Playing Nice In The Wednesday 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 linking before you. Or all the bloggers linking here today.  Let's go-

1. What's one part of your everyday routine you'd be better off without? 

Facebook. It used to be a much looked forward to part of my everyday routine, but other than linking my blog and sending birthday greetings I am rarely there these days. I won't yammer on about why because surely everyone can agree it's not the congenial little corner of the Internet it once was. 

2. October 5th is/was National Do Something Nice Day. So what did you/will you do? 

I baked peanut butter cookies. Does that count? Hubs would say yes. He brought his mom over from Tennessee yesterday (Monday) and what should have been a 3-hour drive took them five. Ugh! Peanut butter cookies fresh from the oven made his day. 

3. What question do you hate to answer? 

These days pretty much anything relating to politics. So much hate and judgement out there. 

4. Do we have control over technology or does it have control over us. In that same vein, have you watched The Social Dilemma (available on Netflix) and if so what did you think? 

Y'all.  If you have not watched this documentary you need to, particularly if you're a parent. Prior to watching it I might have answered this question differently, but since I have seen the program I'm going to say technology does control us, and it controls us in ways we might not have considered. Unless you're off the grid, but of course if you're here reading this blog I suspect you're not off the grid. teehee. 

5. What are three small things that make your day better? 

that first cup of steaming hot coffee, a cloudless blue sky, dinner plans

6. Insert your own random thought here.

As much as I hated to say farewell to my beautiful geraniums that bloomed all summer long, these huge mums were too pretty not to buy.

And if you give a porch a mum you need to add a pumpkin. And a pansy. And maybe a baby pumpkin and also a white pumpkin and then another mum in a different color. Did I tell you I love fall? 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 389

It's that time again and here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog then hop back here tomorrow to share answers with all your friends and neighbors. See you there! 

1. What's one part of your everyday routine you'd be better off without? 

2. October 5th is/was National Do Something Nice Day. So what did you/will you do? 

3. What question do you hate to answer? 

4. Do we have control over technology or does it have control over us. In that same vein, have you watched The Social Dilemma (available on Netflix) and if so what did you think? 

5. What are three small things that make your day better? 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

2020 Tom Foolery

It's been a couple of weeks since I've blogged anything more than the weekly Hodgepodge, so thought I'd play catch up here today. Talk about what's been been going on in our little corner of the world.

So what has been going on?

Well there's a pandemic. Did you hear? Ha! Whew. It's getting old, isn't it? I heard someone say it's starting to feel like a heavy wet blanket across the shoulders and I think she's right.  Today when I got up I thought, "I need a day off." From what though? It's not like we're doing all that much but I feel like I need a day off anyway.

Earlier this week, or actually I guess it was last week, but who really knows because everyday is a lot like the one before, and a-ny-way...I opened the sliders to greet the morning, steaming cup of coffee in hand, took a deep breath, and yuck. The air smelled so fishy.

We live on what is one of the cleanest lakes in all of North America and it never ever smells fishy, but this day it was definitely smelling fishy. I looked out towards the dock and saw a huuuge turkey vulture eating breakfast, right there on our shoreline.

Raise your hand if turkey vultures kind of skeeve you out? Yeah.

I told hubs he needed to walk down there, because I don't care if it is 2020, investigating and dealing with dead stuff is a man's job. It was in the handbook we were given when we said I Do.

There wasn't a handbook, but I do have a mental list of rules and this is one of them, which hubs knows so he walked down there and then yelled for me to bring the camera. Hmmm. I yelled back, 'Is this going to be something I can't unsee?' and yes it was, but I brought the camera anyway.

Y'all. This vulture was chowing down on the biggest catfish I've ever seen. His head was the size of a basketball and with his mouth wide open he looked even bigger. Hubs dealt with it, but all I could think about was how a vulture casually dining on the worlds biggest catfish right in my backyard is pretty much 2020 in a nutshell.

Let's change topics. We had an earthquake. I know! We were sitting on our deck early Sunday morning and we felt the rumble, the deck shook a little which was a bit disconcerting, and our hanging lanterns started swaying. It lasted long enough to make you think, and we found out later a quake measuring 5.1 on the scale had it's epicenter about three hours from us.

We also were treated to a rainbow last week which I guess balances things out. We've had so many rainbows this summer, so many crazy rainstorms where the sun keeps right on shining, I guess even the weather doesn't know which way is up right now. I do love a rainbow though, and while this one wasn't quite as vivid as the last it was still so pretty. After the weather cleared hubs and I hopped on the boat to catch the sunset because we knew we'd get a good one.

We were right.

This has nothing to do with the weather or unusual occurrences (unless you count people coming over for dinner as an unusual occurrence), but we had some friends come for dinner Monday evening (outdoors of course) and I baked this salted caramel butter cake that was as delicious as it sounds.

I took this right after I poured the caramel butter sauce over the cake, and after it cools you remove it from the pan and drizzle the top with a salted caramel syrup. So good! You can find the recipe here. 

In other delicious news, this little guy is all of nine months old now and he is such a joy.

photo credit: Sincerely Shannon 

Big brother started a little preschool program two mornings a week and we are just loving watching them both grow and learn and discover something new about the world every day.

photo credit: Sincerely Shannon 

The distance stinks, and hubs and I might throw tiny little pity parties for one another now and then, never in the same moment though, which helps. My daughter is wonderful about keeping us connected, which we appreciate more than words can say.

Sunday evening we kayaked with a few neighbors over to a nearby island because you never ever tire of sunsets on the lake and this one was a beauty.

The temperature was perfection, the night quiet, and the lake still. With every exhale you feel your cares float further and further away.

When life is fragile and uncertain it helps to know the One who sets the sun.

Love In The Time Of Technology

Hmmm..seems I've missed a day or five in the 10- day writing challenge, but 50% is better than none at all don't you think? My plan is to continue knocking out the prompts I missed because it feels really good to be writing again. Today is technically Day 10 of the challenge, but I'm backing up to when things went off course which was Day 6.

The word prompt-send

Ever since I read the word I've been humming that song Send In the Clowns, which for some reason leads me to thinking about politics and how crazy our world is most days. For the record that song has nothing to do with politics, it was written for 'A Little Night Music', but in my mind I think politics.

Relax. I don't blog about politics.

Let's talk grandchildren instead and how we survive ridiculous geography through the miracle of FaceTime. Maybe that sounds a teensy bit dramatic, but honestly there are days when it feels true.

My daughter usually calls as they're beginning tomorrow and we're winding down today. The mancub is often still in his pj's finishing his waffle when technology brings the phone screen magically to life. His eyes light up as our faces appear and he breaks into a smile that sends me to the moon.

We talk about this and that and he might pull out a book or do some Thomas the Tank Engine track repair. He asks his mama for things and she tells him to wait because we're talking and then she says ever so gently, 'remember we need patience'.

Indeed.

Sometimes the mancub wants to tell us what a T-Rex says or how the little boy upstairs came to play and shared his trucks or how he saw an Apache helicopter out the window yesterday. My daughter aims the camera at baby brother who is perfectly precious and I'm sure wonders about the people always shouting HI!! and WE LOVE YOU!! from that thing in mama's hand.

We sigh a little at all we miss and also all we have.

When it's time to hang up I blow a kiss to both the boys. From 7,130 miles away the mancub sends one back. I reach out my hand to catch it as it flies.

Love in the age of technology makes kisses sent around the world feel real enough to touch.

Long Time No Blog

I do still have a blog, I just haven't been here in a while. Nearly a month but who's counting? No worries, I excel at cramming a month's worth of happenings into a single post so strap in.

Actually no need to strap in because it's been a pretty low key month round here. Our definition of low key that is. Other people might say we're still awfully busy but we've managed not to leave town so that's something.

Wait. Hubs left town. He popped over to Tennessee for a couple of days to visit his mom, but other than that we've been planted here at the lake.

And maybe instead of telling you ALL the things I'll pick just five that stand out in my mind-

1. The dogs. Y'all. It's almost like hubs has a job, and the responsibilities of that job are focused primarily on wearing out the newest addition. Hubs takes the little brown dog for long walks, he swims with him, he kayaks with him...well hubs kayaks and little brown dog sits on hubs lap the kayak, but even when he's just sitting he's on alert. He knows as soon as that kayak hits the beach hubs will throw the baton into the water approximately 47 times and he will fetch it all 47 times. Then they'll kayak back to the dock and little brown dog will launch himself off the dock after that same baton another 47 times, and even after all of that the little brown dog will not seem overly exhausted.

Hubs on the other hand...

And Daughter2's dog has been sick since Sunday so she has needed watching. Normally the greyhound is super low maintenance, in fact we joke she's like living with a stuffed animal, but then hubs spent all of Tuesday morning with her at the vet because Daughter2 needed to go to work and great dads step in where they're needed. Hubs is a great dad.

For people and for animals.

2. Also he's a whole year older.

He had a big birthday recently, and we had the best time celebrating his special day. We invited a whole slew of friends and neighbors to bring their favorite raft or noodle and come for a 'float party'.

The weather could not have been more perfect and it was a great way to ring in a new decade.

photo credit: Pam N. 

Still young at heart!

3. We've done lots of face timing with our daughter and grandson in South Korea this past month, and we love that. Facetime really does make them feel not so far away. Daughter1 generally calls in the evening which is their tomorrow morning and that works on both sides of the world.

photo credit: Sincerely-Shannon

They've settled in beautifully and if you're not following her blog and/or YouTube channel you should. She has made several short videos that are wonderful and give you a fun glimpse into life overseas. Click here for her YouTube channel and click here to visit her blog.

4. We've had lots of relaxed evenings with nearby friends and neighbors, most recently at a local brewery where the Cousins Maine Lobster Truck made an appearance.

It also happened to be the night of the Clemson home opener (they killed it btw) so downtown was hopping, but we enjoyed that. Even better Daughter2 offered to hold a place for our gang in the super long line, and we all gave the lobster rolls two thumbs up! You should know that lobster tots are a thing and they're delicious.

The Cousins have a great story, but essentially they got their big break on Shark Tank after being asked more than once to audition for the program. Turns out producers of the show were some of their earliest customers and eventually convinced them to try out. They have over twenty trucks now in something like thirteen cities, and ours was I think from Charlotte.

5. Lastly but not leastly we have marveled at God's handiwork in a water colored early morning sky-

Been sun kissed-

And heaven blessed-

Not quite ready to let summer go...

A Throwback Thursday in 514 Words

I saw a little blurb somewhere recently that said we're closer to the year 2030 than we are to the year 1999. For some reason that doesn't sound right to me, but do the math and you'll find it's true. While 1999 might sound like the not so distant past, when I consider where we are now and where we were then I find myself thinking, 'Only two decades?'.

In 1999 my girls were 9 and 11. Wait, what?

And now it's 2019 and I'm a long, long way from the every day parenting of tweens (although nobody was calling them that back then). The telling them to brush their teeth and don't forget your backpack and I'm picking you up after school because you have a piano lesson kind of everyday ordinary that's both exhausting and precious.

I glanced back through some pictures from that year and saw a family camping trip, Halloween costumes, and The Bay Bridge Walk.

I saw neighbors dressed in 70's wear for hubs big birthday.

I saw pink bathing suits in the summer sun and girl scouts at Antietam.

I saw blue eyes and innocence.
Blond hair and soft smiles.

The words to Baby Hit Me One More Time might have scrolled across my brain.
I might be singing it right now.

N'Sync or Backstreet Boys? How do you choose? We couldn't Google them back in the day, or maybe we could have at some point during that year, but mostly we didn't know what Google was. It was born in 1999.

I do know many a Friday night was spent at Blockbuster agonizing, debating, and compromising over which movie we would rent. "Are we old enough to watch Titanic?" NO! Raise your hand if you miss Friday nights at Blockbuster.

Raise your hand if ruled television viewing with an iron fist in 1999.
It was easier back then.

In 1999 the Euro was established as the common currency of the European Union. Pshh. Who needs to pay attention to that? As it turns out we did, but the European Union was nowhere on our radar in 1999. Do you know what was on our radar in 1999? Y2K.

Everyone had their knickers in a knot over the looming technological disaster that would hit at the stroke of midnight all because the new decade would end in 000. We stashed cash. We bought bottled water. We filled our gas tanks. We had cans of cans of canned food and powdered milk. We went to bed singing along with Prince on New Year's Eve and woke up in the year 2000, everything still humming merrily along.

1999. One year in the life of a family. One year of mothering daughters who laughed easily and loved big. Daughters who made me want to be more like them.  

We went to Disney World in November of 1999. Hubs had a work trip and we joined him after.
Time marches on y'all and thankfully so does fashion.

And little girls grow into women, and moms of once upon tweens become grandmothers who smile at the way they still laugh easy and love big. Still make me want to be more like them.

Thursday Sorts Of Things

That's code for unimportant, only slightly interesting, random thoughts. And since it's Thursday I'll aim for thirteen -

1. I had to buy a new phone yesterday. I've been putting off a trip to the 'phone store' in much the same way I put off a trip to the dentist. Nearly as aggravating.

Here's how it went down-I called the day before and made an appointment. The gentleman confirmed my requested time and asked what I was interested in purchasing. He said I should ask for him by name when I came in (for the sake of this story we'll call him J) and he'd have the phone I wanted out and ready to go. Great! Yay! Perfect!

Also too good to be true.

When we arrived at the phone store nobody knew anything about a scheduled appointment and J wasn't even there. He'd gone home an hour earlier. I feel like this is par for the course when you go to purchase a new phone.

On the bright side, J's stand-in was super helpful and even managed to switch my plan to something less expensive with better service so I guess in the end I'm glad J was a slacker-ha!

2. On the less than bright side I spent an hour today trying to get my screen protector registered. It only required three live chats with the manufacturer and one call to Verizon.

3. Let's randomly change topic now because this is a list of completely unrelated stuff. I recently started an exercise class with some women in my neighborhood.

4. In case there's any confusion, I didn't start the class as in create the class. I started the class as in I attend the class. If you know me you weren't confused. ahem

5. In other activity related news, I've been playing Pickleball. Have you ever played Pickleball? I'm still learning and there are a lot of rules (I think you know how I feel about rules), but I'm enjoying the game a lot.

6. I guess you could say it's a cross between tennis and ping pong. For the record, I stink at tennis but I play a mean game of ping pong. The racket? paddle? is graphite, slightly larger than a ping pong paddle and the ball is similar to a Wiffle ball but its a Pickleball ball. We play on a tennis court with Pickleball markings which are slightly inside the tennis lines so less running. Whoohoo!

7. I still seem to end up running a lot.

8. When I told my Daughter2 I was playing Pickleball and that I really liked it she said, and I quote,

'That's great Mom because you're not, you know...' 

Not what? Coordinated? Ha-she's right! But I am getting a little bit better every week.

9. Course we didn't play this week because it was raining. I mean RAINING!! Again. Still?

10. Boating season is winding down but hubs and I did squeeze in a ride on a sunny 65 degree day a couple of weeks ago.

Yes I'm in jeans and a vest because even when it's sunny there's wind when you're moving. Hubs would want me to tell you he was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. 

11. Nothing nicer than leaf peeping from the water on a blue sky autumn day.

12.  I am a fan of the big blue heron.

13. And autumn in general.

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all." ~ Stanley Horowitz

No Getting Rid Of The Hodgepodge

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge! If you've answered this week's questions add your link at the end of my post, and then be sure to leave a comment for the blogger before you. That's what good neighbors do here on From This Side Of The Pond-

1.What's something in your house you'd like to get rid of, but can't?

We have some furniture in our lower garage bay I've been holding on to thinking Daughter2 may want once she's married. Or she may not and that's okay, but I'm not doing anything about it until I know for sure. 

2. When is the last time you experienced a sense of nostalgia? Elaborate.

When my sister and brother were here we were sitting around the table talking and sharing some memories of a trip we took with cousins to an amusement park nearly fifty years ago. 

How my brother rode a roller coaster with my cousin and that particular cousin screamed he was going to die at the top of his lungs the entire ride. How my sister hated the roller coaster and then the operator forgot to stop the cart and she had to go around again. 

There was more but it all left me feeling a bit nostalgic for the magic of childhood, our family of six around the dinner table on a school night, siblings asleep in the same upstairs...

3. You're only allowed three apps on your smart phone or tablet...which three do you keep?

This is a toughie! If you make me choose I'll go with Instagram, Music, and then FaceTime because I need this face in my everyday-

 photo cred: Sincerely-Shannon

4. July 11th is National Blueberry Muffin Day. Who knew? Do you like blueberry muffins? If you were going to have a muffin would blueberry be your choice? What's the last thing you baked?

Honestly I don't love muffins. They're usually too heavy and 'bready' for me so if I'm having a muffin I'd prefer a mini. A blueberry muffin is okay, but I'd rather have cranberry-orange. Actually I'd rather have a bagel, but that wasn't the question. 

The last thing I baked were fresh strawberry cupcakes for my brother-in-law's birthday a few days ago. I linked the recipe in Monday's post so you'll need to hop over there if you're curious. They were delish! 

5. What's the biggest way you've changed since you were a child? In what way are you still the same?

Biggest way I've changed? Well I can't eat whatever I want whenever I want. Is that an answer? 

While I'm still a great big chicken about so many things I know I'm braver in a lot of ways too. And I'm definitely stronger, both mentally and physically. My mom pointed out to me recently that I've got muscles in my legs. To quote her, 'they don't look like toothpicks anymore'.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Daughter2 bought a life jacket for her pup and we thought we'd see what she thought of the water...

Let's just say she's more of an indoor girl. 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 358

I'm hoping to blog this week because there are some actual blank spaces in my calendar. In the meantime let's play along with the Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here tomorrow to add your link to the party. See you there!

1. What's something in your house you'd like to get rid of but can't?

2. When is the last time you experienced a sense of nostalgia? Elaborate.

3. You're only allowed three apps on your smart phone or tablet...which three do you keep?

4. July 11th is National Blueberry Muffin Day. Who knew? Do you like blueberry muffins? If you were going to have a muffin would blueberry be your choice? What's the last thing you baked?

5. What's the biggest way you've changed since you were a child? In what way are you still the same?

6. Insert your own random thought here.
SaveSave

It's The Hodgepodge Calling

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered this week's questions add your link at the end of my post, then go say howdy to your neighbor. Here we go-

1. They say you learn something new every day. What did you learn yesterday?

I reprogrammed the TV.  Not sure I could do it again without the tech walking me through the process, but still I learned I could do it. 

2. Have you ever had a now or never moment? Elaborate.

Never is a big word. I guess in the sense it's used here, more as an expression than a firm never-ever-ever, then my answer would be yes. There are things I've done that required a leap of faith, and that's what I associate with this saying. As in- go for it because this particular opportunity might not roll around again. 

Moving overseas, various professional roles I've filled as well as some volunteer assignments...I'm sure there's more but I'm blanking. 

3.  April 25th is National Telephone Day. Do you still have a land line or have you gone mobile only? When you receive a text message do you respond immediately? Last time you turned your phone off?  In two or three sentences share with us a story/memory/incident from your childhood (or something current if that's too hard) where the telephone is featured.

We are strictly mobile in this house, but I do miss the landline. I don't like carrying my phone around when I'm in the house.  

I think in general I respond to text messages in a timely fashion, but that may not always be the second they're received.  I do try to always text hubs back right away because if I don't he'll call me and say, 'Did you get my text?' "You didn't reply". 

The last time my phone was turned off was during Sunday morning church.  

An incident featuring the phone? Hmmm...well there was that time when my brother was babysitting my sister and I and we accidentally started a smallish fire in the kitchen. This was back in the day when your phone was attached to the wall, but had a ridiculously long chord allowing you to make it somewhat 'mobile'. My brother had the phone cord stretched all the way from the kitchen into the den and was happily chatting away while my sister and I put butter on the stove to melt and promptly went back to our game upstairs. A large amount of panic ensued but thankfully we can all laugh about it now. 

Well most of us can laugh about it now. My mom I'm not so sure. 

4. Close call, at someone's beck and call, call the shots, call a meeting, call it quits, call in sick, call on the carpet, wake up call...which call have you 'heard' recently? Explain.

I'm going with close call. We had a small plumbing issue in our storage room on Monday and fortunately I happened to go in there and see it before it got out of hand. We don't go in that room every day so it could have become a large headache. Thankfully just a close call. 

5. What subject do you wish you'd paid more attention to in school?

French. I wish I were fluent. And I did pay attention, but I didn't practice enough.  

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Who else thinks Princess Kate is adorable? They looked so cute bringing their new baby home. And with her in heels no less! I so admire her poise and patience with the media .

It's Her Turn

I had every intention of blogging on this rainy Monday morning but instead spent hours (read: painful hours) on the phone with the very helpful gentleman at ATT trying to figure out why our smart TV is no longer smart. I had to reconfigure the settings on the TV while this patient soul walked me through all the screens and boxes and dealt with all my 'wait wait wait I hit the wrong box' and 'wait wait the screen is gone! Where did it go???" and 'wait I hit the wrong box again'. I think you get the idea.

Also Jason deserves a medal.

I'm not intuitive about these sorts of things which is why I like hubs to handle anything technology related. And he was except as luck? would have it a plumbing thing was happening at the very same minute, so he was forced to hand me the phone while he dealt with the plumber. Can't we just hang up and call back when you're finished???

Y'all I reconfigured that TV like a boss. I think I need to use my brain more. It feels good.

Let's talk about something more fun-

This little peanut is getting married.

I don't care if you've married off one daughter or six, each time is like the only time and your heart feels a little tug at the letting go. It's a happy mushy tug, but a tug all the same.

It's been a little over three years since we were knee deep in wedding planning here, and while I know we moms have no real say in the timing, I'm grateful for the space between our two events. Daughter2 and her fiance (how fun it is to write that word!) are planning a spring wedding so we're busy pinning down the date and venues now.

When Daughter1 got married I wrote about it. A lot. I wrote ten posts after the event and several leading up to the day so like I said-a lot. Besides sharing all the nuts and bolts of the best day ever I also wrote quite a bit about how it feels to see your first born baby girl get married. To watch your daughter become a wife, leave home for real, and join her heart and soul to the boy who has stolen her heart.

And now it's Daughter2's turn. And it's the same only different. My girls are like two peas in a pod in the sense they've been best buds since the day Daughter2 was born. They have loved one another well all their lives, and as grown women now it's even more lovely to see. Daughter1 worked in design and had a very clear picture as to how her wedding day would look. She could drill down on some graphics y'all. Whew! But in the end it was perfectly perfect and a wonderful reflection of her personal style and taste.

Daughter2 has her own sense of style and her day will reflect that too. She's always loved sparkle and I suspect there will be more bling in her day than her gypsy souled sister had and I'm good with that. If anyone could wear a tiara on their wedding day it's this girl. She's not having it, but I like to keep throwing that option out there anyway. As we visit reception venues and think about a color palatte and peruse menu options I'm very much aware of my Daughter2's desire to make her day her own.

As every bride should.

In the age of the Internet, social media, and wedding marketing hype there's almost too much out there for brides. It's easy to get caught up in a million little things and lose sight of who you are and what's important to you on your day.

Here's what I tell my girls about a wedding. The most important thing is to pick the right groom.  If at the end of your wedding day you are married to the right groom then I will truthfully declare it the best day ever. Because your wedding is one very important beautiful day in your life and marriage is all the days after, forever and ever amen.

When Daughter1 was planning her wedding I was living in NJ. She was living in D.C., the groom was already on the west coast, and the wedding was in SC sooooo....yeah. A few crazy logistics, but we made it happen. Daughter2 lives in the town where she'll get married and that town is just a hop, skip, and a jump from the lake so whoohoo! I look forward to a more leisurely planning process this time around although I think every wedding comes with a little bit of crazy. Sorry hubs, it really can't be helped.

And I'm going to share all the nuts and bolts here because it's my blog and she's my girl. And she's so much like me only better in all the ways that count, and I want her to know that her best day ever is going to be her best day ever.
SaveSave

Friday Five Ish

I intended to participate in Five Minute Friday today, but I saw the prompt and changed my mind.  This week's one word prompt was 'intentional' and that felt too deep for me this morning even though I did  just use a form of the word in my first sentence. 

Let's talk about fluff instead. 

First of all, this little mancub! Look at him sitting up in the grocery cart! 

photo credit: Sincerely Shannon

Y'all he is just the cutest thing I've ever seen. We FaceTime often and I wish I could crawl right through the screen and kiss his rosy cheeks in person. 

photo credit: Sincerely Shannon

Hubs and I and refer to him often as the mancub because he's like an adorable little bear, and so full of personality. I think mancub might become his blog name. 

In other news, we had snow this week. Not SNOW!!! but snow. It stuck to the grass and made the trees gorgeous, but our roads have been fine. My daughter2 teaches a couple of counties over and they are still closed today so I guess they had more ice than we did. It doesn't take much 'round here. 

Snow was predicted to begin overnight Tuesday into Wednesday and I was so happy to wake up and see a blanket of white. Not a deep blanket, more like a flimsy coverlet, but still so pretty. Hubs will tell you he does not miss the snow at all but I miss it a little. I love the way snowfall brings a silent stillness to a planet that surely needs it. 

Plus here in the southland there's no chipping ice off the front steps for days on end, no fifteen foot icicles hanging from the gutters causing damming which then causes water to run down the interior wall of your home, no sooty black snow mountains in parking lots making it hard to see, and no week after week of sub zero temps. In fact it's supposed to be sunny and low-60's tomorrow which makes it easy to love a snow day in January. 

Hubs and I have both been reading a lot this month, mostly by the fire because snow!  I just finished  The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine. Has anyone read it? The book got great reviews on Goodreads, but I didn't care for it. The characters are so unlikable and the dialogue felt like high school. It's been compared to a Gone Girl type thriller, but I'd say that's a ginormous stretch. Would be curious to know if anyone else has read it and what they thought. 

One interesting thing, the 'author' is actually two sisters who've combined their names to form the name Liv. They live several states apart but write back and forth via FaceTime and email. 

Besides reading we've been watching some Netflix and catching up on our favorite shows including The Good Doctor, The Brave, and Victoria. Is anyone watching Victoria on PBS? It's really good and filling the TV viewing void left by The Crown. 

Our girls gave us a Legacy Box for Christmas and we finally got that sent off. It seemed simple on the surface, but of course I excel at complicating the simple. We could send ten items in our box-VHS tapes, 8 mm tapes, photos, or slides. Twenty five photos count as one item. We have all our 'baby' tapes on VHS and I knew we needed to start with those, but hubs was keen to send in some 8 mm too because all the Europe years are on 8mm. I think it's 8mm? It's not VHS and it's not DVD so it's whatever that technology thing was that came after the DVD but before the iPhone camera. We'll be getting everything back on DVD plus a memory stick. 

We knew the VHS tapes were in a box in the garage, and hubs was certain the 8mm were in the camera bag. Except they weren't which led to us opening all kinds of boxes in the storage area which led to a trip to Goodwill and the dump and then turning the house upside down trying to find those tapes. I was 100% certain I had not seen them or touched them since the move. Hubs was positive we had them when we left NJ, but I swore up and down I had not laid eyes on them. 

Except somehow they ended up in a totebag in my closet. 

oops. I kind of sort of now remember dropping the bag in there mid-move and then promptly forgetting about it. Obviously. On the bright side, we got some of that storage area emptied and the legacy box mailed so all's well that end's well.

Happy weekend everyone! 
SaveSaveSaveSave

Hands Free Hodgepodge

Welcome to the Wednesday 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. The button is still a work in progress, so don't worry about adding that today. We'll figure it out eventually.

And by we I mean my Daughter because we all know that sort of thing exceeds my tech capabilities.

Okay, here we go-

1. When and where were the best fireworks you've ever seen? Speaking of fireworks...do you know your hot buttons? The things people can say and do to set you off? When was the last time someone pushed one of your hot buttons?

All fireworks are the best, aren't they? Probably the best best would be those we saw our second Independence Day as husband and wife. We met friends in D.C. and the fireworks at the end of the evening were spectacular. 

As far as that other sort of firework, well of course I know my hot buttons. I don't have many, but you don't live five+ decades without knowing what makes your blood boil. I detest conflict and try to avoid situations I think might set me off because I hate feeling angry.

Last time one was pushed it was probably a minor disagreement with hubs, because we're married and I can't avoid him. teehee. 

2. Have you hosted any outdoor summer parties this year? Attended any? What makes for a great outdoor party?

Everyday's a party here. Ha! Not really, but kinda. It's summertime on the lake so we're living outside and people are always coming and going. I don't think you need a lot in terms of making an outdoor party great...nice weather of course, citronella candles to keep the bugs at bay, casual dining under the stars, and music in the air works for me. 

3. What does freedom mean to you?

Freedom to me means choice. We're so fortunate to live in a country that, while governed by law, still grants us a tremendous amount of freedom. We can speak, worship, gather, vote and more as we choose. I also feel like with every conversation we have about freedom we need another about responsibility. While we're free for the most part to make our own choices, we are not free from the consequences of those choices. 

4. July is National Cell Phone Courtesy month...what annoys you most about people's cell phone habits?

My biggest pet peeve is a cell phone at the dinner table, either at home or in a restaurant. Unless you're performing heart transplants or something similar there's nothing that can't wait until after a meal. 

5. What's your current summer anthem?

Not so much an anthem, but definitely a song I am loving and have on repeat quite a lot. It's upbeat and there's something about the picture it paints in my head that makes me think of summertime and the boy I married. Hey hubs...''...make me your country bride, you'll be my prince of tides...'  



6. Insert your own random thought here.

 In less than a month we welcome our first grandchild, a baby boy we will love and adore. We'll celebrate his birth and all the days after as our family grows and changes to welcome a new little life. 

My father-in-law passed away this week. He and my mother-in-law were married more than 60 years and their lives have been a wonderful example of persevering through all the joys and trials life brings. Together they raised four children and from Day1 embraced all the in-law children as their own.  

My father-in-law was a wonderful grandfather who thought my girls hung the moon and told them so every chance he got. This week we'll celebrate his life and remember all the days that came before as our family grieves the loss of one who loved us well and was so well- loved in return. 

 "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven." ECC 3: 1

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 312

Happy July 4th Hodgepodgers! And if you're joining in from outside the US of A, then happy Tuesday! Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog then jump back here tomorrow to share answers with all your friends and neighbors.

Also, there's a little something going on with Photo Bucket right now causing my button (and thousands of other bloggers buttons, headers, content, etc ) to look a little funny. Until my IT department aka Daughter1 gets it sorted it's fine to just link to my blog without the button this week.

Here we go-

1. When and where were the best fireworks you've ever seen? Speaking of fireworks...do you know your hot buttons? The things people can say and/or do to set you off? When was the last time someone pushed one of your hot buttons?

2. Have you hosted any outdoor summer parties this year? Attended any? What makes for a great outdoor party?

3. What does freedom mean to you?

4. July is National Cell Phone Courtesy month...what annoys you most about people's cell phone habits?

5. What's your current summer anthem?

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Hodgepodge Hoarding

Thanks for stopping by today, and welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge! If you've answered this week's questions, add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the person linking before you. It's the neighborly thing to do here on a Wednesday. Let's dive in-

1. May 17th is National Pack Rat Day. Sidebar-should we be celebrating this? Hmmm...

Are you a pack rat? Even if you're not a full fledged pack rat, most people have one thing or another they struggle to part with. Tell us what's yours.

I'm not a pack rat, but there are things I have trouble parting with. I probably could be more of a rat, but hubs likes everything pared down and clutter free, so he keeps me in check. What do I hang on to? Books, photographs, text messages, cards and notes I've been sent that mean something to me...not a lot really. At the moment hubs would say furniture because our extra garage bay is full of it, but in my defense some of that will be going to my daughter, just not immediately. It's not pack-ratting, it's storage.  

2. What are two things you know you should know how to do, but you don't?

Tie the knot hubs has shown me seventeen times and pull a water skier. I don't know if I really want to learn the latter, but hubs wants me to learn so I can pull him behind the boat. I think I'm better suited to being that person on the boat who frantically shouts when the skier falls and then wears an anxious look on her face until the downed skier is collected. Every boat needs one. 

Also, I'm going to tell you that I probably will learn to confidently drive the boat with a water skiier in tow because hubs will teach me, and encourage me, and challenge me and I will accept the challenge. And in all likliehood I will end up loving it because that's kinda how I roll when it comes to trying something new.  Resist, then embrace. It's my superpower. 

3. Do you crave sugar? Do you add sugar to your coffee and/or tea? Do you use artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes? When dining out is dessert a given? Are you someone who has slain the sugar dragon, and if so tell us how you did it.

Do I crave sugar? I don't think so, my cravings lean more towards the salty side of life. I have not eliminated sugar from my diet, but I don't think I go overboard either. I don't drink soda, and never put sugar in my coffee or hot tea. Occasionally I'll drink a sweet tea, but I don't like it overly sweet and so many of the restaurant varieties are so sweet they make my teeth ache. I don't use artificial sweeteners, but I have been known to check the dessert side of a menu before deciding on an entree when we're dining out. 

I don't snack on sweets at home, and I don't make dessert unless we have company, but I do love a good dessert. If we're in a restaurant that makes a good dessert I'm going to order something to share with hubs. 

4. What's a trend it took a while for you to come round to, but now you can't imagine living without?

Pretty much anything technology related.  I LOVE texting, but I remember being reluctant early on. Did you read my answer to #2? 

5. What's a song that reminds you of a specific incident in your life? Please elaborate.

This is hard, because when I thought about how to answer I felt like songs remind me more of a time in my life as opposed to a specific incident. There's probably many, but I'll go with Little Darlin' by Poco. I listened to that song while I was in labor with my first born, and when I hear it I think of those first few hours and weeks with her. 

I feel certain some of you need educating, and you can listen here. 

I don't really know why that became THE song, but I do know we loved the whole album (Legend) and wore it out. Remember how exciting it was to get an album and love every single song on it? Well this was one of those.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Do you feed the hummingbirds where you live? We've always had a feeder, and love watching these amazing little creatures up close. We put a feeder on the kitchen window and waited a few days, but no birds. I knew we needed something bright to attract them, so on Saturday hubs and I bought a gorgeous bright red mandevilla. 

You can't see the feeder, but you can see the plant.
And my sweet girl. 

Anyway, we set it on the deck near the feeder, and about five minutes later there came the hummingbirds. Talk about something that craves sugar-ha! We make our own sugar water and don't add any red food coloring to it, as we read that wasn't good for the birds. The feeder itself has a red base, so that helps. 

Happy Wednesday Everyone! 

Go Jump In The Hodgepodge

It's been a hot hot week here in the Palmetto State. Let's sit in the air conditioning and answer random questions about everything under the sun, k?  If you've played along today add your link at the end of my post. Be sure you leave a comment for the blogger linking before you because that's what good neighbors do. Here we go-

1. If you could sit beside and/or jump in any lake in the whole wide world today, which lake would you choose and why?

Something Italian. Lago Maggiore is one of my favorites, but I'm not too picky. Plunk me down beside a lake in Italy and I'm good. 

2. What's your favorite 'fruity' drink?

Probably lemonade. Or Pimms. I do love a Pimms cup on a warm summer day, and we make ours with fresh strawberries, sliced citrus fruits, and a sprig of mint so it's fruity. 

3. I read a list here of thirteen things to do right now to simplify your life. They were-

clean as you go, re-evaluate your relationships (cut toxic ties), unsubscribe (too many blogs and websites), de-clutter, write down your daily goals, reply to emails right away, forget multitasking, create a morning routine, re-evaluate your commitments (which hobbies and responsibilities are most important to you), say no, clean up your computer, and plan your day ahead

Which of the tasks listed do you currently find most helpful in keeping life simple? Which item on the list should you adopt in order to simplify your life this month? 

I do or have done most of the items on this list. The one thing I could do this month that would be most helpful around here would be cleaning up my computer, photos in particular. I still don't have a handle on the photo system since iPhoto became My Photos. 

4. What did you do the summer after you graduated from high school?

I worked as a camp counselor at a girls camp in Maryland. 

c.1978

It was and always will be one of my life's 'happy places'. 

5. Are you a fan of podcasts? If so what's a favorite?

I'm just now jumping on the Podcast bandwagon. I've been listening to some while I walk, and am hoping to find some good recommendations here today. I listen to pastors mostly, but I do have season one of Serial downloaded for hubs and I to listen to, maybe on an upcoming road trip. 

6. Do you think today's fathers have it harder, easier, or just different than fathers in the past?

Not harder or easier, just different. Every generation has it's challenges, expectations, and disappointments when it comes to parenting and I don't think that's any less true for today's fathers. 

7. Tell us one way you're like your father? Or not at all like your father if that's easier?

Well I've got his eyes for one. I'm a lot like my mother and not sure I've thought much until today about how I'm like my dad. He was determined, a hard worker, he loved Jesus, and had a tender heart. In those ways I think I'm like my dad. My mom has a lot of those same characteristics too, so let's just say I had good examples to follow on both sides of the parental DNA. 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Hubs and I celebrate 32 years of married life tomorrow. I made a little Smilebox video for our 30th and am posting it here again today because 32! Whoohoo! And still true believers! 

Customize your own free slideshow

Happy Anniversary hubs!

SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave