Throwback Monday

There's a trend making it's way around social media where people are sharing what their lives looked like in 2016 . It sounded like fun so here we are. 

Ten years. I had to scratch my head a little to remember what we were doing in 2016, but thankfully I have a blog to help with that. 

Turns out we were building a house. Ha!



How do you forget that? 

I guess I've successfully blocked the process from my memory, but at the time it seemed to fill our every waking moment. 

When I say we were building a house I mean the entire year of 2016 was dedicated to that endeavor. We actually broke ground on September 24th of 2015 and then it proceeded to rain for the next month so we didn't start construction until mid-October of that year. 

And it took a looooong time. Almost fourteen months but who's counting? My camera reel from 2016 is filled with a lot of red clay, lumber, plumbing, and stone. 

And that was pretty much it. 

I mean not it it, but the home build did consume our time and our thoughts and our lives for the entirety of 2016.

As home builds do. 

In other old news...having newlyweds in the family made for a happy distraction in 2016. Daughter1 and her hubs married the year before and promptly moved thousands of miles away, which incidentally would become a trend for them going forward, although we blessedly didn't know it then. 

God gives us grace for the day y'all. 

I made two trips to the Evergreen State that year and I loved it. I didn't love the distance, but I'd never spent any time in the PNW before my daughter1 moved there, and I thought it was so beautiful. 

The trees...all the green...I loved walking in my daughter's neighborhood with her picture perfect view of Mt. Rainier. 

Loved walking the path through what I dubbed the Jurrasic forest and then the way it opened up into the wide expanse of the Puget Sound. 

Loved hanging with this guy too of course. 

He was an adorable and only slightly naughty one year old puppy who had no idea he'd be coming to live with us just three years later.  As I said, grace for the day. 

We bought a boat-

Our dock went in before the house was even framed, and this was smart on our part if I do say so myself. 

I mean hubs was all over that so I can't take any credit but having the dock meant we could hang out in the lake while the builders did their thing. 

May 7, 2016...dipping my toes in the lake from our dock for the first time. 

We had to navigate through the overgrown prickly brush on the hillside to get to it, but still we were a step closer towards calling home home. 

What else? OOOhhh the apartment. It was actually kind of fun living in a furnished apartment while we built. I could clean the whole thing in about an hour and best of all daughter2 lived in the same complex.

She was teaching school and we got to see a lot of her and her sweet Greyhound. 

Scrolling through pictures I see we had time with extended family, some fun weekends spent both here and away with friends, some of whom we haven't seen in a while which makes me a little sad, but also grateful for the people whose paths have crossed ours whether for a season or forever. 

I see too, that taking sunrise/sunset pics has been a thing for at least a decade. 

Mostly I'm struck by how ten years feels like forever. I'd almost forgotten we lived in that apartment because life flows like a fast moving river and we have to keep paddling forward. 

Still, it's okay to glance over your shoulder now and then. 

Cheers to the next ten. I don't know what they'll bring...

...but I know there will be grace enough to meet us there. 

Hodgepdge Ala Mode

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. Here we go-

1. Do you have a word for the year (WOTY)? If so, and you'd like to share, please share. How do you decide on a word? If you don't have a word are you still on the hunt for one for 2024? 

I do not. Not yet anyway. I have a couple rolling around my brain and may land on one still. It's never too late. I prefer the word come to me as opposed to me choosing one at random. When I've had a WOTY that's how it was settled on. I don't put any pressure on myself to have a word, but when I do I enjoy the focus it gives me and especially the way I can look back at year's end and see all the ways the word was woven into my life. 

2. January 23rd is National Pie Day...will you celebrate? Do you like pie? What's your favorite? 

I love pie, but have no plans to eat a slice today. It's almost impossible to choose a favorite so how about (in no particular order) my top five-ish? -Angel pie (see the description in a post here), cherry pie, key lime, blueberry, and coconut cream. 

3. Tipping. What are your thoughts, expectations, as to who, when where? Do you appreciate a store/restaurant giving a 'suggested amount'? Have you ever left an extravagant tip? 

In terms of dining I always tip. I was in a deli recently and ordered one sandwich to go. When I paid I was offered the option to tip 25%-30%-35%. Really? Not sure how I feel about that. It seems this has become a thing though, with so many places you never used to tip now suggesting you should.

I rarely get coffee to go but if I do I'll leave something in the tip jar. We tip for bar beverages and I always give my hair stylist a very generous tip because she definitely earns it. If we have truly excellent service in a restaurant we will leave an over the top tip, but even with just so-so service we always tip at least the minimum. In the US in 2024 that's at least 20% of the tab. 

I love leaving a big tip for a server who does a good job and is not expecting more than the minimum. 

Hubs and I used to go to a diner in NJ where there was a particular server who obviously did not enjoy his job. He waited on us quite often and one day dropped an entire very full tray of food and drinks all over the floor beside our table. We decided we were going to give him a 100% tip and see if maybe that would help him enjoy his job more, but nope. Still surly lol. 

4. Share with us one 'household tip' that works for you. 

Not sure if this is considered a household tip but it's something I've found useful recently. If you're like me you have far too many photos on your phone, and the idea of deleting such a large number is daunting. My daughter suggested this and it makes the task manageable. 

Every morning enter the current month and day in your photo search bar. All the photos you've saved on your phone, taken on that day/month (all years) will come up. Go through those, then repeat the action daily. This way you deal with just a few at a time rather than your entire photo library. 

5. Influencers on social media are people who've built a reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a particular subject. Do you follow any influencers online? Have you made a purchase or tried something new because of that 'influence'? If there's one you particularly enjoy tell us who and why. 

I follow a few. Some live lives very different than mine and that's kind of fun to see. Some have a style I admire. Some are funny. Many cook, bake or create in some way. Some share news/politics. Some share books and book news. A few favorites are @cristincooper (I've purchased from her shop and a few things she's recommended too), @lifebyleanna, @halfbakedharvest, @cleerelystated. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

One of my favorite follows is an account called The Leighton Show. He reads actual texts teens have sent to their parents and they are the absolute best. He's on youtube I think too, but I follow him on Insta (click here)  Happy Wednesday everyone! 

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High Five From The Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's edition of the Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered the questions add your blog link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for your neighbor on the list. Here we go-

1. Five years ago this month hubs and I relocated from New Jersey to the Palmetto State. What were you doing five years ago this month?

I mentioned we moved, but when I glanced back at my photos I saw a few other things were happening too. I have some thoughts so instead of writing a short answer here I think I'll make this the subject of my Thursday post. Why use fifty words when you can use 250? 

2. What was the last 9-5 job you worked? Tell us about it.

It has been a long time since I've worked a 9-5 job. The last full time job I held was serving as the Director of a local church preschool in the state of Maryland. To put it another way that was four moves ago. 

I loved it though. I remember standing in front of a crowded sanctuary filled with parents, and telling them I was leaving. I got so teary I could hardly speak. It was a job that was well suited to my temperament and training, the people were wonderful, and it was a really nice place to work. 

3. Plead the fifth, high five, take five, it's five o'clock somewhere, or the big 5-0...which number five phrase relates to your life in some way currently? Tell us how.

Hmmm...maybe the big 5-0? I wrote a whole post about that decade here (Check Engine Light), and with another big birthday coming up fast I suppose the calendar turning has been on my mind.  

4. During this season of spending so much time at home, what distractions get in the way of being your most productive? Or have you been extra productive since this whole thing started?

Definitely not standing in the extra productive camp. I need a little pressure to get things done and the past few months have (in a sense) been pressure free. No deadlines, no company coming, no trips  to plan, nothing to shop for...everything feels like it can be done another day.  

I do meal plan, grocery shop, cook, and all the basic household chores get done, but I'm not one of those people who've learned to speak Italian, took up painting, or reorganized their attic just because they've had a lot of time to fill. I'm more of a let's read a book on the porch kind of pandemic survivor. 

5. Give us a list here of your top five anything.

Not sure if this is my top five, but here are five Instagram accounts I enjoy following, all pretty much politic-free. I am so over that side of social media. 

Chateau de Gudanes-the ongoing restoration of an old chateau set in the south of France. 
Cristin Cooper- a semi-local instagrammer sharing southern style, home and all things beauty
Half Baked Harvest-NYT best selling author of HBH Super Simple Cookbook
National Trust -protecting special places and outdoor spaces in the UK
Ruth Chou Simmons-mom to six boys, artist and author, founder of @gracelaced

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Life feels like a whole bunch of random lately, which is maybe why I've been struggling to fill this question #6 space the past few weeks. We had friends come for dinner Tuesday night (on the patio because 2020) and I made a delicious creme brulee for dessert. How's that for random? I use the recipe found here.