I’m Still Standing…

Just when I thought I had rejoined the world of blogging–working in the garden plus new health issues caused me to take another hiatus.  I’m happy to say, the garden is now history and, once again, I’m feeling better–or at least I was before I began trying to write this post.  It seems WordPress has changed [more than a few things] during my absence, but I digress…

When Ed planted our garden, this year, I began to pray for God to bless us with a bountiful harvest so we could share it with others.  I’m here to tell you, God hears and answers prayers!  God blessed and we shared our veggies!  I remember one day, in particular, when Ed brought me one-too-many buckets of squash, I stopped him at the door.  I refused to let him bring them into my already crowded kitchen!  The veggie table was full, as was the refrigerator!  Fortunately, just down the road, others were more than happy to take those squash off Ed’s hands. We shared our veggies with family, friends, and with people we didn’t even know.

The vegetable table was always filled with something!

I don’t know why, but my health always seems to pick the worst possible times to go wonky.  About the time we were finishing up with canning green beans, (just before Memorial Day) I began to have an earache.  That stupid earache plagued me the entire summer!  After four trips to three different medical specialists, taking two different rounds of antibiotics, using two different kinds of ear drops, six weeks worth of Sudafed and Flonaise, and a whole lot of miserable days later, I’m finally feeling better!  I haven’t had an earache in three whole days.

In other news, Ed finally began to clean out his parents’ house back in May, with the help of our daughter. (It’s about time, his mom has been deceased for nearly seven years.)  Our daughter listed the furniture on Facebook and it sold quickly. Only Ed’s old piano, a swivel chair, and six kitchen chairs remain, along with all of the dishes in the kitchen cabinets…  Dishes are “my thing” and I’m not looking forward to going through those cabinets!  I’ll want to bring most of them home with me, and I have no more room!  To solve the dilemma of what to do with “stuff” we can’t bare to part with, we’ve ordered a storage house…  Is anybody else out there guilty of hanging onto “stuff”?

Saying “goodbye” to my old friend “Classy” after 19 years

Speaking of “stuff” we can’t bare to part with, I finally gave Ed permission (for the third time) to sell “Classy”, my 2001 black PT Cruiser.  That car was my all-time favorite vehicle, and I’d had it since March of 2001!  (I wanted that car so bad I actually went to the dealership, alone, to talk with a salesperson about buying it.)  I thought I wanted to keep “Classy” forever, but things change, and reality eventually sets in. We’d had “Classy” up for sale a couple of times during the past year or so, but had always ended up removing the “for sale” sign after a few days.  Somehow, it never felt right to sell her.  I began to pray about this, and God answered my prayer again.  Shortly after Ed put the sign on the car, for the third time, a woman came by ready to buy the car!  Not only was she ready to buy it, she seemed as passionate about the car as I had always been.  We sold the car to her, and I’ve had absolute peace about the sale. In fact, the other day, we saw her driving the car in town and I didn’t even feel bad!

In addition to dealing with a garden, relentless earaches, cleaning out a house, and selling a beloved car, Ed and I have also been trying to survive this era of Covid 19 and all of the craziness that is accompanying it!  Like many, we’ve been mostly housebound for the past four and a half months.

For us, shopping consists of using Wal-mart pickup service or an occasional trip to the neighborhood dollar store for milk or bread. Once or twice we’ve put on our masks and actually shopped for ourselves someplace other than Wal-mart.  It felt so liberating!  Of course, we’ve had to make a few doctor visits during this time, too, which were a bit unusual. (wearing masks, waiting in the car until called, etc.)

Our church closed in March, along with all of the others.  We learned how to enjoy Sunday School using Zoom, and Sunday services via Facebook.  Once our church reopened, after several weeks, we attended services a couple of times.  We discovered we didn’t really feel comfortable attending services with the virus still making the rounds, so we’ve continued watching from home.  We were glad we made that choice when the virus began to hit some of our area churches–ours included!  When will this virus ever end?

Something else I’m ready to see end is the nonsense we’ve been witnessing on the news over the past few weeks… I do believe our country has gone mad!  When did wearing a mask become such a controversial thing? When did it become “acceptable” to deface or destroy public property?  When did only certain lives matter?  These are definitely deeply disturbing times we’re living in…and on that note I’ll end this post!  I hope to write again, soon.

 

A Cinco de Mayo Kind of Hodgepodge…

 

I wasn’t feeling well, so I missed last week’s Hodgepodge.  Fortunately, I’m feeling better and am able to participate in the fun today!  If you need a fun little distraction from the gloom and doom of the news, feel free to click Joyce’s button at the top of this post, and jump right in!

1. Question day this week lands on Cinco de Mayo. Are/were tacos on your Tuesday night menu? Hard shell, soft shell or just gimme all the tacos? Are you even a fan of Mexican food? Do you like your salsa mild, spicy, or somewhere in between? Margaritas-Frozen, on the rocks, or no thank you? Have you ever been to Mexico?

Tacos were not on my menu, last night, but left-over bar-b-que was.  We’ve learned to embrace left-overs in this house, and it’s a good thing with things headed in the direction they’re going.  A dollar won’t buy much food, these days, but $1.67 will buy a gallon of gas!

Whenever I do eat tacos, I prefer a hard shell, and I like my salsa on the mild side.  I’m not really a fan of Mexican food, but occasionally I’ll make tacos for something different.

You know, I’ve actually never tried a Margarita, or been to Mexico, and I don’t have any plans to do either.

2. What’s something you may do this month?

I “may” cook lunch for my family on Mother’s Day.  We’ve been “social distancing” for well over nine weeks, and only visiting with family while sitting outside spaced  several feet apart.  The last time our family shared a meal together was the first weekend of March.  So, if the weather permits, we’ll be eating a home-cooked meal [outside] on Sunday. (still trying to social distance, but to a lesser degree)  Sunday is also our oldest son’s 38th birthday. (He was my “Mother’s Day baby)

3. Tell us what’s happening in your state or town as far as restaurants/salons/parks/beaches/businesses opening up. How do you feel about it? Are you out and about or hunkered down? Do you wear a mask?

As most of you know, the state of Georgia led the way in opening back up.  Restaurants, salons, gyms, tattoo parlors, etc. have been open for over a week–with many restrictions.  Many restaurants and other businesses are open [with restrictions] as well.  Personally, I think our state opened too early, but only time will tell.  Our local number of cases haven’t changed, yet.  Our county stands at nine.

I’m still hunkered down! I’ve only been out three times, in over nine weeks, and two of those was for “Walmart Pickup”.  I broke the ‘hunkered down’ tradition for the third time, and went to get my hair cut, yesterday!  My stylist wore a mask, and so did I.  I had my temperature taken upon entering the door, answered a questionnaire, she sanitized before I was allowed to enter…  If I happen to catch the corona virus after all of that, I’ll look better and die a happy woman with a new hair cut!

4. Mother nature, everybody and their mother, mom jeans, like mother like daughter, soccer mom, mother hen, mother lode, necessity is the mother of invention, stay-at-home mom…pick one and tell us how it fits into your life right now.

“Like mother, like daughter” fits my life quite well, and has for a long time.  My daughter and I look alike, think alike, and often act alike.  We both have autoimmune diseases and are frequently suffer with the same symptoms, but usually at different times, thank goodness.  We jokingly say when one of us is “up” the other is often “down”.  Because we share the same kinds of symptoms, we understand just how crappy autoimmune disease can make you feel, and we try to help each other out when we can.

5. April showers bring May flowers…what’s blooming in your yard or garden today?

In the yard – the gardenia bush is blooming in all its glory, as well as our huge magnolia tree.  Such sweet smells! Then we have a few hibiscus bushes beginning to bloom (the yellow is my favorite), as well as some assorted pots and hanging baskets filled with petunias, gerbera daisies, lantana, begonias, geraniums  and impatience.

2020 garden (after ten inches of rain within a week)

In the garden – our squash bushes are blooming, as well as our garden peas and green beans.  So far, it’s been a tough gardening year, between the cooler than normal nights and the over-abundance of rain, but I think it’ll be okay.  If all goes well, we should be eating fresh squash in just a few more days!

Random:  Today is our oldest son’s wedding anniversary.

(picture taken at our neighbor’s strawberry farm)

He and his wife have been married for fourteen years, and have two boys, ages eleven and eight.  Happy anniversary you two.  May you have many more happy anniversaries!

 

Goodbye April, Hello Hodgepodge…

Can you believe this is already the last Hodgepodge of April?  It’s crazy how quickly time is flying by!  I don’t believe time passed this quickly when I was younger.  I KNOW it didn’t pass this quickly when Ed was serving his overseas tour of duty, back in the early 70’s, but that was then, and this is now…

How about we get on with The Wednesday Hodgepodge, before any more time slips away?  As always, thanks to our hostess, Joyce, for the fantastic questions she provides!

1. They say you learn something new every day. What did you learn yesterday?
I learned that being cooped, up in the house, with Ed, while trying to change out the seasonal decor is stressful for both of us!  Ed usually ‘flies the coop’ when I drag out those plastic storage boxes, but he was trapped inside, yesterday, because of rain.
2. Have you ever had a now or never moment? Elaborate.

I’m going to say it was when Ed and I finally decided to start our family.  We’d been married for almost six years, when we began trying, and people had already stopped asking us when we were going to have a baby.  Boy were some folks surprised when we ended up having three babies within the next seven and a half years!

3.  April 25th is National Telephone Day. Do you still have a land line or have you gone mobile only?

We actually still have our land line.  Ed and I both have cell phones, but rarely turn them on when we’re at home.  I use my cell to make any long distance calls, since I’ve dropped that service from our land line, but that’s about the only time I use my cell phone, unless I call Ed in Wal-mart to find out where [in the store] he is!

When you receive a text message do you respond immediately?

I don’t text at all, and Ed texts only on rare occasions.

Last time you turned your phone off?

My phone stays turned off most of the time.  I refuse to be “tied” to a telephone. (see memory below)

 In two or three sentences share with us a story/memory/incident from your childhood (or something current if that’s too hard) where the telephone is featured.

My phone memories are not from my childhood, but from my days of being married and raising a family.  For many years, my husband, Ed, worked as a radiology technician for a very small, rural hospital, which meant he had to be “on call” every 3rd night and every 3rd weekend.  On those days (and nights), our lives revolved around the telephone.  In the early years, Ed didn’t  have a beeper, so we had to literally stay beside the telephone!  At one point, we even had a bell installed on the outside of our house, so Ed could go outside and still be able hear the phone. (this was before the days of cordless phones)  This was also before the era of “call waiting”, so we had to keep the phone line free in case the hospital tried to call Ed.  Try explaining this to teens!  On more than one occasion, our family had their phone conversations rudely interrupted by the operator!  We laugh about these memories (sometimes).  I can’t begin to tell you how many hot meals Ed had to get up and leave or how many nights of sleep he had interrupted (often more than once) because of the telephone.  Ed was “on call” for twenty years of our marriage!

4. Close call, at someone’s beck and call, call the shots, call a meeting, call it quits, call in sick, call on the carpet, wake up call…which call have you ‘heard’ recently? Explain.

Since we recently went on a four-day/three-night bus tour, I’m going to say “wake up call”.  Ed and I had to set our alarm clock every night, so we’d be ready to board the bus bright and early the next morning!

5. What subject do you wish you’d paid more attention to in school?

I don’t know… perhaps history.  I never liked history, and had a hard time paying attention in that class.  It didn’t help that the teacher was boring, either!

Random: 

Gardening season 2018 has proven to be a bit of a challenge for us, so far.  Lack of rainfall, in addition to unseasonably cold temperatures sure is keeping us on our toes!  For the first time, we’re having to replant a few things.  Here’s what we have growing, so far:

left to right: tomatoes, several rows of beans, (a black cat!), lettuce/cabbage, potatoes, garden peas, onions, radishes, and carrots

Also, I’m slowly writing a series about our recent trip to Kentucky.  If anyone’s interested in what I’ve shared on my blog, so far, you can find it HERE and HERE.

An ‘Inspiring’ Wednesday Hodgepodge…

I didn’t make it to last week’s Hodgepodge.  Lately, life just keeps getting in the way, with Valentine’s Day and all, but I’m joining today!  As always, many thanks to our great hostess, Joyce, for keeping things going.

Here are this week’s questions:

1. Where do you go when you need some inspiration?

Hmm… that would depend on the kind of inspiration I’m looking for.  If I’m looking spiritual inspiration, I’ll go to the Lord through prayer or bible reading.  If I’m looking for creative inspiration I’ll probably go to a book, magazine, or Google.  For most other kinds of inspiration, I prefer sitting and thinking [in my lawn chair] under the oak trees of St. Simon’s Island!

2. What’s under your bed?

Trust me, you really don’t want to know!  You might find everything from my mother’s antique mirror to plastic container filled with [Chatty Cathy] doll clothes.  You will even find a Pyrex dish & carrier still in its original box, because I don’t have any place else to store the thing.

3. Thursday, February 22nd is National Chili Day, National Margarita Day, and National Cook a Sweet Potato Day. Of the three which would you most like to celebrate? Is that likely?

I’d be most likely to celebrate National Chili Day, but I probably won’t because it’s 80 degrees here and it’s simply too hot to cook or eat chili!

4. What are you ‘snowed under’ with right now?

I’m not really ‘snowed under’ with much of anything, but Ed’s been ‘snowed under’ with lots of outside chores.  He’s been as busy as a bee– planting bulbs, cleaning up the yard, mowing grass, and getting our garden ready for planting.

5. Tell us three to five things that make you feel balanced?

Let’s see… (1) my relationship with the Lord, (2) my relationship with my husband, Ed, and (3) my relationship with our kids & their families make me feel balanced.  If any one of these things gets off track, I’m out of balance!  I could also add a good meal and a good night’s sleep to make me feel even more balanced!

Random:

Life goes on here in our neck of the woods…

Valentine’s Day came and went.  Ed and I celebrated by attending a couple’s “Date Night” at church.  It was fun, and Ed and I had the distinction of being married six years longer than any other couple there! (didn’t take a single picture)  We’ve gone from being one of the youngest couples of our former church to being one of the oldest couples of our new  church– and it truly is our church, because we officially joined just over a week ago!

Then we had a dual Valentine’s Day/birthday celebration, with family, two days after Valentine’s Day.  (It was our daughter-in-law’s birthday.) We ate lasagna, ice cream cake, and red velvet cupcakes!  Yum!  We also played a few Valentine’s Day themed games, which everyone seemed to enjoy.

the birthday girl and her family

You may recall our son-in-law was injured when his pants accidentally caught fire while helping Ed burn off a field.  It’s been 2 and 1/2 weeks since the accident, but he still has a lot of healing to do. Ed’s been helping him with his daily wound care.  So far, so good–no sign of infection.  Folks, it takes a long time to recover from a severe burn!  Our son may or may not have earned himself the nickname of “Smokey”.

In other news, Ed planted two rows of onions in our garden, last week.  The 80 degree days have been tough on them, but, hopefully, the onions will rally. (Onions prefer cold weather) We also planted about 100 seed cups, which have been busily sprouting.  80 degree weather makes seeds sprout quickly!  I moved two trays of the sprouts out to the greenhouse, today.  I’m dying to plant something else in the garden, but I know it’s still too early.  I’ll have to be patient.

In Our Neck Of The Woods (Part 2)…

I’m sorry it’s taken me three and a half weeks to get around to posting part two of my original post, but life has been busy!  I only thought the month of May was busy, with all of its celebrations. Then came the month of June, with Father’s Day, an anniversary, and our garden kicked into high gear. I’m here to tell you, things got a little bit crazy in our neck of the woods!

Before going forward any further, let me back up a bit to the month of May and show you one of my favorite Mother’s Day gifts.  My daughter-in-law has a good sense of humor, don’t you think?

I’ve named this little lady “Bertha Big Butt” and we’ve gotten quite a bit of enjoyment out of her, so far…  For the first few days, everyone thought “Bertha” was me–bent over and tending to my flowers 🙂 Actually, I do have a polka-dotted dress…but it’s blue.

Come to think of it, “Bertha” reminds me of a story [our former pastor once told] about the lady who came walking into church, one day, with the her dress accidentally tucked into [the back of] her girdle!  Heaven forbid!  The other day, I was actually headed out the door, to church, when Ed told me to turn around and look in the mirror.  Yep, you guessed it–my dress was tucked inside the back of my undies 😦  Thank goodness for observant husbands!

Let me back up a little bit further and show you one of the cute little wrist corsages the children [of the church we’ve been attending] made for the mothers of the church, for Mother’s Day.  I thought they turned out nice.

I was invited to help with this project, and I enjoyed having lunch with the ladies, getting to know them, and helping the children create these corsages.

Now, fast forward to the month of June, and the week before Father’s Day and our 45th wedding anniversary.  I felt lousy almost the entire week, but on Thursday I finally rallied…just in time to take a beach trip!

On the spur of the moment Ed and I threw our beach chairs into the back of the van and headed for St. Simon’s Island–totally unplanned.  We had a great time, celebrating our anniversary a few days early.  We ate bar-b-que sandwiches for lunch, and spent the afternoon relaxing under the shade of our favorite oak tree.  I didn’t take a single picture, but the view was still the same.

Ed and I celebrated our 45th anniversary (and Father’s Day) in church, on Sunday, June 18.  Without God’s mercy, Ed wouldn’t even be here to celebrate with me, so there was no better place for us to be than in church.  We drove to the nearest Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, after church was over, and enjoyed our traditional anniversary meal together.  Later, we drove home and celebrated Father’s Day, too.  It was a busy day!

Suddenly, the day after Father’s Day all of our garden was ready to harvested!  We’ve never had this happen before, but our corn, butter beans, tomatoes, and peas were all ready to be picked and canned at the same time!  Ed and I worked several twelve to fourteen hour days in a row.  At night we fell into bed, exhausted, and this is what my kitchen has looked like for over a week:

this table has been totally filled, twice, with rippening tomatoes

Day one – ( 2 of the 7 buckets of corn we picked)

day four – some of the 3 bushels of butter beans we picked and shelled

more butter beans and the first of the peas

We’re well into week number two, and we’re still picking and shelling peas, as well as canning tomatoes as they ripen!  Our green beans and some of the tomatoes may have drowned, but the rest of the garden not only survived, it has produced beyond our expectations. I promised God if He blessed us with a good harvest, we’d share the bounty, and we have.

We’re so grateful to our daughter and our granddaughter for their help in shelling all of these peas and beans.  One day, the four of us sat and shelled beans for six straight hours!  We all went to bed with sore thumbs.

Things are now winding down with gardening and canning, so the end is in sight!  A few more days and the spring gardening season of 2017 will be history.  Did you notice I said “spring gardening season”?  The fall gardening season is already underway.

Ed already has two rows of sweet potatoes planted!  We’ll be adding a few more things to the fall garden as the summer goes on.  Oh, and our grapes will be ripe around the last of August!  It’ll be time to break out the jars and make a little grape jelly. The fun never seems to end in our neck of the woods 🙂

 

 

 

A Stereotypical Hodgepodge…

Hello there!  I’m back with another edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge.  I don’t know about where you live, but it’s wet here!  We’ve received over 8 inches of rain in the past 24 hours, and there’s still more rain in the forecast!  Meanwhile, our gracious hostess, Joyce, has prepared another great set of questions for us, and I can’t think of a better way to spend a rainy day, so here I go…

1. What color is prominent in your home? Are you glad about that or wishing you could cover it up or remove it?

All of the walls and ceilings of our home are lightly stained and sealed wood, so I guess that would fall under the color brown.  There was a reason for doing this–we like the ‘all-natural’ look, we were on a tight budget, and we also hate to paint!  Overall, I’ve been fairly happy with the ‘all-natural’ look, even on the ceilings, but the color of our wood is darkening a little, over time, and I’m not especially happy about that!

2. What’s something you’ll NEVER do again?

I will absolutely, positively NEVER jump off of anything again!  Two different times in my life, I’ve jumped off of high things and, both times, I thought my feet and ankles were broken!  I’ve finally figured out that I don’t know how to properly flex my knees upon landing, which helps absorb the impact.

3. Tell us a couple of ways you fit the stereotypes associated with your gender, and a couple of ways you don’t.

(1)I enjoy staying home and taking care of my family and household more than working outside of the home.  (2)I enjoy cooking, sewing, and other crafts, but I’m not mechanical.

(1)I’m the more talkative of the two of us, and will usually speak out before Ed does.  (2) I have a stubborn, independent streak, so being submissive doesn’t come naturally.

4. May is Motorcycle Awareness Month. Have you ever owned a motorcycle? Ever ridden a motorcycle? If the opportunity presented itself would you hop on a motorcycle and go for a ride?

Ed and I have owned three different motorcycles during our marriage.  We owned the first two during the early years of our marriage, before we had children.

Us, riding Ed’s 750 Honda

 

Yes, I rode with him and it was fun, but never really felt safe or at ease.  I worried too much about us having an accident. Ed bought a third motorcycle when he was in his 50’s, but I never would ride it with him. I declared my motorcycle riding days were over! After a while, he finally sold it, thank goodness.

5. If someone wanted to understand you, what should they read, watch, and listen to?

They should probably read a few Nicholas Sparks novels, or some celebrities’ autobiographies, and the Bible.  They should watch Hallmark movies, or television dramas (crime or medical shows are my favorites).  As far as music, they should listen to the country music of the 90’s, the pop music of the 60’s, 70’s or 80’s, and some timeless good ole’ southern gospel.

Random:

To put it mildly, the 2017 gardening season has been challenging!  Our unseasonably warm temperatures, combined with a lack of rainfall has made it difficult.  Ed has moved the sprinkler, around in our garden, at least a couple of hundred times, over the past few weeks.  He has to move the sprinkler at least 12 times in order to water the entire garden, one time.

Ed working in the garden

Finally, early harvesting of our garden began.  Thank goodness, we were able to get our onions and potatoes harvested, along with some garden peas and squash.  Our yield has been below average, but, at least we’ve grown enough to share, so that’s good.

digging the potatoes, a family affair

Then the rain started on Monday night! Eight inches and counting, so far.  I’m not sure what all of this rain will mean for the future of our garden.  Only time will tell.  Like I said, gardening this year has been challenging!

 

 

Saying Good-bye To April With A Hodgepodge…

What in the world happened to the month of April?  It went by in a blur, or at least that’s how it seems to me.  Never-the-less, it’s Wednesday again, and you know what that means.  It’s time for The Wednesday Hodgepodge!  Thank you, once again, to our wonderful hostess, Joyce, for continuing to host this fun meme.  Now, let the fun begin…

1. April showers bring May flowers or so the saying goes. Has your April been filled with showers?

We haven’t had many April showers in our neck of the woods, other than the kind that flows from our water sprinkler.  It’s been extremely dry here!  That’s why we were absolutely thrilled when it finally rained on Sunday evening!  We are very grateful for the inch of rain we received.

Do you carry an umbrella, wear a slicker, or make a run for it?  I often carry an umbrella, but, sometimes, I’ll just make a run for it.  A little water never hurt anyone.

Besides rain, what else has filled your April?  

April has mostly been filled with planting and taking care of our garden.  Gardening is quite time-consuming (especially for poor Ed)! Due to my back issues, I do more watching and watering than anything else.  You can’t tell from this photo, but there are 20 rows of vegetables planted in this garden!

2.  What’s something you could give a 30-minute presentation on, at a moment’s notice, with zero preparation? I could easily give a presentation on these creatures:

I can’t believe how little I actually knew about chickens when I brought those first baby chicks home, five years ago, but experience is a great teacher!  These ‘girls’ think they rule–and they pretty much do.  The two red hens are from the original flock of five years ago, and they still lay eggs!  The other six members of the flock (one missed being photographed) will celebrate their 3rd birthday in September. We’ve almost reached a milestone of 4, 400 eggs from these chickens (plus the five members of the flock who are now deceased).

3. Share with us a favorite food memory from childhood.

I remember my maternal grandmother having some awesome family dinners at her house!  There’d be all kinds of foods, but, strangely, the thing I looked forward to the most was the large plate of pineapple or pimento cheese sandwiches!  They always tasted so good!  Grandma also made the most delicious ‘bread pudding’ I’ve ever eaten.  For those who may not  know, ‘bread pudding’ is made with ‘left-over’ bread, eggs, milk, sugar, and cinnamon, then baked.  I sure wish I had grandma’s recipe.

4. What’s a song you thought you knew the lyrics to, but later discovered you were wrong?

I don’t have a particular song in mind, but, prior to Google, I didn’t know the correct lyrics to most of the songs by Credence Clearwater Revival or Elton John…  Come to think of it, can anyone sing the correct lyrics to Benny and the Jets?

5. According to one travel website, the most overrated tourist attractions in America are-
Niagara Falls (NY), Hollywood Walk of Fame (California), Times Square (NYC), Epcot (FL), Seattle Space Needle (WA), and Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market (Boston).

How many of these have you seen in person?

Sadly, none of them.  I’m not well-traveled.  I have been to Disneyworld, in Florida, but I went before Epcot was completed.

Did you feel like a tourist? Did you care?  Yes and no.

Tell us about a place (not on the list) you’ve visited that might be considered a tourist trap, but you love it anyway.

Elvis’ former home, Graceland might fall into that category.  His home, seemingly frozen in time, is still open for tours, as far as I know.  The house is still decorated as it was back in the late 60’s or early 70’s, but I enjoyed touring it, since I remember the 70’s so well.  I’m sure everything in the home was ‘state of the art’ back in Elvis’ day, but everything looks rather antiquated now.  Check out that television!

photo via Google

6. Your signature clothing item?

Crocs! I wear them all the time.  Here’s a photo of my first pair of Crocs.  I wore this pair for about ten years before finally throwing them away!  Sadly, the newer Crocs aren’t made to be quite as durable.

7. What’s an experience you’ve had you think everyone should experience at least once? Why?

A “close call”.  My husband, Ed, had a heart attack 18 months ago. Fortunately, he survived his  “widow maker”, and is doing well. While going through the experience was extremely scary and stressful, it made us both realize just how precious (and short) our time [here] really is.  We can be taken in the blink of an eye!  We thank God, every day, for this ‘extra’ time we’ve been given together.

Random:
While in Brunswick on other business, we had the opportunity to briefly visit St. Simon’s Island, last week, our first visit since last September.

I was pleased not to see much damage from last fall’s hurricane Matthew.  Everything seemed pretty much unchanged.  The ‘walking man’ was still making his rounds…

and folks were still taking pictures beside the strange-looking tree on the island… which I can’t seem to find a photo of!  The island was actually pretty crowded, for a Thursday.

We only stayed long enough to grab a bar-b-que sandwich from Southern Soul, then ate it while sitting in a park beside the beautiful water.  I hope to go back, soon!

No Foolin’, It’s Time For The Hodgepodge…

Lately, it’s been busy here in our neck of the woods, but it’s time to take a break and settle down a while with The Wednesday Hodgepodge.  I always look forward to Wednesdays!  Thanks to our gracious hostess, Joyce, for this little bit of mid-week fun:)  Please join us if you can!

1. April is Lawn and Garden Month. On a scale of 1-10 what’s the current state of your lawn and/or garden. (10=a showpiece, 1=send in the professionals). Tell us about any lawn or garden plans you have for this month.

Well, Joyce, I’m so glad you asked, since we’ve been busy working on both!  At the moment, our lawn is about a 6.  Even though Ed’s treated it for weeds, and fertilized it, we haven’t had enough rain to make it lush and green, yet.  We’re getting there, though.

As for our garden, Phase 1 (potatoes, garden peas, onions) has been planted for over a month.  So far, I’d rate it about a 6, too, due to the strange weather we’ve been having. ( cold nights, hot days, no rain) 

Phase 2 (green beans, squash, cucumbers, peas, butter beans) has been planted about a week, and is just beginning to sprout.  So far, so good.  The tomatoes, cabbage, lettuce, and peppers seem to be doing okay, we’ll see how everything tolerates the 43 degree temps, wind, rain, and possible hail that’s headed our way, now.

2. “Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there.”~Thomas Fuller What does this quote mean to you?

First, I’m going to take this quote literally, because Ed and I have all kinds of grass and weeds sprouting in our garden and we didn’t plant any of it!  I can also take this quote figuratively, in remembering the difficult days of trying to raise children.  You love them, nurture them, and teach them all the right things, but, sometimes negative actions and behaviors spring forth from them, just like weeds in a garden.

3. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think about God?

Love/redemption/forgiveness/obedience.

4. If we were chatting in person, how would I know if you were nervous?

I’d probably fidget a bit, and not have very much to say, at first.  I don’t usually initiate  much conversation, but I’ll follow along if you’ll start it.

5. Do you like the color yellow? Would I find any in your home or wardrobe? Daffodils, tulips, roses, sunflowers, day lily, black-eyed susan…which yellow bloom on this list is your favorite?

Yellow is good, but it’s not among my favorite colors, except in flowers!  I can’t choose a favorite flower because I love daffodils, yellow roses, and sunflowers!  In fact, I grow sunflowers in the garden every year, see:

I do have a couple of yellow items in my wardrobe, but I don’t wear them often.  There’s no yellow in my home, unless you count the ceramic chicks sitting on the shelves in the living room.

6. Flip flops or bare feet?

Inside-bare feet.  Outside-flip flops or crocs.  I never go bare footed outside–we have free ranging chickens and crab grass!

7. Tell us about any Easter plans, celebrations, or traditions you’ll carry out this month.

Usually, I have all of the grandchildren over to color eggs on the Saturday evening before Easter.  This year, our daughter is planning to take over this tradition, and let the cousins color eggs at her house.

Ed and I will still be hosting the usual family Easter lunch and an egg hunt for the grandchildren, afterward, but this year will be different.  Usually, on Easter, Ed and I stay home to cook the meal and hide the eggs while everyone else is at church.

This year we will hide the eggs and cook the meal ahead of time, so we can attend Easter services, like everyone else does.  Our oldest son will be bringing the Easter message at his church, this year.  How special is that?!  I’m looking forward to being there.

Random:

Easter memories…

The other day, when I saw some little boys’ three-piece suits hanging in a store, I couldn’t help but remember Easters when our children were small!

It doesn’t seem that long ago when they were small,  but now our children are all grown up, with children of their own.  Our daughter has a daughter, and both sons have sons.

cir. 1987

In fact, three of our four grandchildren are now about the same ages  our children were in this old photo.
 cir. 1989

Last Easter it rained, so we didn’t get to take a family photo, but here’s a 2015 Easter picture of our crew, all grown up, with their families.  The thing I notice most about this photo is how much Ed and I look like the grandparents.  Oh, my!

A ‘Fishy’ Kind Of Hodgepodge…

Welcome to my little corner of blog land and to The Wednesday Hodgepodge.  As always, I’d like to thank our hostess, Joyce, for everything she does to keep The Hodgepodge going.  If you’d like to be a part of the fun, just click on the button above, answer the questions, and join us.  Today’s  Hodgepodge theme appears to be “fishing”.

1. Have you ever been fishing? Did you catch a fish? If so did you keep it or throw it back? If you haven’t been fishing is that something you’d like to try?

Yes, I’ve been fishing quite a few times, and have caught a few fish in my day.  I kept some, and threw others back.  (For the record, I will bait my own hook, but won’t take my fish off the hook.)

I never liked to fish [in fresh water] using a cane pole, but, once Ed and I got married and moved to a nearby coastal town, I quickly discovered a love of salt-water fishing!  Give me a reel and rod with some dead shrimp for bait, any day, versus a cane pole, a cork, worms or crickets!!!

Fish out of water, big fish in a small pond, living in a fishbowl, packed in like sardines, this is a fine kettle of fish, plenty of fish in the sea, or cut bait…which fishy phrase most recently applies to some area of your life?

I’m going to say “packed in like sardines” since we, recently, celebrated a family member’s birthday at our house.  When all twelve of us get together, it can feel a bit crowded in our kitchen.

2. What’s something you’re always fishing for in your purse, wallet, desk, or kitchen junk drawer?

I’m always “fishing” for a bottle of artificial tears.  I have a terrible case of dry eyes, so I keep bottles stashed in various places.

3. Your favorite fish tale or movie?

One of my favorite fishing adventures took place the first summer Ed and I were married.   Often, we’d sit upon a huge pile of rocks, located near the foot of a bridge, and we’d fish in the salt water river running underneath the bridge.  Getting our fish out of the water could be a challenge because of those rocks, though.  On this particular day, my parents were visiting, and had gone fishing with us.  All of the sudden, I caught a nice-sized fish, pulled him up onto the rocks, then somehow, managed to let it get back into the water.  I was devastated. Out of the blue, my fish suddenly came floating back up to the top of the water!  Ed, speedier than a locomotive, jumped off those rocks, into the water, and caught my fish with his bare hands!  What a save!  (I don’t call him “Fast Eddie” for nothing.)  You should’ve seen the look on my face, and others nearby… Priceless.

As for movies, I still like Free Willy.

4. Are you sunrise, daylight, twilight or night? Explain why you chose your answer.

I’m going to say I’m “twilight”.  Maybe because I’m tired a lot, these days, and remind myself of how one might feel at the end of the day–only I feel this way all day long.

5. What’s the oldest piece of clothing you own and still wear?

It’s probably the gray t-shirt that I got from the Country Music Hall of Fame, in Nashville, back in 2002.   I’ll be sad when it finally wears out.

6. We’ve got one more month of (officially) winter here in the Northern hemisphere. Are you feeling the need for a getaway? What’s been the best and worst part of your winter so far?

Yes!  These warm, sunny days do make me long for a day on St. Simon’s Island.  I also would like to go on a road trip to Florida to visit my brother and sister-in-law, because it’s been a while since we’ve seen them.

The worst/best part of our winter, so far, have been the medical procedures Ed and I had to deal with.  On the negative side, the procedures [for both of us] were stressful and inconvenient, but, on the positive side, both of our outcomes turned out good, so we can’t complain.

7. The Wednesday Hodgepodge lands on National Margarita Day…will you be celebrating? Frozen or on the rocks? Are you a Jimmy Buffet fan? If so, what’s your favorite JB tune?

No, this girl won’t be celebrating Margarita Day because I don’t drink alcohol.  Yes, I am a Jimmy Buffet fan, believe it or not.  He’s been a favorite artist of mine for a long time, and has quite an interesting biography!

Margartaville is one of my favorite tunes by Jimmy Buffet, but I also love this lesser-known song (and video) by him, entitled It’s Been A Lovely Cruise.

 

Random:

Ed, preparing the garden soil

Our gardening season of 2017 has officially begun!  Ed and I planted seeds for tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, and lettuce, in cups, beginning on the day after Valentine’s Day.  Many have already sprouted!  Ed has already planted eighty onion ‘sets’ out in the garden, with another forty waiting to be set out.  The plan for today is for Ed to plant our new potatoes and garden peas, along with the rest of the onions.  Unfortunately, my back has been “acting up”, again, so I haven’t been able to help much.  I guess I’ll have to be satisfied to play the role of supervisor.

Rolling With The Hodgepodge…

 

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.