Nothing Scary About 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. Thanks for playing along today. Here we go- 

1. When the Hodgepodge lands on September 11th I want to acknowledge that. Will you purposely pause to remember, pray, or attend any sort of ceremony on 9/11? Share any thoughts or memories you'd like to share about this day. 

I do like to pause, to remember and pray too. How can we not remember? That bright blue sky and the absolute shock and disbelief seem to hit fresh every single year. We normally don't have the tv on here in the morning but I will turn it on to watch some of the coverage of the day's events, and also to hear the names read. 

I'll pray today for the families whose lives were changed in an instant, and for our country which feels as if it has been in constant turmoil ever since. 

Here's something I wrote on my blog back on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 (2021)-

"Twenty years ago I was the Director of a church preschool and kindergarten located just outside of D.C. Many families in our school worked in the Pentagon or were Secret Service Agents so it felt very personal to us.  At the time we didn't even have a radio in our office so when we noticed our copier repairman just sitting in his car outside our building we were annoyed. Why wasn't he coming inside? We he finally came in he broke the news to us and life shifted. 

There is America before 9/11 and America after 9/11 and they are not the same." 

2. Growing up, did you spend a lot of time with your grandparents? What's something you learned from a grandparent? 

Not a lot as we didn't live geographically close to either set. They usually came to us on the east coast maybe once or twice a year and some years we went west, but not every year. We did write letters though, which I know is kind of a lost art in the age of email, but I looked forward to them. 

When I was a year old we lived with my mom's parents for a year while my dad was overseas with the Marine Corps. And then that grandmother lived the last years of her life with my mom so I spent a lot of time with her as an adult. 

What's something I learned from a grandparent? From my maternal grandma mentioned above I would say a love of God's word and the power of a praying woman. 

3. What's your go-to breakfast? 

In general yogurt, berries, and a sprinkling of granola. We do eggs at least once a week, and oatmeal too although not so much in the summer months. 

4. Tell us the story behind one of your favorite photos. 

I have a lot of favorites but the question asks for just one and it's this-

Not a holiday or a birthday or even a summer vacation. 

Just me and my first born caught in ordinary life on a sunny summer day more than twenty years ago. Hubs snapped this picture of us chatting on the swing at a friend's river house and it still gives me all the feels. The light is perfection. When I look at this picture I remember for a minute how it felt to mother my girls in those middle years. 

5. This week Friday lands on the 13th. Are you superstitious in any way? Do you like scary movies, and if so what's your favorite? 

I'm not superstitious at all. 

If scary means horror flicks then no, I don't like scary movies. I do like suspenseful movies and mysteries, but please no Freddy Kruegers or slasher films of any kind for me. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Hubs and I spent the weekend at our Daughter2's house and I always like to bring a little something for the grands when I visit because that's just what grandparents do. This time I brought my grandson a sensory kit from the company Young Wild and Friedman. 

If you have young children or  grandchildren, work with preschoolers in some way, or need a great gift for a niece or nephew, I highly recommend. 

These kits are so well made, and the packaging is top notch too. They're about so much more than just the dough, which is all natural and high quality. Every little detail in these sensory kits has been thoughtfully considered and is designed to encourage independent, imaginative play. 

YWF make quite a few kits and I chose the construction themed set because our little guy is in to all things construction. 

It was so much fun watching him set up various 'road works', carefully filling the dump truck with the 'boulders', and lining up the cones. The dough was almost an afterthought but he enjoyed that too. 

This is not a paid plug for the company, I'm just letting you know they have a terrific product. If you're not familiar with them check out their website here-Young Wild and Friedman. I will definitely order another for Christmas. 

Happy Wednesday everyone! 

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Birthday Blogging

If you're here looking for this week's Hodgepodge questions they're one post back. 

September 10th is the one day of the year I do my best not to skip blogging. My baby girl celebrates a birthday and she expects me to mention it here. There might be three decades worth of candles on her cake, but she's forever my baby girl. 

There's no cake though, because her baby girl can't handle dairy. Mothers excel at doing what must be done, even if it means no cake on your birthday. 

Years ago, during a particularly busy September, I told my daughter I might not get a post written on the day, and she told me reading my blog on her birthday is one of the highlights of her day.  

Let me never miss being a highlight in her day. 

I've been birthday blogging since 2009 which means I have to dig a little deeper with every passing year to say something that hasn't already been said. I need to get creative, but am not feeling especially so, mostly because I've been with the birthday girl's kiddos all weekend. Three full days with a two year old and his 7-month old sister is, in a word-fantabulous. 

Or to put it another way-exhausting. 

Let's just say it is fantabulously exhausting.

Hubs and I also have birthdays this month and the weekend confirmed what we already suspected... 

We're not as young as we thought. 

All weekend I was reminded of how much a break is needed every now and then when you're a mom to littles. Needed and appreciated. 

Mothering wee ones is non-stop doing-thinking-being. It's cooking, washing, wiping, serving, playing, planning, answering, making, soothing, reading, praying, watching, standing, bending, singing, looking, swaying, listening, noticing, and caring.

It feels like a million little things because it is a million little things, the importance of which can be lost in the noise of a culture that says bigger and more visible things matter more. As a mom to now grown littles I can say the minutes spent doing the mundane are an investment that pay off down the road in ways that make your heart grateful for every snotty nose wiped, every crumb swept, and every lullaby sung on the road to here.

I look at my daughter with her babies and I remember my cheeky one who at the age of two liked to say I was not the boss of her. The blonde haired beauty who wasn't big on sleep but had the bluest eyes and a smile that made you forget the nights were short and the days were often oh so long. 

my baby

Those years though? They flew. She's a mother now, two babies of her own in as many years, and coming out of the fog that clouds a new mom's brain. 

her baby 

When I look at her daughter I see my own. Almost. They're each their own person, but I pray her little miss has the patience, intelligence, and love for Jesus her momma has. 

Happy birthday Daughter2! Keep finding great joy and satisfaction in the glorious mundane of mothering. I'm forever grateful God blessed my life with yours xo 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 568

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. When the Hodgepodge lands on September 11th I want to acknowledge that. Will you purposely pause to remember, pray, or attend any sort of ceremony on 9/11? Share any thoughts or memories you'd like to share about this day. 

2. Growing up, did you spend a lot of time with your grandparents? What's something you learned from a grandparent? 

3. What's your go-to breakfast? 

4. Tell us the story behind one of your favorite photos. 

5. This week Friday lands on the 13th. Are you superstitious in any way? Do you like scary movies, and if so what's your favorite? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Share Your Shelf-August

Good Morning. It's the first Thursday of the month which means it's time to share what we've been reading.  This is a monthly link up hosted by Marilyn (Memphis Bridges), Joanne (Slices of Life), Tanya (The Other Side of the Road) and Jennifer (Overflowing with Thankfulness). Here's what I read in August-

1. The Girls In The Stilt House by Kelly Mustian 

This is our book club selection for September and I loved it. If you read online reviews you'll see many comparing it to Where The Crawdads Sing, but I liked this one better. And a debut novel to boot! The writing is exquisite.  The Girls In The Stilt House is a work of historical fiction set in 1920's Mississippi, with a dead body buried in the dark of night on page one. The tale centers around two teenagers who have to fend for themselves after bonding over this murder. 

Ada is the daughter of a mean and abusive drunk (Virgil) living in the Mississippi swampland. Natchez Trace, or the Trace as it's referred to, is every bit as much a character as the two teenage girls who call the swamp home. The sense of place is so intricately drawn you feel as if you're there. Matilda is a year older than Ada, and the daughter of a black sharecropper. She is also much less naive about the world. Both girls deal with a tremendous amount of hardship, yet they form an unlikely friendship as they try to move forward and make their lives better. 

The story is told in three parts-Ada's background, Matilda's background, then present day. It's not an easy read, there's a lot of 'unfairness' that occurs, and a lot of just plain awfulness, but the story is so well told, so moving, that you want to keep reading. Five stars for me. 

I will add that I try not to read any in-depth reviews before I read a book, but I do go check them once I'm finished. Many many people said the Audible narration on this one wasn't very good. I like Audible, but I read a hard copy of this book and recommend reading here as opposed to listening. 

2. The Housekeepers by Alice Hay 

I wasn't immediately hooked, but once it started coming together I found it an enjoyable read. 

The plot revolves around a very grand high society ball, during which a daring and somewhat ragtag group of women launch a revenge heist against London society. It goes deeper than just 'London society', and you realize that as the story unfolds piece by piece. Mrs. King is the housekeeper, or rather former housekeeper, in a mansion in Mayfair. When she's fired from that role she recruits an assorted cast of female characters to help her take revenge. And so they do in spectacular fashion. A little Downton Abbey, a little Oceans 11. I gave it three stars. 

3. Long Time Gone by Charlie Donlea

This was an Audible selection for me and I liked it. There were flaws, but I wanted to keep reading, and my hubs listened too because we were on a road trip. Not his normal read and he kept saying things like, 'That would never happen' and 'A normal person would call the police immediately' etc. Much like when you watch a whodunit on television and a person walks into a pitch dark house or apartment without flipping on a single light. That sort of flaw, but it was minimal and still a very good story that kept us engaged. 

Thirty years ago baby Charlotte Margolis and her parents disappeared. When Dr. Sloan Hastings submits her DNA sample to an online site for a research assignment on forensic pathology she sets off a chain of events she could never have imagined. She's always known she was adopted but when DNA results reveal she is the missing and presumed dead baby Charlotte, she embarks on a mission to discover what happened to her birth parents. You learn early in the book that she is the missing baby so I'm not giving anything away by telling you that much. 

The narration is a dual timeline, moving back and forth between present day and then thirty years prior and the days leading up to the baby's disappearance. This worked and the suspense built with several twists in the storyline that kept you hooked. I would read more by this same author, and gave this one four stars. 

4. West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge 

I loved this one. What a sweet story and I loved the way it was told. Based on the true story of two giraffes who traveled west during the Depression, after being stranded following a hurricane on the east coast. They were headed to the San Diego Zoo and create quite a stir as they pass through small towns along the route.

Their container truck is driven by a 'down on his luck' seventeen year old boy named Woodrow Wilson Nickel, known as Woody. Accompanying Woody and the giraffes is an old zoo keeper named Mr. Jones, and together they commit to getting Boy and Girl safely to California. 

Obstacles are encountered along the way, some heart wrenching moments, as well as many tender moments. The story is beautifully told, and I learned a few things about giraffes too. I gave it four stars. 

5. Beautiful Resistance: The Joy of Conviction In A Culture of Compromise by Jon Tyson

I gave this one three stars. Nothing earth shattering, not really anything new, but still a good reminder of how we as Christians are to live in a culture set against it. The author has been a pastor in NYC for over fifteen years so he's got 'the world' smacking him in the face on a regular basis. 

Bonhoeffer is one of Tyson's heroes and he's one of mine too, so I appreciated the references to his story in this book. I'm always cautious reading books that fall under the category of spiritual without knowing something about the author. I want sound theology and scripture to back up whatever is being presented. Tyson includes a fair amount of scripture that support his message, but some of his word choices (we know the vocabulary of the woke by now, right?) weren't my favorite. Not saying he falls into that category, but it was a bit vanilla so a little hard to tell. 

Overall Tyson encourages Christians to resist the way of the world and live out the commands of Jesus. 

I'm not sure the book fully lived up to it's title, but it was written pre-pandemic (2020) and we now view the world through a post-pandemic lens. The culture has changed so much in a very short period of time. 

I heard the author interviewed on a podcast recently and really enjoyed what he had to say there. He talked about secularism and responding to the cultural obsession with identity, generational differences happening in the church, aging well, and AI. He has a chapter in this book on Sabbath and in the podcast he spoke a little differently than he had in the book, which I appreciated. 

What have you read lately that was too good not to share? 

Everybody's Workin' For The 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. Be sure to leave a comment for the blogger before you, or all the bloggers if you have the time. Here we go- 

1. Something you're working on currently? 

Cleaning out my closet and getting myself organized for our hop across the pond. I've needed new luggage for a while now and finally ordered myself a two piece set from Travelpro. Hubs has traveled round the world with his and it's held up well so I went with them again.  

I rarely use an extra large suitcase, but for longer trips it's nice to have that option. I'm bringing birthday gifts for two of my grandchildren and a few Christmas items I've picked up as well so I think I'll need the space. 

2. Tell us something about your first job? Was it a positive or negative experience for you? Did your parents insist you work while in school (either high school or college) or did you work because you wanted to? 

I guess technically my first job would be babysitter. I started babysitting after school for our across the street neighbor's nine month old daughter when I was in Jr. High. I was a responsible young teenager, and my mom was right across the road. My neighbor was a nurse and worked the second shift, so I'd sit for a couple of hours after school until the dad got home. They overpaid me all the time and I loved that little girl so much. They were true New Yorkers and would go out to dinner at something like 9 PM and come home in the wee hours of the morning and occasionally they'd find me sound asleep. 

Babysitting was a positive for me. I've always loved children and enjoy spending time with them. I always wanted to be a mother and I think babysitting only made me more certain of that. 

The family moved my senior year in high school and I got a job in a nursing home, working in the dining room. I liked the work and the people so would say this was also a positive experience. 

I don't think my parents insisted I work. I guess they probably expected us to work and we all did. That's just what teenagers/college students on summer break did. I'm not sure any of us saw not working as an option, but we didn't complain about it either. There were far fewer activities on the calendar when I was a teenager, so that probably helped. I enjoyed having spending money and liked the sense of responsibility a job gave me. I think those early jobs were confidence boosters too. 

3. Have you ever had a job that required overnight travel? How did you feel about that? Have you ever had a job that required you to wear a uniform? Do you work better in the morning or at night? 

I've never had a job that required overnight travel, but my hubs always had a job that required a lot of overnight travel, so I've experienced that side of it. When you have a hubs who travels a lot you learn to manage things you might not manage otherwise, you get on with things, and take care of the business of running a home.  I would say those are all positives. 

Here we are back in the mid-90's at BWI Airport, picking up hubs from an out of town work trip. How sweet it was to step off a plane and have your girls run right into your arms. Remember when you could greet your family right at the airport gate? Remember Continental Airlines-ha! 

Re: uniforms...the nursing home position I mentioned above required me to wear a white uniform, apron, white hose!, and white work shoes that were truly ugly. I didn't love the uniform, but it was part of the job. 

No question about it, I work better in the morning. I have never been a night owl. 

4. What's something you bake or cook that is labor intensive? Is it worth it? 

Eggplant parmesan would be one. I make Alex Guarnaschelli's recipe and it's definitely labor intensive and definitely worth it. I usually make one a year with eggplant my daughter's mother-in-law grows and shares. 

My mama's enchilada recipe is an all day affair too, also totally worth it. My mom used to make them every year for hub's birthday because he could eat a whole pan himself. I haven't made them in a long while, but this post has me thinking about how good they are so maybe that will happen soon. Or at least before year's end. 

5. One thing you're looking forward to in the month of September? 

The list is long, but first things first...it's my birthday month. On top of that I'll be seeing both of my girls and all of my grands in person (not at the same time but we take what we can get) and, best of all, we're making a trip back to a place I lived and loved and have tucked into my heart for always (England). 

Out of all the months on the calendar I think September might just be my favorite.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

There were no less than a dozen people here Tuesday working on 'the great backyard reset' as I've taken to calling it. As a result lots of progress has been made and I can finally see what it is we're doing lol.

Of course we still have a ways to go...

Enjoy your Wednesday everyone! 

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Hello Monday Tuesday

If you're looking for this week's Hodgepodge questions you'll find them in the post before this one. 

Good morning friends. Linking up with Holly and Sarah for their weekly Hello Monday party, happening this week on a Tuesday due to the holiday. Am I the only one who will be a day off all week because of the extra weekend-ing? 

Even though in retirement every day is technically the weekend?

It's officially September and September means a month of birthdays in our house, starting with hubs. Daughter2 has a birthday next week, then mine rolls around the following week. I'm all about making a birthday celebration last more than a day, and will no doubt mention mine more than once before it actually arrives. If you've read here for any length of time you already know this. 

Our backyard construction project is moving right along, but it's all a lot. Hubs likes to stand on the upstairs deck and survey the work from above. He goes in and out at least a hundred times a day, he paces and frets about that one rock he thinks is leaning in a downward direction more than it should, and all that to say it was time for a break. 

He reluctantly agreed, so on Friday we went to the late afternoon showing of Reagan. Fantastic! I'd seen a preview and wasn't sure how I'd like Dennis Quaid in this role (even though I love Dennis Quaid in pretty much everything), but he did a great job in his portrayal of 'Dutch'. Penelope Ann Miller plays Nancy and she was wonderful too. 

I won't say too much about it, except this...I miss having an articulate leader who inspires with wisdom and wit and common sense, one who is unafraid to say the hard things, and who lives out the courage of his convictions no matter which way the wind blows. I miss when nearly the whole of America loved America. 

At the end of the movie everybody clapped. 

Saturday I made my second trip to the supermarket to get some last minute things for hubs birthday dinner happening the next day. I got home in time to watch our favorite college football team (the Tennessee Vols) crush their opponent and also watch our second favorite college football team (the Clemson Tigers) get crushed by their opponent. 

I spent the rest of the afternoon cooking and baking. I made a key lime pie which is what hubs wanted for his 'birthday cake', and I also slow roasted tomatoes for one of our favorite appetizers, Pomodori al Forno, all for Sunday. 

When you spend hours cooking it feels like you shouldn't also need to make dinner, but meals just keep on coming. About a week ago Amy (Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa) shared a recipe for an egg roll bowl and we tried that on Saturday night. It was good. I added slaw to my bowl like she suggested, and Siracha too because we like Siracha. 

On Sunday hubs officially turned a whole year older. I offered to make him a blueberry waffle which is one of his favorite things, but we had a big dinner on tap so he declined. Do you have Publix where you live? Have you tried their bakery cinnamon bread? I'd picked some up the day before and it's super delish, so that was his birthday breakfast. 

We spent the day getting the house in order. The dust y'all. It's everywhere. Everywhere! I don't think there's a surface inside or out that isn't wearing some dust. It's impossible to get on top of just now, but we tried. Plus I had to make yet another trip to the store for three things I'd forgotten. Bother. 

Friends came Sunday evening to celebrate and hubs grilled steaks because that's what he wants on his birthday. I'd made twice baked potatoes (forgot how labor intensive they are), a salad, and fresh green beans. 

One of our guests is a wine aficionado and he brought a fabulous highly rated bottle to share. It's a Vineyard 36 cabernet called Five Bands. The bottle has five silver bands across the front, with the design intentionally made to resemble the Stanley Cup. Vineyard 36 was started by two former NHL players, along with a vintner named Jason Earnest. This one is hard to get so it was really fun to have a taste, and it made dinner feel like an occasion. 

Which it was. Happy birthday hubs! We'll see both girls this month which is the best present of all. 

Monday morning was beautiful, and while we wanted to lounge we thought exercise would be the better option. 

We got the kayaks out and had a nice long paddle around the neighborhood. The weather was perfect, warm and sunny with a gentle breeze. 

We got back to the dock and swam for a bit, then went in for lunch and a nap. Actually hubs napped and I worked on my blog. Neighbors who live here part time were in town and invited us over for happy hour so we walked to their house about 4:30 and enjoyed catching up with them. 

Has anybody watched Grantchester? It's a British drama series set in the village of that same name. Hubs and I watched the first several seasons a while back and enjoyed it, and then last week my daughter told me they went to Grantchester for the day, and she found it so charming. We decided to pick up the series again this weekend and I'm looking forward to seeing the village up close and in person when we visit the UK in a few weeks. 

The list of people and places we need and want to see while we're there is a long one. I'm trying to manage my expectations, but haven't been too successful so far. I'll keep you posted. 

Hey, did I mention I have a birthday this month? 

Happy Monday Tuesday everyone! 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 567

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. Something you're working on currently? 

2. Tell us something about your first job? Was it a positive or negative experience for you? Did your parents insist you work while in school (either high school or college) or did you work because you wanted to? 

3. Have you ever had a job that required overnight travel? How did you feel about that? Have you ever had a job that required you to wear a uniform? Do you work better in the morning or at night? 

4. What's something you bake or cook that is labor intensive? Is it worth it? 

5. One thing you're looking forward to in the month of September? 

6. Insert your own random thought here.