Sunday Stealing

I’m joining up with the Sunday Stealing folks today and I feel like I’m screeching in at the finish line! Between moving back into our house, studying for my BIO 101 final, helping to feed Mark’s mother, brother, sister-in-law, and sitter (just once a week), cooking for our Tuesday night group of Young Adults, and writing something to talk about this morning and Tuesday night . . .I’ve been a tad busy. I miss y’all when I don’t join in!!

our new bar

cooking for Tuesday night YA
on my new stove

Sparse on furniture and rugs but
full of love!

Home Sweet Home

1. Does love come from the brain, the heart or elsewhere? I’m sure there is a scientific answer but I think I first feel it in my heart. I can’t wait to read all of your answers later today.

 

2. Have you ever given a shot? Yes, I still take allergy shots but these days they will only administer the shots in the doctor’s office and you have to have an Epi-Pen with you. You know what that means? Someone sued some doctor or nurse at some time in the past. Mark administered the shots for years and I think he enjoyed poking me 😊. I also gave them to myself in my upper leg. I have never given a shot to anyone else.

 

3. Can you lick your elbow? (Come on, didja try?) I tried. I almost can but my tongue is not long enough.

 

4. If I was going to be talking to you for 10 minutes, what would be something really interesting you know a little bit about but would like to know more?? I would ask you how do you get so many followers on your blog? I'm sure there are other things that might interest me but the brain isn't clicking yet 😊. 

 

5. What do you think of the Sopranos? I’ve never watched it. I want to make a joke about those who sing soprano with warbly voices (lots of vibrato) . . .but I won't. 😊

 

6. Have you ever had a crush on your teacher?  How about your boss? OH MY GOODNESS!! When I was in high school, we had a history teacher who was also the Spanish teacher. His name was Juan Romanell (I don’t remember the correct spelling). I had a huge crush on him. I’m sure I’ve had bosses over the years that I have had a crush on.

 

7. Have you ever seen a movie in 3D? When we were on one of our last trips, we saw a movie at one of the sites and it was in 3D. 3D makes me incredibly nauseous so I only peeked through my fingers.

 

8. How difficult do you think it is for immigrants to come into your country? I think it is very hard for immigrants to come into the US legally. I think people come across the Mexican/US border every day and many of them never make it. They pay huge sums of money for a person to get them across illegally . . . For all of those looking for a better life – one where they can raise their children without fear – I wish we could help them.

 

9. Do you have what it takes to go live in another country, maybe for years, where you don't speak the language as your first language? I think it would be very difficult to move to a country where English was not the first language. I do think that if I lived anywhere for “years,” I would learn to speak to language just by being there plus some study.

 

10. Have you ever died in your dreams? I don’t think so . . .and I hope I don’t.

 

11. What book should our political leaders read and why? My first thought was the Bible but then I remembered how politicians misuse the scripture. I’m not sure I have a good suggestion.

 

12. What is your favorite glass object? I don’t really know. I’ve realized after a year of living without my “things” . . .most things aren’t all that important. I have a Waterford crystal bowl that was a wedding gift. It is quite lovely.

 

13. Do you like to window shop? If I can consider browsing online the same as window shopping – then yes!

 

14. Are you more likely to buy one really nice expensive outfit or a couple of cheap outfits? It depends. Some occasions call for a very expensive dress. I love to wear dresses to work so I look for several cheaper things. It is always great to spend more on a classic because it will usually last.

 

15. If you could, would you wear everything once, throw it out and buy something new? I always have a few favorites that I wear often. There are a few things that I have purchased over the years that didn’t meet my expectations and I would happily throw it out for something new. I must admit that I cleaned out my closets during the last year and I gave away several massive black garbage bags of clothes. I gave some to one of our sitters (for Mark’s mom) and I gave some to the Goodwill.

Sunday Sunday on Saturday night

I'm joining up with the Sunday Stealing gang. Bev steals the questions from the internet and we answer! She stole this week's questions from Swap Bot.

1. Live on a boat or in a treehouse? I think I would live on a houseboat but a treehouse might be really cool.

2. No computer use for a year or no sweets for a year? Please let me keep my computer. I'll give up sweets for a year.

3. Have $2,000 right now or be given $100 every month for the rest of your life? I'm actually sitting here adding up that I would have to wait well over a year to get to the $2,000 mark but hopefully, I have at least 10 more years (maybe lots more years). If I could make myself savae the $100 each month, I could accrue a tidy sum. I have a feeling that I would fritter away that $100 each month.

4. Be an astronaut or an athlete? I would love to be an athlete. I would love to have those gorgeous toned arms that some women have.

5. Have 50 good friends or only one best friend? I am blessed to have lots of good friends and best friends. I'll keep what I have and happily add more to the good friend category. 

6. Have bright blue teeth or bright blue hair? I think blue hair might be fun . . .but not old lady blue hair. IYKYK.

7. Have the power of flight or the power of invisibility? I don't know . . .it would be great to fly places all over the world so I guess I would choose flight . . .but it would be so interesting to be invisible and sneak into some places.

8. Have a fun friend who is snarky or a boring friend who is kind? I'm not sure but I see myself as the fun friend who is snarky. I don't think we have any boring friends. If Mark were here, I would ask his thoughts on my comment and he would probably have a different opinion. He definitely only wants fu friends :-).

9. Be incredibly rich but without love or be poor but have a happy marriage? I'm not choosing either/or . . .definitely a happy marriage but let's be rich, too!

10. Have a freezing cold shower every day or a pleasant hot shower once a week? I would have to go with the freezing cold shower every day. I do not like going a single day without a shower.

11. Be an only child or have many siblings? I have two sisters but they are quite a few years older (one is 8 years older and one is 13 years older). I felt like an only child at times. One of my favorite friends growing up was an only child and she got lots of everything including a baby blue camaro when she turned 16 BUT one of my other favorite friends growing up was from a family with 5 kids and I always loved hanging with them and wanted more sisters and a brother or two. After my mom died, the family with 5 kids had a family pool membership. That year, I had a membership with them . . .I became Lisa . . .and their last name. 

12. Quit video games forever or live in a desert for a month? I don't play video games. I don't have time to play video games. If I could live in an air conditioned home in the desert, I would choose desert.

13. Go on a one week trip to a foreign country of your choice or a month long trip in your own country? Give me all of the one week trips to all of the foreign countries. I'm your girl for that assignment! I will admit that there is a lot of the US that I haven't seen. I've never been all the way to the west coast. I've been to Las Vegas so I was close.

14. Celebrate your birthday every day or go on your favorite holiday once a year? Let's go on a favorite holiday once a year . . .and stay a couple of weeks. . . or longer.

15. If fish could talk, what would you ask them? Why do you never learn not to grab the bait?

Sunday Stealing

I'm joining up with Sunday Stealing again this week.

1. What are the 3 most important things everyone should know about you? I’m a Christian; I try to err on the side of grace in all things; and I have NO idea what else . . .I’m married to a twin, mom to fraternal twins, gran to two precious girls, surrounded by friends and family.

 

2. What is the strangest thing you believed as a child? This sounds so stupid as I type it. When I was about 4 years old, I used to “imagine” that elves lived in our woodwork around the floor of each room. I have no idea why I thought that. I don’t know if I’ve ever told anyone that.

 

3. Thinking of school classes, which were your favorite and least favorite? I love all things English related – especially writing. I take that back – I don’t really enjoy poetry. Since I’m taking Bio 101 right now, I might have to say science was my least favorite. I am one of those people that loves most things about school! Please give me new notebooks, new pencils and pens, a pink eraser, a new box of crayons and I’m a happy camper.

 

4. What is your favorite fast food? I rarely eat fast food but if I did, the actual food item would be French fries. If we eat fast food at all, we usually eat Chick Fil A and I usually get a salad. We did get sandwiches from Arby’s one day this week because we had no food in the house.

 

5. What song comes closest to how you feel about your life right now?

 

6. Have you ever taken martial arts classes? I have not.

 

7. Does your life tend to get better or worse or does it just stay the same? We’ve been in a rough patch for the last year so I’m hoping for it to get better!

 

8.What arts and crafts have you tried and decided you were bad at? I’m not very good at painting. I’ve done a couple of workshops over the years . . .and I’m not very good.

 

9. What is the truest thing that you know? The truest thing I know is that I am loved.

 

10. Are you more of a giver or a taker? I think I’m a giver . . .but I wonder if others see me that way??

 

11. Do you make your decisions with an open heart/mind? See the second part of my answer to #1. I have not always been this way but over the last few years, I’ve tried to learn to make decisions with both an open heart and an open mind.

 

12. What is the most physically painful thing that has ever happened to you? I don’t know . . . maybe when I had the sinus infection last summer that required removal of bones from my face. When we got to the ER, my pain was a 10 out of 10.

 

13. What is the most emotionally painful thing that has ever happened to you? I’m actually not going to share the most painful thing. I do share it when I share my own story but I’m not sharing it here . . .at least not today. I will share this one -- When I was 18, I married my high school boyfriend. A year and a half later, he left me . . .and I later found out he was gay. Those were dark days and the only time in my entire life that I have actually felt a tad suicidal.

 

14. What is your favorite line from a movie? My family has lots of movie quotes . . .but I’m horrible at this!!

 

15. Can you eat with chopsticks? No, I can’t but my husband loves trying!

 

She is 4!

Our youngest granddaughter celebrated her fourth birthday this week! We were able to go down for part of the weekend and enjoyed being with her!!

While we were there, she opened a couple of presents from family. Mark's sister sent her the fairy wings, crown, and a tutu. She loved this present!!

She also loves this "princess" dress that she is wearing. It was a hand-me-down from a friend and she was on day 4 of wearing it. She doesn't want to take it off! That is Pearl with her. Pearl is the service dog at our daughter's school and our daughter is the co-handler. Pearl is the sweetest dog EVER!

We contributed toward a new swingset but I wanted her to have something to open for us. Her favorite color is "purple sparkle" so I found a "purple sparkle" Barbie online and thought she would love her. She opened it and started crying! Oh well . . .you can't win every time.

She wanted a Tea Party for her birthday so her mama and I pulled off a tea party. Her other grandmother had been buying cups and saucers at the thrift store for the last year! The girls were to take home the cup as their "party favor." Laura bought a file for placemates and had them printed. They were personalized with the name of the birthday girl and there were things to color and other things. We put crayons in tiny mason jars. Laura had purchased baby's breath and maybe spider mums(???) and I made little arrangements for the tables using mason jars. Laura saw someone giving away a sack of mason jars on a free site so she grabbed them. There was even a purple jar and we put the forks in it on the food table.

Laura had a sign painted for the birthday girl.

We served cheese straws (made by me) and decorated cookies (made in Birmingham and transported to Pike Road) and chips.

She had a purple birthday cake and we served macarons (from Publix). Mark said the lemon ones were really good.

We used cookie cutters shaped like circles, stars, and squares and made sandwiches - PBJ, Nutella, Jalapeno Pimento Cheese, and Bacon Pimento Cheese.

We moved the regular kitchen table to another location and put two card tables together and all but one little girl (the youngest) sat together (she was happy to sit with her mommy at another table).

She opened presents and did a good job of saying thank you.

We sang happy birthday and mommy helped her blow out the candles.

We are so thankful for our sweet family - granddaughters are just awesome!!

It's Wednesday so it must be a SIMPLE HODGEPODGE

Thanks to Joyce for the questions:

1. Is your life simple? Elaborate. Our life is anything but simple right now. My husband's mother, who will be 98 on the 18th, fell on Sunday and broke her clavicle. She has been living in her house with 24 hour care including several nights a week by her children. She stayed overnight in the hospital and then was moved to a rehab facility where she will still need 24 hour care. She has dementia and this has added more confusion. 

My husband's brother has lymphoma. 

We are moving into our house beginning today and I’m frantically trying to write a Sunday school lesson, learn about DNA and reproduction so I can pass Biology, and pack. Everything isn't finished but we've done the walk through and have a punch list.

2. What simple pleasure are you are currently enjoying?  I've found a margarita in a can (or bottle) that is sugar free and they are great! Great is relative :-). I'm not sure a pedicure is a simple pleasure but I sure do love to get one. Hopefully, I will be able to go sometime soon.

3. Travel by plane or go on a cruise? I’ll take the plane 

walk or ride a bike? depends . . .is it hilly? flat? I like both walking and riding a bike. 

swim or ski? I'm a horrible swimmer. I might be able to save myself. I have been on water skis several times and did ok (not great). I love hanging out at the pool or on the beach so let's go with swim (with a noodle!). 

ocean or mountains? ocean all the way - actually the Gulf of Mexico 

4. What's the last thing you bought online that you really loved? I love my new dresses from Tuckernuck. I'm always buying things on Amazon. One of my most recent Amazon purchases is this - the spring loaded thing-a-ma-jig that holds toilet paper:

5. What’s your 'back in my day we__________' story? I don't have the bandwidth to write a long story so how about back in the day, we (South Central Bell and AT&T employees) were taught phone etiquette and we were taught what it means to give good customer service. Very few places today offer good customer service.

6. Insert your own random thought here. By next week's hodgepodge, we will be living back in our house. I think our first night to stay will be Friday night. I’ll include a teaser picture, too.

Would You Rather Ten on the Tenth

I'm joining up with Marsha in the Middle and friends for 10 on the 10th. July's questions are "would you rather" questions.

1. Would you rather get up early to see the sun rise or stay up late to see the sun set? I love both sunrises and sunsets. When we had to move to the apartment last July, it gave me great comfort to see the sunrise each day and remind myself that it was the same sun and the world was still spinning. I have so many pictures of sunrises and sunsets on my phone!

2. Would you rather wear sneakers or flip flops? I wear birkenstocks or Vionic flip flops about 10 months of the year. Sneakers are good for exercising or long walks when we travel out of the country or even long walks in the neighborhood but I LOVE a good flip flop.

3. Would you rather have to wear a tutu to the beach or a tiara to the pool? Please give me the tiara. I'm assuming I would have on a bathing suit and cover-up, too! Just call me the Queen of Sunbathing!

4. Would you rather have a pool full of jello or a slip and slide full of pudding? Both sound rather sticky but I think I'll slip and slide on the pudding!

5. Would you rather live in a tree house or on a boat? I should pick tree house since I often experience motion sickness but I think I have to choose the boat -- I would like a luxury houseboat, please.

6. Would you rather camp in a yurt or in a camper? I want to glamp if I have to camp so could I please have one of those luxury campers? One of these might be nice. I will say that these yurts looks pretty good, too!

7. Would you rather walk barefoot on grass or walk barefoot in the sand? I love walking barefoot in the sand. Let's go!!

8. Would you rather go water skiing or water tubing? I haven't been up on water skis in quite a few (a lot) years and I wasn't very good at skiing. I think I'll pick water tubing . . .maybe on a lazy river rather than behind a boat!

9. Would you rather be covered in watermelon juice or ketchup? Watermelon juice is sooooo sticky but the thought of being covered in ketchup doesn't sound great either. I'm going with neither hahaha!

10. Would you rather go on a hot air balloon ride or a helicopter tour? Recently, I shared on a nother post that we plan to go on a hot air balloon ride in 2024. We will be in a hot air balloon over Cappadocia. Here is a picture of hot air balloons over Turkey that I found on the internet - doesn't that look amazing???

Sunday Stealing

 I'm joining up with the Sunday Stealing folks. Bev steals the questions and we answer.

1. Do you trust people at restaurants who handle your food that they aren't doing anything gross to it while you can't see them? I try not to think about it. I usually won’t return food because I do always wonder if they do something horrible to it before they bring it back out.

2. How do you wear your hair each day? I wash it, blow dry and straighten it . . .every day.

3. Have you ever worn:

A gas mask? no

A blindfold? Yes – I actually have a long story about a blindfold that I should blog about.

4. Would you be willing to go hang gliding? I might. I went to a hang gliding festival once when I was young and watched a lot of people jump off a mountain. I didn’t do it then but I might do a tandem with a trained person today.

5. What is the difference between a man's button down shirt and a woman's button down shirt? The buttons are on different sides (or they used to be).

6. Have you ever taken a lock of someone else's hair? No . . .are you asking us if we’ve snipped a lock of someone’s hair when they didn’t know it? I think I may have saved a little hair from both of our kids when they had their first hair cut but I think it is long gone at this point in time.

7. Have you ever given anyone a lock of your hair? No, I can’t say that I have. Question 6 and 7 seem strange to me.

8. If you had a locket what would you put inside? Ok, I see the connection here between 6, 7, and 8! I wouldn’t put a lock of hair inside. If I put anything inside, it would be a tiny picture.

9. Have you ever written something on a bathroom wall? I don’t think so but I was young once and did stupid things so I guess I might have . . .but I don’t think so.

10. When was the last time you fell down in public? It was a doozy. I fell while walking quickly on a metal pier at the beach. It is a miracle that I wasn’t hurt worse than I was.

11. Are you more aggressive or mellow? I can be aggressive but I do think I’ve mellowed with age.

12. What have you done with your self to keep your life worth living? I love others and am loved by others. I try to do things for other people. I try to laugh often.

13. What is the most incredible thing you can do? I don’t know if there is anything “special” and “incredible” that I do.

14. Do you bury your pets, flush them, or throw them away? The last pet that died was our former cat, Snugs. He showed up on our deck one day and we had him for several years. We had to have him put to sleep at the end of his life. I think the vet cremates them.

15. What's your favorite thing that is yellow? I love forsythia when it blooms in early spring. It is such a harbinger of “spring that is to come.”

 

16. Do you have any tattoos or piercings? My ears are pierced. There are two holes but I left the second holes grow up years ago but I’ve ordered some earrings and I’m going to put them through those top holes! I think I’m going to get a tattoo this year, too. I turned 65 a few weeks ago . . .and I figure if I’m going to do it, I should do it soon.

A few things from the last week

Last Tuesday night, I ordered pizzas and made a big salad for our young adults. We usually provide a home cooked meal BUT my mid-term was last week (I did fairly well . . .I have an A overall) PLUS I've begun packing to move. This apartment kitchen has served us well over the last year. I know you can't see it, but there is a cute Snoopy towel hanging on the oven door. 

I must tell you a quick story . . . (do you know me? quick? hahaha!)

So we received lots of new members at our church this past year. One of them approached me and said, "Do you remember me? We've met before and we are related." This jogged my memory and we began to talk. Before long, we realized that not only are we related BUT our grandmothers were sisters. This might not be important to some folks but I have very few relatives still living. She gave me the cute towel for my birthday. Wasn't that kind? She also told me that she has found a picture of our great grandmother. I don't remember my daddy talking about a grandmother. There are so many things I wish I could ask my parents!! Ok - moving on . . .yay - that was almost a quick story!

After we ate pizza, we did a mission project. We made PBJs and I delivered them to our outreach ministries the next day. We had a small group last week but it worked out well.

The picture below does not do the sky justice. This wasThursday night of last week and the view of the sunset from our window was amazing. It wasn't actually the sunset itself. It was the sky full of pink light and there is a scientific explanation for that!

On Friday night, we headed to Casual Pint and met Mark's sister and our brother-in-law for a beverage and a bite to eat. I'm truly excited to finally like some sort of beverage that I can order in a brewery. I'm also excited that we get to hang out with them more often.

It wasn't crowded when we got there but by the time we left, all of the tables were taken.

After we ate, we stopped by the house for them to see the progress. Our mantle/fireplace surround is made of limestone. Alabama ranks 20th among the states as a producer of nonfuel minerals. Of these, limestone quarrying is the largest industry, and the state is ranked third in the nation in this commodity. (info from the online Encyclopedia of Alabama) We have Alabama limestone on our mantle and Alabama marble on our new bar. For some reason, this makes me very happy.

Our jobsite supervisor texted on Friday afternoon and said we needed to get the mirrors for the bathrooms so they could be installed this week. It was BLAZING HOT in Alabama at the end of the week all the way through Saturday. We  hit the ground early Saturday morning and bought 5 mirrors. The one below is my favorite. We found the mirror at White House Interiors and it is going in the powder room. The powder room is the only room that is not painted with Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray. It is Jade Green - every inch of it from the ceiling to the baseboards to the crown molding to the back of the door. When Mark and I saw the mirror, we both knew it was the one for that space. We then had to buy a new faucet to match. (more about this later)

We had our gigantic bathtub ripped out and these floor to ceiling cabinets built into our bathroom. The bottom doors are full length mirrors. Look at the cool detail at the bottom and top - the swoops (technical term haha!) cut into the wood. I love those types of details. Something happened to the glass for our shower . . .they've put a rush job on it to try to get it re-cut.

Since the fire last year, both Harvey and I have some PTSD. We have had several thunderstorms since Saturday night. Harvey had been hiding under the bed during the thunder and lightning. Afterwards, he crawled up into Mark's lap and fell asleep. He was so sound asleep that his head fell totally off Mark's leg and it didn't wake him up.

Back to the powder room. . . the toilet paper holder, the sink stopper thing-a-ma-jig, and the towel ring were silver.  The new mirror and new faucet were not silver. They are gold. Mark ran to Walmart and bought a can of spraypaint and brought the pieces to the apartment and I spray painted them. A few years ago, I spraypainted knobs/handles for a piece of furniture so I hope this works.

Sunday night, our city had a fireworks show. We parked in a a business parking lot and tuned our radio to the correct station and had a great seat! Yes . . .that is a taco bell right in front of us. All of the songs, but one, were patriotic. One of the songs was Amazing Grace and it was really cool to see the fireworks to the tune of Amazing Grace. If I've never told you before, I LOVE fireworks.

We went back over to the house this afternoon and they had installed the faucets in our bath (not the powder room). They look great! It is coming together. Slowly. We have movers lined up for three different days next week - one day a truck will come from storage; one day All South Appliance will come and install all of our new kitchen appliances that we had ordered BEFORE the fire; the third day a moving company will come and load our stuff at the apartment and take it two blocks to our house. I still have to line up the furniture rental company and figure out when they can come pick up the rental furniture in the apartment.

See this cutie? She will be four next week and we will be celebrating her this weekend. She and her mommy were going to Home Depot to return a broken mirror. She was the Queen and was dressed in her fancy dress to go to Home Depot.

That's it, folks! What is going on in your world? We have no special plans for the fourth. I certainly won't be cooking because I have packed most of the kitchen stuff. I still need to pack our bedroom and bath and the guest bedroom has a box or two of stuff to pack. I do not know how we collected so much stuff living in a 2 bedroom apartment with rented furniture and kitchen equipment.

 

Sunday Stealing on fire

I'm joining up with the Sunday Stealing crew. Thanks to Bev for stealing the questions. I love reading everyone's answers. This week's questions were stolen from The Pen Company.

1. If your house was on fire, which three items would you save? As someone whose house has burned, let me tell you . . .you really aren’t thinking about what to save. When I called 911, the dispatcher said, “Get every living thing out of the house.” I grabbed my purse, phone, and the cat. I was already wearing a raincoat because it was pouring rain and our house was struck by lightning and I had been outside to check on it. Someone else may have had a different experience if their house burned and maybe they were clear-headed enough to think about the three things they should grab. I did ask one of the firefighters to go back in and get my two laptops (one work and one school) that were in the kitchen. When the fire was out, our son remembered to grab our "box of imporant papers." At that point, I was still in shock (and still sick) and my co-workers, neighbors, and Glenn and his best friend who just happens to work at our insurance company, were smart enough to think of things we had to get out of the house that night -- my silver, Mark's guns and bourbon collection, my jewelry. Once again, I still was not thinking about what I needed to get out. The next day, my neighbor rescued our wedding book and our children's baby books, and some other important things -- the kind of things you "think" you would possibly grab. My scrapbooks are all packed into giant plastic tubs and I'm hoping those memories made it through.

2. What is the strangest or most awkward date you’ve ever been on? Way back when, I went on some unusual dates. The weirdest was when I went out with this guy from church – cute guy, great car, but clammy hands. I was totally freaked out when we held hands. Actually, as I was typing I remembered a far worse first date. I had a blind date with a medical student and we were at a really fancy home that belonged to a doctor at one of the local hospitals. The owner of the house had multiple cats and I had one of the worst allergic reactions I’ve ever had. It was so bad that I thought I was going to end up at the hospital. Needless to say . . .we never went out again. I’m talking "eyes swelled close and nose running down my face" kind of reaction.

3. What are your biggest fears? This question was in a recent set of questions. I don’t even like to write or talk about my biggest fears.

4. How do you spend your time when you are procrastinating? I love to while away time on the computer or just “piddling” around. One of my main procrastinating skills is eating . . . which is ridiculous. I must be very aware of this and if/when I catch myself eating to procrastinate, I try to make myself either go ahead and do whatever it is that I don’t want to do OR find a healthier way to procrastinate.

5. What has been your most memorable birthday so far, and why? I guess it would be my 50th birthday. I’ve mentioned that party before. My mom died not long after her 50^th birthday so I always said if I made it to 50, I was having a blow out party. A friend at church hosted the party. Mark hired a local restaurateur to cook in my friend’s kitchen. We invited our Sunday School class, our kids, my sister. We even invited some of our kid’s friends (one of them was living with us that summer). We ate, we drank, we talked, and we had so much fun.

6. What is your favorite snack? I love to eat fruit as a snack and I love Built bars – especially the coconut one. If I didn’t have to always watch my weight, I would eat chips or crackers. I love a good salty snack.

7. What was your first pet? We had a cat whose name was Tom, but I don’t remember much about him. Missy was a calico kitty I had when I was a little older kid. I had a bicycle with a basket on the front and Missy would hop into that basket and away we would go. She loved riding in that basket.

8. What’s your favorite city in your country? I awant to say that my favorite city depends on where I am! I actually love the city I live in. I love Orange Beach, AL. I love Charleston, SC. I’ve never been to New York, but I think I would love that city, too. I wish I could access my scrapbooks (soon . . .soon) because we went to one city in Colorado that I loved. I think it might have been Colorado Springs.

9. Do you have a garden? We do not have a garden but I wish we had a spot for one. My daddy and my grandpa ALWAYS had a garden. Mark and I had a garden the first year we were married and we grew broccoli and tomatoes and some other things. Fresh broccoli straight from the garden was delicious!

10. What is your favorite thing about your home town? Are we talking home town where I grew up or home town where I live now? The home town where I grew up was much like Mayberry. The school was within walking distance of our house, as was our church. We had a tiny “downtown” area with a couple of grocery stores, a pharmacy, a furniture store, a Western Auto, a Five and Dime store, a Dairy Queen, a couple of clothing stores, a library, and a city hall. I’m sad to report that little city is no longer a good place to live.

My current hometown is great. If you look at the greater Birmingham area, we are known as a foodie city. We have some of the best restaurants with several James Beard award winning chefs.

Our city is lush with greenery and right now, the limelight hydrangeas are blooming everywhere. Throughout the spring and summer, we have gorgeous flowering bushes, plants, and trees. We only have a couple of months of cold weather and even during those months, we don’t have to wear heavy wool coats very often. We get a snow storm with several inches of snow about once a decade with a few light dustings of snow every few years. We have lots of sunshine and blue skies and scorching hot days. The one thing I would change would be to have less humidity. We are in a very hot spell – heat index is over a 100 and humidity is so high that you feel like you are swimming. As usual, the question asked for my favorite thing and I have a hard time narrowing it down to one.

11. What was the last book you read? I just finished Where They Lie by Joe Hart. It is a thriller.

12. What is the best book you have ever read? I just saw a post I wrote about Same Kind of Different as Me. That is a really good book.  Once again, I can’t pick a favorite. I love to read.

13. Who is your favorite author? Ha! I can’t answer that question. I love to read and I love lots of different authors.

14, Is there a food that you hate? If you had asked me this question a few months ago, my response would have been salmon . . .but I’m trying to learn to like it. I really don’t like beets in any form or fashion and luckily, Mark doesn’t like them either.

15. Do you get along with your neighbors? We do . . .most of the time. One of our neighbors has really struggled with the construction this last year. It is messy and nails and screws run away and jump into tires. I understand it is frustrating. Really, I do. We feel so blessed to live in this neighborhood. The people are so incredibly kind.

16. Do you have any tattoos or piercings? My ears are pierced and there is actually a second hole in each ear but I haven’t worn earrings in those second holes in years. I celebrated my 65^th birthday a couple of weeks ago and I have just about talked myself into getting a tattoo. I don’t currently have any tattoos, but I might before the end of the summer. We will see. I’ve also thought about re-piercing those second holes in my ears.