April A to Z 2025

Theme Reveal

Just FYI - I may have lost my mind! In the midst of writing a paper/preparing a speech for school, I have signed up for the April A to Z blog challenge. I participated for the first time in 2017. One of my favorite years was the year I wrote about all of the foods we ate or tried during covid!!

My theme for this year is based on travel (which we love!) through Egypt, Turkey, and Greece.

I hope you will check back in April.

Spring Has Sprung Hodgepodge

 

It is Wednesday, so it is time for the HodgePodge! Many thanks to Joyce for our questions each week.

1. Spring has officially sprung (in the northern hemisphere anyway)...did she roll in more like a lion or more like a lamb in your neck of the woods? What needs more of your attention in terms of a good spring clean this year-your house or your garden/yard? 

I guess she rolled in like a lamb . . .though looking ahead to the possibility of bad weather this weekend, she may be changing to a lion! Spring in Alabama has lots of extremes - possibility of tornadoes, could be warm, could be quite chilly.

Mark does all of the yard work and he is actually going to talk to a landscaper about having our bushes changed out in front of the house, so I guess that would be sort of a "spring clean." We need to finish cleaning out our attic. We keep the inside of the house fairly clean, but I need to clean out some closets.

2. What's put a spring in your step lately? 

We have signed up for a river cruise for later this year!

3. When you were a kid, what was the best snack to find in your lunchbox? If you didn't do the lunchbox thing, tell us what was your favorite after school snack. 

Wow - so many years ago! I can't remember. I do remember taking my lunch in a cute little lunch box but I have no idea what was in it! The one thing I DO remember is that we could purchase two oatmeal cookies and a little cup of ice cream in the lunch room. We used the little "wooden spoon" to go around the edges of the ice cream and loosen it up. We then slid the ice cream onto one of the cookies and placed the other cookie on top. Oh My Goodness! It was so delicious and a very rare treat. I know my mom had snacks for us after school because I, in turn, had snacks for our kids after school. I tried to keep those snacks healthy, but fun. Ants on a log or good fresh fruit were favorites.

4. In what area of your life are you planting seeds? 

Mark and I plant seeds every Tuesday night as we feed/lead/facilitate a group of Young Professionals. Last week, counting us, there were 20 people on Tuesday night. I'm writing this at 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning (of this week!) and I think our number will be smaller tonight. One of our guys is out of the country for six weeks. One of the young women will be in Montana for four weeks.

5. Why do you live where you do? Would you consider living somewhere else? Why or why not? 

Mark and I both grew up in the greater Birmingham area. Actually, we both lived in smaller cities nearby (suburbs). Mark did live in another city in Alabama when we were first dating, but moved back to Birmingham before we got engaged. We had the opportunity to move to a different city in Alabama many years ago, and we chose not to do so. At this stage of life, I might consider living somewhere else, but it would be tough - we have a great friend group and we love our church and we love our neighborhood.

6. Insert your own random thought here. We don't get a lot of snow in the south . . .but we get LOTS OF pollen!

Photo Overload - Weekend in Review

Photo Warning!! There are 27 photos in today's post, so I know everyone won't be interested - this is so that when I'm old and my mind is feeble, I can look back!! On Thursday after work, I drove 45 minutes to our son and daughter-in-law's house and Mark met me there so that we could take Granddaughter #1 to dinner. Before we left, my son gave us a dozen eggs and used their new stamp on the carton.

We went "down the road" to the Mexican restaurant nearby so that we could celebrate her 9th birthday!

The restaurant was packed - on a Thursday night - and she knew just about everyone and was flitting from table to table as she visited with friends.

When they found out it was her birthday, they brought a cool birthday dessert!

On Friday morning, I worked on straightening up my home "office/place to craft/room where youngest grandbaby sleeps in porta crib" room. I'm constantly shopping for a rocking chir that is smaller in size and more in line with the small desk. When I find the one I want, I'll know it. I haven't found it yet.

I tried to straighten up the bookshelves. I should get rid of some more books.

Our upstairs is much more personalized that our downstairs. I have paintings/drawings done by our granddaughters and I have all sorts of random pictures of family and friends. In the hallway, I have pictures from our travels on both sides.

On Friday, the youngest granddaughter celebrated her first birthday! We will head down to their house this weekend to celebrate.

On Friday night, we hosted our long-time supper club. It is amazing to me that we've been gathering together every month for over 20 years.

We had a great menu. Terry brought a black bean and corn dip with fritos for our appetizer. Kim brought a wonderful slaw. Laura brought baked beans.

Phella brought banana pudding and some kind of a bar. I didn't eat either, but they both looked delicious.

Mark smoked the meat on his Pit Barrel Smoker and then he sliced it, rather than shredding it. It makes a much prettier presentation.

I kept it simple - just a few flowers in a vase in the center of the table. I love our dining room. I've heard that the trend is moving back towards actual dining rooms. An actual dining room was on my list of non-negotiables when we were house hunting.

Saturday morning, we headed to Homewood to the Mouat Chapel in our church. It is a sweet chapel that will hold 75-90 people. My sister-in-law, Alice, made the gorgeous flower arrangement. I'm sorry that my picture is slanted. I could have corrected that . . .

Bill loved to do all of the outdoor activities from canoeing and white water rafting to camping and more. When Mark and I were dating and first married, Bill had the "tank" below. This picture makes me smile!!

A member of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra reached out to me and said that she knew Bill from the Lakeshore Walking Trail where he rode his recumbent bike. She wanted to honor Bill by playing at his service. She played a four minute prelude before the service began and it was so beautiful. I watched her face and fingers as she played and she truly honored Bill. For those of you who have never had to book musicians . . .let me just say that she truly gave us a gift.

After the service, Mark and I rode with George and Alice to the graveside. It was over an hour north of us in a graveyard by a tiny church. There are four little old ladies left as members of the church. Our brother-in-law, Bob, dug the hole on Friday and he and Susie placed Bill's ashes in the ground. Alice took the beautiful flowers from the altar with us and placed them on the grave.

Mark read the 14th chapter of John and he and George recited the 23rd Psalm. 

Alice and I were walking around looking at all of the grave markers in the cemetery. I turned around and the two brothers were still standing by the grave.

The farms and pastureland were beautiful -- but we were out in the middle of some deep country! Let me just say that the chapel service and the graveside was just right for Bill.

On the way home, we stopped at Smith Farms Smoked Meats. The first item of business for me was to find the ladies' room! I should have snapped a picture. The walls were tile on the bottom and corrugated metal above.

There was a wide array of cheese and sausage and meat sticks and jelly and jam and salsa.

There was also a "wine tasting." There were 8 bottles on each side and you had to take a card in and out for it to work (to keep kids from using!). There were all sorts of interesting flavors from scuppernong to blueberry to cranberry to merlot, etc. Many of the wines were actually labeled Smith Farm so they evidently make some of their own.

The guys had removed their suit jackets and ties before the long ride. In those white shirts, even with George's beard . . .that identical twin thing shows.

We came home and crashed after a very long day. I know we ate something and I know we watched something on TV - Reacher, I think!

Sunday morning, I had to be at work at 7:00 and the sun was just coming up. It was beautiful.

I worked and taught our Sunday School class on the Christus Victor theory of atonement and Mark went to worship and Sunday school and then we headed home for the afternoon. We ate some left-over BBQ from Friday night and took a nap! Later in the afternoon, Mark cooked the sausage (from Smith Farms) over charcoal and he cooked some boneless chicken breasts for my meal prep lunches while the fire was hot. I prepped my lunches.

Guess what we did after that? We booked a river cruise for the fall. We need something fun to look forward to -- we have a couple of family weddings (May and June) and another wedding in June and those will be fun. The cruise is a "big fun" in the future.

The table below is the one made by our son. Mark has been decorating the screened porch. The old drinkcontainer was my daddy's. The fishing equipment is very old from Mark's side of the family. Can you see those cool blue jars? and the two old lanterns? It looks great! He cleaned the pollen off and it was back not 30 minutes later.

What did you 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!

These journal prompts were stolen from CountryDew, who originally posted them in February 2021. She undoubtedly stole them from another blogger, but we're not busting her. Here at Sunday Stealing we encourage theft. 

Prompts and More Prompts

1) How do you show others love? What makes you feel loved? I cook for people as a sign of my love. I tell them I love them. I send text messages to check on my friends and family. My husband's love language is acts of service so I try to do things for him. My love language is words of affirmation. I also feel loved when one of the granddaughters gives me a giant hug or a friend stops by my office or sends a text to check on me.

2) Who is someone you admire? Why? I admire quite a few people. I admire Mary Liz who had a dream of feeding the hungry. She started a ministry in her yard . . .and then we hired her . . .and she runs The Hub (where Mark volunteers each week) and feeds hundreds of families each week. She also develops relationships with the families. I admire another co-worker who is a single mom.

3) Do you have the qualities you value in a friend? I value the following qualities in a friend and I try to have those same qualities. A good friend is someone who listens; who loves; who can keep a confidence; who has a sense of humor; who is honest.

4) What is something you enjoyed doing when you were younger but don't do anymore? Why did you stop doing it? I loved riding a bike outside. I don't have an outside bike, but I do ride a recumbent indoor bike. I was never very good at it, but I also loved to roller skate at the skating rink. I don't roller skate because I do not need a broken hip or a broken anything. I also loved to play kickball and was pretty darn good at it. There are several reasons why I don't do that anymore.

5) What is something other people think is fun but you don't? Some people love to camp and think it is great fun. I've been camping two or three times. It was ok, not necessarily fun. Mark loves to tramp around the farm and thinks fishing is the best hobby ever. I'm glad he feels that way and has a place to go. Some people seem to think that being cruel is fun. I do not.

Time for the Hodgepodge

 

1. Joyce writes the Hodgepodge questions so they'll post on Sunday, which sometimes throws her off in terms of what day it is. St. Patrick's Day was celebrated on Monday, March 17th. Did you mark the day in some way? Wear green? Make a special meal? Watch or participate in a parade? I wore green to church on Sunday and to work on Monday! I looked at my ancestry.com and 23 and me results (again) to verify that I do indeed have Irish blood!! I did not make a special meal (I don't like corned beef) and I didn't celebrate. I did think about Ireland!!

2. Do you think luck plays a part in your life? Explain. I have really mixed emotions about "luck." I do think somethings are just "luck of the draw." I won a bottle of Pappy several years ago and that was just plain luck - my golden ticket was drawn from thousands. I think that every once in a while, we might be somewhere and see something fun and interesting and maybe we were just "lucky" to be there. Mark and I are people of faith and so we tend to look at many things as blessings, rather than luck, and the path of our life is guided by God through the Holy Spirit. I do want to say that we do believe in free will - we don't think we are pieces on a chess board that God moves hither and yon.

3. Of the 15 green foods listed, which one is your favorite and how do you like it prepared? Any on the list that are a hard no for you? In general do you like fruits and veggies? As a kid did you eat them willingly or did you hide peas in your napkin hoping your momma wouldn't see? 

Asparagus - I love it roasted, 

avocado - I love it sliced and I love it in guac, 

broccoli - I eat it and sometimes I love it; sometimes I eat it because it is good for me, 

celery - I like it on a crudite tray or stuffed with pimento cheese or cream cheese and olives or peanut butter with raisins on top, 

cucumber - I enjoy cucumbers, 

grape - we've been eating grapes all week, 

green bean - I eat them and I guess I like them haha, 

kale - I love Chick-Fil-A's kale salad - yum yum!, 

kiwi - I love ripe kiwi - to me, kiwi tastes like a cross of banana and strawberry, 

lettuce - I enjoy a good salad, 

lime - I love a lime margarita! 

pear - I like pears just fine, 

peas - I do like green peas; especially LeSueur brand, 

pistachios - I do like pistachios, 

spinach - I like raw spinach, but I only tolerate cooked spinach.

I love most fruits and veggies. We grew up eating lots of fruit. My granddaddy and my daddy always had a garden, so we always had fresh veggies. My momma did fry lots of things - squash and okra and green tomatoes. I don't remember hiding any fruit or veggie in a napkin but my mom made Salmon Croquettes and I would cry and cry. I still don't eat them and that experience plays a part in the fact that I can't eat salmon now. There was a starchy veggie that I didn't like and would cry about eating-- it was some sort of a large white bean. I love just about all beans now. Whatever mama cooked and served, we were expected to eat. She didn't make separate meals for us.

4. What's something that makes you 'turn green'? (with envy or with illness... whichever way you want to run with it) I don't do well if anyone throws up -- I turn green . . . and vacate the premises as quickly as possible.

5. Did you spend a lot of time outdoors as a child? Doing what? Do you spend a lot of time outdoors now? Doing what? When the weather was nice, we spent a lot of time outside. We had swings and would swing high. We played kick ball and we played baseball/softball. There were 17 kids in our neighborhood and we played lots of outside games. We rode our bikes everywhere. As an adult, I love the outdoors BUT I do not spend much time outside due to allergies. I'm on shots and oral meds but still have trouble. My eyes are so itchy right now as I'm typing this!!

This is just the girls from our neighborhood.
I'm second from left on front row.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

meme courtesy of someone's pinterest page

Week (and weekend) in review

Last week I received some swag from Samford - I'm going to be honest. I was a little giddy! Never in a million years did I dream that I would possibly some day (in my old age) receive a degree at all, much less from an amazing university like Samford. I'm registered for two mini terms this summer.

Our daughter sent us this photo on Thursday morning. I bought these two pieces of clothing from our church consignment sale - Lil Lambs! I knew she would love it!

Back up a day to Wednesday -- I worked at The Hub, which is our church's outreach center. I've written about it before -- we feed over 600 families a week; ESOL classes on Monday night; and so many other good things. It was Staff Serve week so many of our church staff volunteered - we actually have a day or two built into our PTO for service opportunities. My job was to sort linens and package them into sets.

Here I am with two of our regular volunteers.

On Thursday night, we met 8 friends at Seasons 52 for dinner. I had shrimp and grits along with a Cosmopolitan! The photo below is the only photo I took!!

On Friday morning, I finally had time to get a pedicure and it was much needed. I actually studied while I was there. It is so nice that I can access my textbook on my phone.

On Friday night, we headed to MJ and Dan's for a dessert party. We now have at least 12 couples/families who live in our neighborhood and who all go to Trinity UMC. Trinity is located in Homewood which is about 15 minutes away. MJ said she would host if I would help her get the invitation list together. I also made a fruit tray and dip.

We had a great time! Several of the couples are in the same Sunday School class that Mark and I are in and we've traveled with quite a few of the other folks. Several of the folks work at the Hub during the week so Mark knows them. We had a great time.

The weather was so nice that we drove the golf cart to their house. We could have walked but it would have been hard to juggle that giant tray of fruit. Look at the moon! It was gorgeous that night.

Saturday brought the threat of bad weather and lots of tornadoes to our state (and other states). Our oldest grand celebrated her 9th birthday. We were supposed to meet them for dinner but cancelled due to the threat of bad weather.

To make up for missing her dinner (which made me very sad), we have plans to take her to dinner on Thursday night and it will be just the three of us.

James Spann is our local celebrity weather man. He keeps us all informed. At one point, a tornado was headed straight towards our son's community. We called them and they were sheltered in their basement room. They are safe and the tornado didn't touch down near them but there were other communities in our state that suffered damage and loss of life. Most folks in our neighborhood have more than one car and due to the threat of large hail, etc. most everyone took their extra cars/Sprinter vans/etc. to the Galleria parking deck. It is less than 10 minutes away. As soon as the main threat was gone (about 9:30 p.m.) I drove Mark to get his vehicle because I go to work so early on Sunday mornings and we didn't want to have to cram one more thing into our Sunday morning time frame.

Sunday morning found us both at Trinity UMC. I worked and taught Sunday School and Mark went to worship and Sunday School. We are trying to continue the family Sunday lunch tradition and everyone came to our house for Chicken Spaghetti. We talked through Bill's memorial service which will be this weekend. Alice had bought a giant bag of Gummi Bears for Bill and he died before they were opened. He loved Gummi bears! Susie, Alice, and I put Gummi Bears into tiny bags and we are going to have them in a basket to give to people at the end of the service. Mark's mother always loved a party favor. Mark walked into the dining room while we were putting the bags together and said, "Seriously - are you making party favors for the funeral?" Later I was telling our son and he asked, "Y'all made funeral favors?" I don't know why I find this so hilarious. I guess it is the body, mind, and soul's way of coping with grief. Sometimes things are just funny.

Thieving on a Sunday afternoon!

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Cheers to all of us thieves!

This week, we're stealing from Steph, aka Cry Baby. She loves Taco Bell and asking questions like these.

I tried to answer these questions on Saturday, like I normally do, but I just couldn't get my act together!

1) Think about the last person you forgave. How long did it take you to forgive them? I'm sure I have forgiven people for smaller things over the last few years, but I must admit that there is a thing for which I had to forgive someone that was HUGE. It took me years and years and more years to be able to forgive this person. It also took therapy. I was finally able to forgive the person, but I never wanted to be reconciled with that person. I actually talked about this incident just this morning when I was teaching Sunday School. I realized that the offender could have cared less whether or not I ever forgave them BUT the angst/anger of holding on to the lack of forgiveness was eating me up from the inside out. I forgave the person for my own well being. I don't think Mark was ever able to forgive the person, but as he said today -- the person is now dead. I also used this story from NPR this morning. It is worth a read and it is a powerful story of forgiveness.

 

2) Steph's favorite fast food is Taco Bell. What's yours? On his blog, Roger said that he liked Wendy's. I do think Wendy's has a great cheeseburger (hold the onions). My favorite french fries are from Milo's and I need several of their dipping sauces because I want to dip each fry - sometimes more than once. Mark nor I eat a lot of fast food but we both love the salads at Chick Fil A. If we "pick up" food, we might get a meat and three from the local Piggly Wiggly (grocery store) deli or we might grab some chicken salad from Ashley Mac's. I love Papa John's pizza but I only order it if Mark isn't home or if I'm ordering it for our Young Adult group. We have several "fast food/casual" places where we like to eat like Taco Mama or Urban Cookhouse. Those are places where we can grab a healthier version of to go food or we can actually go inside.

 

3) Who was the last friend you hung out with? What did you do? We hung out with several different friends and family members over the last week. I will recap all of that in my week/weekend in review tomorrow.

 

4) Did you do anything this past week that will still seem important a year from now? Yesterday, I was leaving my WW (Weight Watchers) meeting and one of the other ladies fell. I called 911 and several of us waited with her until the paramedics arrived. Her husband is partially disabled and she is raising her 16 year old grandson. One of the other ladies drove her to the ER where the doctors had to use 8 stitches to put her pinky finger back together. She busted (burst?) her lip and she texted us that she has three broken bones and will see an ortho doctor this week. All I did was run to her as I dialed 911 . . .but that might still seem important next week.

 

5) Will this coming week be better than last week? How so? I hope so. Our family is ready for some good days.