Color Me Hodgepodge

 

1. Do you make an effort to see/hear live music? Last time you went somewhere for the live music? We haven't been to a concert in a million years. 

2.According to HGTV the colors of the year for 2026 are mostly decided. Top paint companies declare a color of the year, and decorators will incorporate that into their new year home and room designs. Here's what's on tap in terms of paint trends for 2026 (check out the link here to see photos)

• Sherwin Williams-universal khaki (inspired by heavy canvas and outdoor gear)
• Behr-hidden gem (a confident shade of teal)
• Valspar-warm eucylyptus (a warm sliver tinted green)
• Dutch Boy-melodious ivory (a honey tinted beige)
• Glidden-warm mahogany (a classic brick red)
• Krylon-matte coffee bean
• Clark and Kensington -Hazelnut Crunch (warm reddish-brown)
• Graham and Brown-Divine Damson (cherry red with a subtle violet undertone)
• Dunn and Edwards-midnight garden (the green that works everywhere) 

First question-did you know there were so many different paint manufacturers? Which color on the list most appeals to you in terms of your own decorating style? Do you have plans to do any painting in your home in the coming year, and if so might you choose a color from this list? 

I have heard of all of the paint manufacturers except Clark and Kensington and Graham and Brown. Hidden gem by Behr might be similar to the color in our powder room. I don't think we have plans to do any painting.

Now, forget painting walls, which color name appeals to you most? 

The color name that appeals to me most is warm eucylyptus.

3. What's something in your life you have to do-watch-or participate in that's about as exciting as 'watching paint dry'? 

hmmm . . .I can't think of a single thing. After 24 hours of thinking about this question, I still don't have a good answer. I thought about how I don't enjoy waiting in an airport . . .but you can always people watch or go for a walk or read a book while waiting. I thought of one - how about when you are reheating food in the microwave and you just stand there waiting!

4 . Tuesday, October 14th is/was National Dessert day...did you/will you celebrate? Tell us how? What's your absolute favorite dessert. Yes, just one. I know!! 

I did not celebrate, but we did ask my random thought as our Tuesday night ice breaker. I only eat sugar free things -- There is a fudge pop that I love.

5. Perhaps today is the day I will . . . go to Grandparent's breakfast with our oldest granddaughter. I am and I'll post photos later!

6. Insert your own random thought here. Here is a random thought generated by AI - Since it was National Dessert Day, what is the best possible combo of sweet and savory? or sweet and salty? I love Halo Top Salted Caramel Ice Cream (sugar free) and I also love popcorn in the Chicago airport - half caramel corn and half cheese popcorn! Since I gave up sugar 9 years ago, I haven't had the caramel/cheese combo . . .but it is good! What say you?

Weekend in Review

Hey friends! Happy Monday!!

Harry, Hermione, and Dumbledore are now sitting on our front porch. Harry's glasses should arrive today. I'll post a picture of them with their floating candles later.

On Thursday, I went to see Dr. Mullins. She is my wonderful ophthalmologist who took care of me when I had the bad double sideways vision event back in 2022 plus she performed cataract surgery on my left eye back in February. I went for my 6 months post surgery appointment and I am seeing 20/20 in that eye and everything looks good. There is a small cataract in my other eye and she said I'll know when to call her. Hopefully, I can make it to next year's yearly check-up.

My eyes are green and I asked them to use light dilation, if possible, because my eyes stay dilated so long. I had to dim my office lights for the afternoon. My pupils were huge - there was barely any green showing around the edge. 

We had tickets to "The Butler Did It" on Thursday night at our local community theater. I thought it was a cute play. There was a man sitting behind us who was on oxygen. First of all, let me say that I'm glad he could get out and attend the play. The problem was that Mark is hard of hearing and the guy's oxygen tank made those whoosh and beeping sounds throughout the play. Guess who didn't like the play? Mark . . .because he missed all of the humor. . .because he couldn't hear over the whoosh.

I showed y'all my old headshot, but did I ever show you my new one?

Friday night we headed to our supper club. We've been together since 2004. Kim served chicken made with an Ina Garten recipe and it was tasty. She also served wild rice. I took a huge spinach salad with mandarin oranges and feta cheese and a balsamic dressing. Terrie brought Spanish Meatballs as an appetizer. Laura made rum cake and served it with rum raisin ice cream. Mark said it was wonderful. He ate two servings. That man loves sweets.

Saturday morning I headed to WW to weigh in. I finally crossed the 20 pound point - yay me! If you add that to what I lost starting back in 2017, I'm down over 60 pounds - almost 65, I think. I had some errands to run and did all of those -- including purchasing pumpkins for the front porch. I studied on and off all day for my final which I will take before going to work today. I think it goes live at 6:00 a.m. I cooked burgers for dinner and we watched a couple of episodes of Eli Stone.

Sunday morning dawned bright and early and I headed to work. It was a low attendance Sunday because the schools around here are on fall break. Our pastor preached a wonderful sermon yesterday. You can scroll forward until you get to the sermon at 30:24.

We went to Mark's twin brother's house for lunch. They cooked a roast and asparagus and Mark's sister made a green salad and fruit salad. After lunch, we spent some time dividing up some of Mark's mother's silver. I picked out some beautiful silver trays and two little nut dishes of varying heights, along with a few other various pieces. I need to take a picture of this one piece that Mark brought home -- he was playing with it like a toy and sees himself serving something out of the piece the next time we have guests for dinner.

We headed home for a quick Sunday afternoon nap and then we moved the floating candles to the front porch and set up the trio of skeletons. I made a ginormous fruit salad. The fruit was all from Costco and it was amazing.

We headed to our neighborhoood supper club at 6:30, with our giant fruit bowl. I wish I had taken a picture of it. We enjoyed hanging out with four other couples for the evening. Sherri brought the appetizer - it was spinach dip from Publix which she had heated. Then she served it with several types of chips and crackers. For dinner, the hostess made Tuscan chicken - chicken with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. It was good. One couple brought squash casserole - it was delicious. Another couple brought a beautiful green salad - yummy! I provided the gorgeous fruit salad. The fifth couple brought an apple tart and vanilla ice cream. It was so pretty.

That's our weekend in a nutshell!

What did you do this weekend?

 

Sunday Sunday! 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're stealing from Christina at Call Me Patsy. Back in 2008, she said this was the TV meme "that everyone has been doing." Well, we don't like to be left out.

Tune In

1. Name a TV show you've seen every episode of - Ted Lasso, Bones, Chuck, Justified, Big Bang Theory, Yellowstone. Bosch - just to name a few! You didn't really mean for me to name just one, did you?

2. On which device do you do most of your viewing (television, tablet, computer, phone)? We watch most shows on our TV.

3. Name an actor/actress who would make you less likely to watch a show. Mark never liked watching anything with Roseanne Barr. 

4. When you were a kid, what show did you love? We watched Bonanza - loved it. I also loved the Roadrunner cartoon. I also remember watching the "Wonderful World of Disney" on Sunday nights.

5. What show do you recommend everyone watch? Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller

6. What show do your friends like, but you don't? I will have to think about this one. I've never watched Outlander.

7. When you watch TV, do you also busy yourself with something else (jigsaw puzzle, folding laundry, etc.)? I am usually multi-tasking.

8. Do you eat a meal or snack while watching TV? Sometimes, but not every time.

9. What's your preferred genre (comedy, drama, reality, etc.)? I love a good romcom BUT we tend to watch crime or FBI, etc.

10. Do you prefer mini series (shows that tell their stories in a pre-determined number of episodes) or shows that come back season after season? In today's world, you can wait until it is streamed and watch all of the seasons. I always hate waiting on the next season, but we do it anyway.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Come On In - It's A Hodgepodge

 

1.       'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.' How does this saying ring true in your own family, either the one you grew up in or the one you made? 
Let’s see . . .Glenn looks like me and acts JUST like Mark. It is uncanny how much alike they are! Laura looks like Mark and acts more like me.
 
2.       Something you're nuts about these days? How about something that's driving you nuts? 
I’m answering the questions on Sunday night . . .I was nuts about the temperature today in Alabama. It was in the 70’s! If the humidity could have been lower, it would have been perfect. The addition of a little sunshine would have been nice, too.
Bad drivers ALWAYS drive me nuts. Seriously!
 
3.       What does abundance mean to you? 
Enough! Abundance means that I have enough to be comfortable . . .plus a tiny extra. One of the meanings in the dictionary (online, of course!) is: Plentifulness of the good things of life – yes! Another meaning is overflowing.
 
4.       Caramel apple-caramel cake-caramel corn-caramel sundae-caramel macchiatto...what's your caramel treat of choice? 
I wish I enjoyed hot beverages!! Let’s see . . .lately my treat has been Halo Top ice cream (fake, but good) and I enjoy the salted caramel flavor. My mother made a cake with “burnt sugar icing” – Before you correct my “burnt” to “burned,” please know that I looked it up. She pronounced it as “burnt” and that spelling is ok! In hindsight, she was making a caramel icing! It was so good. Mark’s mother made a great caramel cake, too.
 
5.       What's a childhood memory that always comes to mind as the leaves start to fall? 
We lived within walking distance of the football stadium when I was a kid. I can still smell the popcorn and hear the band. Those memories come to mind as fall arrives.
 
6.       Insert your own random thought here. I’ve mentioned that I teach our Sunday School class. This morning (remember I’m typing on Sunday night) I taught a lesson on hospitality based on Hebrews 13:2 -- ‘Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.’
I talked about showing radical hospitality to those who come through the doors of our church. Would you please tell me one thing your church does to make sure that all who enter your church feel welcome?

A Review of All The Things

My alarm rang at 3:00 a.m. last Wednesday morning because I had to be at the airport for a 6:00 a.m. flight to Kansas City. Several co-workers and I were headed to the Leadership Institute at Church of the Resurrection. Upon arrival, we stopped at a BBQ restaurant for lunch. We then headed to the church and met together for a couple of hours and pounded out some plans for Christmas Eve. Our hotel was basically in the church parking lot, so after our meeting we headed to check in and rest a few minutes. We then walked to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. I ordered a bowl and it was gorgeous and tasty.

The person sitting beside me ordered the "taco flight." Isn't that cool??

We ate quickly and walked back to the church for the opening session of worship.

Adam Hamilton spoke at the opening session.

On Thursday, we attended multiple sessions. Andy Stanley was one of the key note speakers and he did an amazing job. I've heard him speak several times over the years and he always speaks to my heart.

I didn't take a photo, but Dan Heath, a well-known author, also spoke and his session was excellent, too.

I also went to a break out session on radical hospitality. I think this chapel is so beautiful. I started thinking about Mark's mom during the session and I started crying. I'm not a crier so it really caught me off guard.

Pastor Laura went down the giant slide in the kid's area.

Here we are - all of us from Trinity UMC.

On Thursday night, we ordered pizza from a local pizza restaurant. We set up shop in the hotel lobby during happy hour and we all hung out chatting and working a puzzle.

The conference wrapped up on Friday at noon. We checked out of our hotel and went to an amazing BBQ restaurant. Kansas City is known for "burnt ends" and they are definitely delicious. We had several hours so we went to see the stadium.

We then went downtown to Messenger Coffee Shop which was cool! One of the employees told us about a unique Indie bookstore so we headed there next.

It was truly one of the most unique shops I've visited. I wanted to bring the library ladder home with me. Please??

Our flight was on-time departing Kansas City, but was delayed leaving Chicago . . .but it all worked out. I got into bed around midnight on Friday night.

Saturday morning . . .I took my mid-term that was due at 11:59 p.m. Friday night. My professor was very gracious and extended my deadline. I made an A.

I did laundry and wrote a Sunday School lesson.

Our daughter came up for a few hours and brought our middle granddaughter, so we met the two of them at our son's house. He LOVES cooking and trying new things. These are deviled eggs . . .but the whites have been deep fried and are crispy. I didn't eat one, but they said they were delicious. My daughter-in-law bought the egg board at Tractor Supply.

There was a "nail salon" on the back deck. All of the ladies plus a couple of the guys were treated to a manicure.

In yesterday's Sunday Stealing, there was a question about our families and the old proverb "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." I mentioned that Glenn is very much like Mark. Here they are -- Mark and Glenn frying fish together. Perfect illustration of that old saying.

The weather was perfect for porch sitting and our son built an amazing deck/porch on the back of their house.

The night ended with dessert. Our daughter's little girl is on the left and our son's little girl is in the middle. The little boy is the son of our son and daughter-in-law's best friends and not only are the parents friends, but those two kids are tight!

On Sunday, I worked and taught Sunday School. We threw a quick lunch together and took a nap! I finished up homework and rode the bike and did more laundry and dressed our skeletons while Mark went to Culture Fest at our West Campus, where he volunteers a couple of days a week. He said it was the best one yet. I was sad to miss it, but I was done for the weekend.

We ended the weekend with an episode of Breaking Bad, an episode of Eli Stone, and an episode of Six Feet Under . . .while I ironed.

What did y'all do this 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!

We're stealing this meme about last month from Life of a Fool. This blogger maintains this meme has "been seen everywhere." The questions only require a yes or no, but if you'd like to elaborate, we'd like to hear what you have to say.

In the Past Month Meme

During September, did you ...

1.         Drink alcohol? I did not! I’ve been counting macros and haven’t wanted to waste any on alcohol. I was out of town for work this week and I did have about 2 ounces of pinot grigio at the Element Hotel happy hour (2 nights).

2.        Try a new recipe? I don’t think I tried anything new.

3.   Go shopping with friends? Nope. To be honest, I rarely shop except online. While out of town, we went to a cool indie bookstore, but that was October 3.

4.     Eat an entire box of cookies by yourself? Have you heard of Alyssa’s cookies? They are all natural and have no added sugar. There are eight cookies in a little plastic box and I’m the only one who eats them . . .so technically I did eat a box of cookies by myself!!

5.     Dye your hair? Yes . . . I have my roots covered about every 5 weeks.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week. 

Hodgepodge

 

I normally write a weekend in review . . .but that didn't happen this week! Here we are and it is Wednesday already which means HODGEPODGE. Thanks to Joyce for the questions! I love this group of bloggers!!

1. What's your favorite fall scent? Would we find this in or around your home right now? 

I have horrible allergies so I rarely have anything scented in our house. I can use peppermint oil. I need to find a candle made with true peppermint oil!! For the season, I can tolerate one - yes, I said ONE candle. I think it is apple pie - smells like cinammon.

2. October is Country Music Month...are you a fan of country music? Do you have a favorite country artist? Ever been to Nashville? In terms of lifestyle are you more country mouse or city mouse? 

Country music is not our favorite. We prefer more current music or rock and roll :-). Our kids and friends all love country music, so we do hear it sometimes. We both hate the real twangy sounding songs. Does Kenny Chesney count as country? I do like No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem! I am a suburban mouse haha!

3. How about 'country cooking'? (loosely defined as rich flavors, familiar foods, large portions, often fried, and often associated with the southern region of the US of A)? 

Yes, I am a southern cook which does involve some 'country cooking.' Mark doesn't want his vegetables to be crisp. He wants them to be well cooked and seasoned. He also grew up on homemade cakes -- don't offer him a boxed cake or a bought cake haha! I LOVE gravy. I think it should be served at every meal. Do I make it? No! That is one southern thing that Mark doesn't like -- gravy, but both our kids love it like I do. 

chicken and dumplings-fried chicken-shrimp and grits-biscuits and gravy-mac and cheese-fried green tomatoes-cornbread-collard or turnip greens-deviled eggs-'barbecue'-gumbo-banana pudding 

Which of the foods listed is your favorite? Any on the list you haven't tried or would say a firm no thank you to if offered? 

I make great shrimp and grits. I can make good mac and cheese. I rarely fry anything, but I do love fried okra and fried green tomatoes. I think my cornbread could win a contest - my daddy taught me how to make it. Let me just say -- it is not healthy. I love deviled eggs and since our son has chickens, our 9 year old granddaughter even knows how to make deviled eggs. We love barbecue and gumbo. My family loves banana pudding. I didn't like cooked greens until I became an adult, but love collards cooked well. My granny made some of the best chicken and dumplings you have ever eaten, but I don't make those. My mother-in-law made great fried chicken. Like I said earlier, I just don't fry. I love biscuits and gravy, but I never make them and rarely eat them. After all of those words . . .my favorite is hard to pick -- maybe shrimp and grits??

4. What's something that always has a positive impact on your mood? 

I know I answered this somewhere recently! Words of affirmation or a kind smile almost always improve my mood . . or when one of the granddaughters runs up to give me a hug!

5. As we say so long to September share a noun, a verb, and an adjective that tells us something about how that month looked for you. 

I pulled up Chatgpt and typed in a few of the things from September and asked it to give me a noun, a verb, and an adjective. Here you go:

• Noun: whirlwind
• Verb: juggle
• Adjective: fleeting
• Chatgpt - thank you! You did a good job.

6.Insert your own random thought here: Since I didn't do a weekend in review . . .let's back up -- Friday morning - I got my roots covered. When the hair stylist finished coloring and cutting, she asked if she could try a fun hairstyle. I said -- sure, why not? She twirled the strands around the straightener. It was fun. I tried to make it do that . . .nope! Won't work for me.

Friday night was supper club at our friend's house. The people in our supper club are our people. I do have a few other friends that I consider my people, too. It is always amazing when I'm with any of "my people" I always feel better! Friday night, I made the appetizer and I was proud of my flowers. They ate a lot of the appetizer (which was good). We watched the sun set. Our host grilled porkchops that were delicious. We sat and talked and talked and talked. 

On Saturday, we made a quick trip to see our daughter and son-in-law's new house. They live about an hour and a half south of us. I took one picture. Those girls have my heart. It was a rare day. We were with our son and daughter-in-law and granddaughter #1 and daughter and son-in-law and granddaughters #2 and #3. It is a rare day when we are all together -- just us. Saturday morning filled my cup.

After our visit, Mark and I headed home where I did homework.

Sunday morning, guess where we were? Church - I was at work and taught Sunday School and went to a Discipleship committee meeting/lunch after church while Mark attended worship and joined me in Sunday School. Then I headed home where we did copious amounts of laundry - there are just two of us!! I don't know how we dirty so many clothes. I did more homework. We went to bed at 10:00 and the alarm went off at 5:02 and we started a new week.

I'll be out of town for work - Wednesday through Friday. I'll try to catch up with comments when I return!