Driving Into The Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. 

Please note-there won't be a Hodgepodge next week (July 5th). The Hodgepodge will return the following week, July 12th. God bless America! 

Here we go-

1. What's one thing you're excited about in the coming month? 

Having both girls, their husbands, and all the grands here to celebrate America's birthday. 

2. What was your life like when you were ten years old? 

That would have been the summer before I started fifth grade. I had very long hair and the skinniest legs imaginable. Life was sweet. I was loved and well cared for. I enjoyed school but also the freedom of summertime. I'm sure my sister and I spent a lot of time at the pool and riding bikes. I had a lot of friends in the neighborhood. I spent a week at sleep away camp. I don't remember too many specifics, just an overall sense of a happy childhood. 

3. What's something from your childhood you still enjoy today?

reading, swimming, freezer pops, having someone else do my hair, Sunday morning church, and time spent with family 

4. What state (that you haven't been to) do you most want to visit? Tell us why. 

I've been to more than 30 of the 50 states and honestly I'd like to see them all. I guess if I must choose just one I'll say Wyoming because The Grand Tetons are high on my travel bucket list. 

5. Do you like to drive? Tell us how you learned to drive. 

I do like to drive. I grew up mostly in New Jersey and 'back in the day' you couldn't even get a permit until you turned 17. I was a senior in high school when I learned to drive. Our Junior year we did take  Driver's Ed in the classroom, which involved no actual driving but lots of terrifying videos of car crashes. This was how we learned to wear a seat belt. And I guess they were films not videos because there was no such thing back in the mid-70's. 

My dad taught me behind the wheel, and while I can remember thinking I was a good driver, that's definitely something that comes with experience. I have always enjoyed driving and still love a good road trip. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Hubs and I spent Tuesday morning painting the Adirondack chairs that sit beside our fire pit. We've had them about six years and have never done anything to them in the way of maintenance. They were looking a bit faded so it was time. 

The chairs were made by a gentleman we met in a nearby mountain town and I have to say they've held up exceptionally well. None of the wood is rotting and all the screws are still in place. We decided to change up the very neutral color scheme and went from this-

To this -

 Spanish Tile is the color. It was a beautiful day and we got the job done. 

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Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 510

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. 

Note-there won't be a Hodgepodge next week (July 5th). The Hodgepodge will return the following week, July 12th. God bless America! 

Now back to today~

1. What's one thing you're excited about in the coming month? 

2. What was your life like when you were ten years old? 

3. What's something from your childhood you still enjoy today? 

4. What state (that you haven't been to) do you most want to visit? Tell us why. 

5. Do you like to drive? Tell us how you learned to drive. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

A Summer Solstice Hodgepodge

Welcome to summer and this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered the questions, add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Here we go-

1. Hello Summer! In the northern hemisphere anyway. What's something on your summer bucket list? Do you have an actual summer bucket list? If not, use your hypothetical list.

It's currently raining cats and dogs here and we are so ready for summer to get with the program weather wise. On my (hypothetical) bucket list...cowabunga off the dock with my grandsons, make home made ice cream, snap one photo of the whole entire crew together, hike to a waterfall, and host an outdoor dinner party. 

Hmmm...maybe I'll make an actual list. 

2. What for you is the defining scent of summer?

A lit charcoal grill and freshly mown grass. 

3. What's a (music, food, wine, or flower) festival happening in your part of the country that you would like to attend if tickets/travel/timing was no object? 

There's a nearby foodie fest called Euphoria held in mid-September every year and I'd like to get tickets for the Michelin starred dinner. The festival also features winemaker dinners, tastings, cooking demos, and singer-songwriter events, but I'm sure the Michelin dinner would be over the top. 

4. Apparently a military whistle blower claims the US has a UFO retrieval program. What say you? Do you believe aliens are out there?

This is honestly not something I've thought too much about. Not something I'm all that interested in. My initial thought is not likely, but I wouldn't say it's outside the realm of possibility. 

5. Besides your wedding day and the birthdays of any children you may have, what are three of your top experiences in life? 

This is tough. Do I go with three big events or three small moments that I treasure? A bit of both...

• Lunch in the House of Lords as a guest of David Cameron
• Standing beneath a California Redwood
• an 8-day hike on the AT when I was fifteen years old

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Inspired by the Hodgepodge last week I did make a strawberry shortcake on National Strawberry Shortcake Day (June 14th). I tried a new recipe and it was delish. The cake was made in a cast iron skillet and you put cut strawberries on top before baking.

I sliced mine and layered with more strawberries, then topped with whipped cream before serving. 

Yum! The recipe is linked here-Skillet Strawberry Shortcake

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Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 509

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here to share answers with the universe. See you there!

1. Hello Summer! In the northern hemisphere anyway. What's something on your summer bucket list? Do you have an actual summer bucket list? If not, use your hypothetical list.

2. What for you is the defining scent of summer?

3. What's a (music, food, wine, or flower) festival happening in your part of the country that you would like to attend if tickets/travel/timing was no object? 

4. Apparently a military whistle blower claims the US has a UFO retrieval program. What say you? Do you believe aliens are out there? 

5. Besides your wedding day and the birthdays of any children you may have, what are three of your top experiences in life? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

A Holiday Palooza

There's a weekend in June where worlds collide and our family gets to celebrate an anniversary, a birthday, and Father's Day all at the same time, and ain't nobody mad about it. Let's discuss. 

First things first...

39 years y'all. 

Marriage is a lot of work and anyone who tells you otherwise is not being truthful. It's not a lot of work all the time of course, in fact much of the time it's a walk in the park on a blue sky sunshiny summer day. 

Most years though, it's a little bit of both and that's how we grow.  

After 39 years we can still say we're glad we chose each other. Glad we're still laughing a lot. Grateful for memories and shared experiences and growing up and older and grandchildren and above all God's amazing grace across the years and miles and minutes of our marriage. 

My son-in-law's grandparents just celebrated their 70th!! wedding anniversary, which let's just pause for a second to say wow...WOW! and hubs and I did the math and figure we've got a chance lol. Hey hubs! Cheers to the next 31!

Our third grandson was born on our anniversary last year so we trekked over to East Tennessee to celebrate his first birthday with thirty of his closest friends. Ha! His parents friends but they all have lots of littles so there was a crowd. 

What a wonderful day and party it was! 

A local farm brought a small petting zoo to the backyard and everyone enjoyed the animals. There were kids of varying ages so it was the perfect activity, and the farmers were so nice and the animals so clean and well cared for, and the weather absolute perfection~whoohoo! 

I'm sure my daughter will write about the day in detail so I'll just say this little guy was the star of the show and loved every minute. 

I think the small cow might have been his favorite, but he is an animal lover and the whole thing made him happy. fyi-he is very rarely unhappy. 

What joy this sweet boy has brought to our family, and we loved celebrating him. 

He smashed his smash cake like a boss. In case anyone is wondering, there was a black and white cow on top of the little cake which made for quite the cleanup afterwards. 

His other grandparents were there too, and we always have a great time together. Such a blessing. 

Post party day was also Father's Day and there were three dads in the house. The in-laws left early as they were headed out on a long vacation road trip, but we hung around until Monday so the 'kids' could have a date night Sunday. We ate leftovers and watched golf and baseball and relaxed on the porch and it was a very good day. 

A great day. 

A truly great weekend. 

Rockabye Sweet Baby J

I like to write letters to my grandchildren when their birthdays roll around, and today is one of those days. 

Dear Sweet Baby J-

Today we celebrate you, which is the easiest thing in the world to do. 

You're the sunniest little boy I know and you brighten not only your parents and grandparent's lives, but also those of your entire extended family, friends, neighbors, strangers, co-workers, random waiters, grocery baggers, sales clerks, the people standing in line behind you, any and all who encounter you as they go about their day. 

  

You light up the world little man and we are all here for it. 

These days you wave bye bye, shake your head no, and are taking your first steps. You give high fives, clap, and laugh from your belly which is everyone's favorite thing. 

You love dogs and people and the wind in your face. You love books and breakfast and momma's lap. You love the vacuum, watching Daddy mow,  and water water everywhere- in the tub, the ocean, the play table and soon the lake. 

You have wonderful parents sweet baby J. They adore you and want what's best for you always. Nana prays for you every day and I pray for them too. For wisdom and humor and the courage to swim upstream when swimming upstream is required. 

It's easy to sometimes feel discouraged by all that's wrong in the world in 2023, but one look at you and I'm reminded of all that is right. I'm reminded that God's ways are higher and better than anything we can dream up on our own. That He has placed you in this time and this place, in this family, not by accident, but on purpose and by design. 

Keep spreading your sunshine sweet boy. The world needs more you. You're so precious and Nana loves you deep and wide. 

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with your wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 

Splurging On The 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 before you. Comments keep the Hodgepodge sunny! Here we go-

1. What does productivity look like to you? 

Making my bed every day. An empty sink and clean counters when I go to bed every night. A daily to-do list with lines crossed through it. Some days the list is long, other days it might not contain anything critical, but having a to-do list then following through makes me feel productive. 

I don't work anymore so productivity is something of a relative term. I need to have some time blocked for tasks each week, not every minute of every day but definitely something to provide structure. In this season (retirement) that might include times of work, writing, volunteering, hobbies and rest. 

2. What was your fondest (or one of your fondest) memory of High School? 

It's been a while lol. High school was okay, but I loved college. As far as a fond memory...I loved spending time with my church youth group. We were a close knit group, a mix of ages and high schools and backgrounds. It felt like a family, and many of us are still in touch with one another today. 

3. What did you do the summer after High School? 

I spent the summer after high school in one of my favorite places in the world-camp. I was a counselor for the oldest campers who were young teenagers. Camp was so much fun. For the counselors too! 

4. June 14th is National Strawberry Shortcake Day...are you a fan, and if so will you celebrate? How do you make yours? Have you been strawberry picking? If so what do you do with all those berrries? 

I might celebrate. Strawberry shortcake is one of my favorite desserts. My oldest daughter has a June birthday and always asks for shortcake on her special day. I sometimes make mine with Bisquick, or sometimes I make an angel food cake and use that as the cake base. I'm not picky about the cake but want lots of juicy berries and whipped cream. 

I haven't been strawberry picking, but I did buy a big bucket full from a local grower when my mother-in-law was visiting. We ate some, froze some, and I made a strawberry cobbler one night. We might make strawberry ice cream with the frozen berries when we have a houseful 4th of July. 

5. What's something you always splurge on? 

My hair feels like a bit of a splurge. I go about every six-eight weeks and while I know I could do it for about 1/10th of the price with a boxed product, I've never once considered that. I have a lot of hair, it's thick, and needs a professional. Hubs is 100% on board with this splurge. 

Although, I'm not 100% sure he knows exactly how much the splurge actually is teehee. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

My mama is here visiting this week and we're doing our usual puzzle working-card playing-book reading thing. Our neighborhood had a luau on Friday night, we went to church on Sunday, hubs has grilled some five star meals, and today (Tuesday) is book club. Such a blessing to have in-person time together. 

Hubs and I spent the weekend before she arrived at the ballpark. We watched the College Regionals held in our area which meant seeing our hometown team (Clemson) and our all-time always favorite team (Tennessee) go head to head. The game went fourteen innings!! but our Vols prevailed. They won in the Super Regionals this past weekend too, so now it's onward to Omaha. 

I'm talking about the college baseball world series for those of you who don't know. And maybe don't care-ha! 

We care. Go Vols! 

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