Truly a Hodgepodge

 

I'm joining up with Joyce and the gang as we answer this week's questions. This week's questions are truly a hodgpodge!

1. What's something you're curious about right now? I'm writing this in the wee hours of Monday morning and I'm curious if it is going to rain today. We have had so much rain - SO MUCH RAIN! I need some sunshine. 

2. If you could plan the perfect girl's weekend getaway, where would you go and what would be on the agenda? Do you have anything like this on your calendar in the next few months? As a "grown-up," I've never been on a true girl's weekend getaway. When a church friend learned this about me, she offered to set one up . . .but I keep forgetting about it so I do not have anything set up. Also, what if we planned it and no one wanted to go? How horrible! In my mind, a girl's weekend getaway would be spent on the beach BUT so many of us, including me, have had various skin cancers that we probably shouldn't just sit on the beach for an entire weekend. I've never been to New York City so that would be a great girl's weekend. I would like to stay in a nice hotel right in the middle of things. I would like to see at least one Broadway show. I would like to visit FAO Schwarz. Should we have Breakfast at Tiffany's? I would like to walk through Central Park and maybe have afternoon tea.

3. What's the most unique item in your refrigerator right now? I don't think I have anything truly unique in our fridge. How about my allergy vials? I have to store them in the fridge. I also have a GINORMOUS pan of spaghetti - 5 pounds ground beef, 1 pound hot breakfast sausage, 2 pounds spaghetti noodles, plus a giant vat of sauce. The pan is a full size steam table plan and I had a tough time lifting it to get it in the fridge. (By the time you read this, the young adults will hopefully have eaten most of the spaghetti.) I use this recipe with my own modifications (I quadruple the recipe and use extra meat including some hot breakfast sausage. I do not quadruple the garlic and spices - I double those. I use whole wheat noodles.)

4. In this season of your life, what do you find most challenging? Losing weight! I lost almost 70 pounds back in 2017 and 2018. Since the fall of 2022, I've gained over 20 back and when you are 5' 5" tall, 20 pounds really shows. I can't get it off!!! I ride the stationary bike everyday. I get a lot of steps in each day. I try to make healthy food choices. It is so annoying!

5. Do you collect anything? If so why that? Do dust bunnies count? haha! Ruby Red Roomba does help me with those dust bunnies. My husband would say that I collect books, which isn't true.

6. Insert your own random thought here. I have about two more weeks before school starts back. I'm taking two mini terms this summer. I think it will be a heavy load, but at the end of July, I will have 6 hours toward the 60 needed for my BA. I'm hoping this old brain will be able to soak it all up!!

Weekend in Review

Mark was at the farm on Thursday night. My sister, Becky, was still in town so when I got off work, we headed to Frontera Grill for some Mexican food.

On Friday morning, we headed to the hair salon - my roots were showing. Having Becky with me made it more fun. We hit up the Dollar General afterwards.

We woke up to more rain on Saturday and really cool temps!! James Spann, our local weatherman, said we won't see temps like this weekend until October!

I got dressed and headed to the first bridal shower of the day. It was a kitchen and recipe shower.

I left the shower (still pouring rain!) and headed to P.F. Changs to meet our son. He had called on Friday and asked if he could take me to lunch for Mother's Day. It is so nice to have one on one time every once in a while.

I liked my fortune!!

On Saturday night, it was still pouring (not like the photo below with blue sky!). We headed to this cool building for a shower for our niece and her fiance. The daughters of one of the hosts have a business in the building and they allowed their parents to use the location for the party. They had planned for people to be in the courtyard . . .but it was raining and quite chilly.

I love pretty invitations!!

On Sunday morning, I headed to work and Becky headed home. She drove straight through and made it home safely -- another very long drive for her. I taught Sunday School and then headed home. We did laundry, took a nap, straightened up the house, rode our stationary bikes, and watched some TV.

What did you do this weekend?

 

Sunday Stealing

I'm joining up with the Sunday Stealing gang. Cheers to all of us thieves!. 

This week is unusual. First, we're stealing from a blogging couple: Jeff and Charli Lee. You don't see married boggers every day. Second, they appear to have come up with this idea themselves. No theft involved! Let's see how it goes:

The Bathroom Meme

1. Do you shampoo once or lather, rinse and repeat? I shampoo once, rinse, condition, rinse.

2. Do you use conditioner a) daily, b) when you need it, c) never? I use conditioner daily.

3. What's your shaving cream preference: foam or gel? I rarely use shaving cream, but when I do, I prefer foam.

4. Is your toothbrush manual or electric? I use a manual toothbrush and I need a new one!

5. Dental floss, soft picks, neither or both? We dental floss every night!

6. Do you use mouthwash a) daily, b) when you need it, c) never? I use it mostly when I need it.

7. Are there magazines in your bathroom? My devotion book is in the bathroom. That seems like TMI haha!

8. Is there bar soap or liquid soap on your bathroom sink? There is liquid soap on the bathroom sink. I buy one brand and it is at all of the sinks in our house.

9. What kind of soap is in your shower? There are two bars of soap in our shower.

Mark loves Grandma's soap and actually bought a case of it!

I have lots of allergies and various smells
set them off - I've used Dial soap for
years - including on my face. My complexion and
skin have always been excellent - though
everyone freaks out when they find out
I use it on my face.

10. Now for the most important question: does the toilet paper drape over or under? Toilet paper drapes over!!

Our cat, Harvey, who died in August loved for us to floss his teeth. About halfway down in this post, you can watch a video of Mark flossing Harvey's teeth.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is always a little bittersweet for me. I lost my mom when I was 15—just on the edge of growing up, at the point in life when I needed her most but didn’t yet know how to ask for it. Now that I’m a mother myself, the day carries layers of both joy and heartache.

What makes it harder is that, as an adult, I never got the chance to really know her. I never got to have those long conversations where you start to understand your parent not just as your mother, but as a person with her own story. I wish I could have asked her about her dreams, her fears, how she managed the hard days, and what she hoped for me.

I also carry the sadness of knowing that my mother didn't get to be raised by her own mom. She was passed from one household to another—loved, perhaps, but still missing that central connection that every child deserves. There’s something heartbreaking in that pattern, and I often wonder how it shaped her, how it shaped me.

There have been, and still are, days when I realize I don’t always know how to mother, because I didn’t have that example long enough. After she died, several mothers from church stepped in to fill the gap. And when Mark and I married, his mom helped fill it, too. Still, I often wondered—and still wonder—if I’m doing it right. I’m sure I’ve made mistakes. But I hope our kids know how deeply I love them, and now, how much I love their daughters, too.

Today, I honor my mom’s memory by loving as fully as I can.

My mother is holding me. Glenine (the sister who died in November)
is in the back and Becky is up front.

My mother - doesn't she look pretty
and happy?

My mother and me

Our twins when they were newborns - they made
me a mother.

Gran and her girls

 

The whole gang - son and daughter
and son-in-law and daughter-in-law,
along with Mark and the three
granddaughters

Then vs. Now

I was inspired to write this post when I was reading a comment written by Myra from this blog. I can't remember whose blog she was commenting on!! Maybe Joyce's blog at From This Side of the Pond?

or maybe it was on Terri's blog?

Anyway - I started thinking about the house where we grew up and found it on Zillow. My parents kept it clean and neat and we had a big tree in the front yard and a swing. In the back, my daddy made an amazing sandbox with a roof for me. I have good memories from that neighborhood and house. Now, it is a little shocking. There were five of us (3 girls, 2 parents) and we lived in a house that was just over 1,000 square feet and we shared one bathroom that didn't have a shower - only a tub. My daddy added a bedroom onto the back of the house - before that, there were just two bedrooms.

At one time, this was our bedroom (the girls).
When it was just Beck and me, we had the
coolest furniture and I have searched the
internet and asked Chat GPT to help me, but
I cannot find any pictures of the furniture.
It was in the late 60's/early 70's and it was red with an antiqued finish.
The headboard was a curved piece on top with
spindles. The mirror over the dresser had that same
curve on top. It was so cool.

This is the room that daddy built onto
the back of the house as the primary
bedroom. I wonder why he didn't add
another bathroom?? I'm assuming
it was because they didn't have enough
money.

This was the front bedroom. When I was a baby
until I was almost 3 years old, I slept in
a crib in this room and my parents
slept in the room, too. The hardwoods
were pretty. I think the floors are
the original ones.

This was the tiny bathroom! The story is told
that when my daddy was building the house (he
was a carpenter at one time), there was no door on the bathroom
for a while and my mom was in there and someone
like the preacher had dropped by. I'm pretty sure
he added a door quickly after that day!

This was the living room. The original front
door is still on the house. We had a TV and stereo
in that corner. I actually remember standing in the
window on the right watching my older
sisters play in the neighborhood and leave
for school. There were teethmarks on the window
sill where I chewed on it while I waited!!!
We hung our Christmas stockings on the coat
closet door to the right of the front door (or maybe
we hung them on the molding??).

This is where I grew up. Wow! There used to be
a garage in the backyard and I learned to back up
by driving forward and backward over and over
in that driveway!
The house looks very sad now and I wonder
if anyone lives there and calls it home??

I posted this photo fairly recently. There
were so many of us in the neighborhood who
played together!

Fast forward to the spring of 2024. Our home burned in July of 2022. We lived in an apartment while

our home was rebuilt. We moved back in after a year and ten days and started working on replacing and recovering furniture and rugs. In the spring of 2024, our builder ELM Construction, won an award for their work and we were featured in the Hoover magazine.

This is our bedroom.

We actually moved from a Queen sized bed
to a King.

Here is our funky powder room which
is almost as big as the one bathroom in the
house where I grew up.

Here is our living room.

Here is our kitchen.

Many years ago, I went with my best friend (growing up) to visit some relatives and they lived in a much nicer house. While we were visiting, they hosted a Sunday School party at their house and I remember thinking that was so cool. I remember telling God (when I was praying) that if I ever had a wonderful home, I would try my best to use it for his glory. Fast forward to now . . .

This was part of our Tuesday night group
this week -- we have a teak table
and chairs on the front porch and the
weather was perfect.

This was a week ago - at one point,
there were 16 crammed around
that dining room table plus . . .

people standing at the island and
sitting at the island eating . . .

and then they were spending time reading
scripture and discussing how it applies
to life today.

Wow - Then vs. Now . . .We feel very thankful and very blessed.

 

Mother, May I? Hodgepodge

1. Let's compare this May to last May. What's changed? What remains very much the same? Let's see . . .last May, Mark's momma was still alive. My oldest sister was still alive. Our cat, Harvey, was still snuggling with us. Mark's brother and our sister-in-law were still alive. Our youngest granddaughter was only a month or two old and now she is a fun chunky monkey whose smile melts my heart. My sister is here to visit so that is different from last May!! I'm a college graduate now! We still live in the same house in the same neighborhood. We still go to the same church and are in the same Sunday School class.

2. What's something you may do this month? I may get a pedicure this weekend (please!!). I may get my eyebrows threaded (double please!). I wish our neighborhood pool would open and then I could say that I may go hang out at the pool. 

3. Mother's Day is approaching (in the US of A)...in what way(s) are you like your mother? I evidently look like her. She died when I was 15 so I don't know if I act like her in any way. I don't think so. I think I probably act more like my daddy did.

4. Did you have a favorite book as a child? What was it and why was it a favorite. I loved Heidi. I thought her story was so cool. I'm sure there are others that I loved -- I definitely loved all of the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books! I still like mysteries!!

5. Are you more of a tortoise or a hare? Explain.  I think I'm a hare. Mark and I both have a tendency to hurry up and wait. When Waze tells me it will take 24 minutes to get to my office, I try to beat her time! I walk quickly (for my age and size). One time I told someone what I do everyday between when I get up (5:00 a.m.) and when I arrive at the office (8:30 a.m.), they were shocked and said I do more in that amount of time than they do all day. I guess all of those things mean I'm a hare.

6. Insert your own random thought here. We've had a cool spell here for a day or so. The temp went down to 49 on Saturday and Sunday nights!! I'm loving the longer days. I found this funny meme this week.

Graduation, Sisters, and Weekend in Review

My sister arrived on Wednesday night after driving 14 hours . . .by herself! I'm so proud of her. She is 8 years older than I and that was a long drive - with no overnight stop.

I had to work Thursday and Mark was at the farm, so she just hung out at our house until I got off work. We heated up some leftovers for dinner and talked and watched TV.

Friday morning dawned bright and early and it was GRADUATION DAY - for me! I graduated Summa Cum Laude from a local Community College and I actually walked! I am the first person in my family of birth to have any kind of a college degree. Mark and the kids are very well educated - Mark is a CPA and both of our kids have their Master's Degrees. In his remarks on Friday, the president of the college said, "You now have something that no one can ever take away from you - a college degree." I may have been a tad weepy during the ceremony. The graduate that almost tipped me over the edge was a blind daddy . . .who was led by his little girl, who was maybe 7 or 8. She took her job so seriously and everyone in the place went wild with clapping and hooping and hollering! It was a beautiful sight to behold. It was extra special for my sister, Becky, to be here for many reasons. First, we haven't been together since right before covid hit. Second, our mom died when I was a Sophomore in high school so Becky attended every event in our mom's place. She was there when I was tapped into National Honor Society -- all of those momentous high school occasions.

This was from a friend at work - we
enjoyed the bottle of bubbly on Saturday
night.

on our front porch

This is my advisor, Ms. Thomas. She
and I had never met in person and she
asked me to find her. She was SO VERY
helpful and kind to me!!

Here I am - headed to shake
the president's hand (I'm between the
two people on stage)

The graduation was at the historic
Alabama Theater. Our friends
snapped this shot from a stairwell.
There were a lot of people there!

It was very warm and sunny - our friend
snapped this as we were walking
to the car.

Our friends were so very kind and wanted to celebrate with us so they took us to dinner. These are our people. The food was delicious.

The Pita Stop Cahaba Heights Shrimp Kebabs, salad,
fruit, hummus, pita - yum!

Here we are. They were so kind to include
Becky, too. While we were there, it started
raining and was a huge thunderstorm.

Saturday, we crawled out of bed and it was pouring rain and we had to drive about an hour north for a memorial picnic for our older sister who died in November. There are three of us left -- me, Becky, and our first cousin, Willard. I'm 66, Becky is 75, and I think Willard is 80. Our kids were not able to attend but we got to hang out with our niece and great nieces and great great nieces?? I need to look up those categories - so I know our niece is our niece. Are her daughters our great nieces? Are their daughters our great great nieces? I know we were there for a more somber occasion, but I really enjoyed laughing with our niece, Mandy.

It was rainy, cold, and windy - in 
May in Alabama! I'm on the left, 
Willard in the middle, Becky on the right.

This is after we got home. Cheers!

We were about halfway home from the picnic and we came to a complete stop on the interstate. We finally figured out that there was a wreck ahead, but we were trapped. Rather than an hour drive, it took us between an hour and a half and two hours to get home. We ate Chick-fil-A for dinner and we all did prep for the Sunday family lunch and shared some champagne.

I worked on Sunday morning and then hurried home to help Mark and Becky finish lunch prep. We had 16 family members for Sunday lunch. I've written about our family Sunday lunches before. Mark's momma cooked every Sunday and we all gathered together. It keeps the family close.

I tried a new recipe for London Broil guaranteed to be tender.
The rare slices were tender, but the rest was chewy.
The recipe also said it would be
flavorful and it was. That is Wynn with
Mark. He is family by friendship.

Bookends - Mark and his identical twin brother.
All three granddaughters and our daughter
and son-in-law ate in the kitchen.

I didn't get everyone in the photo and it is a horrible
photo.

At 5:00 on Sunday afternoon, I had to attend a meeting at another local United Methodist Church. I am a Lay Delegate for Annual Conference which will be held in a few weeks. This was a pre-conference meeting.

Our neighborhood had outdoor movies and food trucks on Sunday night but we ate leftover cheese grits from lunch and we all read and watched one TV show!

We've rolled around to Monday and here we go with a new week! What did you do this weekend?