures on this gorgeous campus which never looks lovelier than with all it's many fountains flowing.

Look at that smile!  

Is it because she's finally finished with grad school? Has a brand new job? Or is it because her favorite boy came to town to celebrate all of the above?  I'm going with C.

Since this was a summertime ceremony, it was much smaller aka shorter,  than the springtime graduations we've attended.  

Not complaining. 

At all.  

This ceremony was held indoors in comfortable seats and air conditioning. There is definitely something to be said for an indoor summertime graduation in the south.

Daughter2 was beaming as she received her Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education. She has always enjoyed school, but she is so ready to get on with the business of teaching.

I think a good teacher is full of passion, full of heart, full of ideas, and full of resolve.  So proud of her accomplishments, and so excited for my girl and the year ahead...

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.  Live the life you have imagined."  

Henry David Thoreau