Last week in review

Granddaughter #1 cheered at her football game on Monday night and we were able to be there! She is right out front - cheering well!

On Wednesday morning, I had an appointment with Dr. Clark, my ENT who did the emergency surgery on me back in July of 2022 (3 days after our home burned). Over the weekend I felt like I was getting a sinus infection. Guess what? After he scoped my sinuses, I went straight in for a scan on my sinuses. There is infection in that same cavity where it was before. I don't know if you remember but the infection was pressing on the optic nerve last time and I had double vision like a cross - one image going horizontal and one vertical. It was scary! We leave for a big trip next week so I'm on heavy duty drugs and will have a second sinus surgery on Wednesday, October 23. I'll be honest - I was caught totally off guard by this diagnosis.

Thursday night we had lots of rain. We were scheduled to meet our "out to eat" supper club at The Village Tavern at the Summit. Noelle has cancer and ended up in the hospital last week so she and Dan were unable to join us. Leslie also ended up sick and Susan was in Cape Cod . . .so it ended up being a double date with Kim and Gary. I had firecracker shrimp tacos and they were really good. Mark had shrimp and grits. Kim had Chicken Marsala and Gary had a giant sandwich with BLT and pimento cheese and fries. Food was good. We took this picture to send to the folks who were sick.

We've been getting our skeletons ready for the front porch. Our theme this year is Rapunzel. Mother Gothel is first, then Rapunzel and Paschal, and whatever the guy's name is . . .

Friday night was our regular supper club and we were at the Stearn's house. I was late to the text thread and appetizer was the thing not chosen so I wanted to do something different. Let me just say that this took way too long to make and chop, etc. I like my traditional cheese ball recipes better than either of these. They were just ok BUT THEY looked cute! Mr. Scarecrow and a cheeseball made into a pumpkin shape.

Our group doesn't like to have their photo taken and shared so this is mostly the backs of folks as we were hugging goodbye and packing up to go home. We love these people. They are ours and we are theirs.

I think I mentioned that Mark was adding shelves to our hall closet. He did a great job. I spent some time organizing it this weekend.

I was able to free up a couple of drawers in the kitchen and bar area. One drawer now holds the large and small food processors and they are so much easier to get out!! I was able to move some kitchen towels from the bar to a drawer in the kitchen.

This lady below was the logo for our 2023 Women's Retreat. I tried to paint one like her and it was so horrible that I threw it away. I colored this one with crayons this weekend and I enjoyed every moment and she looks pretty good!

Sunday morning found me working at church and teaching Sunday school and packing for our staff retreat which will be on Monday and Tuesday. I need to do more homework before we leave on our trip but our professor hasn't posted the next module. I'm trying not to freak out about it but I have a deadline while we will be on the Aegean Sea.

 

Sunday Stealing

Thank you to Bev for stealing our questions this week! I'm joining up with the other thieves to answer.

1. What do you want to be remembered for? I want to be remembered as a philanthropist . . .but since we aren't wealthy enough for that to happen . . .I want to be remembered as someone who cared about others. This isn't exactly answering the question, but I've always loved this quote about living life. “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, "Wow! What a ride!” Folks can remember me that way, too! 

2. If you were put in solitary confinement for a year, what would you do to stay sane? I would exercise daily and read my Bible. Would I have access to a library? I'm assuming solitary confinement would be in a prison. Do prison's have libraries? If so, I would read a lot of books. Would I have pen and paper? I would write letters. I would probably cry some, too. It would be lonely.

3. If you could have video of any one event in your life, what event would you choose? I wish I had videos of our kids when they were little. I wish I had videos with audio of my parent's voices.

4. What are the top 3 things you want to accomplish before you die?  Have you accomplished them? I have no idea. Let's see . . .I want to love more. I want to live more. I want to travel more.

5. If you were forced to live one 10-minute block of your life again and again, what 10 minutes of your life would you choose. Wow - this is a tough question! I loved when our granddaughters were born and placed in my arms, but within 10 minutes someone else had them. I loved our daughter's wedding day. I loved my 50th birthday party. I have no real idea of how to answer this question.

6. Have you ever saved someone’s life? No. 

7. What are you addicted to? Diet Pepsi and to some extent, I'm addicted to food.

8. What keeps you up at night? I actually sleep fairly well. I'm on steroids right now for a sinus infection and that is affecting my sleep a tad. When I have too much on my plate, I wake up and go over and over it in my head. Sometimes the night before we leave on a big trip or if I'm in charge of a big event, I wake up a lot during the night.

9. What do you regret not doing? I've answered this one recently. I wish I had graduated from college at the average age rather than working on it at 66. I sometimes regret that we didn't travel more when we were younger.

10. What gives your life meaning? I'm a Christian and my faith in God and trying to live like Jesus is important to me. Also, our family and our friends and my job give my life meaning, too.

11. What are you most insecure about? I am insecure about my appearance and my lack of a college degree and worrying that what I say in a meeting might sound stupid.

12. What’s the most illegal thing you’ve done? When I was young, I smoked pot. I still speed when driving . . .a lot! I actually did something really stupid when I was a senior in high school and got caught. Thank God I was still underage. I think I made my daddy cry . . .but for those of you with kids who do something stupid, they can still grow up and be wonderful, productive members of society who try hard not to do wrong.  Just to clarify, I didn't do bodily harm to anyone. It was just stupid.

13. What’s the most surprising self-realization you’ve had?  I, like most people, thought I was going to live forever and not have aches and pains. I'm saying this tongue-in-cheek. I get really annoyed when my body doesn't do what it is supposed to do or when it "betrays" me. I don't think I realized I would feel that way.

14. If you could make one rule that everyone had to follow, what would it be? Always be kind.

15. In what situation or place would you feel most out of place? These questions are so tough today. I can be an extrovert, but when I enter a room full of people whom I don't know, I become an introvert and I always wonder if I truly belong in that space. Usually I eventually find someone to talk to and make a new friend. I would also feel very out-of-place if I joined a group of extreme mountain climbers or some group like that where I know nothing about anything!

Officially Fall Hodgepodge

I'm joining up with Joyce and the From This Side of the Pond gang for Hodgepodge!

1. It's officially fall y'all...in the northern hemisphere anyway. What are three of your favorite things about this particular season of the year? I love the colors of the leaves - gold and red and orange. I love the holidays - Halloween and Thanksgiving! I love SEC football.

2. Your favorite fall fabric-denim, flannel, tweed, corduroy, tartan, polar fleece, leather? Do you own something made with your favorite fall fabric? I think it might be denim. I have several denim skirts and regular jeans. Our son wears flannel shirts ALL OF THE TIME. I like corduroy but I don't think I have anything right now. I'm too hot natured for polar fleece. I do have a fleece pullover. I do not own a leather jacket or leather pants or leather skirt.

3. According to Everyday Health here are ten healthy fall foods- apples (flavonoids may improve brain health), pears (for heart friendly fiber), cranberries (helps your body fight oxidative stress) winter squash (for eye health), pumpkin (another great source of Vitamin A), leeks (an anti-inflammatory food), brussel sprouts (full of fiber and anti-oxidants), sweet potatoes (loaded with Vit A and C), parsnips (keep your bones healthy with Vit K), and broccoli (may help prevent cancer). 

How many on the list do you eat on a regular basis? Which one is your favorite? Which one gets a big no thanks from you? We love apples and pears and cranberries and winter squash and pumpkin. I love brussel sprouts. We both love sweet potatoes. I love broccoli - Mark does not. Leeks are ok but I don't buy them . . .maybe have never bought them. Parsnips -- might be ok. I've only had them once or twice.

4. Tell us about the last time (or a recent time) you experienced a wave of nostalgia? I sort of felt nostalgic at the wedding reception over the weekend. When I saw our son and a friend with their former children's minister . . .it took me back and I remembered so many sweet things.

5. Sept. 22nd was National Daughter's Day. Like mother, like daughter...does this idiom ring true for you? You may answer in terms of your own role as a daughter or, if you have daughters, then your role as a mother of daughters. My mom died when I was 15 but her family (half brothers) always said I looked just like her. She was much smaller than I am. Our daughter looks just like Mark, but according to Mark and Glenn, she acts like me. They always seem to point that out when one of us does something not to their pleasing. We clashed a lot when she was a teenager and we don't get to see her nearly often enough now that she has a family of her own.

6. Insert your own random thought here. Mark just said to me - Christmas is in 12 weeks. What the what???? I have way too much to do between now and then.

Weekend in Review

Moss Rock Tacos and Tequila is within walking distance of our house. I walked over on Thursday (after work) and met one of our Tuesday night young adults for margaritas and chips and queso. Mark was out of town so it was a nice way to spend a couple of hours.

All last week, Mark worked on this closet outside our powder room. It had one wire shelf and I had a little corner bakers rack in there for storage. He built and painted shelves and installed them. He did a good job! I'll take a photo once I finish organizing it.

On Friday, I headed to The Club for the bridesmaid luncheon for our sweet relative, Lydia.

Lydia's mom, Nancy, was Mark's first cousin and she and I were good friends. She actually introduced Mark and me (in a round about way on a canoe trip).

Two of my sister-in-law's were hostesses for this party. I helped with two other parties. My sister-in-law married to Mark's twin brother makes gorgeous flower arrangements. They gathered every blue and white accessory they could find.

The Club has been around since before I was born. We've never been members but have been lucky enough to have family or friends who belong. There is a lighted dance floor and it was the inspiration for the dance floor in Saturday Night Fever! Fun fact to know and tell!! The views are spectacular.

Y'all know that my mother-in-law died in June at almost 99 years old. My sister-in-law washed and ironed linens to be used on the tables. They were beautiful. She loved going to a party at The Club. We've had lots of Bridesmaid lunches there. Our niece's wedding reception will be at The Club next summer.

Lydia and Carson were married on Saturday afternoon at our church.

The reception was at the Valley Hotel. A jazz band played at the reception and the music was fun! The saxophone player goes to our church and is a former band director and the person playing the keyboard has played at the small theater we frequent. She is actually world renowned!

The cake was beautiful. I heard it had a strong almond flavor but was evidently yummy.

Flowers and candles adorned the tables.

Granddaughter#1 looked so cute by the cake.

Here we are!

The bride and groom were making their entrance.

They had a sweet first dance.

I should have cropped out the two photographers!! They were getting ready to cut the cake.

I snapped this one (below). Our friend was dancing with his daughter - it was a sweet moment.

There were some really cute dancers on the dance floor. One little boy was "break dancing" for lack of a better word.

This sign greeted us as we exited the elevator. The buffet tables were down this hallway which was nice because they didn't take up room in the actual "ballroom."

Our son, Glenn, is on the right. He and Michael grew up together -- all the way through college. They were even roommates at Auburn. Laura is Michael's wife and then Lauren is our daughter-in-law and granddaughter #1 hopped in the picture with them. I'm so sad that I didn't get a picture of Glenn and Michael with Linda Whatley. Linda was our kid's minister when they were growing up. She was so tiny next to them. She is over 80 now and she kept up with those kids for years.

Here is a cute picture of the three of them.

We had fun visiting with lots of family. Usually we are only together for sad events such as funerals. It was great to be together at a happy occasion.

Sunday Stealing Questions

I'm joining up with Bev and the gang at Sunday Stealing. Bev steals the questions and we answer them. She stole these from 200 Questions.

1. What popular TV show do you refuse to watch? This is an older show but it seems that everyone has watched it . . . but me. I just can't get into The Office. Maybe I'll try watching some of the episodes again.

2. What pets did you have while growing up? We had cats when I was growing up. We had a big yellow kitty and his name was Tom. Someone ran over him. We had a calico and her name was Missy. She loved to ride in the basket on my bike. I wish I had a picture of that!! Missy had kittens and our neighbor poisoned Missy and her babies. We couldn't prove it, but my parents thought that was what happened.

3. What is the luckiest thing that has happened to you? My husband would say it was the day I met him hahaha! I won a bottle of Pappy van Winkle - that was pretty lucky! Our house burned and I was in it when the fire started. I was safe. Our kitty was safe (bless his heart - I miss him). We were able to rebuild. I feel like that was more than luck.

4. What are some small things that make your day better? An ice cold Diet Pepsi or a kind word or a few words of affirmation always make my day better. 

5. What’s your favorite piece of clothing you own/owned? I'm not sure I have a favorite. I love dresses and have some that I wear all of the time. Do shoes count? I love my Birkenstocks and have several pairs.

6. What’s the most annoying habit other people have? I cannot stand when someone smacks or picks their nose. Another thing that annoys me is when someone is talking and someone else keeps making comments throughout the person's talk.

7. What game or movie universe would you most like to live in? This is similar to a question from last week about living in a fictional place. This isn't a game and I don't think it counts as a universe, but I'm still going with Narnia.

8. What’s the most impressive thing you know how to do? I can type really fast. I can cook in large quantities -- quadruple (or appropriate amount) a recipe to feed 20. 

9. What was the best book or series you’ve read? There are several series I have enjoyed. I love the Miss Fortune series by Jana DeLeon. I've enjoyed the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. I've read all of the Agatha Christie books several times. The best books I've read have been Same Kind of Different As Me and American Dirt and a few others. Demon Copperhead was so hard to get through but it was really good in its own way. I loved Remarkably Bright Creatures and I've heard it is being made into a movie!!

10. What state or country do you never want to go back to? I don't know that I feel that strongly in a negative way about anywhere I've been. We drove through Kansas once and it sure was flat and it took us a long time to drive across the state but I would go back. 

11. Where do you usually go when you have time off? We go see our granddaughters or we go to the beach. I'm thinking about taking a couple of days next week to do homework and just stay at home.

12. What amazing thing did you do that no one was around to see? The little boy saw this . . .but last week I was handing a glass of water or lemonade to a boy at church. Somehow it didn't make the connection between my hand and his on our first try but he and I somehow batted that cup around and caught it without a single drop spilling! I wish I had those moments recorded!!

13. What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives? I think everyone should fly on an airplane and go visit another country. 

14. What’s something you’ve been meaning to try but just haven’t gotten around to it? Birmingham is a foodie city and there are always new restaurants I want to try. There are several we haven't gotten around to visiting.

15. What is something most people consider a luxury but you don’t think you could live without? Some might consider central air conditioning a luxury but I would not be happy without it. It is hot and humid here in Alabama. I'm thankful for running water and indoor bathrooms and actual toilets, rather than a hole in the floor. I'm thankful for electricity and lights and a bed to sleep in. I would miss all of those if I didn't have them and I do know that some people would consider those things to be luxuries.

Cuppa Hodgepodge

I'm joining up with Joyce and friends for the weekly hodgepodge. Thanks to Joyce for the questions. I can't wait to read everyone's answers.

1. Something that's had you 'chuffed to bits' recently? So I googled "chuffed to bits" because I had no idea what it meant! I was suprised to learn it meant pleased! I would have guessed the opposite. What  have I been "chuffed to bits" about recently? Hmmmmm . . .I had a great WW weigh in on Saturday (WW was formerly Weight Watchers). I've had a hard time getting the scale to move lately.

2. Tell us about an instance recently where you were tempted to 'throw a wobbly' (expression used to describe tantrums thrown, usually by adults or people who should know better). Let me begin this by saying I'm very tired and when I'm tired, my feelings get hurt. Does anyone else have that problem? Two times in the last two weeks I've had my feelings hurt. As a 66 year old, it would not look very nice for me to pitch a big old dramatic fit about having my feelings hurt, but I sort of felt like it. As I've aged, I have found that I can self-talk . . .and remind myself of all sorts of things and move on. My family can tell you some stories of some tantrums I've thrown over my lifetime - even as an adult - even as a mother. Some are funny now . . .but some are not. I am ashamed that I've not always controlled my emotions.

3. Something everyone seems to love but is not your 'cuppa tea'? I'm actually not that fond of hot tea nor of coffee. I want to like both, but don't. I went back through my blog posts because I remembered that we used to have "tea" at work. We would bring little snacks and have hot tea (they did - I tried). When we flew into Ireland, it was a cool and drizzly day. I did have a "cuppa" on the little tour boat.

4. Fish and chips, bangers and mash, shepherd's pie, roast beef with Yorkshire pudding...which entree would you choose? Yes, you have to choose. I would choose either shepherd's pie or roast beef. Mark would choose fish and chips - hands down!

5. Something you want for your birthday this year? My birthday doesn't come back around until June. I have no idea! We had to dispose of most of our beach towels after Harvey's last day of life . . .so maybe I need new beach towels. We've almost stopped giving gifts all together in our family. Our kids say we all have all we want and need. Logically, I know they are probably correct but sometimes it is fun to get a gift!!

6. Insert your own random thought here. We are getting closer and closer to our departure date. I ordered a few new things - a new t-shirt, some new underwear (TMI?). We actually went to the Salvation Army store last Friday. That is out of the norm for us. There is a White Night on the boat. I actually found a pair of white capri pants and I have a cute white blouse from Talbots that I can pair with the pants. Mark found a tux shirt - of course, he bought it! He may wear it with shorts.

Weekend . . .backwards!

When I loaded my photos, they loaded backwards and all mixed up!! On Sunday night, we went to our neighborhood supper club. I'm in the middle against the windows (dress with embroidery) and Mark is beside me in the plaid/check shirt. There were a lot of us at Patsy and Charlie's house and the food was delicious. She had people sitting in two or three locations.

On Sunday after church, we had our new member lunch. We had so many families and folks - it was awesome. Mark cut the wooden circles (remember I used them at the Women's Retreat) and I bought several bunches of flowers and divided them among mason jars.

I bought these a while back and they didn't work and I missed the return window. I posted on our neighborhood sale page and someone bought them. I sold them for a third of what I paid.

This is our new friend - Paschal. He will be part of our Halloween decorations.

We found an excursion for the day we are in Santorini and booked it along with several other couples.

On Friday evening, the doorbell rang. Our neighbor was standing there and her husband was in their jeep in front of the house and they said, "let's go to the Front Porch for dinner." Mark was in the shower but he said, "if they can give me 5 minutes, I'll be ready." They did and we did. The weather was so pleasant and we sat outside. It rained ALMOST ALL WEEKEND. I borrowed this photo from the internet.

I actually had a doctor's appointment for some medicine refills (they wouldn't do it over the phone, even though I'm current on my check-ups and have my yearly scheduled for December!) on Friday at 11:45 and after the doc visit, I met my close friend for a late Mexican lunch.

Before that, I drove 40 minutes south to see my hairdresser. She covered up those roots!!

What about you? Did you do anything fun over the weekend?

It's Sunday Stealing

I'm joining up with the Sunday Stealing group. These Sundays roll around quickly each week! Thanks to Bev for coming up with the questions!!

1. What takes up too much of your time? I'm going to go with first thing that popped into my head -- scrolling on my phone or computer. I actually accomplish a lot every day and usually only scroll during commercials or if I'm stuck somewhere waiting.

2. What do you wish you knew more about? Right now I'm learning about the Revolutionary War period of the United States. I am not a history buff. I wish I could say that I want to know more . . .but I want an A and I want to move on to the next class. It is interesting - I just don't want to have to remember all of the dates and who fought what battle, etc. All of that to say, this is not what I really want to know more about.

3. What’s the best way to start the day? I start each day with a Diet Pepsi, 30 minutes of exercise, a little prayer or two, a shower and we make up our bed. It seems to be working for us.

4. What mystery do you wish you knew the answer to? I must be in a silly frame of mind this morning because the mystery that popped into my head is definitely silly. Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar? Our kids used to "sing song" that little diddy -- Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar? Laura stole the cookie from the cookie jar! Who me? Yes, you! Not me! Then who?

5. What’s your favorite genre of book or movie? For books, I love mysteries and thrillers. Every once in a while, I enjoy some historical fiction. For movies, I guess I like a rom-com or something with a little action.

6. What’s the farthest you’ve ever been from home? I've been to Israel several times. It is about a 12 hour plane ride from where we live. We are headed to Egypt, Turkey, and Greece in a few weeks. I think the first flight is 11 hours and the second flight is 2 1/2 hours -- that is after a 2+ hour drive/ride to Atlanta.

7. Where is the most interesting place you’ve been? We've loved our International travels - Israel, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Austria. There are so many places we want to visit.

8. When was the last time you climbed a tree for fun? It has been a long long long time since I climbed a tree for fun. I remember when our son was about 8 or 9, he wanted to climb every tree he saw.

9. What do you consider to be your best find? Does my hubby count? Our most recent "material" find that we both love is an antique chest we purchased for our entry hall. It is beautiful and unique and it looks awesome.

10. What’s special about the place where you grew up? When I was growing up, it felt just perfect. We could ride our bikes and run around the neighborhood and play kickball and go to school and church. We could walk to both. I mentioned this in another blog post recently -- it is not nice anymore and that is sad to see. 

11. What age do you wish you could permanently be? I don't know that I want to be stuck at any age because good and bad things happen every year. I wish we didn't have aches and pains and weren't quite as wrinkly and I wish I were 30 pounds thinner. I would wish for those things more than a year.

12. What fictional place would you most like to go? I would love to go to Narnia and meet Aslan.

I found this photo on someone's old blog post
from over 20 years ago - thanks!

13. Where is the most relaxing place you’ve ever been? Great question. I remember being very relaxed in St. Martin. Mark and I slipped away for a week when our kids were in middle school. I can also get pretty relaxed at the beach here in Alabama. 

14. What’s the most interesting piece of art you’ve seen? The Israel Museum in Jerusalem has some very interesting art. The Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museum have amazing art pieces. The Last Supper in a tiny chapel in Milan is amazing. I'm not sure any of those are what someone else might call "interesting," but I have loved seeing all of them.

15. Who has impressed you the most with what they have accomplished? We have a young man in our church who practically raised himself. With help, he has finished college and is on to higher ed PLUS he is just a neat young man. At various times in the process, he was working more than one job and taking a full PLUS load of classes and getting good grades. Another person that has impressed me is my oldest niece. She was in an abusive marriage and got out of that marriage. She had dropped out of high school and she obtained her GED. She was then sewing in a jeans factory that closed. They offered Pell Grants to any of the plant employees that wanted to go to school. She became a Dental Hygienist while raising three kids and I think she had a 4.0. She subs some now as a hygienest BUT she also makes quilts. She quit her full-time hygienist job a few years ago because her sewing skill is in such demand that she can actually do what she loves and make more money. She has taken care of my sister (her mom) who is not in good health. She has survived breast cancer and a double mastectomy and some complications. She does it all and still finds time to laugh.

Hodgepodge

I have blogged three days in a row. It's a miracle. Thanks to Joyce for this week's questions. I'd love to hear your answers!!

1. When the Hodgepodge lands on September 11th I want to acknowledge that. Will you purposely pause to remember, pray, or attend any sort of ceremony on 9/11? Share any thoughts or memories you'd like to share about this day. When I see the date "9/11" - I always think of that day. I was at the gym when the first tower went down. Everyone stopped doing whatever they were doing and walked away from their machines. As we stood in front of the TV in silence, the second tower was hit. Just typing those words gives me chills and takes me back to that day. After a few minutes, we all gathered our belongings and went home. I went home and was glued to the TV. I remember picking our kids up from school and we were all in shock. A former member of our church was in the Pentagon that day. He was never able to tell us much, but it had to be terrifying.

2. Growing up, did you spend a lot of time with your grandparents? What's something you learned from a grandparent? My daddy's parents lived in the same town and we saw them fairly often. I remember sitting on their porch on a summer night. We could hear all of the bugs and critters making night noises. My sister and I spent the night with them a few times over the years. My grandpa loved to garden and I still love fresh tomatoes and fresh beans and peas. My granny loved to quilt and cook. I didn't learn either from her, but I love to do both. My mother's mother lived further away. Now that we have interstates, it would have been a much shorter trip. Back then, it seemed like a day's journey. She was so poor. She lived in a tiny house in the woods and she didn't have indoor plumbing. Even though we didn't see her very often, I always felt so loved by her. What did I learn from her? Maybe I learned that even when you are dirt poor, you can still make a child feel very loved.

3. What's your go-to breakfast? My go-to breakfast is a turkey sandwich on keto bread. I sometimes eat Morningstar Farms sausage patties (fake) with a slice of 2% American cheese and a squirt of mustard.

4. Tell us the story behind one of your favorite photos. The photo below was taken by our friend, Halley, in November of 2020. We were still wearing masks. Our daughter's little girl wanted to wear the masks as a hat. This was not the photo we chose for our Christmas card, but I did want to remember.

I also love this one that we found when cleaning out Mark's mom's stuff. It is her with our kids at Halloween -- I don't know exactly how old they were in this picture -- but elementary school aged.

5. This week Friday lands on the 13th. Are you superstitious in any way? Do you like scary movies, and if so what's your favorite? My son says, "We aren't superstitious. We are just a little stitious." I think that is from a movie. I don't think I'm superstitious . . .but sometimes I might say, "don't do that or don't say that." I think it stems back to my childhood. My momma must have said that. When I was young, I watched more scary movies. I remember seeing The Shining and The Omen. I don't know if I could watch them now. I also remember watching Young Frankenstein. It wasn't scary . . .but it made me remember. I also remember watching some of the old Alfred Hitchcock movies . . .shiver!

6. Insert your own random thought here. Mark got his covid booster on Tuesday and I'm going to get mine today since we will be flying on a very long flight soon. We are actually getting covid, flu, and RSV -- all three. Have any of you ever been to Santorini? Did you do an excursion? We've been told that the bus tour isn't that great and I've been trying to find something we would both enjoy.

10 on the 10th

 I haven't joined in for ten on the tenth in a couple of months. Here are the questions - I'll answer below.

1. Mark and I feel very blessed in the friendship department. I have some deep meaningful relationships - some I see often. Some I don't see as often. I have some friends who are more on the periphery - I love them and they love me, but the relationships aren't as deep.

2. Bouquet or flowering bush? I would love to have a cutting garden with something blooming all of the time which would provide fresh flowers year round.

3. We know some folks who have been on the Antarctic cruise. Even with all of the luxuries in the world, I'm not sure I could take waves of 17 feet. I guess I'm going with the beach shack -- could I please have indoor plumbing and air conditioning?

4. I like SOME pumpkin spice. I don't need pumpkin spice everything.

5. I live in a state that has high humidity often. I guess I'm going with warm, sunny day with high humidity. I actually would prefer a 75-80 degree day with sunshine and low humidity. I know it wasn't a choice!

6. I think I would prefer a vintage real fur coat. I couldn't kill an animal for a coat  . . . unless I lived way back when that was my only choice BUT I could enjoy a vintage one. The problem is that it might get cold enough once every two years . . .most of the time a fur coat is too hot.

7. We talked about cars the other day. I actually love the car I drive. It is FILTHY right now from being at camp over the weekend. It would depend on the logo on whether I would pick to drive a car of my dreams . . .with a logo.

8. I would love to vote for the stilettos but at 66 years old, I am probably not going to wear any more stilettos. I love the way they look! I guess I'm voting for the tennis shoes -- I just bought some Hokas.

9. I guess I would choose a small cottage painted in colors I love.

10. I am going with the safe choice on this question -- I will vote for my favorite food every day for a year!