Hodgepodge!!

It must be Wednesday because it is time for joining up with Joyce for the weekly Hodgepodge!! 

1. June 12 is National Simplicity Day. In what way is your life simple? What's one way that it's not? I did not know we celebrated Simplicity Day! I feel like when I hold/hug one of our granddaughters . . .for just that moment, life is simple. I have a routine of the things I do each day and I keep a running list of "things to do," so I hope that makes my day "more" simple. We live a very busy and full life and I'm not sure I would call that simple. As I'm thinking about this question, I think about last Thursday. The junior high kids painted four houses out in the West End area of Birmingham. We took popsicles to the work sites after lunch on Thursday. For a few moments, we stood in the shade behind one of the houses while the kids ate popsicles, told us about their day, and played silly games. For that brief moment, life felt simple BUT if I take time to think about the homeowner who is in a lower income bracket and is dependent on a group of junior highs from a local church to paint her house . . .that same moment may not seem simple to her, but very hard. Does that make sense? My simple moment might still be a very hard and not simple moment for someone else.

2. Something you remember from a 'simpler time'? When we were kids, we played in our neighborhood all of the time. There were a ton of kids and we played until we were called home for supper. We rode bikes and played kickball. The girls played Barbie and as we got older, talked about boys. The days of summer felt long and lazy and wonderful and simple.

3. Do you like squash? If so what's your favorite variety? What's a favorite way to prepare squash? I love squash. I like yellow crookneck and zucchini. We love butternut squash. I like acorn squash when we can find sweet ones. My favorite way (which I NEVER cook) would be fried squash like my momma made. Now I like it stir-fried with onions or baked into a squash casserole. I also love it when I can buy the little bitty yellow squash. I cook the squash whole in boiling water and then you make a little bowl in the wider part and scoop out the insides into a bowl. I mix Pepperidge Farm Dry Stuffing (in the bag) with an egg, some cheese, and the scooped out insides and refill the hole. Sprinkle a little more cheese on top and bake for about 30 minutes. Yummy!

4. Do you shop the warehouse stores (such as Costco, Sam's B.J's, etc)? If so how often do you go, and what's something you always buy in this type of store? Costco is very convenient for us and we have a membership. We buy disposable pans for Tuesday night (two sizes), generic Zyrtec, Rotisserie Chickens, bagged salad, Protein drinks, Queso, fruit . . .we don't buy all of those things every time but we buy as needed.

5. Father's Day is this coming Sunday. Any plans to make the day special? Tell us something about your own father, or something about your hubs as a father, or about someone who stepped into your life and acted as a father if yours was not a part of your life. I need some ideas, please!! 

My daddy died when Mark and I were dating. I would love to have a long chat with both my dad and mom. Here are some pictures of me and my daddy:

in the swing of our frontyard - I'm about 
3 or 4 years old (I guess)

This was taken in the months before
he died. He has already been diagnosed
with cancer. I was so thin back then :-)

When I was in the 6th grade, my daddy was involved
in a train accident. He was an Engineer for the railroad
and they thought they were about to hit a gasoline
tanker truck and the crew jumped out of the window.
He broke both of his legs. We borrowed that
wheelchair which was an antique because it
worked for both legs to stick out straight!
His hospital bed was set up in our kitchen.

Mark was a great dad to our kids and he is an even better Pops to our granddaughters. They LOVE Pops!

This was at the beach a few years ago.
Both girls have grown so much!!

Here is is holding the newest granddaughter

I am thinking this might have been taken when
the kids were in high school or even college

That is Mark in the background and Laura is
behind him and Glenn is showing off
his fish!

6. Insert your own random thought here. I saw this and borrowed it from the internet.