Cloudy With A Chance of Love

Just some random stuff to throw down here today.

As opposed to other days when I think oh so carefully about content, ahem.

I'm tired. Hubs might laugh at that because while I have been on the go, he has been on the go-go-go, plus he's working but still...

In the past six weeks I've flown across the country and back, made a long weekend trip to Atlanta, took an 1100+ mile road (work/fun) trip with hubs that involved stops in four cities in various states, was home for one! day before flying to Philadelphia for a week with my mom (in NJ) which included a weekend trip with a friend to a summer camp staff reunion in Maryland-

...then back to NJ, a Sunday cookout in the city (Philadelphia) at my sister and brother-in-laws house where the hydrangeas are ridiculously gorgeous-

I mean, come on!! Have you ever seen prettier hydrangeas???

After one cancelled flight and one re-booked flight, I finally made it home Monday night. Five hours later than anticipated, but nonetheless home. 

Has there ever been a sweeter word?

For some reason (actually the reason was ROOTS) I'd scheduled a hair appointment first thing Tuesday morning so was up and out Tuesday a.m., home for a quick lunch, then made the drive to the lake with hubs so we could meet the boat delivery-

...followed by a boat ride (of course!), which meant dinner at something ridiculous like 9 PM, and then on Wednesday I waved the white flag.

I was cooked, and did something I absolutely never do which is lounge in bed until 10:30 finishing a book (the Daughter by Jane Shemlit -really good!). The idea of having nowhere to be on a Wednesday morning was heavenly. Eventually I did laundry and bought groceries, then Daughter2 said she was free and we said do you want a boat ride? so when hubs finished working it was back out to the lake for dinner and a cruise.

The afternoon started off a little threatening with some dark clouds, but by the time hubs had wrestled the bimini on and off the boat the skies had turned gorgeous. And HOT. Very very HOT. A boat breeze can fix all that though, and as we headed back into our dock around 8 pm I snapped this picture of my Daughter2-

Something about this picture makes me sigh. She's all grown up now, but it's the pony tail down her back and the barefeet and the casual way she's sitting that help me see the little girl she once was.

Back when summer meant leisurely mornings at home, trips to the library to get a stack of books and whatever treat the summer reading program offered as incentive (usually a free Slurpee), an afternoon at the pool, dinners filled with something on the grill served alongside fresh corn and tomatoes and nowhere to go besides our own backyard for quiet talks and fireflies.

The weather was stirring as we made the drive home and the sky was a thousand shades of childhood summer. I thought about the words to a Psalm I love and about God's goodness in all the seasons of my life. How He sets a sky on fire with magnificent drama.

How sometimes I need to see bold beautiful brushstrokes across the heavens to remind me I am small, yet He knows my name, my longings, my heart's desire. How there is nowhere His love can't find me, including the middle of a mid-life summer.

"Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds." 

Psalm 36:5

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Swimming Into The Hodgepodge

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge. It's 10:12 PM and I'm just now sitting down to answer this week's questions. We shall see how it goes. If you've played along today be sure to add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger linking before you. Everybody loves summertime visitors! 

1. It's officially summer (in the northern hemisphere anyway). Which summer month is best and why? 

Not what I would have said as a kid, but I'm going with September. I know summer wraps up before the end of the month, but still it's that last gasp of the season I think is especially sweet. I love the light in September, the weather is lovely, and it's a great month for a holiday as places are less crowded but the beaches are still warm. It's also my birthday month, and September always feels like the end of something, yet the start of something too. 

2. Can you swim? How did you learn? June 27th is National Sunglasses Day. How many pair do you own? 

Yes I can swim and I love it. I'm not sure precisely how I learned, but I know I took swimming lessons at our local pool as a young child. Later, I think it was the summer before middle school, a friend and I both wanted to learn to dive and we paid a lifeguard to teach us. I love the water and think everyone should know how to swim.  

Currently I own two pair of sunglasses. One pair is prescription and I wear them all the time. The other is backup in case I lose this pair. My track record for keeping up with sunglasses is not the best, but I've done much better with that since I had my prescription put into the lenses. 

3.What characteristic do you judge most harshly in yourself? How about in others? 

In myself? Impatience. In others? Self-centeredness. 

4. Robert Frost wrote the now well known poem entitled The Road Not Taken. What's a road (literal or figurative) you've always wanted to travel, and where do you hope it takes you? 

Well literally I'd like to see Alaska, Australia, and about a hundred tiny little towns dotted across Europe. Also, the pieces of America I haven't seen and probably an African safari and then some of South America too. It's a big planet. 

Figuratively, I'd like to put the stories in my head somewhere besides my blog and see where that path leads. 

5. Popsicles-yay or nay? If you answered yay, what's your favorite flavor? 

I used to love them, but I don't enjoy the super cold foods anymore. If I eat a water ice or popsicle I often get a headache. My favorite flavor is lime. 

6.Brexit-on a scale of 1-10 how knowledgeable are you on what's involved here? (1=very knowledgeable and 10=what's Brexit) Is this news you'll follow or is it something you think won't impact your life in any way shape or form? 

I'm going to say 2 because I think it's a bit complicated and I'm sure I don't understand it completely. It's news I'll follow because for one thing I think you know I have a soft spot in my heart for England, and also because we live in a world where the economy is global. What happens in one part of the world tends to affect us in other parts of the world in ways we can't necessarily foresee. 

7.Share a favorite song on your summer play list. 

Lots of songs, old and new but one I love currently is Think Of You by Chris Young and Cassadee Pope.  

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

When you're building a house it feels like every thing is a process and each process requires 1000 steps to completion. Our dock went in (mostly) way back in October, the lift was installed a few weeks ago, the boat purchased a month ago, and finally we've got the lift working and the boat on our lake. Whoohoo!

Picture perfect weather Tuesday evening for her maiden voyage!

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Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 271

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog then hop back here tomorrow to add your link to the party. See you there! 

1. It's officially summer (in the northern hemisphere anyway). Which summer month is best and why?

2. Can you swim? How did you learn? June 27th is National Sunglasses Day. How many pair do you own?

3. What characteristic do you judge most harshly in yourself? How about in others?

4. Robert Frost wrote the now well known poem entitled The Road Not Taken. What's a road (literal or figurative) you've always wanted to travel, and where do you hope it takes you? 

5. Popsicles-yay or nay? If you answered yay, what's your favorite flavor? 

6. Brexit-on a scale of 1-10 how knowledgeable are you on what's involved here? (1=very knowledgeable and 10=what's Brexit) Is this news you'll follow or is it something you think won't impact your life in any way shape or form?

7. Share a favorite song on your summer play list.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

The Post Weekend Ramblings Post

First things first. I'm not going to have a Hodgepodge this week because I literally cannot squeeze one more thing into a day/week/month. I've been out of town since last week's Hodgepodge with stops in three states, and will be traveling again this week, so something's gotta give. The Hodgepodge will return next Wednesday (June 29). 

Wait, wasn't it just May 29th? 

Anyhoo, hubs will be here managing the homefront and I'll be galavanting with my mama and also spending time with some

oldlong time friends.

The weekend. Let's discuss. Hubs and I celebrated our anniversary in one of our favorite cities in the whole wide world. A place that makes us sigh and smile and say remember when. 

Annapolis. 

Let's back the truck up for a minute to last Wednesday. Hubs had a business dinner in Washington D.C. on Thursday evening so I trekked to Raleigh (NC) with him Wednesday, hung out downtown while he worked in the office there, then we got back in the car and drove on to Richmond (Virginia).  

We stayed downtown and had dinner with his brother, sister-in-law, and another good friend who also lives in Richmond. We love Richmond, and there's so many new restaurants and shops I'd like to check out that we might have to go back soon and spend a full weekend there. 

On Thursday (our actual anniversary) we headed to Maryland so hubs could drop me at a friends house and then go back into D.C. to check into his hotel and get ready for his dinner engagement. Too bad you can't earn frequent driving miles because if you could we'd be knocking it out of the park. 

Before he dropped me at a friend's house we managed to grab lunch in downtown Annapolis at one of our favorite spots-McGarveys. 

Of all the crab dips in the world theirs is the crab dippiest of them all. 

While hubs was doing his work thing in D.C. my friend and I had lunch with my former across the street neighbor. We raised our children together and I loved catching up in person.

Hubs drove back to Annapolis after work on Friday and we spent the rest of the weekend right here.

Also here. Our friends took us out on their beautiful boat and we cruised to the Eastern Shore for a long leisurely lunch beside the water...crab cakes of course! When in Rome...

The weather was spectacular with low humidity, a light breeze, and sunny skies.

Ahh, the bridge and the boat spray and the beautiful Chesapeake Bay.

It's always so hard to peel ourselves away from the water here. It's such good medicine, and we're so thankful for good friends who always say come on over and let's pick up right where we left off.

We headed out early Sunday morning to make the all day drive home so hubs could have Father's Day dinner with one of his girls. Technically he might say two of his girls because he's pretty crazy about Daughter2's sweet pup too.

A perfect ending to a wonderful weekend.

What A Difference A Day Makes

Let's look back shall we? Because today hubs and I celebrate 32 years of married life and a lot happens in a day year. 

This time last year we were mid-move. 

Papers were signed and we were packed and loaded, nearly everything we owned headed to storage. We lived with my mom for six weeks between here and there. There and here?   

We house sat for my sister and brother-in-law and took advantage of our weekend in the city of brotherly love. It was hot. 

We fed our sweet pup her favorite ice cream not knowing then she'd only be with us for one more short month. 

Oh yeah, and hubs was retired.

To recap, since our anniversary last year we have changed cities (twice), moved from a house to my mom's to an apartment while managing a home build in still another city, we said goodbye to the dog we'd loved for thirteen years, the sweetest dog we've ever known, hubs un-retired and went to work in another city, and we're still married. Did I mention we're building a house? 

Happy anniversary hubs! You make me strong, you make me brave, you make me laugh and only sometimes make me a little bit crazy. You're still the mischevious, fun-loving, hard-working, hilarious, big-hearted boy I married. 

32 years ago today I peeked around the door at the back of a warm sanctuary to catch a glimpse of you at the altar. 

You still make my heart go pitter-patter. xo

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!

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Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 270

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog then hop back here tomorrow and add your link to the party. 

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?

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

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?

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

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

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

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

8.  Insert your own random thought here.