I’m back! It’s been a while, and I’ve missed being here. I’m so thankful to our hostess, Joyce, for keeping The Hodgepodge going, and I’m thankful for the friends I’ve made here. I’m also looking forward to visiting everyone today!
1. I feel most energized when I …have a restful night’s sleep, which doesn’t happen often.
2. Where were you ten years ago?
Ten years ago, I was living in this same house, but had only been living here about 8 months. Back then, things were still relatively new and uncluttered. These days, not so much.
3. July 17th is World Emoji Day. Do you use emojis? Which one’s your favorite? Your most used?
Yes, I use emojis occasionally. The plain ole’ smiley face is my favorite, and it’s also my most used.
4. What song would you put on a wedding DO NOT PLAY list?
At first I had no idea of what to answer, then I ‘googled’ this question and had a good laugh at some of the titles. I chose this one, for obvious reasons:
Some of my other favorites were “All My Exes Live in Texas, Suspicious Minds, Lyin’ Eyes, and D-I-V-O-R-C-E.
5. What deserves less of your attention? More of your attention?
Although I only watch about two hours of television per day, it’s really a useless activity when I think about it, so I’ll say television deserves less of my attention. As for what deserves more of my attention? That would be my family.
Random:
I am still alive and doing okay! I apologize for my absence in The Hodgepodge, but it’s been a busy summer! My time has been consumed by our garden, and traveling to and from [out-of-town] doctor’s appointments with our daughter. Then our oldest son and his family decided to buy a new home. There’s been a lot going on around here!
Believe it or not, Ed and I haven’t even had a chance to visit St. Simon’s Island yet, but we did manage to celebrate 46 years of marriage on June 18th. However, I wasn’t feeling well on our anniversary, so we postponed our yearly anniversary trip to KFC until the day after our anniversary. Our daughter invited us over [next door] to her house for supper on our actual anniversary, and it was delicious.
Our garden is now history, and we’ve had another bountiful season! All vegetables are now tucked away in the freezer or in jars. Our daughter’s doctor’s appointments are now less frequent. We are thankful that our daughter finally has a diagnosis, after several years of suffering, (psoriatic arthritis) plus a treatment (regular injections) that seems to be helping her. Our son and his family are still in the process of getting moved into their new home, but the worst of that is over (for us, not for them). Life is slowing down and all is well, once again. I think I can hear St. Simon’s Island calling my name!
1. The first day of summer rolls in later this week. What are ten things you’d put on your list of quintessential summer activities? Will you try to manage all ten this summer?
I’m not sure I can list ten things, but here are my favorite summer activities: (1) sitting under my favorite oak tree at St. Simon’s Island while admiring the view (of course!), (2) buying a new beach ornament for my ‘year round tree’, (3) having a family cookout, (4) picking blackberries and making jelly, (5) watching the hummingbirds feed, (6) making/eating a BLT made with home-grown tomatoes, (7) making fresh flower arrangements with zinnias/sunflowers from our garden, (8) picking, cooking, and canning a variety of vegetables from our garden and (9) celebrating our wedding anniversary. (I almost thought of ten!)
home-grown tomatoes
Celebrating anniversary #45
Flowers from the garden
Food for hummingbird
Blackberries for jelly
steaks
my favorite view
2. Do you collect seashells when you’re at the beach? What do you do with them once you get them home? What’s your favorite place to comb for seashells? How many of these ‘best beaches for hunting seashells’ have you visited? Which one would you most like to visit? Calvert Cliffs State Park (Maryland), Jeffrey’s Bay (South Africa), Sanibel Island (Florida), Shipwreck Beach (Lanai Hawaii), Ocracoke Island (North Carolina), Galveston Island (Texas) and The Bahamas
I used to collect seashells from the beach, and display them in a pretty jar, at home. I don’t collect them anymore, though. I still display a few of my favorite seashells in a bowl and I hang some on my ‘year round’ tree, during the months of July/August, when it’s decorated in a beach theme.
I think the beaches of Florida have the prettiest shells of anywhere I’ve been. I haven’t visited any of the ‘best beaches’, but I’d love to go to Sanibel Island (in Florida) or Shipwreck Beach (in Hawaii).
3. At a snail’s pace, shell out money, come out of your shell, go back into your shell, drop a bombshell, happy as a clam, clam up…which ‘shell’ phrase could most recently be applied to some event or circumstance in your life? Explain.
“At a snail’s pace” describes the way I move every morning when I first get out of bed. I’m not currently taking Nsaids for my Rheumatoid arthritis, and it’s much harder for me to get up and get moving in the mornings. (Nsaids are very hard on the digestive system, and I’m trying to give mine a break) The struggle is real, folks.
4. What summer activity do you dislike? Why?
Here in the south, the temperatures hover in the high 90’s for most of the summer. We also have these annoying insects called gnats and mosquitoes. Therefore, I dislike any activity that requires my presence outside after 9 a.m. or before 7 p.m. unless it’s in a place where there are no gnats or mosquitoes.
5. What’s something you see as quickly becoming obsolete? Does that bother you?
A lot of things crossed my mind, but I’m going to say correct spelling and grammar! Yes, it bothers me very much! It’s downright painful to read some of the posts I see on Facebook.
Random:
This summer, there’s a new phenomenon happening in our little neck of the woods, and it’s called “Tattnall County Rocks”. It all started with one woman and a Facebook page. One very talented lady decided to paint a few rocks, hide the rocks all over the county, then post clues on her official “Tattnall County Rocks” Facebook page giving hints about where the rocks were hidden. This activity has become very popular, very quickly, and people of all ages are now painting, hiding, and finding rocks!
Whoever finds a hidden rock, posts where they found it, and usually takes a picture of the rock. Then they either hide the rock somewhere else, or hide another painted rock to replace the one they decide to keep. Then they post a clue concerning where their rock has been hidden.
It’s an activity designed to get children and their parents outside and moving–together. It also challenges them to see what kind of rocks they can create. What a neat idea, and it sounds like fun to me!
Our granddaughter and her mom went out and joined the fun, last week. They found three rocks using the clues they’d read on Facebook. They are currently in the process of painting more rocks to replace the ones they found, since granddaughter, Madison, wanted to keep the rocks she found.
It’s Hodgepodge Time again! Many thanks to Joyce for continuing to host this fun meme. I appreciate her more than she’ll ever know…
1. It’s National Waffle Day (August 24th)…what decision are you currently ‘waffling over’? (or share one you’ve recently ‘waffled over’)
I’ve been waffling over whether or not to make a doctor’s appointment concerning my back issues. My back seems to be s-l-o-w-l-y improving, so I’m going to give it another week, or so, before I make any decisions.
2. It’s the middle of August, but I’m already seeing lots of autumn-related posts. Do you think we rush the seasons? If so, does that bother you?
Yes, I do think the seasons are rushed. When Hobby Lobby puts out Christmas decorations in the middle of summer, I say that’s rushing things a bit! And, yes, it does bother me when people rush the seasons. Why can’t we fully enjoy one season before rushing into the next?
I saw (here) an end of summer bucket list that included-
make s’mores, read a new (or favorite) book in the park, eat something delicious and bad for you at a state fair, be a tourist for the day, have a pot luck picnic, book a last-minute summer getaway, relax by or in the pool, take a hike to watch the sunset, have a day on the lake, try a new summer recipe
Which activities on the list might you squeeze in before summer officially comes to a close?
I’m going to say “have a day on the lake”, except I’ll switch the lake water for the salt water of St. Simon’s Island. Next Tuesday is my birthday and if there’s any possible way, I plan to spend it sitting beside the water, under the shade of my favorite oak tree, looking at this view:
3. Your favorite summertime ‘art’ found in nature?
I love finding ‘pictures’ in the clouds on a bright, sunny, summer day–like this one:
photo via google
4. Stephen R. Covey is quoted as saying ‘We judge ourselves by our intentions, and others by their actions.’ Agree or no? Do you define yourself based on your intentions, your actions, or something else?
That’s a difficult question, and I don’t have an answer, today. I’m not sure how I define myself, but what’s the old saying? “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”, so I don’t put a lot of stock in those.
5. Are you useful in a crisis? Elaborate.
I’m a bit slow to react in a kind of crisis of any kind, in fact I usually ‘freeze’ for a moment or two, which can be disastrous during a crisis. My husband, Ed, on the other hand, is quick to react, and always great in a crisis. This probably comes from years of working as an x-ray tech and an EMT, as well. Ed’s helped save lives, by doing CPR on several people, including my father. In addition, he once prevented our youngest son from drowning, and acted quickly enough to keep our house from burning down after some pool chemicals ignited under our carport.
6. What’s been your go-to dish this summer? Is it something you’ll continue making as the seasons change?
The first thing that comes to my mind are the delicious grilled chicken finger salads we’ve enjoyed throughout the summer. Yes, I’ll continue making them, at least for a while, but they won’t be nearly as good without our garden-fresh carrots, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
7. Adult coloring books are a thing now. Have you jumped on the bandwagon? If not is this something you think you might enjoy?
No, I haven’t jumped on the coloring bandwagon, but I’ve been thinking about it. I’m not sure if I’d enjoy it or not, but I might give it a try. I enjoy coloring, I’m just not very good at it.
Random:
After being ‘shut in’ for over a week, I was finally able to do a little shopping, yesterday. My back only ‘acted up’ when I’d first get out of the car, after I’d been sitting for a while. Within a few minutes I could stand up straight and walk normally. Walking wasn’t painful, like before, and Ed did all of the bending for me.
Folks, don’t ever take your back for granted. Just to be able to sit, stand, walk, or bend painlessly is such a blessing!
They say “no news is good news”, but that’s not always true. Sometimes “no news” means the writer just hasn’t felt like blogging. This blogger falls into that category. It’s been nine days since I last posted, and I hate to get too far behind. I’m attempting to do a little catching up, today.
Last week was very hot, and very dry! I felt like a prisoner in my own home, all week. With the exception of feeding the chickens twice a day, picking up the eggs once a day, and watering my flowers, I stayed inside. Thankfully, this week has been somewhat better.
Ed and I did venture out in the heat, last Wednesday, to take our van back to the car dealership. We needed to let them install an [over-flow] drain hose that apparently got omitted when the van was built. This factory over-sight caused massive fume build up [inside the car], every time Ed over-filled the gas tank. We spent three and a half hours waiting for the repair, but even that was much better than the guy sitting next to us who spent about seven and a half hours waiting to have two bulbs changed and an a/c switch ordered. That’s ridiculous!
Then, on Thursday, of last week, we had a surprise visit from the pastor of the church we’ve been attending [for the past four months]. He came to bring us some sad news–that he would be resigning as pastor of the church on Sunday. We were very sad to hear this news– not just because we like the pastor, and many folks at the church, but mainly because of thereason behind his resignation.
We knew, for a while, there have been some problems within the church, but, the church leadership (deacons) recently made a decision that the pastor couldn’t, in good conscience, support. (They basically got together and reversed a decision they’d made, earlier, at the advice of the pastor.) This reverse decision was made at the recent deacon’s meeting, so we didn’t know anything about it. Ultimately, what all this means is we’re now without a church home–again. We can’t, in good conscience, stay at a church that condones sin, and that’s what this decision amounts to. Sigh. My heart aches. It aches for the pastor and his wife, it aches for us, it aches for our son (who has also left the church), and it aches for the church, itself, which is headed down a very destructive path.
It was a somewhat stressful weekend, following the pastor’s visit, but we had the opportunity to go and spend some time with our youngest grandson, Evan, on Saturday evening. His parents went out for the evening, so “E” and “Mimi” got to babysit. I think we all had a good time, I know we sure did! We kept Evan at his house, which meant it was almost 1 a.m. when we got back to our own home. On the way home, I made the comment to Ed, that it had been a l-o-n-g time since we’d been out until 1 a.m. Ha!
I’m not ashamed to tell you that I cried off and on all day Sunday. It felt like we’d had a death in our family. I couldn’t help but wonder what else is going to happen to us, this summer? Ed went to church, one last time, as a show of support for the pastor, while he resigned. I just couldn’t bring myself to go. I prefer to keep the happy memories, of the Sunday before, as my last ones of that church.
On Monday morning, I still felt “blue”, so I asked Ed to take me to my “happy place” on St. Simon’s Island. We threw our chairs in the van, and headed out on a road trip. I’m so glad we went! I could feel my tension melt away as I breathed in the salt air, and felt the sea breeze on my face. I came home feeling much better.
We had a nice surprise, on Tuesday, when Brad (our youngest son), and grandson, Evan, came over for an evening visit. Brad said Evan had asked to see us, so they came over to visit with us while Jennifer worked late. They also ate supper with us.
The rest of this week has been fairly uneventful. Just the usual things have been going on–Ed mowing some grass, while I’ve been doing a little bit of housework–and I do mean a little. I’ve been doing some painting on a statue for the yard, and we “dusted” the chickens for mites one evening. That was an adventure, since chickens don’t appreciated being disturbed after they’ve gone to bed for the night 🙂
We have no real plans for this weekend. As far as church plans go, for now, we plan to go and visit the assisted living facility where our son brings a message every Sunday afternoon. Hopefully, the folks there won’t mind if we visit and worship with them. Perhaps we can all be a blessing to each other.
Summer is rolling right along, and so is The Wednesday Hodgepodge! If you’d like to join in the fun, just click the button at the top of this post. As always, I’d like to shout out a big thank you to our hostess, Joyce, who keeps things rolling smoothly for all of us.
1. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your summer so far? Why? (1=eh and 10=best summer ever)
Well, it hasn’t been the best summer ever, but it hasn’t been the worst summer either, because that would’ve probably been last summer when I suffered with sciatica all summer! No, scratch that, the worst summer, ever, was the summer of 2010, when our [now] daughter-in-law, Jennifer, discovered she had cancer, then lost her mother, unexpectedly, just a few weeks later–on the morning our family was all scheduled to go on vacation together! That was a bad summer!
I’ll rate this summer a 7, because even though we’ve encountered a few ‘bumps in the road’, we’ve still had lots of enjoyable moments, nobody’s had serious health issues, and nobody in the family has died! There’s a lot to be thankful for 🙂
2. July 26th is National Aunts and Uncles Day. Did you have many aunts and uncles growing up? Were you especially close to any one or maybe all of them? Are you an aunt? (or uncle for the men who join here on Wednesdays) Share a favorite memory relating to one of your own aunts or uncles or relating to a niece or nephew who call you Aunt (or Uncle).
Okay, are you ready for this? Follow closely. My daddy’s brother married Ed’s mama’s sister–so Ed and I have always had an aunt and uncle in common, as well as two first cousins (their children). The family lived in St. Petersburg, Florida, so we only saw them once a year, during the summer. The oldest of those mutual first cousins, Susan, who was just a year older than me, is the one who set Ed and me up on our first date, while she was visiting one summer! The rest is history. Three years later, we got married on Susan’s birthday (June 18), and our mutual aunt and uncle helped with our rehearsal dinner!
3. What’s your favorite food dipped in chocolate? What’s your favorite food dipped in cheese?
My favorite food dipped in chocolate would be peanuts or raisins. I don’t have a favorite food that’s dipped in cheese.
4. When were you last astonished by something? Explain.
I was last astonished when Ed and I received a mystery package in the mail, from 1600 Colonel Sanders Lane!
If you visited my Hodgepodge, last week, then you know that package contained a nice gift basket from Kentucky Fried Chicken. What a pleasant surprise!
5. Surf board, paddle board, ironing board, Pinterest board, score board, clip board, bulletin board…which board have you most recently encountered?
Sadly, I last encountered my ironing board–something I don’t enjoy doing!
6. What’s your favorite story from scripture? Why that story?
I’m going to say The Parable of the Good Samaritan because I recently heard a very good sermon using that parable! The pastor took the parable in an entirely different direction than I’ve ever thought about before. It was an awesome message, and it made me look at myself in a different light.
7. If you were to travel from the east coast to the west coast in your own country, which five cities would you most want to see?
That’s a very good question! I’m not much of a traveler, but I think I’d like to visit Miami, Florida, revisit Nashville, Tennessee, maybe visit Denver, Colorado, Los Angeles, California, and, perhaps, Seattle, Washington. How’s that for variety?
Random:
I shared a picture, yesterday, but I wanted to share another, for those who may have missed it. Here’s a picture of Ed with the 42 pound watermelon that he grew:
We cut the watermelon, yesterday, and it was pretty good! We may be eating melon for quite a while, though.
It’s shaping up to be another hot and sunny Monday. Yesterday’s high topped out around 100 degrees, before scattered showers arrived and lowered the temperatures, shortly before the evening church services. We didn’t get any rain at our house, though.
Looking out my window…
I see nine pesky hens hanging around the front door, waiting for some handouts! This morning, I let them out of their pen, early, so they could search for food before it gets so hot, but their idea of searching for food is hanging around the front door–not scratching for bugs or worms! Every day, while we’re eating lunch, they stand outside the door begging for table scraps. They know what time we eat!
the red hen, leading the flock
I am thinking…
I’m glad I don’t have to take the van to the Ford dealership this morning! We took it to the dealership, last Monday morning, and spent the entire day waiting to get it back! Unfortunately, a part had to be ordered, so, this Wednesday, we’ll have to make the trip again, to have the gas tank’s over-flow hose put on, then have them recheck the radio which seems to be having problems ‘rebooting’, sometimes. And to think, we bought a new car to avoid having to deal with car repairs!
I am thankful…
to have been blessed to hear [not one, but] two good messages at church, yesterday. I’d never heard anything like either one of the messages, even though the scriptures used have been spoken about many times. An added blessing was hearing our son pray a closing prayer that complimented the morning message perfectly.
One of my favorite things…
is traveling to St. Simon’s Island and sitting under our favorite oak trees in The Village. Thankfully, Ed and I were able to do that on Friday. The get away was much-needed, and I could, literally, feel my stress level lowering as I sat and enjoyed the view.
There was only one problem. It appears that Pokemon Go has hit St. Simon’s Island with a vengeance! Everywhere we looked people were walking like zombies, while holding their phones in front of their faces. As we lounged in our chairs, we were almost trampled, a time or two, by over-zealous “hunters”. It was ridiculous!
I am wearing…
another of my old faithful sundresses. I do get tired of wearing the same old dresses, all summer, but dresses work best for me whenever it’s hot…and, believe me, it is hot around here!
I am creating…
something new out of something old. I’m going to give some of my ‘garden accents’ (rabbits and birds) a make-over by painting them. Ed’s really better at doing this than I am, but I’m going to give it a try. Ed’s already painted the squirrels for me.
I am reading…
Sunday Morning Memories by Don Reid (of Statler Brothers fame). It’s a book of short stories, with Don reminiscing about [his] church memories. I’ve just finished reading Random Memories by Don and his brother, Harold (also of Statler Brothers fame), and enjoyed it so much I decided to read Sunday Morning Memories. I’m glad I did! Who knew Don could write good books in addition to writing and singing good songs?! Did you know that Don and his brother Harold wrote a large portion of the songs The Statlers recorded? I’ve featured one of my favorite gospel songs that they wrote, below.
I am watching…
the show ‘Big Brother’ on television. That’s really about the only show we’ve been watching on a regular basis, lately. So far, it’s been a pretty good season, but I think things are just about to get complicated.
I’ve been listening to…
I am hoping…
my back will behave itself! Lately, I’ve been having some occasional pain on the right side of my back. At times, my right foot/leg feels a little ‘tingly’, too. These are not good signs. Due to stomach issues, I’m off of my arthritis medication, again, which may be contributing to the problem.
I am learning…
to roll with the unexpected bumps in the ‘road of life’–or at least I’m trying to. It never seems to get any easier, but I’m sure getting lots of practice.
In my kitchen…
I rarely bake anymore, but, last week, I made a ‘Mandarin Orange Cake’, also known [here in the south] as a ‘Pea Pickin’ Cake’. Ha! (Ed and I have wondered why in the world it is called a “Pea Pickin’ Cake’!) It’s a refreshing refrigerated cake, made with a mixture of yellow cake mix, mandarin oranges, eggs, and oil, then frosted with a mixture of cool whip, vanilla pudding mix, and crushed pineapple.
In my garden…
it’s hot and dry! All of the sunflowers are all gone, but some of the zinnias are still in bloom, believe it or not! I’ve cut and enjoyed several bouquets of flowers from the garden, over the course of the summer.
Ed still has some peanuts, watermelons, gourds, and sweet potatoes growing in the garden. Below is a photo of Ed with a 42 pound watermelon that he grew!
Shared Quote…
I read this quote the other day, and it spoke to me:
“Every moment that you spend upset, in despair, in anguish, angry, or hurt because of the behavior of anybody else in your life is a moment in which you’ve given up control of your life.” (author unknown)
A moment from my day…
some beautiful sunflowers from the garden, when they were still in bloom.
Closing Notes…
Ed’s been as busy as a little bee! In addition to tending to our garden, he’s done a great job of keeping everything around the place trimmed and mowed all summer. Let me just say, that’s no easy task! In addition, he’s repaired our broken walkway, painted the back deck, painted underneath our car port, and helped me hang some new [summer] wall decorations on the side of his storage shed. We have a couple more ‘home improvement’ projects planned, but things are looking much better already. I appreciate all of his hard work so much!
The theme of today’s Hodgepodge is sort of about “collecting”, which is right up my alley! I wasn’t able to collect things as a child, but I’ve more than made up for it as an adult. In fact, I confess, things may have gotten a bit out of control over the years… That being said, let me take a break from dusting these “collectibles”, and answer today’s questions. Before I do, though, I must say “thank you” to our wonderful hostess, Joyce, for all she does!
1. Pokemon Go…your thoughts? Are you playing? Do you even know what it is?
Yes, I do know a bit about what Pokemon Go is–it’s an interactive game for mobile devices. My thoughts about Pokemon Go are these: people already spend way too much time on mobile/electronic devices. We don’t need to encourage them to spend even more time there. The other day, while I was relaxing on beautiful St. Simon’s Island, I noticed many people had their faces in their phones– some, even while riding bicycles or swinging their children! I thought, this is so sad… You’re surrounded by all of this beauty (including your child), and you have your face in a phone! And, no I won’t be playing Pokemon Go!
2. What was something you collected as a child? Do you still have that collection?Sadly, I didn’t collect anything as a child (there wasn’t much money). However, as a teenager, I began a record collection, which I still have [most of] today. If you’re a parent what’s something your own children collected? Our oldest son collected NBA basketball cards. I can’t remember the others collecting anything special.
Have you ever camped out, stood in a crazy long queue, or paid a ridiculous sum for a ‘collectible’? Yes, I’m afraid I’ll have to plead guilty for paying a ridiculous sum for collectibles. One of the most memorable is a hand- painted Coca Cola toilet seat, which now hangs on the wall in our bathroom! Nobody’s bottom will ever touch that toilet seat during my life time!
I also have an extensive doll collection. I’m too embarrassed to tell you how much some of my dolls cost, but many of them cost a lot more than that toilet seat.
3. “Collect moments, not things”…tell us about a moment you’ve added to your collection this summer.
This has been a somewhat difficult summer for us, due to some family problems, but at the same time, it’s had its share of “collectible moments”, too…watching the grandsons playing together under the water sprinkler (old-fashioned fun)…attending a July 4th fireworks show (after years of not doing so)…watching our sons playing baseball with their sons–right up until both plastic baseballs broke in half (funny)…and receiving a ‘mystery’ package in the mail, from Colonel Sanders Avenue! (see random)
4. What’s something collecting dust in your home right now? Any plans to do something about it?
I ashamed to admit it, but I have a collection of various “stuff” sitting all over our pool room. Some of the stuff I want to keep, but have no room for. There’s also pet food that shouldn’t be stored outside during the heat of summer. Then, there is the food that we recently canned, but have no other place to store, at this time. Eventually, I’ll get around to doing something about all of this, but not today!
5. A favorite song relating to time?
Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce. The poignant video footage, below, was taken of Jim and his family, shortly before his death in a plane crash (in 1973). It’s sad how prophetic this song turned out to be.
6. What’s been your most frightening or your most interesting encounter with wildlife?
Many years ago, a couple of foxes used to come and eat the left-over table scraps we put out at the edge of the woods near our house. One day, we opened the door, and there was one of those foxes, underneath our carport! The poor fox was clearly sick, but we didn’t know if he had rabies, had been poisoned, or what. Finally, Ed had no choice but to put it out of its misery. It was sad, but a bit scary, too. In the end, we pretty much decided the poor fox was probably the victim of a poultry farmer’s poison. We live in an area with several poultry farmers, and they’ve pretty much wiped out most chicken predators, over the years.
7. On July 20, 1969 Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong set his foot down on the moon. If you could travel to the moon would you go? Why or why not?
No, I wouldn’t go. As most of you know, I’m not much of a traveler–especially that far!
Random:
For any readers who may not know, Ed and I have celebrated every one of our 44 wedding anniversaries at KFC, beginning on our wedding night, when we were given our meal for free by the manager, after he realized we were newlyweds.
This year, our son, Brad,decided to share our story with the nice folks of KFC. He sent them a message via their Facebook page, and they, in turn, asked for our address.
Last week, Ed and I received a surprise package in the mail–from Colonel Sanders Lane–in Kentucky! At first Ed and I were quite skeptical, but, boy, were we surprised when we finally opened the box!!!
celebrating 44 years (with the Colonel)
The box contained a gift basket/bucket along with apersonal letter, signed by the late Colonel, himself 🙂 The letter was actually my favorite item, but the bucket contained several useful gifts (two red beverage cups, two white chef’s aprons, two gift cards, and much more). There was two of everything, except for the little red Louisville Slugger bat, which Ed said they sent for him “to keep me straight with.” 🙂
The letter in the bucket read as follows:
Howdy Ed and Kathy,
I always considered love to be like a bucket of chicken, you’re all snuggled together in a striped container. No wait, I think love is more like a freshly made biscuit, soft and comforting and goes great with honey. Actually, now that I think about it, love is like coleslaw: there’s little bits of lots of stuff all chopped together. No, no, no. Mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes and gravy. Love is like mashed potatoes and gravy. That’s it. That’s love. Nailed it.
In truth, one can never compare love to anything on my menu. That’s a fact. What you two have had over the last 44 years can never be put up against anything on this earth. The memories you’ve shared, the life you’ve built, all the beautiful successes and the tough failures, helping the other when one of you were down, being helped when you were down, raising a loving son, who looks at his parents as a shining example of what two people can do in this world together. I don’t serve anything that amazing.
Congratulations on your anniversary, and thank you for letting me be a part of it. Please share your future anniversary photos with me on Facebook, as it warms my heart, not unlike the warmth of one of my biscuits. There. Now that’s something I can compare to a food item.
It’s Wednesday, and you know what that means… It’s Hodgepodge Time!
Many thanks to our hostess, Joyce, for coming up with another ‘out of this world’ set of questions to exercise my aging brain 🙂 I really appreciate all that you do, Joyce!
Also, many thanks to the readers who faithfully stop by to visit and read my blog. I love and appreciate your visits and comments so much!
All that being said, here are today’s questions to The Hodgepodge, along with my answers:
1. Do you find yourself influencing your world, or is it more the other way around?
I do my best to control my own little world by trying to limit outside influences. Ed and I have never been much into the ‘social scene’, so we prefer to be at home, with each other, or family. This is a lot easier now that we’re both retired! I’ve never had a problem with being different, so I usually don’t get caught up in current fads, trends, or whatever, either. A while back, I made the choice to limit how much media I read or watch, as well. My mood is a lot better, now!
2. July 14th is National Tape Measure Day…the device was patented on this date in 1868. When did you last use a tape measure?
I used a tape measure, yesterday, to measure a fan. We bought a new one, and I wanted to make sure it was the same size as our old one.
Do you always know where to find one in your house?
Yes, I always keep my tape measure in the sewing box.
Tell us one way in which you feel blessed ‘beyond measure’.
I figured out, a very long time ago, that I am blessed beyond measure to have Ed, in my life! He’s truly one of a kind.
3.The Plaza Hotel (Eloise), The Land of Oz (The Wizard of Oz), Narnia (The Chronicles of Narnia), The Hundred Acre Wood (Winnie the Pooh), Wonderland (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland), or Never Never Land (Peter Pan)…which storybook land (on this list!) would you most like to visit and why?
I’m a huge fan of Winnie the Pooh, so, of course, I’d most like to visit The Hundred Acre Wood. I love the characters, and can identify with most of them. I love “sweets” as much as Pooh loves honey! Ed is somewhat like Tigger, usually bouncing around, full of energy, and getting the job done. Meanwhile, I’m moving around like Eyeore.
4. Where and when do you get your best ideas?
This question reminds me of the teacher I used to work for! She always said she got her best ideas while in the shower! I don’t know that I have a particular time or place for getting good ideas… Perhaps when it’s quiet. Maybe at night, in bed, when I should be sleeping?
5. So what have you been watching on TV this summer? Anything good?
Ed and I have been watching a lot of Dateline reruns and the new season of Big Brother. So far, Big Brother has been pretty good. I like the twists and turns they’ve added this season.
6. ‘Don’t swim for an hour after you eat’, ‘Dog days of summer’, ‘Knee high by the Fourth of July’…choose a summer saying from the list or share one of your own, then tell us what image or memory comes to mind when you hear it spoken.
‘Dog days of summer’ conjures up an image of hot, sweltering days with lots of gnats and mosquitoes–sort of like it is now! It also brings back the memory of a fund-raising event I once chaired for our local animal shelter, called “The Dog Days of Summer Festival”, which took place during the ‘dog days of summer’.
7. In a single sentence, sum up one life lesson you’ve learned.
At some point, your life will change, drastically, in the blink of an eye.
Random:
Praise the Lord! Yesterday, I woke up feeling better than I have in over a week! This could be attributed to finally getting back on my arthritis medication, or it could be attributed to the fact that there are no vegetables waiting to be canned!
Anyway, a great opportunity is a terrible thing to waste, so Ed and I quickly threw our beach chairs and our cooler in the car, and headed for St. Simon’s Island! The weather was ‘picture perfect’ (95 degrees, but with a nice sea breeze) and we spent several hours lounging under the shade our favorite oak tree. Finally! We feel like our summer has officially begun 🙂
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!
Summer is still raging here, and I’m spending most of my time in the air conditioned comfort of my home. Days like these are good for reading, watching a movie, or taking a nap! They are also good for participating in The Hodgepodge, which you can do by clicking on the button at the top of this post, and answering the questions. As always, thanks to our hostess, Joyce, for keeping this fun meme alive!
1. Is your home air conditioned? If it’s not air conditioned, is that by choice? Did you grow up with air conditioning? If not how did you cope with the heat? Share about a time or place you remember as being too hot-the temperature kind of hot, lest anyone be confused.
Yes, our home is air conditioned, by choice. These days, I’m not sure we could survive the heat and humidity, here in the south, without air conditioning. It was 99 degrees, yesterday, and the humidity levels have been in the 90’s, as well. Miserable!
While I was growing up, folks didn’t always have air conditioning in their homes. In fact, for the first few weeks of marriage, Ed and I didn’t have air conditioning in our first home, either. Praise the Lord, his parents had a spare window [air conditioning] unit that they gave us!
My most vivid memories, of being too hot, is trying to sleep at night without any air conditioning! We always kept box fans in the bedroom windows, but those usually blew warm air until the wee hours of the morning. By the time it finally got cool enough to actually sleep, it was time to get up! I won’t even talk about how hot it was in the kitchen…
2. What’s something in your life right now that falls under the heading ‘up in the air’?
My health. (See Random)
3. Your favorite light and airy dessert?
I don’t know if it qualifies as “light and airy”, but I’m going to say Strawberry Shortcake because we use angel food cake to make ours.
4. When did you last feel like you were ‘floating on air’?
I’m going to say it was when our last grandchild, Evan, was born. He was the grandchild we thought we’d never have (because his mom is a cancer survivor with no cervix and only one ovary), then we feared he was going to be born with Cystic Fibrosis when prenatal testing showed both parents to be carriers of the disease. Today, Evan is a happy, healthy little boy who will be two in October, and doesn’t even carry the gene for Cystic Fibrosis!
Evan shows off his new haircut
5. Airport, airmail, airtight, airhead…which have you most recently encountered? Explain.
Airtight, when I opened a jar of green beans that I canned.
6. Have you ever been to the Alps? If so where did you go? If not, is this a destination on your must-see list? If you were headed that direction this summer, which of the following would be your preferred activity…a gentle walk, a serious walk, a bike ride, a boat ride around one of the lakes, or summer snow skiing?
I’ve never been to the Alps, nor do I have any plans to go. If I happened to go there, a boat ride around one of the lakes sounds most appealing to me.
7. What is one saying or phrase that was considered ‘cool’ when you were growing up?
I grew up in the late 60’s and early 70’s, so there were many. “Peace” was used a lot, back then, as was “Can you dig it?”, and “Groovy”. My personal favorites were “Bad scene” and “Cool your jets”. Ha! Just typing those phrases takes me back to my teen years.
Random:
So, yesterday was the day of my long-awaited doctor’s appointment with the neurologist. The wait to see him was 2 1/2 hours long, while sitting on the most uncomfortable furniture in the world. If a person didn’t have back issues before they arrived, they would after they left!
He told me this: Your MRI shows two troubled areas, the L 2-3 and the L 4-5. This presents a problem. Your symptoms suggest your problem is coming from L 4-5, but L 2-3 is the disc that’s actually herniated. I can do microscopic surgery, but I need to be sure which disc to target because there’s no room to “look around” in this kind of surgery, which is basically done through a tube. He told me if I was in a lot of pain and really wanted the surgery done, he would do it, but if he was me, he wouldn’t have surgery, at this point.
We decided I’d try some physical therapy and give the sciatic nerve a little more time to heal on its own. Yesterday, my leg strength and reflexes were good, and the painful spasms have subsided, for now.(Because I just finished a second round of Prednisone two days ago.) Some numbness in the lower leg still persists, but, at least it’s not the entire leg, like before.
If the pain/numbness gets worse, or the spasms start again, I’m supposed to call his office and schedule another appointment to discuss my next option, which would be steroid injections in the spine or microscopic surgery. (I may have to learn to live with a certain amount of back pain.) Your prayers for continued healing would be most appreciated.
One thing I’ve learned though this ordeal is that back surgery isn’t a ‘cure all’. Some patients get better, while others don’t. I met one lady, yesterday, who’d had 13 back surgeries and a hip replacement! She was younger than me, and walked with a cane, but she was smiling. She’d recently had a permanent pain pump implanted, to help deal with her pain, and was there for a checkup. I felt extremely blessed after meeting this lady. She was a great reminder [to me] that things could always be worse.
Reflections...by Kathy 