Hodgepodge Favorites

Welcome to another week in 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 was your favorite part about growing up in your hometown? 

Without a doubt it would be the neighborhood. We walked to school, rode our bikes with abandon, chased fireflies and played big games of tag and kick the can with all ages teaming up together. We knew our neighbors and there was a strong sense of community. Family. Friends. Fun. And the freedom to figure out life and our place in it.

As I was answering this question I remembered writing a post in my early days of blogging on this very topic. You'll find it here-My Very Own Wonder Years. 

"There was a time when the world was enormous...Spanning the vast, almost infinite boundaries of your neighborhood. The place where you grew up. Where you didn't think twice about playing on someone else's lawn. And the street was your territory that occasionally got invaded by a passing car. It was where you didn't get called home until after it was dark. And all the people, and all the houses that surrounded you were as familiar as the things in your own room. And you knew they would never change."

Kevin Arnold, The Wonder Years

2. Do you prefer 'material' gifts or 'experience' gifts? If you answered experience, tell us about one you've received and enjoyed. 

Here's how I feel about gifts...when I receive a gift I want it to say 'I thought of you'. Or 'I remember once you said you loved x and I saw x so I got it for you'. 

Some of my favorite material gifts are small inexpensive things that in some way suggest the giver has taken the time to really think about me before they just go out and buy something for the sake of buying something. It could be a hedgehog apron or a weekend in NYC. They're of equal value in my mind because they show intent and thought and planning...my favorite kinds of gifts. 

My hubs has planned two birthday getaways with an element of surprise and both showed a lot of forethought and planning. To me that was the best part of the whole thing. 

3. Is brown a color featured prominently in your home decor? Your wardrobe? What's one brown thing you own and love? Of the brown foods listed here which one is your favorite and/or most often consumed.. brown sugar, brown rice, pretzels, coffee, dates, cloves, German chocolate cake, whole wheat bread?

Is it featured prominently in my home? I guess you could say that. I like real wood and we have a lot of it in the form of beams, furniture, and wainscoting. Our wood leans toward the darker hues, which to me make a house feel warm and cozy.  The dark tones need to be balanced with light coming in somewhere, but for the most part I love the dark woods. 

Off the top of my head I don't think I have a lot of brown in my wardrobe. I do have a pair of heels I love and some brown boots, but in terms of tops, dresses etc no brown. 

I like all the foods listed, but if I have to pick a favorite I'm going to say pretzels. I always have pretzels in the house. 

My favorite brown thing I own and love? 

The little brown dog of course. 

Always livin' large. Remember his money shot-

Except there was no money lol. He did get his ten minutes of fame and was a happy distraction for over 91,000 voters during that very strange season we dubbed 'the pandemic'.  

4. Which 'Charlie Brown' character do you relate to most? If you're not sure, you can take a fun quick quiz by clicking here-Which Charlie Brown Character Are You?  or another one here-Charlie Brown Quiz. I got the same answer on both. 

I could have answered this without the quiz-Charlie Brown. 

Chuck is an ambivert and so am I. As the quiz describes...both introverted and extroverted depending on your mood or the situation (true). You're gentle and lovable (I hope so), determined (some might say stubborn) and hopeful (an eternal optimist). You mean well and care deeply about your friends (yes). When it comes to failure, you stay optimistic (of course), press on, and cheer for your friends to keep on going (keep going friends!)

 5. Favorite item you've purchased this year? 

I feel like I've made a lot of purchases this year, both large and small. We recently bought a slew of new outdoor furniture, two outdoor rugs, and a couch for the lower level family room so declaring that my favorite. Technically it's not going to be delivered until sometime in the new year, but since the deposit hit the credit card in this calendar year it counts. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

How about some random cuteness? Time is a-flyin' and I never posted any pics from our quick 24-hour visit with the Tennessee grands, which happened a whole week and three days ago. I meant to, but somehow I seem to always be a few steps behind here.

Sugar with her double ear infection and sweet baby J wanting to bust loose, but we powered through and snapped a photo. They're the sweetest-

Happy Wednesday Hodgepodgers! 

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Nothin' Scary About The Hodgepodge

Welcome to another edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge, our last in October.  If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my blog, then leave a comment for the blogger before you.  Here we go-

1. Is Halloween a big deal in your neighborhood? Was it something you celebrated as a child? With your own children? Do you like candy corn? 

It's not a huge deal in our neighborhood, but it's not no deal either. There are not a lot of young children in our neighborhood and the driveways are long and the roads a bit dark so not ideal for trick or treating. Last year someone organized a trunk or treat in the clubhouse parking lot which was fun and made trick or treating easier for everyone. We don't get trick or treaters at our door, which is just as well because I tend to buy way too much candy and consequently eat way too much candy. 

We did celebrate when I was growing up, nothing over the top but it was a fun day and much looked forward to. We always had a costume parade at school and then we trick or treated around the neighborhood that evening. This was back in the day when you wore those plastic masks that covered your face, had tiny little slits for eyes, and a rubber band that went around your head to hold it in place. If you know you know and if you don't, well you're young and lucky lol. 

My dad always carved a pumpkin but we didn't do any extreme decorating. Early on in my blog life I wrote a (very wordy) post about my Halloween memories. I've linked it here if you're curious-It Was A Dark and Stormy Night...

We kept it pretty low key for our own children too. Costumes and trick or treating around the neighborhood with the dads leading the way. We carved pumpkins but again, I wasn't in to a lot of Halloween decor. 

As far as candy corn goes...I can take it or leave it. 

2. Are you a scaredy cat? About what? 

Hmmm...we probably all have one thing or another that would qualify us as 'scaredy cat'. I have done and still do a lot of things many people would define as 'living unafraid'...international travel, swimming in a deep lake, public speaking, etc. 

How about traversing a gorge in a hanging cable car? I'm fraidy scared but I still do get on them and go so does that really count? 

I know...bats. I am a scaredy cat when it comes to bats. Shudder. 

3. Last time you were somewhere that should have been busy but felt like a 'ghost town'?

Maybe a restaurant on a Friday night that would normally be hopping but these days is not?

4. Do you like chili and if so how do you like it? Beans or no beans? Meat or no meat? Beef or chicken? Spice or no spice? Favorite toppings? 

I love chili and I love chili weather. I make mine with beans-meat-spice, but can happily eat chili all sorts of ways. I tend to use beef but also have a white chicken chili recipe that's tasty. We like spicy and then hubs also needs a side of jalapeños because there's no such thing as too hot for him. I like shredded cheese and sometimes a small dollop of sour cream on mine along with a side of cornbread.

5. Would you describe yourself as a night owl? What time of night qualifies? What are you doing while everyone else is asleep? Do you then 'sleep in'? Define 'sleeping in'. 

Ha! No. What's the opposite of a night owl, because that's what I am? I'm an early bird and love the wee hours of the morning as the sun is rising, not the wee hours of the night after the sun has gone to bed. My level of productivity goes way down late afternoon, and sleeping in for me would be 7:30. If I'm still in bed at 8 am I'm probably sick. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." L.M. Montgomery

So is the little brown dog...

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Super Fun

Weekends leave a little something to be desired these days, wouldn't you agree? Feels like we've been walking through sludge for a while now, and February isn't helping.  

We're mostly still doing a lot of nothing here and like most everyone we're tired of it. Bored with it. Ready to rejoin the party except there's still no party to rejoin. Which is why I blog about the weather and what's on the grill and the ongoing saga of our television service. 

We did have a very small snowfall Saturday night and that was a little bit exciting. Relatively speaking of course. Parts of the lake had more, but just a dusting here. 

Did you watch the Superbowl? We sorta kinda watched a snippet here and there, but honestly were not the least bit invested in the outcome. We have not watched a single NFL game this year because we are over the NFL, but I love Eric Church and wanted to see him sing the National Anthem. He's country and this was to be a duet with a more hip hop/R & B singer (Jazmine Sullivan) so I was nervous. I hate when singers mess with the anthem and the potential for that felt large with this combo. 

Course by the time we got the tv connected (!!!) team captains were already mid-field doing the coin toss and we missed it. 

Remember when something annoyed us and we'd just say 2020 and roll our eyes and everyone knew what we meant?  Saying 2021 is not nearly as satisfying. 

Anyway, I did go watch a clip of the anthem on youtube and based on comments I'd read was prepared not to like their version, but I actually loved it. They only messed with it a little, plus that sign language interpreter was fantastic and brought a big dose of happy to the whole thing. 

This boy loves my popcorn maker more than even I do and that's saying something. He watches this machine like a hawk-

 

In other Superbowl food news hubs decided to grill wings, a skill he has completely mastered-

We invited our next door neighbors over to share and ended up talking, laughing, not really watching the game, and playing pool until midnight. The girls won which isn't important but does feel worthy of a mention, and the whole evening was so much fun I forgot for a minute it wasn't a party. 

Remember fun? In 2021 I think we have to make our own. 

And so we do.

'Twas the week before Christmas...

...and all through the house, not a creature was stirring...

Because it's 2020 and we're all home by our lonesomes spending too much time on the couch. 

That's okay though. To quote another favorite Christmas rhyme, '....it comes without ribbons, it comes without tags, it comes without packages, boxes, or your whole entire extended family in the house...'  

Something like that anyway. 

Time is so strange this year. What isn't I guess, but I can't believe we celebrate Christmas just one week from today. The month of May felt like it lasted 347 days but wasn't it just September yesterday? 

So are you ready? I'm mostly ready. Tracking package deliveries online like a mad woman, but kudos to the US mail, UPS, Fed Ex, Amazon, and anyone else managing the overload of boxes, bags, and envelopes happening currently. We're getting deliveries at six in the morning and nine o'clock at night too. 

My house is decorated, but my dining room table isn't quite set and I'm hoping to get to that this weekend. I've been wrapping presents in there, but whoohoo! I think all my gifts are finally wrapped with the exception of one or two still set to arrive. 

Do you still send Christmas cards? I love them, both the giving and receiving, and checking the mailbox every day in December makes me happy. I told hubs I know we're getting older because we've received a lot more traditional cards this year as opposed to photo cards. 

Maybe the stupid you know what has something to do with that. Travel, family vacations, and gatherings of any sort were at a minimum, hence not as many photo ops. I really hope people don't stop sending cards altogether. Yes they're pricey and a bit of work to put together, but they are such a day brightener for the receiver. 

In other Christmas-y news, I might need one of those 'workplace incident' signs for my kitchen...'it's been 12 hours since a Christmas cookie was eaten ...'  I'm not the only one am I? 

Hubs and I have watched most of our favorite Christmas movies and did you know Home Alone is 30 years old? 30! I think it holds up remarkably well in terms of humor and the sweetness of that last little scene with the neighbor still tugs at my heart.  

Speaking of neighbors, we have brand new neighbors next door who we've bonded with over the fallen tree. They spend a lot of time in Florida and somehow in the course of conversation hubs mentioned how much we love stone crabs. 

Fast forward to yesterday when we opened our front door to this-

An enormous box of fresh stone crab packed on ice straight from Joe's Stone Crab in Miami. Merry Christmas from the new neighbors...

Shouldn't we be the ones sending them something? Rest assured we picked every last one of these crab claws clean and they were delicious. 

Unexpected thoughtfulness is such an absolute treat and the world needs more of it. 

Christmas is coming and that's good news. The very best news in fact. It may be minus a few of the usual bells and whistles we all look forward to, but the baby in the manger never needed that anyway. 

Wishing you all a holly jolly hope-filled weekend! 

Man Versus Nature

Today's word was sent to me by my nephew, a college student currently finishing up the school year at home with his folks, the way all college students are finishing up this school year. High five (virtual of course) to all the college kids out there learning course content and more life lessons than they anticipated when they headed to campus last fall.

Thank you J for the word of the day!

Day 22-V is for Victory

Sharing a glimpse into lake life and two small victories we've experienced in the last week or so. You might even learn something here today, maybe more than you wanted to know, but let's carry on anyway. 

A little over a week ago hubs noticed some sticks and pine straw in the water under the boat lift. The lake we live on is crystal clear so he knew something was up. Upon further investigation he discovered a varmint had been terrorizing the landscaping on our hillside and was also feasting on some of the tree trunks along our waterline.

Bother.  

Major bother. 

Bucky had worked his way all the way up our hillside, gnawing as he went, ripping the low growing juniper out by the roots, shredding it's bark to use as construction material for his new home, which he thought was going to be under our dock. Nope. Not happening. The local HOA, aka me and the hubs, put the kibosh on that quicker than you can say Bob's your uncle. 

When we lived in NJ we used to walk in a nearby wildlife preserve and we'd see quite a few beaver lodges there. We never saw an actual beaver and I used to think that would be kind of cool, but trust me, it's not cool. Now that I've seen one a little too up close and personal I can tell you they look a lot like an overgrown rodent. Are they rodents? I had to look that up but yes, they are semi-aquatic rodents.  

Anyway, on the lake these creatures have found an alternative to the more commonly recognized lodge set up, and instead  burrow into the shoreline and/or set up camp beneath your dock where they proceed to wreak havoc. 

When we installed our dock we added something to the wiring that the dock guy called beaver guard. Who even knew such a thing existed??? I surely didn't, but I'm glad he mentioned it because turns out we needed it. The guard is a kevlar- like sleeve that fits over your dock hoses and it's pretty much indestructible. It prevents beavers from chewing through the air hose which would then cause your lift to drop and your boat to float away.  

That doesn't happen often because most people tie their boats to their docks even when they're on the lift, but occasionally one floats out there.  At the time we thought this was perhaps an unnecessary expense, but turns out dock guy was 100% right and we're so grateful now we added that when the dock was installed. 

We're animal lovers here, but y'all we needed to get a handle on this before he moved his family in, so we ended up calling in the professionals. An animal control specialist came out and said we could snare him or trap him and either way he'd be a goner, which I know is so sad, but also very necessary. We opted for the snare which felt like the safer route given the fact we have an overly curious little brown dog living here. Everything was back as it should be (no beaver living under my dock) within a couple of days. 

Hey, it was me or Bucky so capturing that 40+ lb beaver felt like a small victory. I know!! He was huge!! The animal control guy said he'd seen one close to 60 pounds, but ours was definitely on the ginormous side. 

He did not use the word ginormous but I know he meant it. 

Okay, how 'bout one more small victory since that's the word of the day? Last night hubs (he's always on top of things around here) spied a log floating along the shoreline.  As I mentioned earlier our lake is one of the cleanest clearest lakes in the country and it's extremely rare to see debris of any sort floating.

So he hurried on down to the water and thought he'd just pull the log in, but turns out it was an entire tree trunk likely deposited somewhere on the water during last week's tornado. 

Life has not been dull here. 

A friend who had boated over to the neighbor's dock saw hubs trying to haul in the tree and came over with a pole to lend a hand. We have rip rap all along the shoreline so it's not the easiest thing to maneuver around especially when you're in flip flops, but together they managed to pull it in.

And his wife snapped photos and texted me with the caption V is for Victory which made me laugh, since I knew that was already the word of the day.

Little brown dog helped too.

He wanted to anyway.

This would not be a good thing to run into with your boat, so it's a good thing they managed to get it onshore. Hubs jokes he might carve this into a totem pole. 

Hey he's got the time now, right? 

We're Baaaack...The Wednesday Hodgepodge Volume 361

Good morning! It's been a while hasn't it? I'm looking forward to 'seeing' some familiar faces here, and hopefully new faces too. If you're new to the Hodgepodge welcome to a happy little corner of the Internet. In this age of social distancing, isolation, and general unease, the Wednesday Hodgepodge feels a lot like having coffee with old friends. And it looks like we're going to have several weeks to get reaquainted, ahem.

Let's get started...answer the questions on your own blog, then hop back here and add your link at the bottom of my post. Then hop over and visit (at the very least) the blogger who linked before you. Comments make the world go round or at least the blogosphere. Don't forget to post the button code (located in my sidebar) or a link back here so your blog readers can play along too.

And we're off-

1. Howdy Hodgepodgers. It's kind of fun to be back, isn't it?  Last time we met was September, 2018. Tell me something big-important-happy-or sad that's happened in your life since that date. Just one thing. We don't know how long this current isolation situation is going to last and we might need to dole out our news bit by bit.

I suppose we've each one experienced all of the above in the past eighteen months because life is like that. I may ask this question another three times until we've shared something from each category. I'm going to start with the happy which is this-

I have a new grandson, born halfway around the world to my daughter and son-in-law who are currently living in South Korea. We were fortunate to make it to Korea two days before his birth and had the most wonderful month with this precious family. I wrote a few posts about our travels which you can read if you're so inclined, starting with the post linked here . 

While I hate the distance I am so very grateful we traveled when we did. We facetime regularly which I guess is now every grandparents new normal, and it's not the same but is still pretty great. We are completely smitten with this new little man and his big brother. 

2. Might as well get this out of the way early on...COVID-19. On a scale of 1-5 how serious are you about keeping your distance? Explain. fyi-I didn't create the scale but have seen it several places online. Also fyi-we won't only have virus related questions each week, but for this first one it feels right.

1-Not at all, living normally

2-Cautious but still going out

3-Going out as needed, mostly home or working from home, still seeing friends/family

4-Extremely limited, only going out when unavoidable, minimal contact with people

5-Full lockdown, no one in or out

We are a full 4, bordering on a 5. Definitely not letting anyone in and going out only for groceries once a week or less. I'm going to go ahead and add my .02 here...I surely hope nobody is a 1 or 2. 

3. Raise your hand if you think you might run out of steam in the cooking department before it's all said and done? What's something delcious you've cooked or eaten in your own kitchen in the past week?

I enjoy cooking but this everyday thing is likely going to get old before we're over this current crisis. I have always planned meals and shopped from a list so that's not a problem. We love a nice meal in a restaurant or a casual get together at a friend's house, but for now we're strictly cooking at home.  

Even when life is 'normal' there are no food delivery options on the lake, and we typcially don't do take out because by the time you go to town to pick it up you might as well eat there. Right now a few restaurants are offering curbside pick up so we'll probably do that at some point to help keep businesses afloat. My daughter ordered a couple of Home Chef meals (our favorite of the home delivery) for next week just to give us something new and different to eat. 

Best thing I've cooked/eaten in my own kitchen this past week? Homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I made them for a friend who had surgery recently, but the recipe (linked here and it's my favorite) makes a lot so we kept a dozen and gave another dozen to a neighbor who also had surgery recently. Hubs left the cookies on their doorstep then texted so they'd know what we'd done because that's how things work in a pandemic. 

4. What's a television show or movie you've seen recently (it could be an oldie) that you really liked?

Hubs and I watched Midway and thought it was really good. We watched Knives Out over the weekend and it was okay. Took a while to get going, but it stars Daniel Craig so there's that. 

5. Share something funny you've seen or heard this week.

The Interenet can be such a nasty place, but right now parents who find themselves suddenly at home all day every day- all night every night are killin' it. I hope they keep their sense of humor because every day I see something that makes me laugh. I was a teacher so especially relate to those memes. Visit @momonmeltdown for more funnies-




6. Insert your own random thought here.

I love listening to Claire Crosby sing with her dad. About three years ago one of their videos went viral so they're pretty well known now. This one is particularly timely. Stay well everyone! 

On The Street Where You Live

So how is everyone managing so far with the whole social distancing thing? My teacher daughter is working from home and in case anyone wonders what teachers are doing with all that 'free time' they're getting paid for, let me assure you they are working.

The school system requires teachers to keep 'office hours' from 7:30-3:30 and I'm pretty sure she'll hear her message notification sound in her sleep. In addition she is completing report cards, uploading videos, walking parents through the day's work, reading aloud to her students, speaking to parents by phone and email, answering questions, and creating more lesson plans in the event this e-learning turns into 'the remainder of the year'.

Also I'm not sure the Internet was ready for every single person in the US of A to log on today.

Hubs and I are tackling some of those spring cleaning jobs that need tackling. I scoured bathrooms, hubs vacuumed, we covered our porch furniture and temporarily rolled up the outdoor rug because pollen season is officially upon us. I baked a loaf of banana bread with my overly ripe bananas and figured out what I can make for dinner with ingredients from my frig.

It's gray and dreary outside which seems to fit the general mood of the world right now, but everyone needs to strap in and stay the course. We've had a few people call and ask us to do things but y'all! Social distancing means distance from all things social. There are some essential interactions that have to happen but non-essential activities (aka all the fun stuff) need to be put on hold. It's not forever and we can do this.

Let's carry on with the ten day writing challenge shall we...

Day 8-the word prompt is street

I grew up on a street where kids played outside til dark or til their mamas called them home. Where we couldn't wait for Saturday. Where we went door to door selling girl scout cookies and rode bicycles 'Look! No hands!

Where teenagers mowed lawns and washed the family car with a bucket and a sponge.Where we played freeze tag on the front lawn, had garage sales and block parties and knew all the neighbors, not just the ones next door.

Where we walked to school, learned to cross at the corner, say hello when spoken to. Where flags flew and gardens grew and just washed sheets were pinned to a line. Where dinner was at 6 and the evening only news right after.

Where we didn't know what went on behind every closed door.

Where you wore new shoes in September and galoshes when it rained. Where dogs were walked and pumpkins carved and windows were thrown wide open in the coolness of spring.

Where the whole family shared a phone and a couple of cars and only the grown ups drank coffee.

I grew up on a street with backyard swingsets and driveway hopscotch. Where we jumped ropes and kicked cans and tightened skates with a key worn round your neck. Where snow days meant pulling a saucer to the top of the road, then hanging on tight as you careened back down. Where Santa came by firetruck every Christmas Eve.

I grew up on a street where the scent of a charcoal grill said summer's here. Where the world was it's own kind of crazy but not held in your hand or attached to your ear.

I grew up on a street that said be a kid because childhood is a precious thing and should not be hurried.

Five Minutes of Mystery

I spent this morning clorox wiping every light switch, door handle, and drawer pull in my house, so I think I'm ready to write now. While everyone else has moved on with their blog lives I'm still plugging away at the ten day writing challenge.

Day 7 word prompt-mystery

We spent the weekend with our lake neighbors in sunny Florida. They read my blog and when she asked me what the next word was going to be in the challenge I said 'mystery'. We both kind of laughed and she said 'I guess you're going to write about the Coronavirus, right?'

I might mention it.
Are we allowed to talk about anything else right now?

Our friends bought a beautiful home overlooking the Intracoastal and we made plans a while back to spend a long weekend with them. Initially we were going to fly, but decided instead to drive and do our best to keep away from crowds.

Let me just tell you I don't think Floridians (or maybe it's all those snowbirds?) got that message about social distancing. There were throngs of people everywhere you looked, but thankfully the beach is big and the ocean wide. For the most part it felt like we were able to keep a healthy distance.

Hubs and I like a good road trip and we passed the hours and miles listening to an audio book we both really enjoyed-Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. Lots of names to keep straight so it was a good book to listen to as opposed to read.

We arrived to gorgeous weather and spent the weekend relaxing at the beach or out on the water. There was some fishing-

Boating-

Lots of hand washing and catching up on life.

We ate one lunch and two dinners in restaurants, but since our host loves to cook the rest of our meals were prepared at home. Nothing was closed and it was a little disconcerting to see how casual people were about mingling.

We steered clear of the crowds which is what hubs and I like to do anyway when we're at the beach, so it didn't feel that much different than other ocean holidays we've taken.

Except in my mind it was.

What are the stores like at home? Will the governor close schools and what will that look like for my teacher daughter? What in the world is going on with the financial markets and why are people stockpiling toilet paper?  

Did I have the Coronavirus in November when I had that weirdly worst cough I've ever had without all the flu symptoms? Covid-19 wasn't a thing in South Korea, or even China yet, but could it have been some form of the virus? 

Am I paranoid? 
Not paranoid enough?

Did I wash my hands after we left the restaurant? 

Should I call and cancel my hair appointment? 

When will things settle down? How long will we need to stick close to home? When will all this uncertainty about what's safe and unsafe end?

It's a mystery.

I know we're lucky. We're currently in good health. We have food in our frig and gas in our cars and people we love hunkering down with us. Not everyone can say the same.

I think about the lonely. Those already teetering on the edge of depression. Elderly people spending too much time alone in their homes.

The high school senior missing her prom, the championship game, a much anticipated class trip-play-concert. College students who won't get to walk the walk to Pomp and Circumstance.

Moms at home now responsible for filling their child's day with some semblance of normality in a completely abnormal situation, and parents who work and don't know what to do about kids at home needing instruction or at the very least supervision.

The sick and the fearful and people everywhere navigating so very many disappointments of every shape and size.

Unease oozes out of every news feed, television screen, and overheard conversation.
So much unknown.

And so much not.

Here's something that's not a mystery-

"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." Isaiah 26:3

We are loved with an everlasting love. Every single one of us. God loves us and is for us. He has not promised we'll never suffer, never struggle, never feel confusion over our present circumstances, but He has promised to never leave us or forsake us.

In this age of information overload I go back to the truest words I know...

"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust...' Psalm 91:1-2