Aloha Hodgepodgers

Welcome to July and this week's edition of the Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post. And be sure to leave a comment for the blogger before you, because that's what good neighbors do. Now here we go-

1. July 5th is National Hawaii Day...have you ever been to Hawaii? Any desire to visit or make a return trip? Pineapple, mango, or guava...what's your pleasure? 

I drew my first breath in the Aloha State and would love to make a return trip someday. I like all the fruits listed, but if you make me choose I'll say pineapple. 

2. Last time you were 'thrown in at the deep end'? Explain. 

I took on a volunteer position at church and because I was a late add on (to fill a vacancy) I missed all the training. I'm learning as I go, but am loving it. Deep water is challenging, but swimming there can be lots of fun too. 

3. Sun, sea, sand, salt...your favorite when it comes to summer? 

Hmmm...it's a tough call but I'm going with sunshine. 

4. Bury your head in the sand, the sands of time, draw a line in the sand, pound sand, shifting sands...pick one and tell us how the phrase currently relates to your life in some way.

Maybe the sands of time...see # 6. 

5. On a scale of 1-10 (1 = make your own rules and 10=like a warden), how strict were your parents? If you're a parent where on the scale do you land? 

I hope my girls answer these questions today. I'm curious as to where they'll say I land. My parents were not overly strict, but they weren't lenient either. There were household rules to follow, chores to be completed, and consequences to your words and actions. There was also a whole lot of love, so a good balance. I'm going to say my parents were a 7 and  I'm probably in the 6-7 range as well. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

We had to say goodbye this week to the sweetest, gentlest, most loving dog we've ever known.  Daughter2's greyhound...

When daughter2 told us she was getting a greyhound several years back, hubs and I both kind of scratched our heads. We didn't know much about them, other than they were bred to race and sweet Gemma was a former racer. 

As it turns out greyhounds make wonderful pets. We used to laugh and say it was like living with a stuffed animal because she was such a quiet soul. We are so grateful for all the tender love and comfort she has added to our family. We've known and loved a lot of dogs y'all, but this one was something extra special. 

"Dog's lives are too short. Their only fault really." 

Agnes Sligh Turnbull

Saturday Sunnies

The sun is shining, the weather is wonderful, and it's the birthday of this land I love. Thank you to all the men and women around the globe protecting the freedoms we cherish. May we be mindful of your sacrifices both large and small, today and every day.

Doing a little phone dump here because summer is flying by at mach speed and my blog is where I keep track of the time. Actually my phone is where I keep track of the time. If it weren't for the photos snapped there the weeks would be a blur. 

So what's been happening in these parts? 

Well for starters we had company. Last summer was so strange in terms of no company. No friends coming to visit, no family barbecues or porch sitting, no fun dinners with piles of friends. Nothin'. 

We are back in high gear this summer though, and on Monday some of our Maryland cul-de sac neighbors were in the area and spent a couple of days here at the lake. Our children collectively put about 100,000 miles on their Little Tykes car once upon a time, and even though everyone is all grown up I see them still, little blonde pony tails bobbing in the sun, negotiating a turn at the wheel. 

There were only about six houses in our cul-de-sac and we all had kids about the same age. It was the sweetest little spot to spend a childhood. We had backyards with swingsets but most of the time you'd find all the kids congregating in the middle of the court for games of kickball, roller blading, flashlight tag, and one memorable winter (I don't need to remind them which one!) sledding down the ginormous hill made of plowed snow right in the center of our street. 

The day they arrived the weather was grand and we showed them the lake and even boated to dinner. The next day brought some morning drizzle so we headed over to college town to see what we could see before grabbing lunch. By the time we got home the skies had cleared enough for some cornhole and a swim. 

So many shared experiences raising our children beside the bay, and it was so great to see them in person and catch up on everyone's lives and goings on. 

Thursday evening I hosted a BBQ for a group from church. Originally I thought we'd number about 15 or 20 so hubs volunteered to smoke pork butts on the Big Green Egg. 

We ended up a group of more than 30, and kudos to the grillmaster extraordinaire who started the meat just before midnight and produced a fabulous entree at 6 PM the next day. 

We're pooped by the way. 

In completely unrelated news, we've been moving my sewing machine table from house to house and I finally said enough, I'm not sewing anymore so let's go ahead and get rid of it. One of my friends made a table out of hers and I told hubs about it and next thing you know we've got this-

I love it! We removed the box from the legs, ordered a piece of glass with a beveled edge, and ended up with a new old patio table. 

Also, by 'we' you know I mean the hubs, right?

This morning we looked out and saw two young deer walking across the drive, no doubt dining on something from my yard they shouldn't be dining on, but they are so cute it's hard to be annoyed. 

Daughter2, aka the newlywed Mrs.,  is on her way here as we speak. She's going to spend a few days and collect the sweetest dog in the world who has been staying with us since their honeymoon. Her pup is not well and it will be so hard to send her back to PA in a few days. Dogs fill some of the coziest spaces in your heart but they break it a little bit too. 

Daughter2's mister has a work trip this week so she's going to hang out with her momma and I cannot wait to pepper her with questions, talk too much while we try to watch our favorite cooking shows, ask her to straighten my hair every other day, and show me one more time how to do something on my phone that she's shown me a hundred times. I bet she can't wait to get here. 

Enjoy this holiday weekend everyone! America may not be perfect, but she learns and she grows and tries her best to stay true to her noble ideals. "May God shed His grace on thee..."

The Dog Days Of A Summer Hodgepodge

Welcome to another edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions  add your link at the end of my post, then be sure to leave a comment for the blogger linking before you. That's how the Hodgepodge rolls-

1. The Hodgepodge lands on National Dog Day this year (August 26th). Do you own a dog? Did you have a dog when you were growing up, or maybe some other kind of pet? Would you say you're more of a dog person or a cat person? Neither is okay too : )

Do we own a dog? Trick question-ha! Technically no, but we have two living with us and one will likely stay on as ours once our daughter and her family return stateside. We haven't set that in stone, but he's so happy here and loves the lake so I imagine he's going to stay with us for good. 

Plus they might have to wrestle hubs down to get him back even though he sometimes makes us a little bit crazy. Don't all dogs sometimes make you crazy? 

Daughter2 will be taking her sweet pup with her into married life many states away. 

And we'll cry in the driveway because her dog never makes us crazy. 
Well almost never. 

I grew up with a dog in the house and am definitely a dog person. I'm allergic to cats. 

2. Last time you felt 'dog tired'?

That's extra extra tired, right? Utterly exhausted as opposed to the normal 'age I am' kind of tired? I probably haven't felt dog tired since the Asia jet lag we experienced back in the fall. 

Although there was one morning this summer hubs and I pulled weeds in the high heat and ridiculous humidity and I pretty much felt like I'd been run over by a truck the rest of the day. 

3. It's said you can't teach an old dog new tricks. When did you last prove this idiom true or prove it wrong?

I feel like I mostly prove this true, but every now and then I figure out some trick of technology (usually with a lot of help from my girls) and when that happens I feel like I could rule the world. It's the little things people.

4. A favorite book, television show, or movie featuring a dog. Why did you love it?

Without a doubt my favorite dog book is Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, which I've sobbed through more than a time or two. Pretty sure to qualify as a good dog book tears should be shed in the reading. 

Why do I love it? It's an old fashioned-never gets old story of a ten year old boy and his coonhounds living in the Ozark Mountains, which sounds like it might be boring but I assure you it is not. The writing is so wonderful and the story nestles right into that part of your heart where the memory of childhood remains. You really just need to read it for yourself. 

5. Last time you had reason to (literally or figuratively) exclaim 'hot diggity dog'?

This phrase is defined as an exclamation of surprise or delight so I'm going with earlier this summer when our soon-to-be son-in-law asked Daughter2 to be his bride. Hot diggity! 

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

The weather, like so many things this year, has not been super stellar. Still we are taking advantage of pretty sunset skies when we can and Sunday was one of those days.

In 2020 find beauty where you can. 

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...

Beauty and the Beach

Wrapping up our trip to the Evergreen State today because who wants to sort, shred, file and pack up an office when they can look at pretty pictures instead? 

We got a taste of true Washington weather once the weekend ended. I think we had a little bit of rain each day, but we still squeezed in a lot of fun.  Hubs spent some time doing a few things in the yard for the newlyweds because yard work is his love language. I'm not kidding.

Monday morning our hosts both went to work so hubs and I drove in to Tacoma to meet some friends from our UK days. Few things make my heart happier. We met at Starbucks of course, because isn't the PNW it's mothership? We  had such a nice time catching up in person. 

On Tuesday afternoon we were all a little giddy as we drove to the base with Daughter1 to meet the dog breeder for the puppy handover. Oh my stars! There is nothing like a puppy is there? Hunley is a love and we had so much fun watching him explore his new home.  

Thursday morning we took advantage of a break in the weather to see 'the neighborhood'. The Puget Sound sits within walking distance of their home, and the vastness of it, the beauty and solitude you feel as you stand in front of this body of water is hard to put into words.  

The trail to the water begins in a forest my Daughter refers to as Jurassic Park. The trees reach to the sky and all around are ferns and moss and lush green gorgeousness. 

Hunley came too, and he was a trooper. We took turns carrying him, but nobody seemed to mind-ha!

As the forest breaks you enter an estuary, where wildflowers bloom and a gently rolling stream meanders through the landscape.

You walk through a tunnel that does not feel oddly out of place, more like something from Alice in Wonderland, and no the light at the end is not a train...

...it's the Puget Sound and it is absolutely breathtaking.

Such a contrast to the forest you left behind not a minute ago.

This stretch of rocky sand was made for deep thinking and big dreaming.
Just ask the heron.

You can take the boy out of Tennessee...

Rock skipper extraordinaire-

Knowing my daughter lives within a stone's throw of so much natural beauty makes the miles between us easier to bear. 

               

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, and we had a plane to catch so it was back to the woods for the walk home.

It's easier to be far now that I've been close. I like to picture my daughter and son-in-law at their kitchen table, walking their sweet dog around the neighborhood, and shopping in the commissary.

To know they stand and marvel at God's amazing handiwork and the path that led them to a rocky beach beside the Puget Sound.

Movin' on Up

It feels like the right time for a move update.
Because we're moving. Soon.

Yikes!!

Our last move was six years ago, and its funny how over time you forget about the bajillion things that need doing immediately and all that gut twisting stress and the long sad goodbyes and all the emotion that gets churned up when changing geography. It comes back to you pretty quickly.

So our house is sold. It's been under contract for several weeks now, but I've been reluctant to say anything here because real estate deals are notoriously precarious, particularly in the northeastern corner of the U.S.  So far, so good. Inspections have been completed and movers booked. Course we don't know where we're going to live in the interim, but that's just a pesky detail. One of a hundred pesky details.

Hi Mom! We're coming to you! Ha!

Only I'm not kidding. At 50-something hubs and I are becoming boomerang 'kids'. Our plan is to spend a few weeks at my mom's house wrapping up assorted business and appointments in NJ, before moving into a rental down south. Still gotta figure out the rental, but like I said-details...pssht.

So last week we did what anyone moving to a yet to be determined temporary home in less than a month would do. We took a vacation.

My daughter is so crafty. I loved this greeting on her kitchen chalkboard, and I enjoyed every minute of pretending there wasn't a list as long as my arm waiting for me at home too. The home I'm moving from in about three weeks, but I digress.

Here's the thing about moving...yes there is a lot to do, but it's important not to neglect the people when you're dealing with all the things. We'd planned months ago, to make our very first trip to the Pacific Northwest (PNW) over the Mother's Day weekend, and we stuck to that plan.

When your children live thousands of miles away it helps to see their actual space. To know when you're on the phone with them where they're sitting. To walk the neighborhood and visit the grocery store aka commissary and meet the new puppy before he's a full grown dog.

To see your daughter's office and the hospital where your son-in-law spends so very many hours learning and perfecting his chosen profession. Somehow when you've seen their spaces and places up close and personal the people you love don't feel so very far away.

In case you're wondering, the PNW is my new favorite place. The beauty y'all!  It is staggering. First of all, can we talk about this little bump in the landscape called Mt. Rainier?

I feel like that should be written MT. RAINIER.

We didn't get out to the actual mountain this trip, but it's all around you as you travel the highways of Tacoma and Seattle. Next time we're here we hope to make a trek that way. You can only do so much in six days, and this trip we wanted to become familiar with the area, and we also had to pick up a puppy and spend hours spoiling him, so a mountain road trip is on our list for next time.

Then there's the Puget Sound. This was our view from a rooftop restaurant the day after we got to town-

I think it's been well established here how I feel about the water. Is there anything better than a sunset on the sea?

As you might imagine I (ahem) have more than a few photos of our visit so I'm going to break them up into a couple of posts here. It might sound crazy to say I'm going to blog when I have a house to organize, a rental to locate, utilities to cancel, lunches and dinners with friends, etc., but that's how I roll.

When I have too much to do I blog. Don't tell hubs. He wakes me up in the morning with the to-do list he's tracking on the iPad.

Talking about my baby girl who grew up playing house in the basement, building houses out of sand at the beach, setting up houses under the trees in our side yard, and who is now grown up living in an honest to goodness warm and cozy brick and mortar home is way more fun. Also, it's not actually brick, but siding is good too.

Plus, did I tell you how tall the trees are and how green everything is and how beautiful the scenery is in the PNW? And there's a puppy in the house?

Don't worry...I will!