Goodbye November, Hello Hodgepodge…

Goodbye November. I will miss you, but the weather doesn’t feel like November, it feels more like September, ’cause it’s hot!  There’s nothing quite like decorating a Christmas tree while sweating profusely!  All  of that being said, it’s time for The Wednesday Hodgepodge!  It’s time to take a break from my holiday decorating and have some fun.  As always, thanks to our gracious hostess, Joyce, for keeping The Hodgepodge alive.

1. Give us three rhyming words that say something about your Thanksgiving holiday (or your most recent holiday gathering if you didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving).

Thrilled (as in I was thrilled to have all of our family around the dinner table, again.)

Filled (as in our stomachs were filled as we consumed the Thanksgiving Day feast.)

Chilled (as in the weather was so warm, so I had to turn the thermostat down to 72 to keep us cool.)

2. When did you last say, ‘the more the merrier’? Did you mean it?

I don’t remember the last time I said “the more the merrier”, but it was probably the last time we had unexpected company.   Ed’s parents said that phrase a lot.  It was quite common for them to have extra folks seated around their dinner table, at any given time, and Ed’s daddy was a genius when it came to stretching food!

3. What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone who is your same age?

Cherish each day you’re given, and don’t take anything for granted.  If you have good health, praise the Lord for it, daily.

4. You’re ordering a veggie plate, what four veggies are on it?

Peas, green beans, corn, and sweet potatoes–preferably out of our garden.

5. Shop til you drop! Did you? Have you ever? Will you between now and Christmas?

I did not shop till I dropped over the Thanksgiving weekend.  In fact, I didn’t go shopping at all, except on-line!  However, in years gone by,  I have  shopped until I dropped, many times, with my late mother-in-law.  She was a champion shopper, back in her day!  I will do a little shopping between now and Christmas, but not much.  I hate the crowds.

6. What’s your favorite chair in your house, and why is it a favorite?

There are only two places in my house where I can sit, comfortably, due to back issues.  One is a small glider rocker, that sits great, but matches nothing in our house because it only came in one color.  The other is my ‘zero gravity’ lawn chair that I unfold at night, when I’m ready to watch television.  It’s all about comfort, ya’ know?

7. Share an early memory of faith, religion, or spirituality.

This memory isn’t necessarily from early in my life, since I was 29, but it’s a profound one.  Back in 1984, Ed and I  had the experience of helping organize a new church, from the ground up, when a guest pastor, who organized new churches as a ministry, visited the church we were members of.  I asked him, after the service, if he’d ever considered starting a ‘new work’ in our town.  He said, “No”, but later changed his mind, and contacted me.  I think there may have been about a dozen or so of us charter members.  We rented an old building, formerly a fast food restaurant, then spent many hours scrubbing all of the grease off the floor and walls.  Yuk!  Brother Gus was able to secure us an old piano, a few old church pews,  a podium, and some song books.  Before long, we were holding services at Trinity Baptist Church.  As fate would have it, after about a year and a half, I had a Divine revelation and realized I actually don’t believe the doctrine the church was teaching.  Having to tell Brother Gus we were leaving the church was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.  Trinity Church closed its doors a couple of years after we left. Ed and I ended up at the church of his childhood, and were re-baptized into the faith.  And now, some 29 years later, we’re searching for another new church home…

Random:

Oh, my goodness!  So far, decorating for Christmas has been challenging, this year.  We’ve been dealing with lights that won’t burn,  strong winds blowing outside decorations over, and a missing box of colored lights for the Christmas tree.  On Monday, I felt a bit over-whelmed and asked myself, “Where’s the joy in all of this?”  Thankfully, Ed is a patient and talented man, so he was able to fix most of our light issues.  He also was able to piece back together several broken outside decorations, and anchor them down.  Tuesday went a little smoother, and more progress was made.  Hopefully, by Friday, we’ll be packing away all of these boxes, and enjoying the fruits of our labor.

Thankful For The Hodgepodge…

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Let me begin by wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!  I count my blog friends as special blessings, and treasure each and everyone of you.  I’m thankful for The Hodgepodge and all of the people I’ve ‘met’ through it.  I’m especially thankful for our hostess, Joyce, and the great job she does keeping The Hodgepodge up and running.  She is amazing.

All of that being said, here are this week’s questions:

1. What’s something you might say runs in your family?

I think I’ll say “a stubborn streak”.  Some of us are more stubborn than others, but we all have our moments, from time to time.

2. I read here a list of ten things you should do before 2017 arrives (in less than six weeks!)…which tasks on the list might you do? What would you add to your own ‘before the year ends’ list?

visit your Dr. or dentist, deep clean your home, donate unwanted items to charity, look someone in the eye and tell them you love them, write an honest letter to yourself, clean up your inbox-desktop-photos, travel to a place you haven’t been, compliment a stranger, watch the sunrise, think ahead to your goals/plans for the new year

I’ve already been to the doctor, donated some unwanted items to charity, complimented a stranger, and looked loved ones in the eye and told them I love them.  However, I really need to clean up my inbox (there are almost 5000 emails in there), and do more deep cleaning in my home!  I can’t think of anything I’d like to add to the list.

3. What’s something other generations (not your own) misunderstand about your generation?

Since our parents grew up and lived through the ‘depression era’, and us ‘baby boomers’ grew up and lived during times of plenty, I don’t think they ever quite understood our “lack of thriftiness”.  Sometimes, I find myself thinking the same thing about this current generation.

4. Sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, cornbread dressing-which would you miss the most if it weren’t on the holiday dinner menu?

Cornbread dressing.  A turkey dinner wouldn’t seem right turkey without cornbread dressing!

5. What are you overthinking right now?

I’m overthinking the Thanksgiving Day menu, and how I’m going to get everything ready.  I’ve been preparing, off and on, for about five days.  It’s not that I’m cooking that much food, it’s that I’m moving slower, these days.

6. Your favorite slang word lately?

I don’t use any of the recent terms I found on the internet, so I’ll just go with LOL.

7. Write an acrostic for the word grateful.

Grateful to God, from whom all blessings flow

Really should do more to show Him my appreciation

Always seem to receive more than what’s given

Trying to do better, but I can’t out give God

Every day I will go to Him in prayer

Forever in His debt for all He’s done for me

Ultimate sacrifice was made so my sins could be forgiven

Living my life in a closer walk with Him

Random:

For two and one half years, our oldest son has been going to a local assisted living home, every Sunday afternoon, to preach to the residents who live there. All of the residents living in this particular home are suffering with varying stages of Alzheimer’s.

A while back, Ed and I began to join our son for these services. Sometimes, Ed makes an attempt to play the piano, but the three of us always make an attempt to sing a couple of hymns before the message, with or without music.  We usually average about six (not counting the three of us) in attendance.

Even though all residents are afflicted with this terrible disease, they are some of the sweetest folks I know.  Some can still carry on conversations, but others cannot.  Some wander around aimlessly, as if looking for something.  The thing about Alzheimer’s is you never know how it’s going to affect a person from day to day.  There are good days, there are bad days, and there are interesting days.  Last Sunday turned out to be one of those interesting days.

During the middle of the sermon, one of the male residents, whom I’ll call Mr. B, was restless and began wandering around the room during the message. (Mr. B happens to be someone we’ve known most of our lives)  In the middle of the sermon, Mr. B wandered over to where I was sitting in a chair, with my legs crossed. Suddenly, he bent over in front of me, and began trying to untie my shoe!  He tried so hard to get my shoe off, meanwhile our son never missed a beat of his message!  After Mr. B failed to get my shoe off, he became interested in my knee hose.  I sat there, with great interest, as Mr. Billy rubbed the hose, covering my lower leg. using both of his hands.  He must have really liked the texture of my hose!  Meanwhile, our son just kept on preaching.  Afterward, I laughed and told our son this was the first time I’d ever had someone try to steal my shoe or rub my leg during a sermon–all done with the sweet innocence of a curious child…

 

Miscellanous Monday…

So, it’s been four whole days since I’ve posted or even been to a blog of any kind!  These days are flying by, and I just can’t seem to get around to everything anymore.  Is it just me, or is anyone else having the same experience?!  The older I get, time seems to move quicker, while I seem to move slower.

Let me begin by saying what a wonderful Thanksgiving our family had.  For the first time in several years, I did not host the meal.  Our daughter took over the hosting responsibilities this year, and I have to tell you, I really enjoyed being “just another guest”.  Brandy had everything at her house decorated so pretty, and she made a special children’s table for the kids which they seemed to enjoy.  All of the girls really outdid themselves cooking, and the food was delicious.  Thanksgiving was one day when Ed and I did not worry about our low-fat, low cholesterol, low sugar diets!

our Thanksgiving host and hostess

the children’s table

 still relaxing at our daughter’s house on Thanksgiving night

At the end of our Thanksgiving meal, each family member took turns saying what we were most thankful for in our lives.  It was unanimous, everyone was most thankful to still have Ed with us, after his close call, last month.  This was our second year of this meaningful tradition, and it’s quickly become my favorite part of Thanksgiving.  By the end of the round, there was hardly a dry eye in the house.

On Friday, after Thanksgiving, the weather was too pretty to be cooped up inside, so Ed and I decided to start putting up our outside decorations. (No Black Friday shopping for us!)  We spent the afternoon putting garland and lights around our front windows and door.  On Saturday, the weather was even nicer than on Friday, so we continued putting Christmas decorations in the yard. (I’d bought a bunch of new outside decorations for 1/2 price, last year!)  Thankfully, my back didn’t “go out”, although I did have to take Tylenol pm both nights.

Our son-in-law decorated their yard, on Friday and Saturday, as well.  Now, our little corner of the world may look a little bit like Clark Griswold’s house [in Christmas Vacation] but we all love our Christmas lights!  Now, if I can just get the inside of the house looking as “festive” as the outside of it!

I’ve spent the past several evenings re-stringing fake popcorn for our tree and, last night, I put it on the tree while I sweated and listened to Christmas music. There’s nothing quite like listening to Let It Snow, and  decorating a Christmas tree while the a/c grinds away in the background!  Our temperatures nearly reached 80 yesterday!!!

Speaking of Christmas decorations, my hens don’t quite know what to think about the outside decorations.  Every time I look, there’s a hen or two walking among the snowmen and Christmas trees.  I frequently tell them they, “No, you can not be part of the Christmas decor!”

In other news, Ed and I had a chance to pull baby sitting duty, with grandson, Evan, early Sunday morning.  For some reason, our youngest son, Brad, got an abscess on his lower leg, last week.  In spite of medical attention, on Wednesday, his leg became so swollen and infected over the weekend, he had to make an emergency trip to the doctor to have the wound opened and drained.  As a result, Ed and I spent several hours at their house with Evan.  He sure kept us entertained!  By the way, I think we had a lot more fun than Brad did, too 😦

Tomorrow is the day our daughter will be having the surgery to remove the basal cell carcinoma from her nose, followed by some plastic surgery to repair her nose.  She’s been told to expect to spend the day in the doctors’ offices, so I’m sure it will be a long, exhausting day for her.  I’m positive this is NOT the way she’d like to be spending the first day of December.

It looks like the year 2015 is going to keep up the trend of giving our family a hard time, right up until New Year’s Eve.  Our latest mishap came, last evening, when we discovered our dishwasher is no longer working–after we filled it with dirty dishes!  A new dishwasher is NOT what I wanted “Santa” to bring for Christmas, but it looks like that’s what we’ll be getting.  Oh, my!  What a year this has turned out to be!  On that note, I’ll say…  Have a great Monday!

 

A Thankful Hodgepodge…

T’was the day before Thanksgiving, when all through the house… Cooking and baking were in progress, but some folks were taking time to participate in The Wednesday Hodgepodge!  If you’re one of those folks, I’m so glad you stopped by today.  I’m also glad our hostess, Joyce, has provided us with another great set of questions to ponder today.  Thank you, Joyce!

1.What’s something you wish you knew how to do, but feel like it’s too late to learn?

I wish I knew how to play a musical instrument, especially the guitar or the piano.  You  may be thinking, it’s not too late, but I’ve tried to learn how to read music, and, for some reason, it just won’t compute in my brain.

2. Your least favorite thing to shop for? Why?

I hate shopping for new shoes because I rarely find a pair that feels good on both of my feet. One of my feet is slightly larger than the other, and this has always caused a problem.  These days, I just spend most of my days wearing Crocs. It works for me!

3. How has the celebration of Thanksgiving today changed from when you were growing up?

In our family, I don’t think things have really changed all that much.  We still eat too much turkey/dressing,  and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade still comes on the television, followed by football.  We usually take some family pictures, too.  However, we did start one new tradition, last year– taking turns telling what we’re most thankful for, while seated around the kitchen table.  I really liked that.

I have noticed, in the past few years, the focus for some people (not in our family, thank goodness), on Thanksgiving, has shifted from becoming “a day of giving thanks”  into “the start of the Christmas season”.  In other words, let’s go shopping!!!

4. What’s something that when other people see it, reminds them of you? Explain.

I’ll say “a PT Cruiser” because I was one of the first people in our area to get one, after they came out.  I sure got a lot of [unwanted] attention when I bought that car, back in March of 2001!  I loved that car, back then, and still do!

5. If you could guest star in a TV show, what would it be and why?

Let me begin by saying, I can’t imagine “starring” in a TV show!  That being said, if I had to  be on a TV show, I’d probably choose to be a contestant on “The Price Is Right” or “Let’s Make A Deal”.

6. Have you ever farmed or spent any time on a farm? Are there farm stands in your little corner of the world and do you make it a point to shop there? If so, what item do you particularly like to buy from a roadside stand or farm shop?

Yes, I’ve spent the last 38 years of my life, living on my husband’s parents’  thirty acre farm. Until recent years, crops of tobacco, corn, soybeans, or cotton were grown on the farm.  In 2012, Ed and I began planting our own garden, on a small plot of the land, and we now grow most of our own vegetables.

Our next-door neighbor, known to the grandchildren as “Farmer Danny”, has a farm stand just across the road from where we live.

 Ed and I usually buy strawberries, tomatoes, or watermelon from “Farmer Danny” because we haven’t had much luck growing those particular things.

7. What’s something you’ve experienced recently that made you feel a sense of awe or wonder?

We saw a double rainbow about  four weeks ago.  Many folks were able to get some very good pictures of it, but we weren’t, although Ed tried.  If you look close, there’s a second rainbow to the right of the brightest one. This rainbow appeared only a couple of days after Ed’s heart attack, and I told him, “Here’s your sign!  Everything’s going to be okay.”

Random:

Although 2015 has been a tough year for us, I still have much to be thankful for, and I am!  As bad as things have been, they could have been a whole lot worse, but for the grace of God. My blessings are still many, and I know that.  Praise the Lord!

Our daughter and her husband will be hosting Thanksgiving for the family, this year.  I’m looking forward to “going back home” for Thanksgiving, and just being a guest. (Our daughter and family live in our former home) I’m extremely grateful for the much-needed break because cooking and hosting just seemed a bit over-whelming to me, this year.  I’ve made the dressing ahead of time and froze it, and I’ll be baking the nineteen pound turkey tomorrow.  I think I can handle that!

I’m especially thankful that Ed is still here to celebrate another Thanksgiving with our family tomorrow! Today marks a month since he had his heart attack, and he seems to be doing well.  I’m acutely aware things could have turned out very different, for Ed, like they did for the person who entered the ER just ahead of us that fateful night.  I think about that person’s family, often, knowing there will be an empty chair at someone’s Thanksgiving Day table tomorrow…

 

A Thankful Hodgepodge…

Since it’s almost Thanksgiving, I’d like to give thanks for our hostess, Joyce, who makes this fun meme possible each week.  For 199 weeks, Joyce has done an awesome job of providing varied and thought-provoking questions, and she visits every participant, which takes a good chunk of her time. Joyce is an awesome hostess!

I’d also like to give thanks for all those who stop by this blog, each week, and take the time to leave a comment. They have become very special to me, and I treasure their thoughts, words, and friendship.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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1. Besides U.S. Thanksgiving, it’s also National Game and Puzzle Week…what game have you played most recently, and who were you with? Have you worked a puzzle of any kind in the past week?

I played ‘Lucky Ducks’ with my grandson, Chase, last Thursday morning.  It’s a ‘pick up the ducks’ kind of game, where you try to collect all of the ducks that have your shape on the bottom.

No, I have not worked any kind of puzzle in quite a while!  I don’t have patience for that anymore.

2. What is one place you were thankful for this year?

Home sweet home! There’s no better place in the world.  Of course,  I am also thankful for beautiful little St. Simon’s Island, because it’s just a short drive away, and it’s lovely there. It’s my ‘island get-away’.

3. Take a nap, watch football, go for an after dinner walk, or hit the stores…which ONE is on your must-do list for Thanksgiving day? For those of you playing along who aren’t in the US, answer as it relates to any big holiday meal.

Take a nap, of course!  I’m not a fan of football or shopping on Thanksgiving. Not to mention, after cooking, I’ll be too tired to take a walk!

4. Besides Thanksgiving, what’s your favorite home cooked meal?

That’s a tough one, but I’ll say roast beef, with potatoes, carrots, and onions (in gravy), served with rice and a garden-grown vegetable, or two, like peas or corn. Oh, and some cornbread for Ed!

5. What product from an infomercial would you most like to own?

I’m going to have to pass on this question because I don’t watch infomercials! I record everything I watch, so I can zip past any commercials.

6. Christmas shopping? Have you begun? Finished? Will you shop on Black Friday? How do you feel about stores opening on Thanksgiving Day? What percentage of your Christmas shopping is done online?

I’m basically finished with my Christmas shopping, and I’m so glad!  I did most of my shopping the easy way– online.

I won’t be shopping on Black Friday, but I might take advantage of a few Cyber Monday sales.  I don’t think the stores should open on Thanksgiving Day. People should to be able to have the day off!

7. What are you most grateful for that adds beauty to your everyday life?

I’m most grateful for my family!  Life would be so empty without them. Sometimes, when we’re all together again, and the house is extremely full of chatter, as everyone catches up with one another, I sit and look at all of them in awe. How blessed I am!

Our family on last Thanksgiving 

Random:  

For some reason, I’m experiencing technical difficulties when I try to leave comments on other people’s blogs.  I keep getting the message “You don’t own this identity” whenever I type in my user name at the end of a comment!  I’ve requested help with this, from WordPress, but the problem hasn’t been resolved yet.  For now, I’ll be commenting under my second blog name of  Maddie/CadesMimi.

 

Thankful For The Hodgepodge…

As I mentioned, yesterday, I’m thankful for this blog, and for all of the wonderful people I’ve met through it.  One of the ‘blogging things’ I’m most thankful for is “The Wednesday Hodgepodge”.   I still remember emailing Joyce and asking her to consider hosting, when another meme, we’d been participating in, retired.  Thank goodness, Joyce said yes!

Here are this week’s questions:

1. Are you settling for something?

I suppose there are those who might take a look at my life and think that “I settled for something” because  I married the love of my life right out of high school, and have spent the majority of my life being a wife, home-maker, and mother.  No college degree or illustrious career for this girl.  I haven’t traveled much, nor have I experienced many exciting adventures.  I live on the family farm, in a  simple house that Ed and I built together using our own hands.  To some, my life might seem plain and unexciting, but, to me, it’s just about perfect!  So in answer to your question, “No.”

2. It wasn’t that long ago almost every store in the US locked doors and turned out lights on Thanksgiving Day. This year many will be open all day Thursday, giving shoppers a jump-start on ‘Black Friday’. In your opinion is this a good thing or a not so good thing? Will you be shopping on Thanksgiving Day?

I don’t think “getting a jump-start on Black Friday’ is necessarily a good thing because it prevents so many families from being together for Thanksgiving.  I think retailers need to keep their doors locked on Thanksgiving, at least until midnight.  Let’s get back to what’s really important–Faith, Family, and Friends.  There’s not enough tea in China to make me go shopping on Thanksgiving–or ‘Black Friday’!

3. Speaking of shopping… I saw a recent article on the twelve best shopping cities in the world. In order they are-

New York, Tokyo, London, Kuala Lumpur, Paris, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, Vienna, Dubai, Madrid, Milan, and Seoul.

Ever shopped in any of the cities listed? In which city would you most like to pull out the plastic or cold hard cash?

Ha! Ha! (see #1)   No, I haven’t shopped in any of the cities listed, nor do I want to.  If I have to choose a city, I’ll say New York, because it’s the closest to where I live!  I’m not much of a traveler.

4. When did you last dine by candlelight?

It’s been quite a while since Ed and I dined by candlelight!  In fact,  the last time we dined by candlelight was when our power went out at suppertime 🙂

5. What do you have too much of?

‘Stuff’!  In years past, I’ve enjoyed  buying and collecting all kinds of ‘stuff’–clothes, dolls, teddy bears, ceramic frogs, Coca Cola decor, Christmas decor, dishes, seasonal ‘what-nots’, books, and even toys!  After forty years, I definitely have too much ‘stuff’.  I’ve stopped collecting.  A few years back, Diamond Rio made a song called  “Stuff”.  For most of my life, this could have been my theme song.  These days?  Not so much.

6. The Hunger Games…are you a fan? Did you read the book(s)? Will you/have you seen the movie? Will you/have you seen Catching Fire? No spoilers please!

I haven’t read the book(s), but I did finally watch the movie, “The Hunger Games”.  It was not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.  However, I found the whole concept of  a game of ‘survival of the fittest [children]’ , with people watching, a little disturbing.  I seriously doubt I’ll be watching “Catching Fire”.

7. Share your plans for Thanksgiving Day. The who, the where, the what…especially the what! As in what’s for dinner? If you’re one of my International visitors, whose homeland doesn’t celebrate American Thanksgiving (the whole world doesn’t ya know!), then still tell us your plans for Thursday.

Our plans for Thanksgiving are going to be about the same as usual.  For Thanksgiving lunch, Ed and I will be blessed to have everyone under our roof, once more.  This year, we’ve lost one family member (Ed’s mom), but we’ve gained another (baby Evan).  I’ll cook the turkey and dressing, and the girls will contribute some sides and desserts.  Later in the day, most everyone will go to eat supper with the other sides of their families.

Random:

Don’t ya’ just love Thanksgiving?!  Our little grandson, Caden, experienced his first Thanksgiving Feast, preschool style, last week.  I just had to share a few pictures from his mom’s FB page.

I especially got a kick out of Caden’s placemat!  Did you notice that he is thankful for “Trouble”, the cat, (and the stranger cat)?!  I thought that was so sweet 🙂

I’ll be taking a bit of a blogging break, after today.  There’s much to be done in preparation for Christmas!  I’ll see y’all next week.  Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Reflecting And Being Thankful…

The year of 2013 got off to a rough start.  Our youngest son, Brad, and his wife, Jennifer, had just bought a new house and moved away.  I missed them terribly, and my heart was broken!  Jennifer had just been through another ‘cancer scare’, and it, also, didn’t look as if children would be a part of her and Brad’s future.  Thankfully, I finally adjusted to having a ‘long distance relationship’ with one of my children, Jennifer’s cancer scare was a false alarm, and in March, Jennifer and Brad found out they were ‘expecting’!  Life was good again.

Joy quickly turned to worry when it was discovered that both Jennifer and Brad are carriers of the disease, Cystic Fibrosis.  Weeks later, worry finally turned back into joy when it was discovered that their baby didn’t have this dreaded disease!  In fact, the baby wouldn’t be a carrier either! 🙂  Thank you, God, for double miracles.

Ed and I were able to pay off the last of our debts, this year.  Yay!  What a wonderful feeling it has been, to be debt-free, at last!  Thanks to God, for providing us with the income to do this.  As a result of becoming debt-free, Ed and I were able to do a few things around the house–like having those scary pine trees cut down from around our home,  having some concrete poured under our car shelter, and buying a new lawn mower.  Praise the Lord for home improvements!

2013 has been a year of ‘medical procedures’ for Ed.  He had a root canal, had his first colonoscopy, and had cataract surgery performed on both eyes.  Thank God, all procedures went well, and Ed has 20/20 vision, once more!  As far as we know, he’s a healthy man.

We lost Ed’s mom, this year, but we are thankful for the 91 years that we had her with us!  We are, also, thankful, when the end came, she didn’t suffer for very long.  We find comfort in knowing she’s finally been reunited with the love of her life, as well as the two small children she lost early in her life.  Thank you, God, for happy reunions in Heaven!

The fall of 2013 brought the birth of our ‘miracle grandchild’.  Evan William arrived into this world, and into our family, on October 30.  He was healthy, beautiful, and looked just like his daddy!  Thank God for miracles, and for a little boy who will carry on his daddy’s family name.

The day of baby Evan’s birth, also, brought a ‘very trying situation’ concerning another one of my grandchildren.  In fact, I got the call just moments after Evan’s birth!  Because of an incompetent pediatrician’s office, there was a mix up with some lab results for this grandchild.  This mix up caused great  alarm and stress for the child, and the parents of the child, not to mention the rest of us!  It’s unbelievable what this family has had to endure because of this inexcusable  mix up–three weeks of pure hell!  Thank God for happy endings, including finding a new pediatrician.  The case is finally closed!

As 2013 draws near a close, I’ve found that I’m not the woman I used to be.  I’ve become a smaller, healthier version of the woman I used to be.  It’s a blessing when good things happen as the result of bad things–like having to give up sugar!   It’s also a blessing when second mammogram screenings turn out to be ‘normal’. 🙂  Most recently, I’m thankful for the dentist receptionist, who always fits me in, and for the dentist, who’s willing to think outside of the box, and patch up another broken tooth.

In addition to becoming smaller and healthier, I’ve also become older and wiser in 2013.  We learn and grow through life experiences, and I’ve certainly had plenty of those, this year!  One of the best parts about becoming older and wiser, is watching my children growing older and wiser, along with me.  I take great pleasure (and a little pride) in watching my off-spring become the spouses, parents, and people I’d always hoped and prayed they would be!  Thank you God, for answering this mother’s prayers.

Last, but not least, I’m thankful for this blog.  It’s been a learning experience for me.  Four and one-half years ago, I began blogging, as a way to record my thoughts and stories.  Whenever I go back and read some of my earlier stories, I’m amazed at how much my writing has improved!  Of course, I never dreamed I’d make so many wonderful blogging friends along the way, too!  Thanks to each one of you for your visits and comments. I treasure each one of them!  With all of that being said, I’ll close and say…

Blessings to each one of you!  Have a Happy Thanksgiving

Catching Up On Monday…

It’s hard to believe another week is already beginning, but here we are again!  As usual, the weekend went by in a blur.  They always do!

You may or may not recall that I went for my routine mammogram screening on last Wednesday.  First, Ed bought me a nice lunch at the hospital cafeteria.  Then, afterward, one of his techs did my exam and I came home.  However, the next morning, Ed called me to come back to the hospital to have additional films done.  Joy, joy!  On Thursday, I headed back to the hospital and had four more films done, two on each breast, which concentrated on a certain area of each breast which was questionable by the Radiologist.  I was not happy, as I had to miss a shopping trip with my daughter, plus I was scared to death!

I didn’t find out the results of my second exam until nearly suppertime on Friday evening.   To say I was beside myself would be an understatement!  I felt as if my life was passing before my eyes while I waited for those results.  (I had visions of having to consult with the surgeon again. ) Fortunately, when the results finally came , they were fine!  My second exam was normal.  What a relief!

On Saturday, Ed did some yard work, while I scrubbed our front porch banisters and floor.  I couldn’t bare the thought of decorating a dirty front porch for Christmas!  I haven’t decorated yet, but at least the porch is clean and ready.  My day progressed nicely until I was eating my lunch.  As I was eating the final bite of my hot dog, another tooth broke!  It’s been less than six months since the last tooth broke!  Sigh.  I’ll be hoping and praying that “Santa” doesn’t have to bring me a crown for Christmas, as I head to the dentist as soon as I can get an appointment.

At least, Sunday was a fun day!  Ed and I, along with our daughter and her family, went to Brunswick to do some Christmas shopping.  It had been ages since the five of us had been anywhere together, and we had a great time.  We laughed so much!  We had lunch at The Cracker Barrel, then spent the rest of the afternoon browsing through various stores.  It seemed strange to be in Brunswick and not be heading over to St. Simon’s Island!  Of course, the temps were only in the 40’s, so there’s no way any of us wanted to be at the beach!

That pretty much recaps what’s been happening around here, so now I’ll join in ‘The Monday Quiz’, hosted by Wayne and Heather @ ActingBalanced.

1. Yesterday (Sunday) was National Adoption Day in the US – does your family (or friend family) have an adoption story?

Yes, our family has an adoption story.  After suffering through five miscarriages, the Lord saw fit to bless my brother and his wife with a beautiful baby daughter, through adoption.  Their adoption story is an amazing one.

2. Do you plan out your Thanksgiving preparations? When do you start?

Yes, I do plan out my Thanksgiving preparations, but I won’t actually start those preparations until about Tuesday.

3. Shopping on holidays – pro or con? What do you think of stores and malls opening at 6 PM or 10 PM on Thanksgiving for “Black Friday” What about Midnight or 3 AM? Are you planning to shop at any time this coming weekend?

I’m not a fan of shopping on holidays.  People should be home with their families on holidays.  I think the stores should wait until at least midnight to open, but I really think 5 AM is early enough.  You couldn’t drag me into a store with a ten foot pole this coming weekend!!!

4. Do you have a fireplace? Do you use it? If you don’t, do you want one?

We have an electric fireplace, which probably doesn’t count.  I love a real fireplace, but would only want one if it had gas logs in it!  For years, Ed and I heated our home by burning firewood in a Buck Stove.  The heat was fantastic, but the dust and ashes drove me crazy!  I do miss being able to roast hot dogs and marshmallows, inside, over the fire though.  Fun times!

Thanksgiving 2012 Revisited…

A new generation – Thanksgiving 2012

Yesterday marked the 41st Thanksgiving that Ed and I have shared together as husband and wife.  We had a good meal, and a good day, but it was unusual, and even a bit bitter-sweet for a variety of reasons.

First of all, a former co-worker of mine (and fellow church member to our daughter-in-law, Jennifer), unexpectedly lost her 13-year-old daughter on the day before Thanksgiving.  The girl had been sick with the flu, then suddenly just collapsed and died at home, without warning.  Cause of death is pending, but is assumed to be heart failure.  In our little community, where everyone knows everyone, you can just imagine the impact this tragedy made on everyone’s holiday.

This year, I bought the largest turkey ever–weighing in at 20 1/2 pounds!  I bought such a huge turkey because our family has now grown to a grand total of twelve, including Ed’s mom, and all are normally with us for Thanksgiving lunch, and some are back for supper.  After buying the large bird, I later discovered that half of our family had made other plans for Thanksgiving lunch!  Oops!

After twenty-plus years of baking turkeys, I actually invested in a new roasting pan with a rack, and was excited to try it out.  I had Big Bird in the oven by 3:30 am on Thanksgiving morning!  Would you believe, I baked that turkey for six and a half hours before the timer popped up?  That’s an hour and a half beyond the recommended time!  He was golden brown and beautiful–until Ed carved into the thighs…Oops!  We quickly discovered Big Bird was still a bit pink around the joints.  For the first time ever, a pop-up timer lied to me!  First the mishap with the ham a couple of weeks ago, now this!   Am I losing my touch???

Fortunately, the breast was done, and that’s all we really care about anyway.  We wrapped Big Bird’s thighs and legs up in foil, and put them back into the oven to finish cooking while we ate lunch.  I neglected to put them in a pan though…

Our Thanksgiving table was missing five people for lunch this year.  Our daughter’s family ate lunch with her hubby’s family, while our youngest son, ate with his wife’s family.  Ed and I sat down to eat a quiet meal with his mom, and our oldest son and his family.  It quickly became apparent who the loud, talkative members of our family are–and they were all missing!  It also became apparent who the big eaters of the family are, too, when I could hardly miss any food after we’d all eaten lunch!

About an hour after lunch, things became interesting when I began to notice a buildup of smoke coming from the kitchen.  By then, Ed’s brother had stopped by for a visit, too!  The turkey I’d left wrapped in foil, and cooking in the oven, began dripping grease onto the bottom of the oven!  Soon Ed and I were fanning smoke while we scurried around opening up a few windows…It was like a scene right out of a funny movie–and my brother-in-law was watching it play out with amusement!  You don’t even want to know about the mess in the bottom of my oven…

By suppertime, we had gotten Ed’s mom safely tucked in back at the personal care home, where she lives, and our oldest son’s family left to go eat with the other side of their family.  As they were preparing to leave, some of our missing family members were already arriving to visit and partake in the left-overs for supper.  We didn’t get a family group photo this year, but we did take a couple of “Four Generation”  photos, which was something we hadn’t done in the past.

Ed’s mom, along with our oldest son, his two sons, and Ed

Ed’s mom, our daughter, her daughter, and Ed

We also managed to catch the re-run of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on our old television.  You know, the one with the “issues”…  Have I mentioned how happy I am to have it back home?

When all was said and done, we had a nice Thanksgiving, after all.  Of course, we missed everyone all being together at the same time, but we also realize that times will change, and when they do, we have to adapt and make the best of things.  This year also made me so much more thankful for all of the past years when we’ve all been together!  Our family has truly been blessed beyond measure, and I am so grateful.

On that note, I’ll say–more bitter-sweet  family changes are looming just over the horizon, as someone in our family is preparing for a move…I’ll be blogging about that next week.

Thankful For The The Hodgepodge…

I’m thankful for many things in my life, and counted among them are Joyce and the Wednesday Hodgepodge.  Mid-week just wouldn’t be the same without them!  It’s hard to believe we’ve been participating in this meme for almost two years already–and it’s still fun!  Speaking of participating and having fun–here are this week’s questions, along with my answers:

1. Turkey-love it or leave it? White meat or dark? What’s your favorite thing to make using leftover turkey?

I love turkey, probably because I only cook it twice a year.  I don’t especially enjoy the preparation or cleanup, but the end result is so worth it!  I really only like white meat, but will eat small amounts of dark meat if it’s chipped up and mixed among white meat.  (I’m thinking of the school cafeteria, now!)  As for my favorite thing to make using leftover turkey–that would be a turkey sandwich!

2. Gotta burn off all those carbs the day after a holiday feast so which would you rather do-run a 10K or climb a mountain?

I’ve always hated to run, so I’d rather climb a mountain.  I can feel my legs burning at the mere thought of it!

3. Do you feel like social networking has made your relationships better or worse? Explain.

It depends.  I don’t go out much, so Facebook is a good way to keep in touch with friends and family.  I’m more of a reader than a poster though.  On the other hand, I hate it when our children/spouses come to visit us, then spend part of the visit with their faces in their phones!

4. How do you find and express gratitude for the hard things in your life?

I read my Bible, and I pray–and I try very, very hard to understand!  Finding that gratitude (for hard times) never comes easily, but it usually comes–eventually.

5. In the US, the day after Thanksgiving has been dubbed ‘Black Friday’. Is most of your holiday shopping done live and in person, or is it done more through the magic of the Internet? How do you feel about stores opening at midnight Thanksgiving night? Will you be out amongst the masses on Friday?

These days I do most of my shopping through the magic of the Internet.  It beats fighting the rough and ready holiday crowds, and most of the time the shipping is free!  Personally, I don’t see why stores can’t just open at a decent hour, rather than midnight or 5 a.m.  What difference would a few hours make?  As far as I’m concerned, stores being open on Thanksgiving is just wrong.

6. Speaking of the color black-which black item in your wardrobe would you say is your favorite?

I have two identical pairs of soft, black, knit slacks.  They are very comfortable, and I love them.

7. What do you appreciate about your life today?

I appreciate the freedom that comes with being in this stage of life.  All of our children are grown and happily married, and I no longer have to work.  Most of the time, I can do whatever I want, whenever I want to–and that’s a great feeling, especially after many years spent raising a family while holding down a full-time job!

Random:

Yesterday I posted about our television woes.  Ed decided we’d get our old television back.  He paid the repairman to bring it home, rather than having to go pick it up himself.  After watching the old 36″ regular television for a couple of days, we were so happy to get our 55″ HDTV back–even with its issues!!!  The repairman tinkered with its defective panel, and actually reduced the “quiver time” by a few minutes!  The picture continues to quiver when the tv is first turned on, but once it warms up, the picture straightens out and plays fine until it’s turned off.  We will use our old television until our replacement tv arrives, then we’ll have to decide what we’re going do with it.  Decisions, decisions…but I’m thankful to still have the right to make them!  Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!