In this week's Hodgepodge...

Here are the questions for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge...answer on your blog or fb page and then come back tomorrow to link up with the rest of the world. Yeah, yeah...you know what I mean.

1. What makes you stand to your feet and cheer?

2. What's your favorite patriotic song?

3. Do you believe that opposites attract? If you have a significant other are you opposites?

4. You're going to get a behind the scenes look someplace...where would you like that someplace to be?

5. How far would you have to travel to ride a carousel (merry-go-round)?

6. When was the last time you saw fireworks? What was the occasion? Do you enjoy fireworks?

7. Of all the 'beauty products' you own, what item do you consider to be the most overpriced?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Skies so blue, friends so true...

I know I need to recap the weekend but how in the world do I recap the weekend? I went to summer camp this weekend.

Really.

Back to the place where I began life as a camper and ended up as a 'chief'. That's what counselors were called at my summer camp-chief. Occasionally I was referred to as Princess but only because I liked to wear real shoes on my day off.

Something like that.

It might seem like this would be a simple post to write but its not. I'm pretty sure its one of those 'you had to be there' moments in a person's life. I do know this much-I laughed a lot this weekend...we all did. And we all agreed that adults need to laugh more. We also saw ourselves as we were at eighteen-nineteen-twenty years of age. Mirrors were few and far between (thankfully!) so we almost believed we were still standing on the brink of adulthood instead of 30 years down the road and looking back.

We sang and walked and shared and prayed and took a million pictures and we talked. Boy can we talk! We dined on doughboys and smores and our world famous camp stew cooked over a fire like it was meant to be cooked. You might think I'm exaggerating about the world famous part but I can assure you, I'm not. Campers and former staff alike are scattered to the four corners of this earth and we all remember the taste of that stew.

We remember lots of things.

One of the 'kitchen boys' joined us for the weekend and our former camp cook was there part of the weekend too. There were former counselors and CIT's, waterfront staff, girls who worked with the horses, helped with crafts and who registered the campers at a picnic table on Sunday afternoons. Even our fearless director who influenced so many lives for the better, managed to be there.

fyi-she is still fearless.

My point is, no matter what role you played at camp, no matter if you were there two summers or ten, there is a special place in your heart reserved for this camp and these friends and those memories.

Camp was a place of absolute beauty..a place to discover and know for a fact that God is love because you had a front row seat to that love in action. Camp was a place where you stepped (or were sometimes gently pushed) outside your comfort zone and into something new so that your confidence grew by leaps and bounds. Those experiences became the building blocks for your adult life in a way you can so clearly recognize in hindsight. Camp is where you learned how to truly be a friend, to trust in Jesus, and to love unconditionally. It's where you learned to embrace the silly and the fun but to also be still and hear God whisper your name.

There's a song called Circle of Friends written by Steven Siler and Douglas McKelvey and sung by Point of Grace that captures what I'm trying to say-

"..If you weep, I will weep with you

If you sing for joy the rest of us will lift our voices too

But no matter what you feel inside

There's no need to pretend

That's the way it is in this circle of friends

In a circle of friends

We have one Father

In a circle of friends

We share this prayer

That we'll gather together no matter how the highway bends

I will not lose this circle of friends..."

I never imagined when I stepped into my first cabin as a camper all the way back in 1972 that I'd still be talking about it some forty years later.

So thankful for the experiences.

So happy to sit around a campfire under the stars once more.

So grateful the circle remains unbroken.

An-ti-ci-pa-a-tion

Have you had an event recently that you've looked forward to so much that you've talked about it endlessly to anyone who would listen? One where you have reminisced and shared memories with fellow attendees on facebook, memories that may or may not have included viewing ridiculous photos and completing song lyrics from back in the day? An event that you have imagined and felt downright giddy over every time you think about it actually happening?

Well, that's kinda how I'm feeling today.

Because tomorrow is the day.

Once upon a time, 1972 to be precise, my sister and I spent a week at a Christian camp for girls situated on a little river in the northeastern corner of Maryland. I couldn't know then, the role that little camp would play in my growing up years but I've got 20/20 vision now. I went back to that camp as a camper for three summers and then joined their counselor training program which was another three summers, and then worked as a counselor for three summers.

Nine summers.

Ages 12-20.

Those are formative years, aren't they?

I'm pretty sure when I worked as a counselor I was paid $50 a week, $35 when I was a 'relief chief'. Oh, and room and board too which consisted of an un-air conditioned cabin and a latrine style bathroom that had to be navigated in the pitch blackness and which I had to clean on occasion. The showers had to be surveyed for spiders and other creepy crawlies before stepping your flip flopped foot inside because good heavens, you'd never step in there barefoot.

No blow dryers, no cell phones, no television.

I so appreciate the fact that my parents recognized the value of camp and allowed me to work at a job that paid $50 a week when I was a college student spending more than that. ahem.They saw that camp was good for me in every single way...physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

I haven't set foot on that campground or seen the people who filled the spaces of those long ago summers since 1980.

Tomorrow is the day.

A reunion of former staff, organized some thirty years after I packed my trunk and took a last lingering look at the waterfront...

thirty years since I sat on a hard wooden bench in a chapel in the woods and sang Come to the Water...since I stood on the bluff and drank bug juice in the dining hall...

thirty years since I helped girls make candles in the sand, memorize a bible verse and flip a canoe...

three decades since I made weekly calls to my parents from a pay phone outside the camp office, cooked rice krispie treats in a No 10 can over a fire I'd helped build or slept in a bunk bed with a mosquito buzzing in my ear...

thirty + years since I had morning devotions under the shade of big ole' tree, slid under a cabin to avoid capture in a counselor hunt, leapt from a high dive to the cheers of 'my campers', brushed my teeth in a trough, or ran to 'capture the flag'...

thirty years since I talked long into the night about the meaning of life, our place in this world, and how God has a plan...thirty years since I've been in a place called 'camp'

And tomorrow...

I am there.

Sunshine and Summertime in the Wednesday Hodgepodge-Vol 32

Summer and Hodgepodge on the same day! How lucky is that? Welcome to the weekly nonsense...link your answer post at the end of mine, grab your sunscreen, and have fun reading today. Here are my answers~

1. Summer's here-whoohoo! What's your favorite sight, sound, AND smell associated with summer?

Sight-sunlight on the ocean

Sound-gulls overhead and waves lapping the shore

Smell-Coppertone

2. Fireflies or lightning bugs...what are they called in your neck of the woods?

As a kid I called them lightning bugs but I think I use both words these days. I love the Faith Hill song called Fireflies and always think of Daughter2 when I hear it play.

3. What is something in the past week that reminded you of your childhood?

I went strawberry picking on Monday (here's the recap) and was reminded of doing that with my mom when I was a young girl. Then she'd make jam and I'd get to help. The older I get the more I recognize all the many talents my mom had in the homemaking department...she made things like sewing, gardening and cooking look so easy. I sometimes think the message I'm sending my girls is to laugh when things don't go as planned. I guess that's good too.

4. Define 'the good life'.

Such a hard question for the first day of summer, isn't it? We don't want our brains to stagnate while on holiday though, right?

Perspective is everything...contentment with what I have and not a constant longing for something more. And what do I have? Good health, enough food to eat, a roof over my head, people to love and who love me back and a God who knows every hair on my head.

5. Tell us what we'd see if you took a snapshot of your desk/workspace.

Raise your hand if you quickly tidied up your desk/ workspace. Ha. Mine is not bad except for one stack of miscellaneous 'needs- to -be- filed- but- where- do- I- file- it' piles. Truthfully I need to clean out the file cabinet and make room for a few things which might be a task on my summer to-do list. Or autumn. Or maybe winter, I haven't quite decided. Notice I did not ask what the inside of your desk looks like. You're welcome.

Besides my trusty computer you'd see:

~a figurine that looks exactly like our pup which is really difficult to find because the breed is not common

~an England Starbucks mug that holds pens

...it makes me smile and remember afternoons spent with my girls sitting beside a window on the second level of Starbucks in a town near ours...a lot of teenage life was figured out in that Starbucks across the sea

~and, a picture of my girlies because I can never get enough of those faces

Oh, and some dust.

Always plenty of that around here.

6. Peaches or watermelon? Yes, you have to choose.

I love them both but I'd choose watermelon. Watermelon would make the list of my top three favorite foods.

7. Ever been skinny dippin'? Is that too much for the Wednesday Hodgepodge? Rest assured we won't need details...unless of course you feel you must but keep in mind this is a family friendly blog so keep it G rated please.

Isn't this fun?

Have I skinny dipped?

Ever?

Yes.

Recently?

No.

Would I again?

On a second honeymoon somewhere like Bora Bora?

Certainly.

At the Jersey shore?

No way.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I mentioned here on Monday that we purchased a love seat and comfy chair on Saturday to sit in front of the patio fire pit. I know you've been on pins and needles waiting for the photo and here it is-

I love it. The furniture is the material that looks like wicker but can be left outdoors even in bad weather. The cushions can also be left out but we plan to put them away if we know a storm is coming.

Now, pass the marshmallows and the Hershey bars please.

Strawberry Fields Forever

If you're looking for this week's questions for the Wednesday Hodgepodge you'll find them here.

I missed strawberry picking season last year but was determined to get there this year. I had a little trouble finding the farm because I listened to the GPS but look! They put up a balloon to help me out.

I made it just under the wire too, since this particular farm will wrap up their 'pick your own berries' on Friday.

.

I remember going strawberry picking near the Jersey shore with my mom when I was a girl.

Technically I'm still a girl, I'm just not a girl.

A-ny-way, I needed a whole day with nothing on the calendar because I had plans to make the freezer jam I remember my mom making when I was growing up.

I may have mentioned a time or a hundred here that we had an extremely wet winter, ahem. Spring was also wet wet wet so apparently the strawberry crop was smaller than normal.

It was a hot day and I'd kind of forgotten that strawberry picking requires a lot of bending.

Or else I forgot I wasn't eleven anymore, something like that.

Oh my aching back.

It was worth it though...

....like eating pure sugar, they're so sweet.

Once home I got busy washing and hulling the berries and was making the first batch of jam when I noticed a message from hubs saying a friend was in town and would be coming home with him for dinner and staying overnight.

This friend is like family so hubs knew I wouldn't mind.

I surveyed the state of my kitchen, my frig, and my guest room linens and decided one batch of jam was all I'd be able to manage.

I have plenty of berries so I'm planning Round 2 for this afternoon.

Our house guest was happy.

Who doesn't love homemade shortcake with strawberries fresh from the field?

Sadly I did not take a picture.

Happily I did enjoy every bite.

Summer? Bring it! Along with the questions for the Wednesday Hodgepodge

Welcome to Summer and the questions for the Wednesday Hodgepodge...be sure to come back tomorrow and link answers with all the internets.

1. Summer's here-whoohoo! What's your favorite sight, sound, AND smell associated with summer?

2. Fireflies or lightning bugs...what are they called in your neck of the woods?

3. What is something from the past week that reminded you of your childhood?

4. Define 'the good life'.

5. Tell us what we'd see if you took a snapshot of your desk/work space?

6. Peaches or watermelon...yes, you have to choose.

7. Ever been skinny dippin'? Is that too much for the Wednesday Hodgepodge? Rest assured we won't need details...unless of course you feel you must but remember, this is a family friendly blog so keep it G rated.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

It's Monday and yes, I have some miscellany

I have a collection of thoughts today so I thought I'd try rambling for a change. Ha. There is so much wrong with that sentence isn't there? If you read here regularly you know what I'm talking about.

Our weekend began with hubs flight home from India landing safely at 4:25 am smack dab in the middle of a horrendous thunder and lightning storm that woke me up from a semi sound sleep. fyi-once you hit a certain age the ability to sleep soundly vanishes. Anyway, he was back at the house by 6:15 and we went to the diner for breakfast. We came home and I began my normal pre-weekend tidy up while he went promptly to bed so he'd be alert for his 1 PM conference call. Honestly, his travel/work schedule about kills me and I'm not even the one traveling/working.

He took a few pictures while he was in Delhi but I am going to share just one...this is a gentleman he ran into while visiting a local tourist site...take note of the t-shirt-

Hubs tried his best to explain to this young man that he knows Pigeon Forge TN very very well and in fact grew up in a nearby town. Not sure the message conveyed but it definitely made hubs smile to see a little piece of home in a city that is about as far from East Tennessee as you can get.

A friend from Maryland spent the night on Friday since he needed to collect a piece of furniture in our area on Saturday morning. We enjoyed a fantastic BBQ dinner courtesy of the project manager who designed our patio. A couple of weeks ago he surprised us with a box from Jack Stack Barbecue in Kansas City. Everything was frozen, sealed, and packed in a cooler of dry ice when it arrived so all we had to do was heat it up and dive in. And we did! It was absolutely delicious...ribs, burnt ends, chicken wings, BBQ brisket, baked beans, corn and sauce. Another friend also happened to be on his own Friday night so we invited him to join us and we all agreed we'd be ordering more Jack Stack in the future. Incidentally, this is just my opinion and I am not being compensated for this review blah blah blah.

Saturday afternoon we attended a college grad party for a longtime friend and enjoyed the day and the weather. Sunday, Father's Day, and not a kid in sight. That's kind of sad but hubs loved chatting with his girls on the phone and their sweet facebook messages left on his wall.

And he especially loved the cards and gifts they gave him which included a photo mug that is now his new favorite cup.

Sunday afternoon we took a drive to a nearby town and visited Washington's headquarters, which includes a museum and the house he used as home base following the Battle of Trenton (aka Washington Crossing the Delaware) and the Battle of Princeton. There was a guided tour of the house which was interesting and the setting is beautiful.

Hubs and I would now both like to read a biography of Alexander Hamilton because he sounds like an interesting character and I don't know a lot about him. I do know he was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr who happened to be the Vice President at the time. Funny to think they attempted to settle a political dispute with swords. Now we just use really mean words which I guess is better?

After the tour we decided to wander over to another nearby town and browse thru some antique shops. As soon as we parked though, we noticed an outdoor shop and ended up buying a love seat and comfy chair for in front of the patio fire pit. I'd post a picture but in the end it didn't fit in our vehicle so it will be delivered tomorrow.

Hey kids! Pay attention in geometry because while you may think you'll never need it again I can tell you, as an experienced furniture mover (some might even say expert), you will definitely need it.

Hubs grilled steaks for dinner which were delish...isn't it funny that on Mother's Day we don't want to cook but on Father's Day they love to cook? At least mine does. I do believe standing in front of his BBQ grill is one of the happiest places on earth for my hubs. He also grilled peaches which we had marinated in a little brown sugar, vanilla and almond extract and then poured them over ice cream for dessert. This was eaten while watching the Miss USA pageant on TV. I love my hubs. He's an excellent father and a very good sport when it comes to his girls.

This post is linked to Miscellany Monday hosted by Carissa at lowercase letters...click on the button to read more random~