Lovin’ The Wednesday Hodgepodge…

1. This week marks the beginning of Lent…will you be giving something up or adding anything to your life during this season of the year?

Our religion doesn’t observe Lent, but the good Lord knows I’ve given up plenty during the course of this diet I’m on, and I’d sure like to be able to add some of it back in the future!

2. The day before Lent is Shrove Tuesday… tradition states you eat pancakes on this day. In some parts of the world Shrove Tuesday is actually known as ‘pancake day’. How do you like your pancakes? Or don’t you?

Pancakes are okay, but I don’t eat them often.  I actually prefer waffles.    If I do eat pancakes, which won’t be anytime soon,  I’d prefer them plain, with a little butter and syrup.

3. I’m sure there are many, but what’s one love song you really love?

You are right, Joyce, I have lots of favorite love songs, but a timeless favorite is My Endless Love sung by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie.

I  like this video version of it on YouTube.  It’s quite appropriate for Valentine’s Day.

4. What are some things you do to let others know you love them?

The usual things– family dinners, meaningful talks, a hug, a kiss, a phone call, an email, a visit, a gift, or some other random act of kindness.  Then, of course, there’s this blog–a lasting record of my innermost thoughts and memories.

5. Roses…red, pink, or do you prefer another color? Can you recall the last time someone gave you flowers? Given your choice would you like to open the door and see a dozen red roses, a dozen purple tulips, or a dozen pink peonies?

I like pink, but I’m not really choosy when it comes to roses.  The last time I received flowers was for my birthday back in August– a dozen red roses from Ed.

As for my choice between a dozen red roses, purple tulips or pink peonies, I’d choose the red roses.

6. President’s Day will be celebrated in America next Monday. Does US Presidential history and trivia interest you? Many Presidential homes are open to the public and offer guided tours…Monticello (Jefferson’s home), Mount Vernon (Washington’s home), Montpelier (James Madison’s home), Hyde Park (FD Roosevelt’s home) and The White House (home to the sitting President) to name just a few. Of those listed which would you be most interested in touring? Why?

No, Presidential history and trivia doesn’t really interest me, and never has.  Of all of the places listed, I suppose I’d most like to tour The White House because I’m most familiar with it.

7. Are you good at keeping secrets?

Yes, I can keep a secret, but I’m glad to be able to say that I’m a horrible liar.

Random:

I went to visit my mother-in-law at the personal care home yesterday.  I arrived just in time to sit with her and watch the residents play several games of Bingo.  Those Bingo games were courtesy of two kind ladies who come each week and volunteer their time.  Bingo winners are awarded prizes from a small basket of goodies furnished by the ladies.  After Bingo, the volunteer ladies also entertained with a few hymns on the piano.  Thank God for volunteers who give freely of their time and talents, so others can have a brighter day!

Ed, also, went by to see his mom after work yesterday.  She told him that I’d been to visit, and we sat around and played cards!   I can only imagine the look on his face, since he knows I don’t like to play cards!  He couldn’t wait to get home to ask me if this was true!

One other note before I go, we are entering our third straight day of rain today!  We’ve received SEVERAL inches of rain, over 4 inches yesterday alone, and it continued to rain hard all through the night!  It will take a month of Sundays before all of this water dries up.  I’m going to have to borrow Ed’s rubber boots while I go outside to feed the animals this morning!

Feeling Loved…

I wrote yesterday’s post, then jumped into my car and drove an hour to spend the day with a dear friend.  My friend, Diane, and I,  had been trying to spend a day together for several weeks now, but “things” kept getting in our way.

Diane is a friend from back in high school–a long, long time ago!.  Even though we live in different towns, and may not talk with each other for weeks at a time, we are always able to pick up where we left off–and we can talk to each other about anything.  Diane and I had a nice visit, went out to lunch, and, as always, our day together went by way too fast!

It was late afternoon when I arrived home, and Ethan, our old hound dog, met me down the road from our house!  He was barking, and “smiling”, and very glad to see me!  I parked my car under the shelter, and was met by my husband, Ed, with a kiss.  I proceeded to walk around to the front of the house, followed by a parade of cats following me through the yard.  “Bobs”, the former house cat, greeted me eagerly on the front porch.  Within a few minutes, my daughter, Brandy, and her family walked over for a visit.    I began to get the idea that everybody was happy to see me come home!  I felt loved.

When I finally turned my computer on, I found several nice comments on yesterday’s post about Brandy and baby Alex.  Those comments were like the “whipped topping” on my “ice cream sundae” kind of day–or maybe they are the cherry on top!  Thanks, guys, you made me feel loved, too!

In talking with my husband, later in the evening,  I discovered that while I was out of town,  he’d spent his afternoon making several other  ladies feel “loved” !  Now before you go and get all excited, let me explain!

Ed visits his mother three times a week at the personal care home, where she currently resides.  He’s become well-acquainted with most of the other ladies who live there.  The other day, the subject of “fruitcake” came up, and some of the ladies mentioned they were craving some fruitcake!  After work on Thursday, Ed went by the Claxton Fruitcake Company and bought a fruitcake.  He took his fruitcake to the home, and shared it with all of the ladies there!  He said every one of the ladies ate some, and told him over and over how much they enjoyed it.  Isn’t he something?  Sharing the love–with a fruitcake, of all things!

Why not go out and make it a good day…and if you can, make somebody feel loved.  It’s a great feeling, isn’t it?

How Sweet It Is To Be Loved…

Don’t you just love how there is at least one song for every possible situation in life–and you usually don’t have to search long to find it, thanks to Google.  Recently, I was making (another) video montage of our family.  This one in honor of Valentine’s Day!  I didn’t have to think very long before I thought of the perfect theme song for it–which also happens to be the title of this post!

As I was creating my video montage, I began to ponder, Is there anything sweeter in  life than loving and being loved?  I didn’t have to ponder long before I knew my answer…  I wouldn’t trade having all the gold and riches in the world for the honor of loving and being loved!

I still remember how I felt, all those years ago, when Ed and I met and fell in love.  We may be older, with a lot of miles on us, but our love for each other is just as strong and true as it was forty-two years ago!  In addition, the truly amazing thing is, who knew that forty-something years later, we’d be surrounded by so many loved ones who have made our lives so much sweeter over the years?

Six years after our marriage, Ed and I were blessed with a new love–in the form of an eight pound baby daughter.  We loved her and nurtured her, and she in turn, loved us back.  Over the next seven years, Ed and I were blessed with two more bundles of love, otherwise known as our sons.  With those three wonderful additions, Ed and I became so much more than just husband and wife–we became a family!

We all lived happily together in our little circle of family  love, until one day Ed and I blinked our eyes, and discovered that our children had grown up!  Before long, Ed was walking our daughter down the aisle, and giving her away to another man.  But we didn’t lose our daughter, we gained another son, in the form of a “son-in-law”.

With that wedding, we learned how to open our family circle of love, and include others.  Over the next ten years, Ed would make two more trips down the aisle, to serve as Best Man at both of our son’s weddings.  Twice more, our family circle opened wider to include new daughters.

For a long time, Ed and I had no idea that the sweetest additions were yet to arrive in our family.  You know, those little bundles of joy that you can love, spoil rotten, then send home with their parents–otherwise known as grandchildren!  We opened our family circle just a little bit wider, and it didn’t take us long to figure out that we loved being grandparents!  Our first grandchild arrived just over five years ago, with two more following!

For now, our circle of love has been enlarged by three  precious grandchildren–one girl, and two little boys.  Just the same as it was so many years ago when Ed and I were raising our little family!  Each addition to our family has been a blessing, and we treasure them all, whether they married into or were born into our family.

How sweet it is to love and be loved!  Happy Valentine’s Day!

Wednesday Hodgepodge…February 8

1. What is something you are loving right now?  Not being a slave to a job eight hours a day!

2. Paris, Venice, New York, and Rome are considered four of the most romantic cities in the world. Which one would you most like to visit?   Since I’ve never had any desire to travel abroad, I guess my answer would have to be New York.

3. Are you a romantic?  Yes, and I’ve lived my dream for nearly 40 years…

4. What’s your favorite love story made for the Big Screen?  I have a lot of favorites, but the first one that comes to mind is “Pretty Woman”, starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.  Now there’s a love story with a happy ending!

5. Everyone loves Pooh bear and friends…which character are you most like and why? Click here for help in answering this question.   I love all things Winnie the Pooh!  My favorite character is Eeyore, but I took the quiz and it said I’m most like Kanga.  This is a good thing, since I’d rather be “motherly” than “depressed”!

6. What’s the best chocolate something you’ve ever eaten?  Shoney’s Hot Fudge Cake ranks right up there at the top of my list!   My mouth is watering just looking at the photograph…

7. Share a favorite quote about love.  

My favorite quote concerning love comes from the Bible– 1 Corinthians 13, verses 4-8 and verse 13.  Here’s the NIV , abbreviated version of what the Bible says concerning love:

Love is patient, Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails….And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13 (NIV)

Random: Since this is the last Hodgepodge before Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d share my Valentine’s Day tree, and a few of the ornaments that I made to go on it.

That’s it for me today. Now, let’s hop on over to Joyce’s place and visit a few more “Hodgepodgers”! As always, special thanks to Joyce for these questions, and for hosting…