No Kidding It's The Hodgepodge

Welcome to 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. What's your favorite room in your house and why? 

Does a porch count? Because the porches in my house are definitely my favorite spaces and we use them like rooms. 

We have a covered upper deck, a screened porch off the kitchen, and then the lower level space with a covered patio, a covered dining space, as well as an uncovered patio. Lots of options for sitting outside.

The upper deck is my favorite because it's easy to just step out there first thing in the morning, and the view is so pretty. 

I do love the new lower level space, but we haven't spent as much time there yet. It does have the potential to become my new favorite, especially in the summer months. 

2. What's something that will instantly annoy you? 

Getting behind someone in the left lane driving below the speed limit. Even if they're driving right at the speed limit I can feel annoyed. It's the passing lane. Move over. Please. 

3. May 28th is National Hamburger Day...will you celebrate? How do you like yours? If you're not cooking at home is there a favorite place you like to go for a burger? Did you ever work in a fast food  restaurant? 

A hamburger on the grill is one of my favorites, and I think yes, we'll 'celebrate' (AKA-grill a burger on May 28th).  I like mine with lettuce, tomato, pickle, and mayo. I have never worked fast food, and there's not really one favorite place here for a burger. There is a place that's more or less a sports bar in town and they do make a good burger. 

4. What are three scents you like? 

It's hard to narrow it down to just three, but I'll try. I love lemon (or any citrus really) and also cinnamon in terms of candles and baking. For the third I'm going with the scent of freshly mown grass, which I wouldn't want in a candle or perfume, but which does have the power to wing me back to my childhood in the blink of an eye. 

5. What do you miss most about being a kid? 

I don't know if miss is the right word, because I don't have any desire to be a kid again. I do sometimes have a longing for the sense of carefree-ness I felt as a child. (I looked it up because carefreeness didn't sound like a real word, but it is indeed a real word). 

By carefree I don't mean free from having any responsibilities because I think we're made to have those, and I like having some responsibilities. 

I'm thinking more along the lines of not being weighed down by the world and all its trouble and strife.  The division, the conflict, the endless complaining.  I know that's part of growing up, taking those things on and trying to make the world better in whatever way we can, but the 2020's so far have been more than a little exhausting. 

My childhood was for the most part carefree, and for that I'm grateful. I was protected from the heaviness of the world that, while different than what we have today, was still there. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

I started this post a little late so will just say enjoy this last week of May...it's flown! 

Happy Wednesday everyone~

Monday Morning Musings

Before we get to our weekend recap I want to say a heart felt thank you to all of the men and women who've served this land I love in some branch of the armed services. I have so much respect and admiration for those who take this path and for the many sacrifices they make. Their families too. My dad was a career marine and my son-in-law was in the Army, and I'm both proud and grateful today for their service. 

Linking this post with Holly and Sarah and their Hello Monday party happening today-

Our weekend kicked off with a trip to the lawyer's office Friday morning. Hubs and I had some financial stuff we needed to deal with and we finally made ourselves book an appointment. Who else loathes talking about anything related to taxes, wills, estate planning, and such? 

We had new wills made about fifteen years ago, but our girls were in college then, and we lived in another state, and so much has changed that it just made sense to update. We also spent some time figuring out if we need a trust or don't need a trust, or if you're me, what even is a trust? 

These are the sorts of things I want someone else to figure out and then just tell me where to sign, but I adult-ed like an adult and we got it done. We spent an hour and a half with the lawyer and he did let me know he won't charge us for the twenty minute sidebar he and hubs had discussing their mutual love of bourbon. We got home just in time for hubs to meet a tree guy about a big tree (sob) that needs to come out. 

The fun never ends 'round here. 

Friday afternoon I baked a batch of mini cupcakes to take to an evening event. I did minis because I feel like a sweet bite as opposed to a whole cupcake is what most people want at something like our once a month Friday evening socials. In November the organizers always recognize and honor any Veterans and active duty military in the neighborhood which I love to see. 

These are banana cupcakes with a peanut butter frosting and I used this recipe- Peanut Butter Banana Cupcakes. The icing is fabulous, so light, and I think would be really good on a chocolate cake or cupcake too. I had a big bottle of fall sprinkles so why not

Saturday morning hubs went to our quarterly HOA meeting and I went grocery shopping.  Like I said...it was a weekend chock a block full of excitement. Have you seen this in your market? 

I know pickle juice is supposed to be good for you and we always put some in our Bloody Marys, but that might not be what they mean when they say it's good for you -ha! It's also good for leg cramps, electrolyte replenishment, and your gut, but this is quite the jug isn't it? I can't imagine how long it would take me to consume all of that. 

I don't like grocery shopping on the weekend, but since I didn't do my pre-weekend shop I had no choice. Also, I wore shorts. The weather has been so warm it's hard to know how to dress. 

We've been walking most days, and while it doesn't feel like summer it's warm for fall. My basil plant is happy though, and still going strong, so Saturday afternoon I snipped a bunch and made pesto to use on Sunday. We watched a lot of college football and hubs and I went out for Thai food Saturday night. 

Daughter2 and her hubs and kiddos had been at my son-in-law's university homecoming all weekend long, and we were sort of on their way home so they made us an overnight stop. I hadn't seen these grands in two months and was so happy to have some in person time together. 

I might come back and add pictures to this post later, but they arrived close to dinner time Sunday, and Sugar was not feeling her best. Big brother made a beeline for the toy box and then we ate and did baths  and I kind of forgot about taking any pictures. 

Daughter2 and I have been baking along with The Great British Bakeoff this season and had this crazy idea we'd be able to do the week 4 bake (caramel) while we were together. No way that was happening Sunday night. 

We might try to add this one in at the end or somewhere in the middle when a bake pops up that we're unable to complete for our own 'technical' reasons. We make the rules and we say it's okay. 

We didn't do a lot but somehow the weekend flew right on by. And I love waking up to Monday morning coffee with a daughter in the house. 

Have a great week everyone!

Good Day Sunshine

Hello friends. We've had an absolutely gorgeous fall weekend here weather wise and it looks to be more of the same all week. I'm joining Holly and Sarah for their weekend recap link today so here we go-

First of all, it's hard to get things done when you have a brand new waterfall in your backyard. 

Especially on a sunny day. I kind of just want to hang out here and think deep thoughts or nothing at all.  Our travels and the busy days following have caught up with us and we were feeling it this weekend. At one point on Saturday I knew hubs had gone outside to sort out a few things and when I went looking for him he was sacked out in the hammock. Just taking a little rest he said lol. 

Let's back up to Friday. I spent the afternoon with a little baking project I'll talk more about later, but suffice it to say I made the biggest mess in my kitchen and when I was three quarters of the way through friends dropped by the dock to say hi. Hubs invited them up and I'm not kidding when I say there was sugar on every surface of my kitchen. 

These friends had never actually been inside my house before so 'oh hi, don't put your hand down on my countertop or you might be stuck there permanently'. I decided to finish the baking project later and have a glass of wine on the deck instead. In my apron, but hey that's lake life. Come as you are. 

We chatted for a while then they boated on home. Hubs fired up the new griddle while I tried to put the kitchen in to some sort of order and then we had our first BBQ in the new space. 

The chef's view is a win-

We made fajitas and by we I mean hubs grilled everything and I watched. They were delish. 

Saturday morning was another beauty. You should know I take a million pictures of the sunrise this time of year. It's the best. 

Does your neighborhood Boo people? It's a thing as Halloween approaches where someone secretly leaves a bag or bucket or box of goodies on your porch with a message inside that tells you to now go do the same for another neighbor. There's a foam pumpkin in the bag too,  that gets hung on your mailbox so you know who has been boo-ed and who hasn't. 

I snapped a picture of what was in my bucket...two cute pumpkin coffee mugs, some cinnamon flavored coffee, a fall kitchen towel and pot holder, two jumbo Reese's cups, a little cup filled with snickers bites along with candy corn and a decorative pumpkin.  

I'm not going to say what I put in the bag I gave away because a few neighbors read here and it's supposed to be hush hush. 

Except everyone in my neighborhood has cameras so it's hard to be too hush hush. I dropped mine off after dark and donned a baseball cap and a dark jacket to make the delivery. It's a fun little neighborly thing to do this time of year and I enjoy seeing what people put in their bags.

Hubs and I spent Saturday mostly trying to get the house cleaned and ready for company on Sunday. I finally tackled all the bathrooms and he vacuumed and then we both conked out and watched football. 

The Vols. Have mercy. That game was so painful to watch. Will they ever play a game where we're not yelling at the TV? A win is a win, but it was not pretty. Or quiet. 

The lake this time of year often looks 'smoky' early morning and Sunday was one of those times. It's called steam fog and it happens when warm water vapor rises from the lake into cooler air to form a mist you can see. It adds a mysterious quality to the early morning and I love it. 

Sunday was a fun family day. My momma and my younger sister and her family plus two of my nephew's friends all flew to SC for the weekend. My older sister lives about an hour from here and they were with her on Saturday then everyone came here on Sunday. 

Half of the crew came early so they could swim and have lots of lake time, the other half came a little later. Hubs and my brother-in-law took the boys for a boat ride while my sister and I sat by the waterfall and got caught up. We don't have a lot of time where it's just the two of us so this was really nice. 

The pup even got in on the action and hopped on a paddle board. The boys swam and kayaked and played corn hole and pool and they couldn't have asked for better October weather. The lake is still warm enough for swimming and the air was 82 degrees on Sunday so plenty warm out of the water too.

My sister brought my mom out to the lake later and my niece and her husband came too, so a houseful. A patio full? Hubs grilled burgers and wings and we put a couple of tables in the new outdoor dining area and declared it open. 

Furniture, fans, and lights will come later, but on Sunday we made do with what we had and it was better than fine. 

My younger sister has a birthday in about three weeks, but because we're almost never together on our birthdays I decided to get her a cake and celebrate a little early. 

It was a fun surprise. This was from our Publix bakery, and I don't know who did the decorating but they had some serious skill with a pastry tip. We all thought it was the prettiest writing on any cake we've seen. 

It was a great day. As the saying goes...I'm glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. 

And sisters too. 

Oh Hey Monday

Let's recap the weekend that was. We were home again, two in a row so whoohoo! I love at home weekends, especially this time of year. I also love weekends away, but there's gotta be a few at home to help us keep our balance.  

Friday night hubs and I sat on the deck and listened to music. Complete chill at the end of a busy week,  and in general this is where you'll find us on Friday nights for the next six months-ish. 

Or you might also find us here-

The pup  loves morning coffee on the dock with his best bud. 

I was out Tuesday night when hubs texted asking if we could have a few people over for the Derby on Saturday. I said sure and next thing ya know we have twenty coming to celebrate the run for the roses with party snacks and mint juleps. 

I do love a good theme party and if I'd had more notice I'd have gone to town with recipes and decor, but Amazon to the rescue and we managed to get a few fun things for our fun people. 

Everyone was bringing some sort of appetizer and hubs got right to work on his super special julep juice.  He fired up the green egg for wings (these were his very best ever!!) and I found a recipe online for Derby Pie cupcakes. 

If you've never had Derby Pie it's a gooey chocolatey nutty pie and it's scrumptious but not practical for a party, so I thought the cupcakes (recipe here) would be an easy option. I was so wrong. I think I used every bowl in my kitchen for this one. You first had to mix the batter ingredients and then you had to make a 'pie filling' on the stove, and when that was done you put the filling into two bowls, then you took three quarters from one bowl and put that in yet another bowl and on and on it went.  

Holy moly talk about labor intensive. 

Part of the filling also had to be poured onto a cookie sheet and baked. When it was done it had a toffee like texture and you broke it apart and added it to the icing. Oh my it was so yummy! 

The cupcakes didn't look especially pretty, but the taste was five stars. Sorry for the blurry photo...it came to me thirdhand. Did you watch the race? What a finish!! 

Sunday morning as we had coffee on the deck we noticed a blue heron on the shoreline. We watched him stalk a chipmunk in the rocks behind our firepit before nabbing it with precision, and then of course 'digesting' it.

After he'd dunked it in the lake several times to be very certain it was dead. It's one part icky and two parts completely fascinating. Another blurry photo but I had to zoom in about 150% so as not to scare him off. 

Our neighborhood wine club met Sunday evening which is always a lot of fun, and then we came home to this...

No better way to usher in a new week than with the visible reminder God keeps his promises.  

I'm linking up with Holly and Sarah again this week for their Hello Monday blog party..now tell me how was your weekend? 

We're All In This Hodgepodge Together

Welcome to the middle of the week and your friendly neighborhood Hodgepodge. If you've answered this week's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger linking before you. That's what good neighbors do.

1. The US of A celebrated Memorial Day this past Monday. Does your family have any military ties? If so, tell us about them.

Yes I do. My dad was a career Marine and my son-in-law is a surgeon in the Army. In addition we spent nine years living in Annapolis so we also hold the Navy in high regard. My dad is buried in Arlington National Cemetery and if you've never been I highly recommend a visit there. A beautiful peaceful place full of meaning, history, beauty, and the remains of so many of our nation's brave and beloved soldiers. 

2. Cole slaw, potato salad, baked beans, potato chips, mac and cheese, macaroni salad...your favorite BBQ side? How many of these do you make from scratch vs. buying from the deli?

This is a toughie. Why are food questions always the hardest for me to answer? I like all of those sides, but my two favorites are baked beans and cole slaw. If we're grilling burgers I want baked beans, and if it's BBQ I need a side of cole slaw. 

I don't make my own potato chips, but everything else on the list I prefer from scratch. I rarely if ever buy a salad or side dish from the deli.

3.  I enjoyed asking this question back when the Hodgepodge was a regular thing...Lake Superior State University posts a list each year of words they think should be banished from the Queen's English for misuse, overuse, and/or general uselessness. The 2020 list includes-quid pro quo, artisanal, curated, influencer, literally, I mean, living my best life, mouthfeel (word used by foodies to describe texture of food in their mouth), chirp (basically an insult, you can read more on the website), jelly (short for jealous), totes (short for totally), vibe, and OK Boomer (internet response from millenial to older generation).

Of the words/phrases listed which would you most like to see 'banned'?

I have never heard the word chirp used in this way so don't think I'd notice if it were banned. Same goes for OK Boomer and mouthful. I totes use jelly, I mean, and vibe so not going to vote those out either. I guess I'll say influencer because it sounds pretentious and who declares someone an influencer anyway?  

Somebody reading here is probably saying OK Boomer right about now-ha! 

4. I'm sure next year's list will be filled with words springing out of this weird season we're all in currently. What word or phrase associated with the Corona would you be happy to hear less often?

Unprecedented. Because is it? Wasn't there a pandemic about a hundred years ago we keep comparing with this current pandemic? Also it seems when someone behind a microphone tosses this one out if feels like they're doing it strictly for effect. 

I read a thread on Twitter asking this question and most answers were the predictable phrases we all think of...unprecedented, uncertain, we're all in this together, social distancing, flatten the curve, etc but my favorite was the mom who answered with 'What's for dinner?'  Ha! That's some truth right there! 

5.  The month of May wraps up in just a few days. Bid her adieu in ten words or less.

Life is rarely just one thing and May was no exception. 

Tornadoes struck, roses bloomed, a virus lingered, moms were loved. 
More than ten words but whatev. 

Hmmm...should whatev have made the list in question #3?

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Some of you follow my daughter's blog and/or her Youtube channel, but for those who don't she shares fun videos and insight into life in and around S. Korea. Been on a bit of a hiatus for the past three months (I don't need to explain why, right?) but she's back with a new post and video up this week.  It's fun to travel vicariously through her-

Her blog can be found here-Sincerely Shannon

In The Good Ole Summertime

It's Monday so how about a catch up post? That's pretty much been my summer blog theme, and hey! it's still summer so there ya go. Daughter2 will greet a new classroom full of students today, but it's the middle of August on the lake and we've got the humidity to prove it.

My sister and her hubs were in town all last week along with my twelve year old nephew and his best bud. They got a kick out of prepping the pork butt for the grill.

The weather was perfection every single day which was a good thing because these boys lived in the water. 

We tubed (and by we I mean they), we taught them to water ski (and by we I mean hubs and the brother-in-law taught them to ski)-

Also the skier pictured here is hubs. They might have taught the boys to ski, but they're not looking like this just yet-ha!

We hung out on one of the island beaches, took a sunset cruise, and motored all over the lake while the boys each had a turn at the wheel.

We played tag at the waterfall...

There were a few boats at the falls, but nothing like you see on a hot June or July weekend. Weekdays are where it's at.

Also it was hubs and the boys who played tag. My sister and I chillaxed on the boat.

It was fun to have a whole week to swim and boat after being away from it for three weeks. This is the last of our summertime company, but not the last of our summertime fun. Lots still on the calendar which is how we roll here on This Side Of The Pond.  Enjoy your Monday everyone! 

It's Tuesday

I felt that needed to be said, because when a weekend lasts three days it's easy to forget what day it is. That also explains why there are no Hodgepodge questions on my blog today. I normally write them on a Monday so they'll post on Tuesday, but I spent all day yesterday thinking it was Sunday so no Hodgepodge this week.

Let's talk about other interesting things. Like the weather! Ugh! Memorial Day weekend feels like the official start of the summer season which I guess is why we expect the weather to be lovely and summer-like. We're almost always disappointed. I keep reminding myself it's May and it's still spring so rain is the norm, but it feels like warm sunny skies should be the norm.

I remember when my girls were young we always went to a friend's parents house on Memorial Day weekend because we lived in Annapolis and the Blue Angels would fly right over her parent's pool. The water would be freezing and the skies were most often gray and cloudy but the kids would try to convince us it was perfect swimming weather and we'd let them swim because it really does feel like the kick off to summer.

In spite of the dreary weather, or maybe because of it, we had a really enjoyable, low-key, restful weekend here at the lake. Daughter2 drove out after work on Friday and made it in time for dinner. Hubs grilled chicken and made yummy margaritas, and we set up a taco bar of sorts. It was perfect.

We ate almost all our meals this weekend on the screened in porch which is my favorite thing to do. The lake is never not pretty, and honestly watching rain fall from the comfy coziness of the porch is good for the soul.

We've had a houseful of company all month long so a quiet weekend was definitely in order. Hubs likes the idea in theory, but in reality not so much. He can create a project where none exists. At one point this weekend I actually uttered these words, which I know some of you won't understand, but if you're married to a do-er like I am you'll get it..."Hon, I really need you to do less this weekend." 

Seriously, how can I stretch out for a nap with a book on the back deck when he's killing weeds, rearranging hoses, and moving rock??? Turns out I can, but 1% of me feels like I should also be 'toting that barge and lifting that bale' right along with him.

Daughter2's fiance arrived from out of town late Friday evening and the four of us had a great time lounging. I actually got the kayak out early Saturday, they're new so this was my first time in ours and it was nice. We're still waiting on the other one to get here because somehow the place we ordered from 'lost' the other one. Not sure how you lose a lime green kayak, but apparently it can happen.

Hubs took my advice mid-morning Saturday and joined us on the porch. There were a few pockets of sunshine late in the day and some neighbors popped over for cornhole on the back drive. We had steaks for dinner and taught the fiance how to play Hearts which was fun. Daughter2 and I both LOVE to play games, the fiance likes to play games, and hubs (once he's talked into the fun) tolerates playing games.

He did grill some awesome ribs on Sunday which is basically an all day kind of process, so while he did that Daughter2 and I played dress up. We pulled out my wedding gown, circa 1984, and I took pictures of her and marveled at my once tiny waistline. I was so in love with those Cinderella sleeves and seeing them again makes me secretly happy.

There's nothing quite like seeing your baby girl in a wedding gown, yours or the very elegant and beautiful gown she'll wear on her actual day. I'm so looking forward to that!

Sunday evening the weather perked up long enough for a boat ride which we all enjoyed. The clouds were impressive!

Monday the monsoon rains were back again. Daughter2 and I spent the morning looking at all things wedding related while the fiance took care of some work stuff on his computer, and hubs...wait for it... napped! in the porch rocker.

Porches make life sweeter y'all.

Before 'the kids' headed back to the small big city Monday we had an afternoon of bowling and burgers at a nearby place. I'm a terrible bowler but it was really fun and we will definitely do that again before summer's end.

Which isn't for a long long while because summer hasn't even started yet.
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