C is for Comfortable Shoes

Continuing with the April A to Z Challenge - Day 3!

The Things that Make Life Better

C is for Comfortable Shoes

The older I get, the more I love comfortable shoes. I LOVE the way stiletto heels look on others, but that day has long passed. These days, I wear tennis shoes - some more stylish than others; Birkenstocks - in various colors; a couple of pair of booties, and a few pairs of dressier sandals. My feet are horrible and comfortable shoes are definitely a thing that make my life better.

These boots are some of my fave! They look like baby deerskin!

Here is a close up from Ebay:

I have several pair of tennis shoes - or you might call them sneakers. My newest ones are from Lifestride.

I also have this style, but have almost worn them too many times.

Regarding Birkenstocks - I have these in black, gold (2 pair), and bronze. I bought the shiny gold and the bronze (or not shiny gold) in Austria or Germany back in 2022. I bought a pair of black ones from our neighborhood trading site. It was someone on my street and they had never really worn them after they brought them home! I do NOT normally buy used shoes in any form or fashion, but these were really new. You can tell the ones below are new -- there are no toe indentations haha! I know these don't match - it was the picture I sent our daughter after I purchased them.

The shoes below are antelope sandals and I love them! I had a different pair of gold ones that I wore out. Those tend to be my dressiest shoes other than boots.

Here is a photo of me wearing the antelopes. We were at an outdoor wedding and reception.

I don't know about you . . .but comfortable shoes make my day a little bit better. I should probably write a post about Mark's comfortable shoes! I also know that an uncomfortable pair of shoes can make me totally miserable! haha!

What are your most comfortable, but fashionable, shoes?

 

B is for Books You Can't Put Down

 

Continuing with the April A to Z Challenge - Day 2!

The Things that Make Life Better

B is for Books You Can't Put Down

Yesterday, I included Mark's preference in the post. He will not be appearing in today's post because he does not enjoy reading! He reads the Garden and Gun magazine each month. He reads his Bible. I do remember him reading one book and loving it. He just doesn't like fiction. This is one he read and I'll admit -- it's definitely a book you don't want to put down.

Man-Eaters of Kumaon

Book by Jim Corbett

Man-Eaters of Kumaon is a classic book by hunter-naturalist Jim Corbett, detailing his real-life experiences hunting man-eating tigers and leopards in the Kumaon region of the Indian Himalayas from the 1900s to the 1930s. The book contains ten stories of tracking and shooting dangerous predators, including the infamous Champawat Man-eater, and also provides insights into local flora, fauna, and village life, making it a blend of adventure and natural history. 

I, on the other hand, am an avid reader. I ride the stationary bike every morning from 6:00 - 6:35 and I read while on the stationary bike. My legs won't pedal if my eyes aren't reading haha!

Here are a few books that I've read recently that I couldn't put down (but, of course, I had to put them down to go to work and to study!).

I recently read The Women by Kristin Hannah. This book is about the women who went to Vietnam. I wasn't even born when the Vietnam war began in 1955 and I was a young high school student in 1975 so my memories of that time are not of war. This book is gripping and I may have experienced all of the emotions while reading . . . including sobbing while on the bicycle!

It is really interesting to me, because that book is not my normal genre. I love thrillers and mysteries . . .but this book was so good.

I know most of you have read Theo of Golden. It is another "hard to put down" book.

Sometimes it is hard to put down a good James Patterson book. The Widow by John Grisham was also really good! How about The Briar Club - oh my goodness!! Read it, if you haven't!

For "light" reading, I've been reading the Richard Osman series about the folks that live in a retirement home and solve mysteries (Thursday Murder Club Mysteries). I enjoy the lighter writing of Donna Andrews, too.

Some of you have given me THE BEST book recommendations. What are some books that you "couldn't put down"?

I have found that books have a way of pulling us into worlds we didn’t expect to care about—and sometimes, those are the ones that stay with us the longest.

Books are definitely a "thing" that makes life better for me!

March is Rolling On Out Hodgepodge

 

1. March is rolling on out of here. Sum up your March in ten words or less. Growing, writing, learning, and finding meaning in everyday joys. (plus throw in some 85 degree temps and a snowy day haha!)

2. Are you afraid of heights? When was the last time you found yourself dealing with a height, and did it make you nervous? I don't think I'm afraid of heights. I've been up high quite a few times.

I've climbed to the top of this fire tower.

I've climbed to the top of this ruin in Israel.

3. What's a word you struggle to spell on a regular basis, and sometimes need to double check before writing it down? Use the word in a sentence that tells us something about your April calendar. Caeser; Ceasar; Caesar? Somewhere between scheduling dinners, planning menus, and writing blog posts this April, I had to stop and ask myself (again): is it Caesar?

4. Love 'em or hate 'em, with Easter comes the sweet treat known as Peeps. So... do you love 'em or hate 'em? Speaking of peeps, what's your favorite way to have chicken? Peeps are fine. I can take them or leave them. I think they are cute, but I don't eat sweets anymore. My favorite way to have chicken is as a centerpiece on my dining room table.

In reality, we eat a lot of chicken. I had it on Monday night in a chopped salad at a local "fancy" Mexican restaurant and it was yummy! I make Poppyseed Chicken for the young adults and they love it. I also make a Crack Chicken Casserole that they love. I love a good chicken kebob on the grill - with onion and peppers and maybe mushrooms or even pineapple.

5. This week's Hodgepodge lands on the first day of April, which happens to be National Poetry Month. Do you like poetry?  Share a favorite line or two from one of your favorite poems. What makes this one a favorite? I am not really a poetry fan. I really want to like poetry. I just googled . . .and It is Well with My Soul was originally a poem so I'm going with that!

It is well . . .

with my soul . . .

it is well, it is well with my soul.

6. Insert your own random thought here.  I'm writing this on Tuesday morning as I sit in the waiting room of a surgery center. Mark is having some surgery on a growth on his hand. The surgeon just called and said surgery went well and she is sending growth off to pathology. She doesn't know what it is! He is in recovery now. I'm going with a positive assumption - that it is just some weird fatty tumor. We knew it wasn't a ganglion cyst from his appointment with the surgeon.

A is for A Good Cup of Coffee - OR - A Cold Diet Pepsi

I can't believe it - I think I am a fool for trying to accomplish April A to Z this year . . but here goes nothing! My theme is "Things that Make Life Better."

What better place to begin than

A is for A good cup of coffee or A cold Diet Pepsi.

I LOVE Diet Pepsi. I have one every single morning and then I have at least one more during the day.

When we travel to other countries, it is sometimes difficult to find Pepsi products. That means that I drink either Coke Zero or Pepsi Max (or it is Pepsi Zero now?). To be honest, I don't really like either of those, but I drink what is available.

When we land at an airport on our way home, I begin searching for Diet Pepsi!

Evidently, I found one below.

Here is one by my books when I was studying.

Here is one in my old office.

This is a rare photo below. I don't really like to drink them from a glass! I want the Diet Pepsi to live in the refrigerator and be COLD without a glass or ice.

Just FYI - Diet Pepsi is not sponsoring this post. I wish they were. Maybe they could offer me a free year's supply hahaha!

Mark, on the other hand, is a coffee man. Every night before we go to bed, I run out to the garage fridge and bring a Diet Pepsi inside so that I don't have to walk too far upon awakening!! While I'm grabbing my drink, Mark is loading the Keurig. His favorite joke is that every night, right before we fall asleep, he doesn't say "I Love You!" . . . he says, "I get to wake up and have coffee." I'm actually not joking, but feel free to laugh!! Keurig is not sponsoring this blog either, but we would be glad to accept any products they might send us, too hahaha!

To Mark and to me, one thing that makes life just a little bit better is either "A cup of morning coffee or A cold Diet Pepsi."

What are a few things that make life a little better for you? What are some small things that bring you joy?

It's funny how something so small can feel like such a comfort, or even a treat! Maybe that is the point!

I hope you come back tomorrow because I'll be writing about books!

 

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's meme was inspired by a post at My Random Randomness. That gentleman shared random thoughts about himself. His revelations have been turned into questions.

Random Revelations

1. Is your phone Apple or Android? What about your laptop? My phone is an Apple. My laptop is not. It is some weird brand like "Lenovo"??

2. Can you say "thank you" in more than one language? "Muchas Gracias" -- "Danke schön" -- "Merci" - I can guarantee you that tour guides have taught us thank you in every country, but those are all I remember right now.

 3. What do you draw when you doodle? Back in the days where we actually talked on the telephone a lot, I doodled. I don't doodle that much anymore. I would draw bunny faces and kitten faces and write my name in a million different ways.

4. Which do you enjoy more, Scrabble or bowling? I haven't played either one of those in many years! I don't have a preference . . .well, maybe scrabble . . .simply because I don't have to wear some weird shoes that someone else has worn haha!

5. Can you juggle? I cannot juggle, but my husband is an excellent juggler!! Our son can juggle, but not quite as well as Mark.

6. Have you ever worn pajamas in public? When I was in high school, I joined a club at school. I can't remember the name of the club. The initiation involved being dressed in our pajamas. They took us to the mall and we had to walk around and buy something or talk to people? . . .in our pajamas. In today's world, that wouldn't look that unusual! People wear some strange clothes - but to each his own! I always think it is weird when someone gets on an airplane in their pajamas. I fly in comfortable clothes, but not my pajamas. 

7. Was your best subject in school the one you enjoyed the most? I was and I still am . . .a good student. Today I'm using a lot of ellipses. I like school and I enjoy learning! 

8. When you're offered the senior discount before you ask for it, are you offended or grateful? I'm offended. Seriously. I know I shouldn't be offended, but I am.

9. Do you agree that with age comes wisdom? I think some wisdom comes with age, but there are a few people walking around who should have some wisdom, but they appear to have very little wisdom. Mark has a name for those people! 

10. Do you consider Sunday the first day of the week or the last day of the weekend? Technically, it is the first day of the week, right? I feel like Sunday is still part of the weekend, even though I have to work on Sundays.

 
Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Springing into the Hodgepodge

 

1. It's officially spring in the northern hemisphere. Does it feel like spring in your part of the world? If you're in the southern hemisphere it's officially autumn where you live. Does the weather say autumn? Which do you prefer-spring or autumn? Why? Yes! It is definitely spring in Alabama! On Monday, March 16 . . .it snowed. On Saturday, March 21 . . .it was 85 degrees! Everything is blooming. I even saw some Dogwood blossoms this morning! Pollen is everywhere. My black Lincoln Nautilus is yellow - seriously! Just this morning Mark and I were talking about spring . . . actually because it was in the low 40's this morning - fickle weather! Anyway . . .I love spring, but I have to spend most of it indoors even though I take two allergy shots per week, a Zyrtec everyday, a Singulair every day, and use a full blown saline wash twice a day. I have severe allergies. Spring and Fall are both beautiful in Alabama!

2. What's your favorite thing about spring? I love seeing all of the new growth - it is like seeing HOPE personified. The tiny leaves are on the trees and they are all shades of green and the flowers are bursting forth daily. Literally! When we drove to our daughter's home on Friday, the Wisteria was not blooming in our neighborhood. When we drove home on Saturday, it was blooming!

3. Spring into action, spring in your step, spring to life, spring to one's feet...which spring idiom currently applies to your life in some way? Explain. I feel like I have a little more spring in my step. Since late July 2025, I've been tracking every bite of food that has entered my mouth. I'm actually about four pounds from my goal weight. I started this journey in 2017 and did really well, but all of the sickness and deaths in our family threw me for a loop. Thank goodness, I didn't gain it all back. I just had to lose some plus a little more!

4. Which spring food from this list is your favorite? What's a dish you like that includes your favorite spring ingredient? 

asparagus, strawberries, salad greens like mesclun, artichokes, spinach, eggs, peas, spring onions - I love fresh Alabama strawberries - they taste like little sugar bombs on your tongue! I like to eat them sliced in a bowl or on top of a bowl of oatmeal or mixed with some fat free Greek yogurt. Mark's favorite recipe would be strawberry shortcake. It would need to be homemade shortcake using his momma's recipe haha!

5. What's one task on your spring cleaning list? Do you actually have a list? I always have a running list of things I need to do. I do not specifically have a spring cleaning list. I need to clean out our laundry room before Saturday night! We are getting a new dryer on Friday so maybe I can do it after they deliver!

6. Insert your own random thought here. Speaking of spring cleaning, I just cleaned my office. It took two days. My office is the repository for everyone's crap. Excuse me, I meant to say everyone's lovely things! I filled a giant trashcan yesterday. Seriously, I borrowed one from the custodial staff!! I had to wear a mask due to the dust. Our offices don't get cleaned unless we clean them. I told my co-worker that using a windex wipe on your desk should not make mud puddles haha! We have a guest pastor flying in from London on Thursday night. He will preach on Palm Sunday (in three services) and then he will preach the Holy Week noon services next week (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday). I hated for anyone to see my office so I tried to make it more presentable!

Silly Goose is Two!

On Friday, Mark and I headed south to our daughter's home to celebrate our youngest granddaughter's second birthday. We arrived and waited in their driveway until they pulled in from after school. The girls were happy to see us!! Our son-in-law had previous dinner plans, so we headed into the little town with Laura and the girls to eat dinner. The bait shop below is the same bait shop that Mark frequented in the summers when he was a kid! It has been there a long time! Mark's aunt had a second home on a lake nearby and they spent many summer hours at that house.

We could not have ordered more perfect weather. We made it to Coach's Corner - one of the local restaurants. We were told it would be about a 20 minute wait, but there were lots of things to see . . . and we only waited about 5 minutes!

Look at that little nugget - she is a cutie pie!

This is the view from the restaurant deck.

We played tic tac toe and some pictures were drawn while we waited.

Look at that little hand on her mama's hand!!

When we got back to the house, we headed straight to the playroom.

Laura had sent a link to us for this kitchen. Since the paper had already been torn off most of the package -- who did that?? - we decided to go ahead and put it together. It took three grown adults to wrangle two kids and to put this thing together!

Finally, we all went to bed . . .I slept with our daughter, Mark slept on the bottom bunk bed, and Scott slept on the sofa - they don't have an extra room so we made it work!

Saturday morning dawned bright and early. It was another gorgeous day. Throughout the day, there was a lot of trampoline jumping.

There was lots of swinging. Yes . . .she has a ball under her dress. It was her baby. Who knows why? None of us! haha!

I love our daughter and son-in-law's dining room. Laura is talented and has a good eye!

In addition to the outside swing, lots of swinging happened inside, too.

The photo below is so funny to me - Mark and Uncle Bob reclining!

After a lunch of grilled hotdogs, we had birthday cupcakes.

Let me just say . . .there was a lot of icing hahaha!

They have an amazing back yard and I looked outside and the grown men were playing tee ball!

I didn't get a photo, but our son was also doing flips - full flips on the trampoline. Mark kept saying that he was going to go do that . . .which he could have, I'm sure. I'm really glad he didn't!!

The silly goose is two and she was celebrated by family and friends. She is beginning to say more words and she is so smart! She is also very opinionated haha!