End Of The Month Kinds Of Thoughts

Raise your hand if you say Feb-RU-ary in your head every single time you have to write the word. 

I don't know about you but I feel like this month has absolutely flown by. We packed a lot in (always I know!!) but still I can't believe it's March. Gonna mention just a few little happies here before the calendar page turns, so in no particular order....

Daffodils. 

Ours are in full bloom on the side hill and they lift my spirits every time I pull down the drive. It's the first real sign of spring here and I love it. 

Also, between you and me, pollen is the other first real sign of spring here, and we're seeing the beginning of that too. Pollen is truly a season all its own in this part of the country, but we're talking happies today so let's move on. 

Amaryllis.

Y'all my hubs has somehow kept this plant alive and blooming for several seasons now. This plant was given to my daughter by one of her students back in 2020, and it tipped over in her car on the way home causing a big section to break off. And all the dirt to spill in her car, but hubs took care of that too. She was going to trash the plant but hubs came to it's rescue and she's such a beauty. This year he also gave several bulbs from our plant to a neighbor and his is thriving too. 

Jesus Revolution. 

Hubs and I went to see this film over the weekend and we both absolutely loved it. A powerful story and  so well done. It's the kind of film that stays on your heart and mind even when it's over. In a nutshell this is the true story of a national spiritual awakening in the early 70's that originated within the teenage hippie community in Southern California. So good!! Go see it. 

The morning sky. 

February ending with a flourish...

Let's all keep calm and March on. 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 494

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. Hello March! Is it coming in like a lion where you live? How do you feel when it rains? 

2. What's something you'd like to do differently this week than the last? Explain. 

3. March 1st is National Sunkist Citrus Day...do you drink orange juice? Orange, lemon, lime, tangerine, grapefruit...what's your favorite citrus fruit? A dish you love with a citrus fruit as one of it's key ingredients? 

4. What do you consider to be your culture. Elaborate. 

5. Sum up your February in fifteen words or less. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

No lyin'! It's 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. Here we go-

1. What do you find is the most boring part of your life at the moment? 

Well our tax organizer arrived in the mail last week so there's that. 

2. February 22nd is George Washington's birthday. You'll find his face on the US $1 bill. What's the last thing you bought for roughly $1.00? (.94 €/ .83 £)

I had to really wrack my brain to come up with an answer for this one. It's hard to spend just $1, plus I rarely have cash. We dropped a dollar in a musicians tip cup recently so maybe that? 

3. Is it ever okay to tell a 'little white lie'? Explain. 

This feels like a trick question because lying is lying. BUT! there are times when a 'white lie' feels like a kindness, when someone is asking more for reassurance than facts. Most of us don't want to cause someone unnecessary hurt. The thing about lying though, is that one small lie often leads to another, then another, and before you know it you've lost sight of the truth, or you're having to tell more and possibly bigger lies to keep up. 

For the record my kids grew up with 'Santa' filling stockings and the tooth fairy leaving money under their pillows so I'm definitely not guiltless when it comes to telling 'white lies'. 

4. What's the last thing you 'chopped'? Cherry pie, chocolate covered cherries, a bowl of cherries, cherry vanilla ice cream, maraschino cherries, a cherry lifesaver...your favorite cherry flavored something? 

The last thing I chopped would be onion, peppers, and mushrooms for a baked spaghetti recipe I made to take to my daughter's house. She had minor eye surgery and hubs and I spent a couple of days there to help with sweet baby J. I love Joanna Gaines recipe linked here (Baked Spaghetti). 

Also, as I re-read the recipe just now I realized I accidentally omitted the cream cheese this time, and it was still delish. And I never use Velveeta, I just throw in some extra cheddar and that works well too. 

Of the cherry treats listed a bowl of cherries would be my first choice, with cherry pie a close second. 

5. Describe yourself with three words using your first, middle, and last initials. 

This wasn't as easy as I thought it would be when I wrote the questions. I'm going with-

Jesus follower~adaptable~determined. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We took the little guy to his swimming class on Tuesday morning and hubs got in the pool with him since his momma was still recovering from her procedure. This was his fourth week in the class and he enjoys it more each time. 

Week one he cried the entire class, week two off and on for most of the class, week three not at all, and today he floated on his back like he didn't have a care in the world lol. 

Happy Wednesday everyone! 

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Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 493

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

1. What do you find is the most boring part of your life at the moment? 

2. February 22nd is George Washington's birthday. You'll find his face on the US $1 bill. What's the last thing you bought for roughly $1.00? (.94 €/ .83 £)

3. Is it ever okay to tell a 'little white lie'? Explain. 

4. What's the last thing you 'chopped'? Cherry pie, chocolate covered cherries, a bowl of cherries, cherry vanilla ice cream, maraschino cherries, a cherry lifesaver...your favorite cherry flavored something? 

5. Describe yourself with three words using your first, middle, and last initials. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Painting The Hodgepodge Red

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. Here we go-

1. Pantone's color of the year for 2023 is Viva Magenta. Etsy's color(s) of the year are indigo and honeycomb. Your thoughts? Would we find any of these three shades in your home or wardrobe? Is there a room in your house that needs painting this year? Will you do it yourself or hire out?

I like to wear magenta but you wouldn't find it in my home decor. Same goes for indigo. Is honeycomb golden because I do like shades of gold in my house. 

We need to paint the ceiling in our great room which is 18 feet high, so definitely hiring that one out. I feel like when you paint, one thing leads to another. In all likelihood when we have the ceiling done we'll go ahead and paint the entire room and then the kitchen/keeping room and then the dining room too, because they flow. I really want to repaint all of my bathrooms this year but we'll see. Like I said, one thing leads to another when we're talking paint. 

2. Something you had to do recently that could be described 'as exciting as watching paint dry'? 

The State of the Union address

3. Who would you most like to sit beside on a 10-hour flight? Tell us why? Have you ever taken a 10-hour flight? 

Oh this is an interesting question. If you want to read about the time I almost sat next to Steve Forbes on a flight to China you'll find the link here (B is for Let's BACK Up). I was a bit overly anxious about the ensuing 14 hours of flying to register it was Steve Forbes until he'd already happily agreed to swap seats with my hubs. Darn. 

If I'm on a ten hour flight honestly hubs is who I  want beside me. I'm not a 'relaxed' flier and knowing he's there keeps me calm. ish. I've taken several long haul flights-China, Hong Kong, Tokyo, South Korea. Plus we lived in England for several years which required regular trans Atlantic flights and let's be honest. If you're crossing an ocean on an airplane it doesn't matter if it's 7 hours or ten hours. You still gotta get across that wide expanse of water. 

4. What's something you did growing up that would get you into trouble? 

Argue with my younger sister, tattle, literally telephone my mother at work to settle our dispute. Honestly I have always been a rule follower so wasn't in trouble too often. 

5. According to Google the top searches in 2022 were- Wordle, election results, Betty White, Queen Elizabeth, Bob Saget, Ukraine, Mega Millions, Powerball numbers, Anne Heche, and Jeffrey Dahmer. 

Hmmm...what does this say about us? How many of these words did you search last year? What would you guess was your most 'googled' word/phrase/question. 

What does this say about us? We're not deep lol. 

I've definitely googled Wordle, election results, Queen Elizabeth, and Bob Saget in the past year. If I had to guess at my most googled word/phrase it would probably be 'how many miles from point a to point b'.  

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Hubs and I have been married almost 39 years, but celebrated 42 years as Valentines yesterday with dinner out. We opted for Thai Green Curry which may not sound all that romantic, but we both love it and don't have it very often. Afterwards we stopped at our local wine bar for a champagne toast, chocolate truffles, and a little live music. 

Hubs succumbed to internet advertising and  I am here for it. He got me one of the cards you've probably seen, where you open a box and something pops out. I loved it! 

You might see a video. Or you might not. 14 years of blogging and technology can still get the best of me. Anyway, it was cute...butterflies came flying out and there was an explosion of roses too. 

There were four photos of us in the box and a miniature red velvet cake. 

So fun! 

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Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 492

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

1. Pantone's color of the year for 2023 is Viva Magenta. Etsy's color(s) of the year are indigo and honeycomb. Your thoughts? Would we find any of these three shades in your home or wardrobe? Is there a room in your house that needs painting this year? Will you do it yourself or hire out? 

2. Something you had to do recently that could be described 'as exciting as watching paint dry'? 

3. Who would you most like to sit beside on a 10-hour flight? Tell us why? Have you ever taken a 10-hour flight? 

4. What's something you did growing up that would get you into trouble? 

5. According to Google the top searches in 2022 were- Wordle, election results, Betty White, Queen Elizabeth, Bob Saget, Ukraine, Mega Millions, Powerball numbers, Anne Heche, and Jeffrey Dahmer. 

Hmmm...what does this say about us? How many of these words did you search last year? What would you guess was your most 'googled' word/phrase/question. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Matters Of No Great Importance

Which is more or less the theme of my blog, and I guess that's okay. Ordinary gets a bad rap but how would we define extraordinary if not for all the in-between ordinary? 

We've pretty much just been livin' life here in the neighborhood. Hubs and I took a couple of pretty hikes over the weekend and the little brown dog was in his glory. 

He makes life feel less ordinary. 

Don't get excited. It's just a sign. 

Saturday morning we were enjoying a nice walk through a nearby park when we stopped for a water break. That's when we discovered the pup's paw was bleeding profusely, so we quickly loaded him up (literally) for the trek back to the car and a stop at the vet before they closed. 

He'd ripped a toenail but never yelped or cried, just carried on in his efforts to get to the river. It was fast moving so we didn't want him to swim but he was definitely trying to find a way around us. 

Anyway, hubs ended up carrying him about a half mile and we met another couple coming in to the trail who said they had a first aid kit in their car, so they very kindly walked back up to the parking lot with us and helped us get his foot wrapped.We normally have a first aid kit in the backpack but neglected to grab it before we left the house. 

People are nice. Mostly. I know not everyone, but in general the people we encounter while going about our everyday lives are nice. 

We made it to the vet's office just before they closed and a mere $400something dollars later our pup was right as rain. Actually since we were there they refilled his arthritis meds for three months and did his heartworm check too, so technically the injury we came in for was just a teeny tiny part of the bill. 

Dog ownership is not for the faint of heart, but we love him. 

Sunday night hubs grilled duck jalapeno poppers to have while we watched the Superbowl, and they were delish. Boursin cheese and Benton's bacon made them extra so. 

I grew up in the Philly area so we were definitely rooting for an Eagles win. My sister sent me this picture of my momma at a party with my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew, all cheering on the hometown team. 

We didn't win, but my mom looks awfully cute. 

I've been doing a fair amount of reading and just finished our book club selection for this month-The Rose Code by Kate Quinn. I'd give you my review but our book club meets tomorrow and a few of the members read my blog so I think I'll save it. I've also been listening to a biography of Prince Philip (which if you read The Rose Code you know it ties in) and I'm really enjoying that one. (Prince Philip's Century 1921-2021: The Extraordinary Life Of The Duke Of Edinburgh by Robert Jobson). He was a very interesting man with a difficult childhood he dealt with mostly by, in his words, 'well you just get on with things, what else can you do?'.  

I feel like we don't do a lot of getting on with things anymore. 

Not an entirely bad thing, but not entirely good either.  

In case anyone is keeping track hubs and I are still listening to Napolean. I think we started this one back in July on our road trip north. In our defense we haven't been on any more long car trips recently and that's mostly when we listen. Also, the book is 976 pages long which means the audible version is over 36 hours. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea but we've both enjoyed it and learned a lot. 

Wait! I do have something that is (thankfully!) out of the ordinary and it's this-

A week ago Friday hubs and I were at a birthday party for a friend. We came home and hubs took the dog out and immediately came back inside asking if we'd had a package delivery or WHAT IN THE WORLD!! SOMEONE HAS DRIVEN ACROSS OUR FRONT YARD!!

Bother. Bother bother bother. 

We don't live on a cut through street and we're near the very end of the road where the cul de sac begins.  Our driveway is long too so this was no easy feat. A camera caught the whole event, and long story short(ish) the driver was looking for a house two down from ours, it was really dark, she was extremely distressed about some personal goings on, and I guess just panicked when she mistakenly came down our drive. 

Did I mention hubs likes to keep our grass looking like Augusta? True story. 

Not sure why she turned into the yard as there is plenty of room to turn around in the drive, but she did and that's that. She was extremely apologetic and of course offered to pay for repairs but hubs told her no need, it's not a big deal. 

I mean it is a big deal, but it's not a big expensive deal. Hubs has been wanting to sand the whole front yard to level it in a few places ever since we moved in and I've been saying it's unnecessary. Except now I guess it's necessary and he's not mad about it lol. 

So that's a peek into goings on here lately. 

'There isn't any such thing as an ordinary life.' L.M. Montgomery