The weekend . . .

This past weekend sort of began on Thursday night. Thank you to any of you who have prayed for Mark's younger brother, Bill. He was diagnosed with lymphoma earlier this year and when Mark helped move him home (to their mother's house), we thought he would live just a couple of weeks. Jump ahead several months and he is celebrating a birthday . . . .and there is no evidence of cancer right now. He still has Parkinson's which is very debilitating but he seems to be doing well.

After we celebrated the birthday, Mark and I headed to the Homewood Theater to meet our friends. I've told y'all before that we have season tickets and this was the opening show of the season. It is Mark's least favorite - he calls it the "singing and dancing" show. I love any kind of live entertainment.

I also had a yearly check up at the eye doctor. She saw me last year when I was having the terrible turned sideways double vision caused by the sinus infection that required surgery . . .3 days after the fire. It was nice to go in to see her and tell her that we've moved back into our house PLUS I have 20/20 vision except for the need for readers.

I am LOVING this new storage space. To have a place to store blankets is such a luxury!!

Friday afternoon found us at Costco replacing the TV that didn't make it through the fire.

Mark and I (mostly Mark) wrestled that thing into the house and he got the brackets on the wall. We texted our brother-in-law and asked if he could come by on his way home from work to help Mark lift it onto the wall!

Mark's birthday is a week from today and he told our son that he would love for him to come and pressure wash the driveway and the front walk as his gift. He showed up bright and early on Saturday morning. The heat index has been around 110 for the last week so he need to get it done before 10 a.m. (plus granddaughter #1 had a cheer expo . . .in that heat!)

He worked hard and it looks great!

Saturday night was our neighborhood block party/picnic. I walked down to the townhall with Lu and Dave (neighbors/friends) and sat with them. It was nice chatting with folks. Mark is in Alaska and was in Alaska last year at the same time! I took the slaw toward the front of my plate.

Lu brought the cut up watermelon and it was so good.

We had live music - the guy was really good.

I won a great door prize - $150 to Fleming's restaurant

I worked Sunday morning and then went to family lunch. I spent Sunday afternoon cooking for Tuesday night because I had to work tonight (Monday).

I took the screen shot below of the temp at 4:28 Sunday afternoon - 96 . . .felt like 111! It is hot as hell here. No other word for it.

 What did you do this weekend?

Billion Dollar Sunday Stealing

Thanks to Bev for the Sunday Stealing questions -- she steals them and we answer them. What would be your answer to some of these questions??

1. Things I would do first if I won a billion dollar lottery – if my husband were here, he would say, “hire a tax attorney.” Then it would probably be wise to see a financial planner and invest most of it. I would give a large gift to our church. I would set up college funds for our two granddaughters. I would book several trips. My oldest sister has financial woes so I would give a one-time gift to her. I think we would probably buy a condo at the beach.

2. Something I probably spend too much money on – diet pepsis and books (kindle) . . .and stuff on Amazon . . .  and groceries . . . and electricity because I like to run the air conditioner.

3. How I feel about the dentist – I like my dentist as a person. He is young and kind and does a great job. I do not like GOING to the dentist. I don’t mind a check-up every six months and the cleaning. I don’t like it if and when I have a cavity or have to have a crown. I usually request happy gas which my insurance does not pay for . . .but it is worth it.

4. Foods I am most picky about – the first thing that popped into my head is meat – especially chicken. I cannot stand to get one of those weird pieces in my mouth. I don’t even want to describe it but when it happens, I’m done. I usually don’t eat anymore of the chicken.

5. Internet friends / penpals I want to visit in person – there are a couple of bloggers who live here in Alabama and I would love to meet them. Maybe I should set something up?? I would love to see Mix and Match Mama’s home. She has shown pictures and it looks spectacular. I would love to visit a couple of other bloggers in various places in the U.S. I wonder if Mrs. Plastic Mancunian would allow me to come visit?? I’ve never been to England.

6. My healthiest habits – I exercise regularly. I actually try to exercise every day . . .though I haven’t today. Let me clarify. I did just walk to the neighborhood townhall for our neighborhood picnic/block party and I walked a lot of steps this morning. I try to eat healthy foods and I try to eat all of the food groups. Today I did splurge and have pizza at lunch and then at the picnic, I did have a small serving of mac and cheese but I ate a large serving of watermelon and a normal serving of salad.

7. Easiest, low effort foods and snacks for busy days – I love to grab a pre-made salad or a salad in a bag. Costco has a new one that has dried apples and cheese in it and it is so good. I also love to grab a banana or an orange or a Built Bar.

8. Where I go in summer to unwind – I’ve not gone anywhere to unwind this summer. I normally would love to go to the beach for a vacation but it didn’t happen last year nor has it happened this year.

9. My comfort books, tv shows, and movies – I love to read a good cozy mystery. I like other mysteries and police/FBI books but if I need comfort, a good cozy mystery usually helps. I don’t know if I have any comfort tv shows or movies – I do love Ted Lasso and have watched it several times. I would be remiss if I didn’t say my Bible. I do go to my Bible for comfort.

10. A list of good things – my family and friends – we are very blessed to be surrounded by good people. I love our home and where we live. I love my job. I love that we are at a stage in life where we can travel. I love that Mark was a saver and as much as I hated it at the time . . . I am so glad now.

11. Favorite places to take photos – we’ve had our Christmas photo taken in the park in front of our house a couple of times. I love to take sunset and sunrise photos.

12. The routines and habits I stick to most – I wake up most mornings at 5. We go to bed between 9:30 and 10:00 most nights. I drink a Diet Pepsi as soon as I get up every day. I take a shower before I go to work every day.

13. Topics I’d love to learn more about – I took several semesters of Spanish when I was in college the first time around. I would love to be able to speak it fluently now.

14. This time last year ... we were sad. We had just moved into the apartment after our home had burned. I was recovering from emergency surgery and I was wearing an eye patch due to a vision problem caused by the sinus infection which required the emergency surgery.

15. Favorite memories of someone I’ve lost – Let me start by saying that I would love to talk to my parents but my mom died when I was 15 and my dad died when I was 25 and I’m now 65. I have some memories. I’ve lost two good friends to cancer – Susan and Nancy. I loved them both and have so many good memories. Susan could make me laugh like no one else. Nancy could make me think about things in a different way. My life was  . . . .  and is better because of both of them.

August 10 on the 10th!!

 

1. Tell us about your favorite summer vacation. Now, tell us about a vacation gone wrong! Wow -- let's see . . .we had some wonderful vacations over the years. Our family loves the beach and we would rent three big condos at Four Seasons of Orange Beach. My sister-in-law and her family would have a condo and Mark's mom would stay with them. We would have a condo and we usually had our own kids plus another kid plus sometimes my sister, Becky. A few times we even had Mark's brother, Bill and his wife. The third condo was George and Alice and Grace and Alice's sister, Vivia.

This was a more recent beach trip - 2021

This is on one of the family beach trips long ago

Our kids were probably high school or college
students here

A vacation gone wrong . . .we've had a couple of crazy things happen -- a few years ago, I face planted on the metal pier. Since then, we've lost several friends to massive head wounds from falls. I give thanks that I just looked really horrible. 

It was a bad fall

Two years ago, our brother-in-law got caught in the undertow. Mark and I had gone out to dinner and we got a message from our nephew telling us his dad had "almost drowned." We called our server over, paid our tab (we hadn't eaten yet), and headed back to the condo. They were loading him into an ambulance and Mark ran up to the ambulance. Just FYI - he is fine . . .but it was scary!!

2. Share an activity from your summers as a kid, but now you wouldn't even consider trying it. The only thing I did as a kid that I probably wouldn't try now is roller skate. I don't want to break a hip. We rode bikes. We played kickball. We swang and sang (that sounds funny!).

3. Is there something you love to wear in the summer, but would neverwear in the colder months? I have a tendency to wear things year round. In Alabama, we do have some cold weather in the winter but you can find me in Birkenstock sandals a large portion of the year. I detest sweaters and long sleeves so I also wear a lot of short sleeves year round.

4. Spill the tea. What summer beverage do you need to make it through the day? What beverage wouldn't grace your table ever during the summer? I drink Diet Pepsi all day long. It is my beverage of choice. I've tried to make myself drink Gatorade Zero some this summer, too. I keep diluting it so that I get more water in. I am NOT a fan of hot tea or coffee. I can drink them but I don't usually.

5. When you were a kid, was there something you did that kids today would think was a complete waste of time? Is there something kids do today you find a lost cause? This is a good question . . .we didn't have to be entertained every moment of every day. We learned to play by ourselves, if necessary. We were also very inventive using all sorts of things to make a Barbie house. I think some kids probably spend too much time using screens.

6. Share a summer movie you watch as often as you can. What summer movie do you wish had never been filmed? I have no idea! I'm not a big movie person so I can't answer this question either way.

7. Tell us about your current favorite summer song. Now tell us about a song that instantly takes you back to your childhood. I don't have a current favorite summer song which is sort of sad. The other day I was somewhere in a public place . . .and This Magic Moment came on. I remember that song playing in the skating rink when I was a kid or early teenager! 

8. Time to spill the tea again. Are you a bikini kind of girl? Or are you the type of person who only dips her toe in the water in a one piece? As an adult, I've owned 1 - count it - 1 bikini. I usually either have a one piece or a two piece with long top (not a tankini - more coverage).

9. Share a favorite summer recipe you love to fix over and over again. Now what summer recipe did you try one time and you'll never try again. I love fresh sliced tomatoes and could eat them at every meal in the summer. I know you wanted a recipe but you just can't beat fresh tomatoes in the summertime. I did make an heirloom tomato (tomatoes grown by brother-in-law) tart a couple of times this summer and it was yummy.

I made a watermelon and feta salad one time. I was served it at a luncheon and liked it so I made it at home . . .and didn't like it. This is not a recipe, but one of our local restaurants serves a Conecuh Sausage (made in Alabama) and Chilton County Peach (Alabama) pizza. It is divine.

10. What is your absolute favorite summer smell? Coppertone! What summer smell wants to make you vomit? This is a yucky question . . . so I'm trying to think of a really yucky answer - I'm going with hot trash that maybe has fish in it. Shudder.

It's a Cat's Meow Hodgepodge

I’m joining Joyce’s Hodgepodge group today. It seems like most of my blogging falls on Wednesdays and Sundays . . .when someone else provides the questions/topics and I just answer. Maybe someday I’ll get back to actual writing.

1. August 8th is National Cat Day. Do you own a cat? Are you a 'cat person'? Your favorite 'famous' cat?

We do own a cat and his name is Harvey – sometimes Harv for short. I am a cat person. Mark hated cats until a stray took up with us about 15 years ago. His name was Snug – short for Snuggles. After we had Snuggles put to sleep (horrible horrible day), we didn’t intend to get another animal BECAUCE I’M ACTUALLY VERY ALLERGIC TO CATS. Our daughter made us go to a rescue event and we came home with Harvey (then known as Harley which Mark refused to call him). My favorite famous cat is Pink Panther. I have always loved Pink Panther and for years had the Pink Panther theme song as my ringtone.

2. Cat nap-copycat-scaredy cat-curiosity killed the cat-cat got your tongue-like herding cats...which cat phrase applies to your life in some way currently? Explain. 

I would enjoy a cat nap every day but that doesn’t happen often. They might frown upon me sleeping at my desk!! I have been a scaredy cat (along with Harvey) during thunder and lightning storms and we’ve had a lot of those lately. Also, our new smoke alarms have malfunctioned twice. The most recent was at 3:48 a.m. Saturday morning. Harvey and I both were scaredy cats. I told him that if I could get under the bed with him, I would. The cat rarely has my tongue. I do feel like I’m herding cats at times because I’m always trying to wrangle answers from our staff members.

3. What's your favorite or most- often-made one pot meal? 

My most popular one pot meal is One Pot Spaghetti by FiveHEARThome. Here is a link to her recipe. I actually use half hot breakfast sausage (Jimmy Dean or Tennessee Pride) and half ground beef. I use a little more spaghetti sauce and a little more paste than she does. I also usually quadruple the recipe for our young adult group. 

4. What do you wish you'd placed in a time capsule fifteen years ago? 

Great question. I actually subtracted back and 15 years ago was 2008. I think our kids were starting their Junior year of college. I didn't start blogging until the following year!! Those might be the things that I would put in a capsule – some of the memories from working rush for our daughter’s sorority; tailgates at their apartments on game days; moving them back and forth from Auburn. I love that the main things we remember are the good things.

5. Your favorite hour of the day? Tell us why. I’ve always loved that time of day right at the end of daylight  . . . the sun has sort of already set but it is that wonderful time between daylight and dark  . . . especially if I can be on the water. I’m a tad crazy though because I also love sunrise. There is just something wonderful about the ability to get up and start the day with a clean slate. I may have totally screwed up the day before but when the sun comes up the next day, I get to start over in some way or another.

6. Insert your own random thought here.  One of my job duties is to schedule baptisms. Our offices are in a new part of the church and my office ceiling is leaking . . .shouldn't be happening. Anyway I found this meme today and it made me laugh out loud. I will tell you that I wouldn't want to use the water that is dripping into my trashcan . . . it is not clear! Yuck!

Since we now have a leaking roof problem,
it might be a good time to schedule some
baptisms!

What's Happening Lately

Last week, Granddaughter #1's camp was after work so she and Pops hung out together on Wednesday. Mark got out one of the rolls of paper used to cover the floor during our move-in. He gathered the crayons (which made it through the fire!!) and the duplo blocks and they drew a whole village including the Dollar General. Our family has a running joke about the Dollar General.

He is so creative. I'm glad our granddaughters get to experience it. I wish our kids had been able to experience it more. He was working hard and supporting us back then.

Just keeping it real. We are not all together yet. The room below is going to be my craft/sewing/office room. Right now all of the odds and ends are stuck in that room and in the garage. The room below had major fire, smoke, and water damage so none of the furniture made it through. I've ordered tall bookcases from Pottery Barn for the right and I'll have a desk. I can't unpack any of the boxes of books until I have some bookshelves.

I've been searching for the fabric below. I've found it online but I'm waiting to hear back from the upholstery folks we use. I can't remember the yardage. I'm going to have the two wing chairs (picture of one of the chairs is below) and footstool (ottoman) covered in the blue check. I went to Joann's Fabric and they don't have big enough bolts!! I don't like to shop but I have found it hard to shop for fabric online. I need to feel it!!

I can't remember if I've shown y'all a picture of our bathroom. I love it and am so happy with it. It is updated and clean and fresh and the mirrors make it seem bigger.

We had our first Supper Club gathering at our house - even though we have no sofa and have water stained lamp shades! (quick aside - I'm having a terrible time finding lampshades to match our lamps!) Mark grilled Salmon that he caught in Alaska last August. He is headed back there soon and will restock the freezer. He cooked the Halibut (also from Alaska) in our new oven using the gourmet setting. He literally put it in the oven and set it to the gourmet setting for fish and it cooked it to perfection!

On Sunday afternoon, we went to our friend Laura's 50th birthday party. She is the one in the center of the picture in the blue shirt. Mark and I met Laura and her husband, Scott (same names as our daughter and son-in-law) on our 2020 trip to Israel. Laura felt God calling her to ministry on/after that trip and has since attended seminary at Duke Divinity school and is now a pastor!

Our weekend ended with a little TV watching and now we are heading forward into this new week!

What have you been doing lately?

Hanging Around on Sunday (Stealing)

I'm joining up with our Sunday Stealing folks. Bev steals the questions and we answer! Feel free to copy and answer on your own blog or answer in the comments!

1.  What do you have hanging on your walls? In our kitchen, we have a canvas painting of a lemon branch that our niece painted for us. I also have a little wreath over the stove. Our family room is in the same space and we have a painting of a magnolia bloom and leaves and we have two prints that we bought when in Charleston. Our street in our neighborhood has a “Charleston feel” and we loved the paintings. In our bedroom, we have a seascape. Right now, we have nothing in our dining room or foyer (entry).  Upstairs, one hallway has lots of travel pictures. The other hallway will have family pictures – I just haven’t hung them yet. Two of the bedrooms upstairs have various framed prints on the walls. Mark even has artwork in our garage! In our loft area, one side of the room is “all things fishing.” We only have a clock on the other side for now. We don’t have any artwork yet in the bathrooms. We plan to buy some canvases for our dining room. My craft room doesn’t have any art work yet. That room had a lot of damage and I’ve ordered bookcases and plan to set that space up as an art/study/office room. I’m sure I will have a lot of eclectic art in that room and won’t worry about a theme.

 

2.  Have you used an outrageous excuse to get out of jury duty? I’ve only used two excuses – one was when our twins were little bitty. I was excused. The other was last summer when our home burned and I had emergency surgery. That one was approved also.

 

3. Where do you like to go shopping (not for groceries)? I buy most of my clothes online – Tuckernuck, Talbots, Chico, Loft, etc. I have ordered a TON of stuff from Amazon. I love to shop at Pottery Barn – usually online.

 

4. What was the last movie you saw in a movie theater? We are not movie goers. I should say that Mark is not a movie goer. I actually enjoy going to the movie and have gone by myself – not since covid. Our office went to see a movie together in December and I recently mentioned that – Black Panther – Wakanda Forever. I really enjoyed it. I had not seen the first one so some of the young guys at work told me about it before we went.

 

5. If you wrote a note and put it in a bottle to throw out to sea, what would the note say? How about, “I was here!” I think I would include my name and contact information so when it was found, they could let me know.

 

6. What decision have you made in your life that you regret? I can’t say that I truly regret any decisions because my life wouldn’t be what it is today. I might wish that I hadn’t been quite as “wild” when I was in my early 20’s but that is a part of my story. I might wish that I had finished college when I was young so that I wouldn’t be taking classes at 65 but once again – that is part of my story. I actually care more about what I’m learning than I did the first time around. I might wish that I hadn’t married at 18 and divorced 18 months later. Now I know that he left me because he was gay and was trying to live as a straight man. Once again, those things are a part of my story. There is one thing that was done to me and I had no control. I can’t regret it because I didn’t do it, but I wish it had never happened. Does that make sense?

 

7. What is in your junk drawer? At this moment in time, I have three junk drawers in the kitchen but they are all organized. I have pencils and extra batteries and scotch tape and scissors, etc. I also did a major cleanout of my bedroom junk drawers. I kept a few things – some journals, a few mementos but I was ruthless as we moved back into the house. I lived a year without a whole lot of stuff . . .and I don’t need it.

8. Have you ever gone to a high school reunion? I went to my 10 year and my 15 year and then I went to one that was a combination of several different graduating classes. That was fun because I hung out with some folks who were a grade ahead of me. I was pregnant at the 10 year! I think the 15 year one was on my birthday because I think the band sang happy birthday to me!

 

9. Would you rather receive the GOOD news or the BAD news first? I think the bad news but I prefer all good news 😊.

 

10. What are your top 3 pet peeves? 1. Picking your nose in public 2. Chewing loudly/mouth open 3. Drivers who seem to have no idea what they are doing

 

11. Are there famous people from where you live? There are famous people from here! We have Courteney Cox, Emmylou Harris, Rosa Parks, Fannie Flagg, Tammy Wynette, Charles Barkley and the list goes on. We actually have some pretty famous surgeons at UAB Hospital. People come in from all over the world to see the doctors here.

 

12. What kitchen gadgets do you use most? Besides things like stove and refrigerator and microwave? I use my food processor. I use my good knives. I use my 3 quart pyrex dishes with lids. I use measuring cups and measuring spoons often.

 

13. Who was your elementary school best friend? I grew up on a street with 17 kids and a couple who lived around the corner. I was good friends with Susie and Mariea and Linda and Renea and Mary Lou and Genny. I guess my best friend for most of my growing up years into young adulthood was Karen. Our mothers taught 3 year old Sunday School together and we did a lot together.

 

14. Choose an animal and tell us 4 things about that animal. Harvey is our cat. He is big. He only has back claws. He was a rescue and had been de-clawed on the front paws. He plays a weird game with puff balls and carries it in his mouth and makes these funny noises. You probably wanted me to name an animal breed and tell you something about that??

15. What is your favorite pizza topping?  What do you never want on a pizza? I love the meats like sausage and pepperoni. I don’t want fish on my pizza. When we were in Italy, we were having a hard time talking with the server and she clued in that I did not want fish on my pizza. Language barriers are real.

Yay for Hodgepodge!

I'm joining up with my friends and can't wait to read their answers. Thank you to Joyce for coming up with the prompts/questions every week!

1. Hello August. What's one thing you're looking forward to this month? Let’s see . . .we have supper club at our house . . . yes, at our house this Saturday night. Some rooms are sparsely furnished and we have some odd things sitting around (boxes, lampshades, etc.) but we are home. We also have our Party in the Parking Lot which is the first Wednesday night for fall activities at church. Our neighborhood picnic/block party is in August and it will be fun. I think both of those things happen while Mark is in Alaska fishing so I will have something fun to do!

2. What are you doing to beat the heat right now? If you live in the southern hemisphere are you enjoying cooler temps or counting the days until summer? You can’t beat the heat in Alabama BUT I am wearing cool dresses and sandals to work and church and I’m wearing comfy loose shorts and a tank top when I’m at home. We are also running the air conditioner round the clock. We never turn it off.

3. How do you see the world? I see the world as a big adventure filled with lots of lovely people. Yes, I realize that I’m looking through rose colored glasses today. The reality is that I also see a world where many don’t have enough to eat nor access to clean drinking water. I am not blind to those needs either.

4. What food product do you think is better store bought than home made? How about something you refuse to buy because it is so much better homemade? When Mark and I were dating, I had a birthday cake made for him and had a little man fishing on top. He actually said something about only eating homemade cakes. His mother, grandmother, and aunts had spoiled it for him. I will say that he has recently had some bourbon cake that is made using a cake mix and he may have changed his mind 😊. Needless to say, we don’t buy a lot of cakes. I’m trying to think what I like better store bought . . .sometimes I prefer a great salad from Publix. It just tastes better when someone else makes it. Have you tried the pre-packaged Boars Head salads? They are yummy. Our family would probably say that fried chicken from the store tastes better. I know Mark’s momma used to fry chicken but that is one skill that I’ve never mastered and I don’t intend to do so. Once again, Publix has great fried chicken and so does the Piggly Wiggly. 

5. Are you easy to get along with? I want to say yes . . .but I think those around me would say I’m not easy to get along with.

6.  Insert your own random thought here. I have one room ready to go. The rest of the house is still a mess but it is a work in progress. (The little dots in the picture are a reflection from a light.) Actually, one drawer has a fake front right now and it is not painted the correct color. The carpenter is working on the real one.