Sunday Stealing

 Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

This week we were inspired by Lucky Zoan. She suggested themes for letters to particular people. Let's change it up a bit and imagine conversations rather than correspondence.

What Would You Say At This Moment to: (I wrote my answers on Friday night and I just now realized that I didn't answer them "correctly" -- I answered the first two according to the prompt, and the rest . . .so I'm adding extra quick responses now at 5:21 a.m.)

1) Someone you have hurt? I am so very sorry. Please accept my deepest apologies. Please forgive me.

2) Someone who has hurt you? I will be honest. I might not be able to say this at the moment whatever event happened, but I hope to eventually say, "I forgive you." I have very strong feelings about this. I can forgive someone BUT I do NOT have to be reconciled with that person. Some hurts are too egregious. Our failure to forgive usually only hurts us in that type of situation.

3) Your favorite teacher from grade school? I had several favorites. I went to a small elementary school where we had 2 classes for each grade (1-6). Back then, we didn't have public kindergarten. Sometimes I loved the teacher of the other class more than my own teacher. Ms. Vann was especially lovely. Thank you for teaching me not just about reading, writing, and 'rithmatic, but thank you for teaching me about life.

4) Your most hated teacher from high school? I didn't hate him, but I made the worst grade of my school career to date in his class. I made a D one six week period. It was geometry taught by Coach Grostick. He shouldn't have been teaching geometry. (Coach Grostick - you should have told them, "no thank you! I don't teach geometry." I know you tried hard. I really do!)  I loved Ms. Ferebee. She was young and beautiful and kind. I also loved Ms. Studdard who was ancient and a tough teacher but I learned so much from her. I had a huge crush on Mr. Romanell (sp?). His first name was Juan and I think all of the girls had a crush on him.

5) Your best friend from college? Considering I'm in college NOW at 67 years old, I didn't have a best friend in college (in the 18-21 age frame). I did take some classes at UAB at night when I was 20 or so, and I do remember socializing with some of my classmates. Now I am in a co-hort of women who are studying the same major online and we have to discuss a lot of things. 

6) Your favorite recording artist? I have no idea. Seriously. (How about "thank you for the music"?)

7) Your favorite author? I love too many to name! I just finished, "Killers of a Certain Age" about four women who were assassins in a covert government operation and they are now retirement age. It is by Deanna Raybourne. I do love James Patterson, too. I also like Jana Deleon. (Thank you for giving me hours upon hours of pleasure. I love to read. All the cool kids are reading!!)

8) Your first boss? I wrapped presents in a department store my senior year of high school. I don't remember who my boss was. I went to work at South Central Bell after high school and I can see the lady in my mind's eye, but can't remember her name. I've had some memorable bosses. I loved Mel. He was a great boss. I worked for a man by the name of Ed Onimus and I need to write a whole post about those years. Goodness gracious. (To Mel: Thank you for helping me through some really tough times and for being a great boss and friend. To Mr. Onimus: As a grown man, you should not have acted that way. You really should be ashamed.)

9) Your first love? In the 6th grade, I had a crush on Billy Wentz. I dated a couple of other guys in highschool where the whole group moved from one place to the next. Then I met Jimmy, my first husband. We were married for 18 months and he left because he was gay. This was a long long time ago. After our divorce, I thought I was in love with a guy named Jim (ironic on the name choice). After we broke up, I dated several guys until I met Mark. We've been married 41 years. (To Jimmy: I'm sorry you tried to be someone you couldn't be. May you rest in peace.)

10) Your true love? As I just said, Mark and I have been married 41 years. (To Mark: I love you!)

our wedding in May of 1984

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Hodgepodge Number 607

Joyce has written questions/prompts for us 607 times. Y'all - we should give Joyce a prize!! Here are this week's questions:

1. Summer officially begins this week (in the northern hemisphere)...what was your favorite thing to do in the summer when you were a kid? In the summer, we played kickball and a game that resembled baseball (with a much softer ball). We spent hours singing and swinging. We put on beauty pageants using picnic benches as the runway and the picnic table was the stage. We spent hours playing with our Barbies. We used shoe boxes and wash cloths and made elaborate Barbie houses. Recently, I posted the picture below -- those are the girls I grew up with . . .plus we had boys in the neighborhood.

What do you like most about summer now? I LOVE LOVE LOVE the hours and hours of daylight. I wish we could have it year round. It is daylight at about 5:17 and it gets dark about 8:20. 

2.  Something you'll celebrate this summer? We celebrated my birthday on Saturday! Our niece is getting married this Saturday and we will attend the rehearsal dinner on Friday night. On Saturday morning my sister-in-law and I are hosting a "morning of the wedding" brunch for Grace and the ladies. The wedding is Saturday night and the reception is at The Club. It will be fun! Mark's sister's birthday is in July and Mark's birthday is in August - so even more things to celebrate!

3. Summer tastes like? ripe watermelon Smells like? grass that has been freshly mowed (or is it mown?) and coppertone sunscreen Sounds like? birds singing at 5:00 a.m.

4. June 18th is National Splurge Day...what's the last thing you splurged on? I don't think I splurged, but I bought several new dresses. When we were at dinner on Saturday night, our friend ordered a burger that came with french fries. The french fries were fried in beef tallow. I asked for one and it was so delicious!! What might you splurge on today? I don't have plans to splurge on anything, but if I do  . . . I'll let y'all know!

5. Share a favorite summer quote, saying, song lyric, or meme. I live in Alabama and it is always hot and humid in the summer. Here is a good meme! This meme is actually truth!

Summertime music would be something played on steel drums like you might hear in the Bahamas or Jimmy Buffet singing "Margaritaville" or "It's Five O'clock Somewhere."

Summertime quote is also from Jimmy Buffet, "If there's heaven for me, I'm sure it has a beach attached to it." 

6. Insert your own random thought here. I've made an appointment with the designer, Liz, at ELM. ELM is the company that rebuilt our house after the fire. I can't believe it has been almost three years (7.9.22). I think we have our house in pretty good shape, but I want her to walk through and recommend anything else I might need to add. I can't have rugs in the bedroom or draperies in the house due to severe allergies, but she might suggest a piece of furniture or some throw pillows or plants or art.

This is in the loft upstairs.

Life Last Week

 Last Tuesday night, as soon as the young adults left our house, I had to run to Walgreen's to pick up a prescription. When I pulled back into the neighborhood, the moon was amazing!

Mark spent a couple of nights at the farm. He has been working hard to redo the kitchen in the old house. Our brother-in-law has been helping him. They are doing a great job.

We have a columbarium at our church and a friend has made some beautiful crosses in his workshop. I ordered a special super glue and an activator (recommended by the maker of the crosses). My co-worker was gluing the cross on the first urn.

On Thursday, when I arrived at the office, another co-worker had a card, balloons, and a tray of fruit for me. I felt so loved.

When I left the office, I found a $10 right beside my car. I texxted the person who had been parked there -- they didn't drop it. 

Friday morning, I did the 45 minute drive to the hair salon and had the roots covered and a trim! Then I hit up the Dollar General.

Mark cooked fish for dinner on Friday night. I ate mine in a taco. Our neighbor caught it and shared.

Mark has been crafting lately. He has some antique lures and some antique jars and some bamboo. They look so cool. He has been making them for gifts. These ball jars are from the early 1900's.

Saturday was my birthday!! Mark made a reservation at Blueprint on 3rd and invited two other couples to join us. We had so much fun. We ate some great food and laughed so much!!

Mark ordered bread pudding with whiskey sauce and they put a candle in it for my birthday! I didn't eat it but they also ordered a cobbler and everyone else shared the two desserts.

Sunday morning I got a text with the following photo. The three in the middle are from our Tuesday night group. They are in Costa Rica on a mission trip. Hannah, second from the left, is the leader.

I worked on Sunday morning and then taught Sunday School. We had a quiet afternoon. Mark purchased a new air conditioner for the garage as his father's day gift. I had a card and a bag with a few surprises in it to give to him.

So . . .what did you do last week or over the weekend?

Sunday Stealing

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

A blogger named Elisha shared 10 things about herself and our chief thief turned those revelations into prompts. What say you to some of the prompts?

Complete the Thought

1. I wish someone would ...bring peace to our world and teach people to be humble. I know that is too big of a wish. A human would never be able to do it. As a Christian, I know that is what God wanted Jesus to do but we humans are a twisted bunch.

2. When I order Chinese food ...I would order Chinese food more often, but all of our good places have closed. There is one local place that is ok. The neighborhood place was really good for years, but the previous owners sold it to a niece . . . now it is just ok. One of our favorites was The Dragon and it closed years ago. There was another good restaurant - I think it was Golden China. There is an authentic restaurant - The Red Pearl. Mark has been there but I haven't. I had never eaten Chinese food until I was a young adult. Mark's family used to eat at Joy Young's owned by the Joe family. I remember the first time I went to Joy Young's with his family and how I wasn't sure about any of those things on the menu . . .but I loved my first egg roll and have loved Chinese food ever since.

3. I know it's not everyone's favorite activity, but I actually enjoy ...ironing. I know! I know! There is just something that I love about having a pile of wrinkled clothes turn into freshly ironed and wrinkle free clothes. It is like an inbox/outbox situation.

5. A major pet peeve of mine is ...drivers on the interstate who will not drive at least the speed limit. On Friday, I was driving on the interstate and the speed limit was 70. The person in front of me was driving about 55 miles per hour. I sometime think that driving below the speed limit causes more accidents!! On Thursday, here in town, a car STOPPED in the middle of the interstate to get over to the exit. Did this person cause a wreck? Yes! They literally had to close the interstate - not for a fatality, but because of a spill. Hazmat had to come, etc. etc. 

6. I remember when my grandfather ... had a garden and grew wonderful tomatoes. He also dipped snuff and spit it (which was gross) and I think he chewed tobacco, too (also gross).

7. I am not fazed at all by ...not being fazed means that I would be calm, composed, and unaffected by things . . .I should ask Mark to answer this question about me. He would probably just laugh!! Actually, because I work on a church staff, I've seen it all. Seriously.

8. Long car rides ... are not my favorite. I've ridden on a bus with youth choir kids across the country - from Alabama to Colorado - 33 hours! We had to have a driver change in the middle!! I can do those rides, but I struggle with motion sickness so they aren't my favorite.

9. I don't understand the fuss over ... it! Whatever "it" may be. 

10. When I'm home alone ...I often enjoy the silence . . .or I watch a movie or show that Mark might not enjoy . . .or sometimes I order a pizza because Mark would never choose to eat pizza (he will eat it but he isn't going to ask for it).

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

It's a Spicy Hodgepodge

 

1. June 10th is National Herbs and Spices Day. Besides salt and pepper what herb or spice container do you reach for most often? Is there a spice you truly dislike? What's a recent dish you made that called for more than salt and pepper?  

We use Cavender's quite often and I use garlic salt. Mark mixes up his own rub when he smokes a pork butt. I am not fond of rosemary. I am not fond of fennel seed. That is the one that tastes like licorice, right? Firecracker Casserole has cumin and chili powder in it and I've made it recently.

2.  It's been said 'variety is the spice of life'...in what way is this true for you? Elaborate. 

I love a variety of fruit - especially at this time of year. There is watermelon, canteloupe, honey dew melon, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and peaches - to name a few!

3. What's something in your life that adds 'spice' (excitement, intensity) even if also comes with challenge or unpredictability? 

Travel - especially international travel - love it! It definitely adds excitement to our lives and it can be unpredictable.

4. If you could instantly master one skill or hobby, what would it be and why? 

I would speak Spanish fluently or maybe I would sing beautifully or play an instrument.

5. We're halfway through the year...what's one book, movie, or activity you've loved this year that you'd recommend to others? 

I really enjoyed our recent trip to Pennsylvania and Delaware. I would recommend a visit to Longwood Gardens.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I'm in week two of the first minimester of the summer. It is intense. I hope our professor grades some of our stuff soon. I would like to know if I'm on the right track!!

More than a weekend review -- Tuesday through Sunday

Happy Monday, blog friends! Y'all know that I write in order to remember, so I'm covering more than just the weekend.

For Christmas, we bought our oldest granddaughter a real sewing machine. For her birthday, which was in March, we gifted her with sewing camp which was this past week, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I'm so excited because she loved it!

Her mommy was sweet enough to send us a picture of her on her way the first morning.

On Tuesday, Mark picked her up from camp because it is just from 9-12. They went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch and then they went to her house to play Barbie. Pops is the best Barbie player ever.

Tuesday night rolled around quickly. Cole is the guy with his arms up and he sold his car a year or so ago and rides and electric bike everywhere. He lives a considerable distance from our house and he even rides it to our house. He ubers some times and some times friends give him a ride, but he uses the bike the majority of time. Some of the rest of the group parked around the corner and they all rode up on bikes and razor scooters so that it looked like they were joining Cole. It was very funny so I snapped a quick photo.

It was also Millie's last night with us. She is a NICU nurse and has been working here in town where she grew up. She is moving to Nashville in a few days and will be working in the NICU at Vanderbilt. She is the one on the right with red hair. Jessie and Elizabeth, pictured with her, are both in PA school.

This is a horrible picture of me but I wanted to remember the night!

Millie is the one leaving, yet she brought flowers to me and Cookie Fix to share with everyone else. She wrote a very sweet note to Mark and me. We save all of those notes from the Young Adults.

I worked on Wednesday morning and then it was my turn to pick up our granddaughter from sewing camp. We picked up lunch and at quickly and then she and I took the golf cart and headed to the pool.

Mark didn't eat his lunch, but saved hisChick-Fil-A salad for dinner (in the fridge). He evidentally had an allergic reaction to a spice in the seasoning on the spicy chicken. He became violently ill within 30 minutes of eating the salad. It wasn't food poisoning - too fast. He has had a few issues with a spice that is in Mexican food seasoning, but this was frightening. He was very sick for about 3 hours and then he was fine.

On Wednesday, I saw a bunny hopping down our sidewalk! I grabbed my phone but this was the best photo I could snap. He was a quick little bunny!

When our granddaughter was with me, I shared a blanket with her that Mark's mom had started. I had brought it home sometime in the last year and was going to finish it. She was completing the projects quickly each day at camp, so I told her to take the blanket to her last day of camp. I showed her what she needed to sew but told her that I would need to help turn it in order for her to sew the last side. Her teacher helped her so she finished it! This means that her great grandmother started the blanket and she finished it. I love that.

I spent the majority of the weekend reading and writing. Our class started last Monday and beginning Tuesday, we had something due every night before 11:59. The smallest thing was had to do was write 300 words on our discussion board and then comment on two other posts. By Saturday, I had to write 700 words. We move on to the next four chapters this week - whew!

We had invited friends over for dinner on Saturday night, but Lu had received her first Shingles Shot on Friday night and it made her sick - stay in bed sick. 

I actually "somewhat" cleaned our house around studying and laundry and working on our Sunday School lesson. I ran the Roombas and dusted and wiped down the bathrooms and cleaned the kitchen counters. It wasn't "inspection" clean, but it was passable clean. haha!

I was at work by 7:00 a.m. on Sunday morning and I taught Sunday School and then we met our son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter for lunch at The Ridge. This was a "new to us" restaurant. This restaurant along with a few others is owned by the same person (group?). We've eaten at three of their others. The decor in this one was really unique.

Our food was good and we would definitely go back.

Mark and I came home and took a Sunday afternoon nap and after our nap, I read a little and then hopped on the stationary bike for a few minutes. Mark has been working on a "craft" (his word) using antique Ball glass jars and other things so he worked on that for a while.

We ended the weekend with a little TV watching. We did watch a movie at some point during the weekend - either Friday or Saturday night. We watched Fountain of Youth. Some of the movie takes place at the pyramids and it was so cool to remember our trip to those pyramids back in October.

That was our weekend PLUS. I hope you had a good weekend. Did you do anything fun?

 

It's Time for Sunday Stealing!

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

Back in 2010, blogger Nigel Vanstone from Away from a Bit asked his readers this series of questions. He said he was tagged by another, unnamed blogger. But I'm not tracing it back any further. Nigel Vanstone is a cool name, and that's enough for me.

10 Questions with Nigel

1. What's your life's motto? My boss is always reminding me to "err on the side of grace." I think that would make a good life motto.

2. Where were you living 13 years ago? We were living in a house a few miles from where we live now. We bought it new when our kids were about 5 years old - right before they started kindergarten. We bought this house in 2014. It, too, was new.

3. Is anyone jealous of you? I seriously doubt it!

4. Where were you when you heard about the 9/11 terror attacks? I was on the treadmill at the gym. I remember stepping off the treadmill and walking over to the TV. Everyone in the gym did the same thing. We saw the second tower fall and we were all in shock. I remember walking out to my car and driving home . . .and not wanting to leave! I was so glad when the kids and Mark were at home that night and we were all together.

5. Do you consider yourself kind? I hope I'm kind. I definitely want to be kind.

6. Can you change your car's oil? I have never changed the oil in my car. I guess if I watched a Youtube video . . .I could change it. I hope I never have to change it.

7. What's the last thing you heard about your first love? Y'all . . .that was so long ago! I had some crushes but I guess my first love was my first husband. We were married for about 18 months when I was 18 years old. I feel like I'm telling a story about someone else - wow! He died of AIDS after we were divorced.

8. Have you ever been burned by love? The divorce I mentioned in #7 was very tough. In hindsight, I'm so thankful we didn't have kids or very many assets. I met and married Mark when I was almost 26.

9. What was the last thing you paid for with cash? I bought a diet pepsi at a gas station a few weeks ago and paid cash.

10. Do you hug your friends? I hug my close friends. 

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.