Hodge Podge - on time again!

Linking up with Joyce for Wednesday Hodgepodge!

1. Growing up, were you close to your grandparents? Tell us one or two specific things you remember about them.
I was the youngest grandchild on my dad's side of the family and I never felt like I was "anything special" - does that make sense?  We spent a good bit of time with my dad's parents and I remember sitting on their front porch and hearing the summer night sounds.  I remember celebrating Christmas Eve at their house with other cousins . . .and my grandpa had a tendency to give bags of groceries to each family.  As a kid, that was weird - as an adult, I totally get it.  Times were probably hard.  People were proud.  A Christmas gift was easy to accept.  My mom didn't drive and I remember my grandpa having to pick me up at school one day when I needed to check out . . .because of the cramps . . .and how mortified I was!  When my mom was diagnosed with cancer, my dad's parents stepped in and did whatever they could (I was a teenager).  The funniest story would take too long to type but it involved my middle sister and me.  We were spending the night and my granny thought my sister had sneaked out (she didn't!).  We laugh about that one often.

On my momma's side of the family, we only knew her mother.  My Granny George had put my mother in foster care due to some crazy things.  My momma and Granny George made peace at some point. I remember driving to Granny George's house (it is only a few miles from where I live now but it was an all day trip back then!).  She didn't have indoor plumbing and I remember using the "slop pot" and thinking it was horrible (but fascinating!).  I remember sitting on her front porch and eating saltine crackers.  I actually felt special to her though we saw her far less.  She sent flour sacks to my mom and I had some shorts made from those sacks. She sent a bobble head dog to me and I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  I also have a quilt that she either made for me or had someone make.

As I've typed all of this I have realized that I don't think I have a single picture of me with any of my grandparents! How sad!

2. What's an item you were attached to as a child? What happened to it?
I had a stuffed animal (monkey) and he had a plastic banana attached to his hand.  I evidently carried him everywhere and chewed on the banana.  I assume he was thrown away at some point!  I think I have a picture of me holding that monkey buried deep in my house (who knows where??).

3. When you look out your window, do you see the forest or the trees (literally and figuratively)? Explain.
From the front of the house, I see a park with some trees.  We live in a planned neighborhood and we each have one tree planted in front of our houses.  The park is lovely - like a HUGE front yard (that we don't have to maintain!!).  From our back window, I see our lovely courtyard with three small trees and pretty plants.
Figuratively, hmmmm a little of both.  Sometimes the forest is so dense it is hard to see the trees.

4. Do you like sour candies? Which of the 'sour' foods listed below would you say is your favorite?

grapefruit, Greek yogurt, tart cherries, lemons, limes, sauerkraut, buttermilk, or kumquats 

I do like most sour things.  I love grapefruit but can't eat it because it interacts with a medicine that I take.  I love Greek yogurt!  I actually have cherries in my lunch today.  I adore lemons and limes.  I like sauerkraut ok - we grew up eating "weinies and kraut" as a main dish and I like it ok on a hot dog.  I like to cook with buttermilk BUT WOULD NEVER DRINK IT - yuck!!  I've never eaten a kumquat.

greek yogurt parfait

Have you ever eaten a kumquat? What's your favorite dish containing one of the sour foods on the list?
I've never eaten one and I'll have to think about my dish . . .lemon bars! margarita! Cherries - raw or in yogurt parfait!  Buttermilk - CORNBREAD!!

5. July 1st marked the mid point of 2017. In fifteen words or less, tell us how it's going so far.
crazy BUSY, good, exciting, stressful!  I can't make a sentence!

6. Insert your own random thought here.
Love on your people.  Do you hear me?  Love on your people.  Don't have regrets.  Love on your people.  My step-mom died on Friday night (please feel free to read this post).  I wish I had spent more time with her.  I wish I had told her more often that I loved her.  I'm glad she is not in pain and

is with Jesus.