Trying To Stay Cool With The Hodgepodge…

We took a break, last week, from The Hodgepodge, but we’re back!  Thanks to our hostess, Joyce, for keeping this fun meme alive and well, even during a crazy and very busy summer!  Speaking of summer,  I don’t know about your neck of the woods, but it has been HOT in our ours!

These days, I never know if I will be able to see “the Hodgepodge Linky” or not, on Wednesdays.  If I can’t see it, I have no idea who is playing, so forgive me if I don’t visit.  I depend on Joyce’s comments to see who’s playing along, and not everybody leaves a comment.

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

I like the month of June best, because it’s mine and Ed’s anniversary month, lots of fresh garden vegetables are ready for picking, and the weather isn’t insanely hot, yet.  However, this year has been an exception, as far as the weather goes.  We’ve already had several days when the temperatures topped 100 degrees!  I can’t help but wonder what July and August will bring our way.

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

I can tread water, but I don’t classify that as swimming.  If somebody pushed me into the pool, I’d probably panic and drown!  I absolutely hate getting water in my face, too.

I only own one pair of sunglasses because I have to wear prescription sunglasses.  I do have a second pair that clip over my regular eye glasses, but I rarely use those.

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

I tend to be overly critical, at times, and I shouldn’t be.  Strangely enough, I dislike this characteristic most in others, as well.

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?

I’ve always been intrigued by “The Seven Mile Bridge” in the Florida Keys, so that’s a road I think I’d like to travel.  I would certainly hope it would take me from one place to another, and keep me out of the ocean 🙂

photo via Google

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

Yes, I love Popsicles, especially when it’s hot!  My favorite flavor is red, or the red/white/blue kind.  This reminds me, I need to replenish my supply!

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?

Okay, I guess I’m a 10.  What’s Brexit?  Update: I wasn’t familiar with the term “Brexit, but I do know about the exit.  We’ve been following, mostly because of the stock market fall.

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

“Knee Deep” by Zac Brown Band is my favorite (and I made a montage of some of my favorite beach pics, set to it.)  I’ve share it before, but it’s been a while.

 

Random:

Ed and I are entering the final phases of our canning season, and we’re glad!  On Monday, we spent 13 hours working with vegetables!  We’ve had a another successful year, but I think our proudest accomplishment has to be our tomatoes!  After trying, unsuccessfully, for four years, we finally grew some tomatoes!  These are all ours 🙂

 

Here’s a picture of the sunflowers blooming in our garden, too.  I love my garden flowers!

They’ve really taken a beating with the high temperatures, but they’ve bloomed their hearts out!

A Few More Friday Fragments…

I’m writing this while I wait for my ‘canned’ tomatoes to finish processing.  When the tomatoes are finished, there is a bucket of peas on the floor waiting to be shelled, but who cares?  Let’s blog a bit!

I’m happy to say I’m feeling better than I was the last time I blogged.  Ed and I have had a prosperous week, have canned many vegetables,  but we’ve also taken some time to rest and relax.  (No beach trip, yet, but we’ve enjoyed our front porch a day or two, late in the afternoons.)  Yesterday, we even had a picnic under the carport, while we waited for tomatoes to can in the pressure cooker.

To say the weather has been hot, here, would be an understatement!  It’s almost unbearable, and we still have July and August to go.  What a summer we’re having!  We missed the extremely cold winter that was predicted for 2016, but our summer is more than making up for it.

It’s been so hot, we’ve been running two fans for our outside animals.  One fan is located in the chicken coop, the other is located on the front porch.  Most of our animals are smart enough to take advantage of the extra breeze, even if the breeze does get a little warm by the end of the day!  We always run fans in the summer, but not until July or August, usually.

Gardening is coming to a steady close.  I estimate we’ll be finished within the next two weeks, at the most.  This summer heat is quickly rushing things along.  Ed runs the sprinkler, daily, just to keep the remaining plants from drying up in the extreme heat.  He gets his daily exercise from running back and forth moving the sprinkler every 45 minutes!

I’m not sure what Ed and I will do for ‘excitement’, once the garden is finished, but I’m hoping we’ll make up for some lost time on St. Simon’s Island!  The other day, we took a quick ‘road trip’, on some roads we’d never traveled (going from one Tractor Supply Store to another), and we both really enjoyed the new scenery.  I wouldn’t mind just taking a couple of day trips, somewhere, just to see something different!

Our youngest son, Brad, and his family have finally moved and settled into their new home.  A couple of weeks ago, Ed helped them paint and move a few things, while I played with Evan, so Jennifer could get a few things done.  We haven’t been back since they ‘officially’ got everything moved and settled, but we’ll be visiting, this weekend for a family get together.

Speaking of Brad and Jennifer, they will celebrate their wedding anniversary tomorrow. Originally, they’d talked about getting married on mine and Ed’s anniversary, but couldn’t because the reception hall wasn’t available that day.  So, they settled for exactly one week later, which is always easy for us to remember. Happy anniversary, a little early, you guys!  May you have, at least, as many happy years as Ed and I’ve had (so far)!

I heard this old song, today, and it immediately made me think of each one of our grown children, and the times they are now living through with their families!  All have, or soon will, celebrate anniversaries of 5, 10, and 15 years.  These are busy times, sometimes tough times,  trying to raise family times, often with little time for romance...”but, it’s just another day in paradise” and the years they pass so quickly!

I had to laugh, at the part of this video concerning the washing machine!  Until recently, our oldest son, Brett, and his wife, have been living their own nightmare story concerning a washing machine 🙂

When Brad and Jennifer recently bought their new home, a really nice washer/dryer set came with the house, so they ended up with two sets. The couple, knowing “the washing machine story” of Brett and Christina, mercifully, and generously, donated their extra set to them!  No more “dancing machine” at Brett’s house!  And this washer actually fits in the laundry room space, correctly!  God is so good!

 

Life These Days…

Lately, my life feels like a bit of a roller coaster ride.  There have been a few steep climbs, followed by several drops.    The months of May and June have not turned out quite like I’d envisioned.  I’m tired, I’m weary and worn, and it’s not just from working in the garden!  I’m weary and worn just from dealing with life, these days.

Lately, Ed and I seem to be surrounded by stress and strife.  I don’t know if God is testing us or if Satan is tempting us, but, lately, strife has been all around us!  This isn’t the kind of  stress and strife we had last year, when Ed lost his job, or we discovered we had termites and mold in our house.  This is the kind of stress and strife where certain family members are mad with certain other family members.  When things get done and said, and a molehill morphs into a mountain.  My head aches just thinking about it all.  Can’t we all just get along?  Apparently not.

The other day, I read a church sign that said, “Self control begins with tongue control.”  Believe me, truer words have never been spoken!  It’s so easy for the wrong words to flow out of our mouths, sometimes,  but it’s SO hard to put those words behind us once they’ve been spoken.  I almost wish people had safety valves on their minds/mouths, that wouldn’t let them take any action or let any words escape until the level of emotion decreases a notch or two, but, alas, that is not the case.  Sigh.  And so we deal with the aftermath and we give it time.

In spite of the stress and strife surrounding us, at the moment, Ed and I managed to have an enjoyable day on our anniversary.  The weather wasn’t suitable (cloudy/rain) for going to the beach, so we postponed our trip to St. Simon’s Island until another day.  However, we did take our usual anniversary trip to Kentucky Fried Chicken to celebrate our 44th.  It was early evening when we got there, so we actually had the entire restaurant to ourselves!  It was quite nice.

While we ate our anniversary meal, we sat and reminisced about some of our past anniversaries.  We’ve had some good ones, so we have lots of good memories.  Like the time Ed’s parents kept our small children just long enough for us to celebrate our anniversary with a quiet steak dinner at home. (It’s the little things, like silence, that mean the most, sometimes!)  Then there was the time our children were finally old enough to stay home alone, so we left them home for the evening, and spent the night in a nearby motel that had a Jacuzzi in it.  On one anniversary we took our daughter, our daughter-in-law, and our two young grandchildren with us to stay in a beachfront condo. (I guess you could say the honeymoon was definitely over at that point. Ha!)  Last, but not least, there was the time we traveled thirty miles or more, off of Amelia Island, just to find a KFC,  then got back to the beach with our picnic supper, only to discover we didn’t have any eating utensils! You can’t eat mashed potatoes and coleslaw without utensils!  Fun times.

The last time I blogged, there were three men on top of our house, taking off old tin, and replacing it with new tin.  They finished the job in only six hours!  Now we have a noisy roof, since the tin tends to ‘pop’ during the hottest part of the day.  The roofer says, “it’s just the tin settling in.”  All I know is we’ve never had any creaks before, unless Ed was up there walking on the roof!  The roofer came back and added a few more screw to the tin, but we still have creaks during the middle of the day.  I hope the tin “settles in” soon.

Father’s Day, 2016, came and went.  It was extra-special [to me] because Ed was still here for us to celebrate with.  I got up in the wee hours of Sunday morning and put a Boston Butt in the crock pot for lunch.  I baked a cake, and attempted to bake some cookies.  We went to church.  Two of our three children, and families, joined us for lunch, while the third stopped by later in the afternoon.  Ed received several nice gifts, and enjoyed all of the attention.  It was a busy day, shortened by the fact that several of our “grands” had to attend a VBS closing program that evening.  Ed and I went to bed early, bone weary tired.

Now the first week of summer is here, and we’ve been spending a lot of it in our garden.  Most mornings are spent picking/shelling peas, while our afternoons are spent canning tomatoes or corn that we also pick each morning.

I need to go to the beach so bad!  (I really need some time in my chair, enjoying the relaxing view) However, my body just isn’t able to make the trip, even if there was time to go.  Actually, we’d planned to go to St. Simon’s Island, today. However,  I’m practically running on fumes, and just didn’t feel like I could make the trip, then come home and deal with more vegetables tomorrow.  I keep telling myself– the beach will always be there, the garden will not (thank goodness).  For now, I’ll comfort myself with that thought–as I hobble back to the kitchen to ‘can’ a few more tomatoes.

 

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Celebrating 44 Years Of Marriage…

Ed and I with the mailman/pastor who delivered Ed’s letters to me for over two years, then eventually married us on June 18, 1972

Tomorrow Ed and I will be celebrating our 44th wedding anniversary.  That means we will have been husband and wife for 16, 060 days!  That’s a long time, but I so feel blessed and honored to have been given this opportunity to share my life with this wonderful man!  I’ve always told Ed, “If you die before me, there will be no other husbands for me!”  (I found “gold” the first time around, and would never attempt it twice.)

I really don’t know where our time together has gone.  It seems like just yesterday, we were so young, and had our entire lives ahead of us.  We blinked and suddenly we were middle aged, and our parents were celebrating their own 44th wedding anniversaries!  Oh, and I thought our parents were so old, back then!  It’s funny, but I sure don’t feel that way, now!

Ed’s parents made it well past their 50th anniversary, before his dad passed away, but my parents didn’t quite make it to their 47th year before my dad died.  I would be thrilled to make it “well past” the 50th anniversary mark, but, these days, since Ed survived the “widow maker”, I am just content with each and every day the Lord lets us share.

I had a real “wake up call” this week, when I found myself sitting in the Social Security Administration office, signing up for Social Security.  Wow, I’m almost old enough to draw my first check!  How did that happen?  There was also another reality check when we discussed future  “Spousal Survivor Benefits” while at the SSA.  Not something we like to think about, but something to be dealt with, sooner or later.

It’s interesting to sit back and look at our three children, today.  I can remember when Ed and I were their ages, living the kind of lives they are now living.  It was busy time–Ed working two jobs, me taking care of the house, then later working outside of the home, too, fulfilling our church duties, tending to my ailing parents, all while raising three children. There was so little time and energy left over for each other–and I thought we’d be young forever!  Ha!  Boy was I wrong!

Fast-forward about thirty more years, and here we are, today.  Both retired, with some chronic health issues, but not nearly as many as we could be having.

These days, we have more time on our hands than we have dollars to spend. We also work harder, while sometimes seeming to accomplish less. However, at the end of each and every day we are thankful we’ve lived another day.  Every night, we hug, kiss, and tell each other “I love you”, and go to bed hoping we’ll  share another tomorrow.

We watch our grandchildren growing up, and wonder what in the world the future holds for them.  We watch the news and just shake our heads. We wonder, how did things get so out of whack?

And, of course, we live our marriage vows–“for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish, until death do us part.”  It’s not always easy, but it’s SO worth it!

Happy Anniversary to my “better half”.  I love you with all of my heart!  “You complete me.”

 

 

 

 

The Wednesday Hodgepodge # 270…

I’m sitting here, trying to concentrate, while several men attempt to remove and replace about one-half of the roof of our home.  This situation is difficult, and very real!  There’s just something about hearing a tin roof being ripped apart…  Up to this point, Ed’s done most of the work building and repairing our house.  Unfortunately, as Ed grows older, those days are becoming a part of our past.  We both hate hiring work to be done, but I sort of insisted (to keep Ed off the roof), and so here we are!  

Ah, Hodgepodge, take me away…. (and thanks to our hostess, Joyce, for this weekly distraction)

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?

I don’t have a preference.  If I could, I’d jump in ANY lake today!  Our temperatures have been reaching 100 degrees, lately, and if you’re familiar with the south Georgia heat, you know that it is MISERABLE.

2. What’s your favorite ‘fruity’ drink?

I don’t know if I really have a favorite, but I’m going to say orange juice.

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 think planning my day ahead helps me keep things simple, as well as having a morning routine.  Lately, I’ve had to take a ‘leave of absence’ from the computer in order to get all of my tasks done, concerning the garden.  Seriously, gardening doesn’t leave much time for anything else!

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

Three weeks after graduating, I married Ed and we moved to the city.  I spent the summer getting to know my husband again, and learning how to be a homemaker.  FYI:  Ed and I had spent the previous 21 months before our marriage, apart, while he served [in the army] in Okinawa.  

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

I don’t know if I’m a fan of podcasts, or not, because I’ve never listened to one.

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

That’s a good question!  If I compare Ed’s life to that of his father, I’d say Ed had it easier than his dad did. However, if I compare our sons lives to Ed’s, then I’d have to say our sons have it harder.  I think today’s economy, social issues, and declining morality make parenting a lot more difficult than it used to be!

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

My father enjoyed eating desserts of all kinds!  Unfortunately, I seem to have inherited his love of cakes, pies, and all things sweet.  It’s a constant struggle for me, since I have to limit my sugar intake.

Random:

I have not been able to see the Linky for “The Hodgepodge” in several weeks.  Since I can’t see the Linky, I can’t tell who is actually playing along, so I can visit them.  I have to depend on Joyce’s comments to find participants to visit, and for Joyce to add me to the list of participants, when she has time.  Why must life be so difficult???

In other news, life here in our neck of the woods has been quite busy.  During our small break from gardening (in between part “A” and part “B”, we helped our youngest son and his family get moved into their new home, last week.  I couldn’t move boxes, so my job fell under the heading of “baby sitter”, which was the most fun, of course!

I also managed to make a few more batches of blackberry jelly, which now total 7, in all. I remembered to snap a picture of one of the batches:

We have just a few short days left until our peas/beans/corn/tomatoes will be ready to harvest and can.  It could be as early as this weekend, which will also be our 44th wedding anniversary!  I took this picture of “Part B” of the garden, last week:

The deer and rabbits are getting  braver!  They’ve been nibbling our sweet potatoes and watermelon plants.  We’ve added another scarecrow, and are hoping to discourage the deer for just a while longer.  Deer just love peas, and can wipe out a crop in one evening.

Update: The men on top of our house are currently in the process of fastening the new tin down on top of our  house, now.  I can’t tell you how annoying the sound of that power drill is…over and over.  I think I may need some tension headache relief before this day is over!

 

 

“Time Out” For The Hodgepodge…

Welcome to my little section of blog land.  I’m so glad you stopped by for a visit!  Today is Wednesday, which means it’s time for “The Hodgepodge”.  Each week, our gracious hostess, Joyce, gives us seven thought-provoking questions to answer, then we join the party over at her place.  We’d love to have you join us, if you haven’t already done so, just click the button at the top of this post!  Here are Joyce’s questions, along with my answers:

1. I read here a list of 13 things you should do in June. I’m paraphrasing a little but basically…

Go on a road trip with your best friend, pick fresh strawberries, host a garden party, take a morning run, treat yourself to a flower bouquet, spend a whole day hiking, discover a new coffee shop, try a new ice cream flavor, read at least one book, visit a Farmer’s Market, make a swing for your home, and visit a new city.

Which thing on the list do you most want to do? Of the activities mentioned, which one holds the least appeal? How many on the list will you attempt in June? What’s one thing you’d add to the list?

Let’s see…I recently picked fresh strawberries, treated myself to a bouquet of flowers from the garden, read a book, and visited a Farmer’s Market, plus we already have three outside swings, so I think I’d like to try a new ice cream flavor! Taking a morning run holds he least appeal for me.  I absolutely hate running!  I’d like to add “visit the ocean” to my June list, which we plan to do next week.

2. What’s something you could do today to feel more peaceful?

(I believe pictures speak louder than words)

3. June 7th is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day. Are you a fan? Swiss mocha, rocky road, chocolate chocolate chip, peanut butter and chocolate, or a dish of plain chocolate…what’s your pleasure?

Joyce, now you’ve gone and done it!  I’m craving ice cream again!  I’ll take a cone of rocky road or a dish of plain old chocolate, please.

4. If you came with a warning what would it say?

Beware!  These days, she sleeps little, and forgets a lot!

5.What’s the most interesting website you’ve visited in the last week?

YouTube!  Any visit there is always an interesting one.

6. Spring, summer, autumn, winter…which season are you? Why?

I think I’ll label myself “autumn” because my hair/eye color reminds me of that season, plus I’m probably living my “autumn years”.

7. “You lose sight of things…and when you travel, everything balances out.” ~Daranna Gidel

Would you agree with that sentiment? Explain why or why not.

I’m afraid that I’m not much of a traveler, so I don’t feel qualified to give an answer one way or the other to this question.  I’m more of a “there’s no place like home kind of person, which balances out everything for me.”

Random:

This past Sunday, about three or four o’clock in the morning, a fire broke out in the small downtown area of the town in which we live.  Nearly an entire block was destroyed by fire, which included four different businesses.  The fire burned so hot, it caused many windows of the buildings across the street to crack.  Many firemen, from several surrounding counties, came to help our own firemen fight the blaze.  It took several hours to get the fire under control and finally extinguished.  We learned, yesterday, the fire was caused by arson.  Apparently, there is video footage of an individual leaving the scene of the fire, about the time it was discovered.  How awful!

Thank goodness, country singer, Cole Swindell, recently filmed a portion of his new country music video “You Should Be Here” in front of the destroyed downtown area.  It’s comforting to know this area is at least preserved on film.  Hopefully, the arsonist will be caught and punished, and the city can rebuild.

Tuesday Tidbits…

Once again, I’m dusting off the computer and visiting blog land.  Believe it or not, it’s almost been another whole week since I was here.

Most of my days have consisted of early morning visits to the garden, followed by long days of canning or trying to find homes for the extra vegetables we’ve been blessed with–and blessed we have definitely been, this year!

Last Wednesday, Ed and I spent the majority of the day delivering fresh vegetables and visiting with their recipients.  It was a nice change of pace for us, and I think the folks really appreciated the home-grown vegetables.  In turn, we enjoyed visiting with the folks, as well.

Ed and I are continuing to try our hands at making jelly.  We’ve made four batches of blackberry jelly, so far.  All four batches have jelled, and most of the jars sealed.  I don’t know what causes some jars not to seal properly, but we’re trying to figure that out.  In the meantime, we’re enjoying eating the mistakes 🙂  It’s hard to beat a jar of homemade jelly.

Things are winding down in “Part A” of our garden.  We’ve pulled up most of the bushes, and already cleared off the area.  We’re now waiting for “Part B” to finish maturing so we can harvest what’s growing there, too.  In other words,  we’re waiting for the peas, beans, corn and tomatoes to get ready.

As usual, I planted a row of zinnias in the garden,this year, as well as a row of sunflowers. My flowers are blooming and I’m already enjoying my second bouquet in the house.  As I mentioned before, I got this old tradition from my maternal grandmother, who planted zinnias in her vegetable garden.  I always take pictures of my bouquets, but don’t have time to get the pictures off my camera today. (More jelly is waiting to be made)

Last week the heat here was almost unbearable!  One day the heat index reached 107.  Now we’re being pounded by rain.  It rained all day yesterday!  A little rain is good, I just hope it doesn’t hang around too long.  We got 2 1/4 inches of rain yesterday, alone!  I won’t even think about the high humidity once the rain moves on!

Ed and I are still enjoying attending our new-found church, but, unfortunately, some church strife has occurred since we began attending two months ago.  We know that things like this happen in all churches, at some time or another, I just wish it hadn’t happened there, at this particular time.  I’m praying for a timely resolution to the problem, because I really like this little church, and its pastor, who’s threatening to leave.  Our oldest son continues to speak, on the first Sunday evening of each month, at the aforementioned church.

In other news, lately, Ed and I have been the recipients of several phone scam attempts.  We keep getting messages supposedly from the IRS.  A person will leave a message saying “The IRS is filing a law suit against you, and you need to call this number.  One message even said the IRS was issuing a warrant for us.  If anyone needs to be filing anything against anyone it probably should be us!  We’ve been trying to get our state income tax refund for nearly four months!!!  It’s ridiculous.

Speaking of waiting, we’ve been waiting for two weeks, for someone to come and give us an estimate to re-roof the front section of our house.  Ed’s called the man twice, and he’s been a “no-show” each day he promised to come.  Things like this drive me crazy!  Meanwhile it’s been raining on our leaky roof.

Our youngest son and his wife just bought their second home.  They closed on the house yesterday, and plan to begin moving this weekend.  Ed went over and helped them paint a little bit yesterday.  It was raining, and not the ideal day for painting, but there’s a little bit of a time crunch going on.  They’re ready to move in, and I can’t blame them for that!

Lately, my new obsession has become The Statler Brothers.  I was young when the group first became popular, and back then, I only listened to pop music.  Now that I’m older, and enjoy country/ gospel music more, I’ve come to love The Statler Brothers’ music. (I really love their four-part harmony.)  I’m currently reading the book, Random Memories, co-written by the two brothers of the group.  Their book has been quite enjoyable, so far, as has my new set of  Statler Brothers’ cd’s.  Just picture this in your mind: me making jelly while listening to Counting Flowers On the Wall or You Can’t Have Your Kate and Edith, Too.  Makes you kind of smile, doesn’t it???

On a different, and totally unrelated note, did you know that chickens don’t like green beans?  Well, they don’t!  Every time I feed the chickens our table scraps, they eat everything in the pan except the green beans.  There isn’t much a chicken doesn’t like, but green beans is one of those things.  Who knew?

That’s about all I can think of to share today, so I will end this post.  I’ll be back tomorrow for The Wednesday Hodgepodge.  Until then…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcoming June With A Hodgepodge…

1. Tell us about one fun thing on your June calendar.

God willing, Ed and I will be celebrating our 44th wedding anniversary on June 18!  We usually celebrate the day, together, near a beach somewhere, followed by our traditional early evening meal of Kentucky Fried Chicken.  KFC isn’t on our ‘approved’ diet anymore, since Ed’s heart attack, but we’ll make an exception on our anniversary.  We’ve eaten KFC on the past 43 anniversaries, beginning on our wedding night, when we were given our meal free, as a complimentary wedding gift.

2. How careful are you in the sun? Do you tan or burn? Do you make it a point to see the dermatologist every year?

For the first 40 years of my life I never paid a lot of attention to the sun.  I never burned or peeled like so many people do, I just turned brown.  Because of this, I rarely wore any kind of suntan lotion or sunscreen.

At age 41,  I had to begin taking drugs [to control rheumatoid arthritis] which made me sensitive to the sun, so I really had to limit my sun exposure or I’d burn/ break out in a rash.

In December of 2015, much to my surprise, I was diagnosed with pre-cancerous cells on the bridge of my nose and basal cell carcinoma beside my nose!  I had to have my entire nose ‘frozen’ to remove the pre-cancerous cells, followed by Moh’s surgery to remove the skin cancer beside my nose, followed by plastic surgery to close the ugly hole left by the surgery.  Neither experience was fun, and my face will never be the same.

I’ll have to be followed by a dermatologist for the rest of my life because there is a 50% chance of skin cancer recurrence.  These days, I can’t stress how important it is to protect yourself from the sun!  Heed the warning.

3. Describe a time when you wanted to ‘throw in the towel’?

Lately, there have been many times when I’ve wanted to throw in the towel while trying to get our garden harvested and canned!  Sometimes, God gives us a ‘bumper crop’ of things, and, this year, it was green beans.  Ed and I have picked and canned so many green beans we’ve lost count of the jars!!!  One day, we spent twelve solid hours picking and processing green beans!

4. What’s a song you love that has a day of the week in the title or lyrics?

It’s an old song, but I love “Monday, Monday” by the Mamas and Papas.  I also like “Pleasant Valley Sunday” by the Monkees.

5. Are you a fan of berries? Which one’s your favorite? What’s the most recent berry dish you’ve eaten? Which blueberry breakfast food appeals to you most-blueberry pancakes, blueberry yogurt, or a blueberry muffin?

Yes, I am a fan of berries.  My favorites are strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries, in that order.

The most recent “berry dish” I’ve eaten is home-made blackberry jelly.  Before that, it was blackberry cobbler. Can you tell our berries are getting ripe?

I prefer blueberry pancakes for breakfast, but I’m a huge fan of blueberry muffins, as well. We usually eat them as our bread with a regular meal.

6. What’s something you want to do before your next birthday?

There is nothing special on my ‘bucket list’.  I just want to enjoy each and every day, to the fullest, and, hopefully, get to spend each one of them with my husband, Ed.  I do need to make a visit to the Social Security office to talk with them, though.

7. June 1st is National Say Something Nice Day, so let’s all say something nice here.

First of all, I’d like to say how thankful I am for our hostess, Joyce, and for “The Wednesday Hodgepodge”.  I met our hostess, Joyce, through a similar meme, a few years back, and immediately liked her.  Joyce is warm and gracious, and has such a way with words!  When the other meme ran its course, I thought Joyce would be an excellent meme hostess, and was thrilled when she decided to begin “The Wednesday Hodgepodge”.  Kudos to Joyce, who has exceeded my expectations of a great hostess!  In addition to all of the fun I’ve had while participating in The Hodgepodge, I’ve met some great people along the way.  Thank y’all for being my friends, and I apologize for my absence in blog land, lately.

Random:

Ed and I have been eating many “garden fresh” meals, lately.  Last week, we had a grilled chicken salad, and all veggies in the salad were from the garden (lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, radishes), with the exception of tomatoes, which aren’t ripe yet.  Last night, everything on our plate was from the garden except for the meat and bread. (squash, green beans, potatoes, cabbage)

I haven’t made jelly in many years, but, this year, I decided to give it another try.  We attempted the first batch of blackberry jelly over the Memorial Day weekend.  It turned out pretty good, but we need a little more practice, so we’ll be making a second batch soon.  Homemade jelly is delicious!