Wednesday Hodge Podge

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1. If you could sit beside and/or jump in any lake in the whole wide world today, which lake would you choose and where?

Any of the  beautiful  Loughs of Killarney!

which includes one of my favorite Irish  locations .. the Gap of Dunloe

I  adore this  scene from the  entry to Muckross House

2. What's your favorite 'fruity' drink?

TEA BERRY SLUSH 

Boiling water

4  tea bags

1 to 1 1/2 c. frozen dry-pack strawberries or raspberries

1/2 (6 oz.) can frozen lemonade concentrate (about 1/3 c.)

Ice cubes

Brew tea as directed using 2 cups of water; chill. In blender, combine tea, strawberries, and lemonade concentrate. Process until smooth. With blender running, gradually add about 1 cup ice cubes, processing until ice is melted. Garnish with fresh fruit. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

3. I read a list here of thirteen things to do right now to simplify your life. They were-

clean as you go, re-evaluate your relationships (cut toxic ties), unsubscribe (too many blogs and websites), declutter, write down your daily goals, reply to emails right away, forget multitasking, create a morning routine, re-evaluate your commitments (which hobbies and responsibilities are most important to you), say no, clean up your computer, and plan your day ahead

Which of the tasks listed do you currently find most helpful in keeping life simple? Which item on the list should you adopt in order to simplify your life this month? 

De cluttering and  ridding  the home of  "stuff"  is an ongoing task at our house and it  goes a long way in making  life  much more pleasant...  I used to keep a  journal  but have gotten out of that habit.. I think it would probably be a very good   way to  refocus  the day,,

4. What did you do the summer after you graduated from high school?

Right after school was out my girl friend along with my parents  went to  Virginia Beach  for a week (1968)...  it was a  great  time for us because we girls had the freedom of  being adults on our own during the day and  early evening.  but the  confidence in knowing our parents were right there if we needed them... We had  a great, fun, and exciting time  being with other  summer break  revelers...  I then went home and worked the rest of the summer in a department store making money to see me through first quarter of college.

5. Are you a fan of podcasts? If so what's a favorite?

I enjoy podcasts of various  ministries...  particularly  Alistair Begg's  Truth for Life and  Jentezen Franklin  of Free Chapel  in Gainesville, Georgia.

6. Do you think today's fathers have it harder, easier, or just different than fathers in the past?

I have to agree with  our host's  answer,,,

"Not harder or easier, just different. Every generation has it's challenges, expectations, and disappointments when it comes to parenting and I don't think that's any less true for today's fathers. "

It is only by God's grace  that parents  have the confidence  needed to  raise   their children  to  their full potential.

7. Tell us one way you're like your father? Or not at all like your father if that's easier?

I am much like  my paternal side of the family...  shaped just like my granny!   Oh, me!...  I   inherited their  double chins  and  

I think their point of view...  both politically and in relationships. My dad was very easy going.. a peacemaker and  very unassuming.. I think I am  much like that!

Wednesday Hodge Podge

1. Speaking of skating...when did you last 'skate on thin ice', 'skate over the details', 'encounter a cheapskate', or just plain skate?

Well, since I am not a skater... too  klutzy to ever  skate..(frowny face) I suppose I do sometimes 'skate over the details'  I realize this because as I think of  some conversations I've had recently,  the  person to whom I was  speaking  would ask me about  what on earth  I meant about about something and I  say,' Well, because...."  quite a bit....I suppose in conversation  I  sometimes  talk over the top of  what I'm thinking.... 

2. What would you say is the biggest problem of people your age?

I am keeping what Joyce has said  to bounce off of it:

"Staying on top of your health and finances. As you reach/enter retirement there are so many decisions to be made relating to your future which by the way, is no longer on the far off distant horizon. It's now. Also, I think I mentioned here last week that once you pass the 50-mile mark you no longer take your good health for granted. 

Or it could be that we talk too much about retirement planning and the fact that our health isn't what it used to be? You decide. "

At 65  on medicare now both parents gone... for a year now... I have had  lots of time to think about my life... I think about health and finances...  but  now that I have my second granddaughter.. I think a lot about  what of their life will I possible live to  share in... being a late bloomer.... we adopted Amanda  when I was 35..I think  wow if I live to 80  little Doodle Bug will be 15...  and that  sort of shakes me a bit,  esp since we live  almost 800 miles apart.

I have done what I think is a good amount of building our lies  apart from our  children,  but it is ingrained in me to  desire  to be  more involved in their lives at this age.

3. What's your favorite accessory? Is it something you wear every day, often, or only on special occasions?

I  agree with Joyce's  answer regarding   my wedding rings... which  mine are  gold  and at our 40th anniversary Lynn gave me  a second  solitaire  which looks lovely  together with the  band in the middle... but... since the mid 80's when I found out my  'color'  was  silver  I started  buying mostly  silver  other  jewelry..  at our 30 anniversary Lynn gave me the  most  gorgeous  platinum   sapphire ring surrounded with diamonds... much like    Princess Di's  but  not like the  $19.99  imitations that were so popular a few years ago.. so when I  wish to wear   my  Brighton jewelry which I  love,  I wear  the sapphire  as my wedding ring...

4. January 20th is National Cheese Lover's Day Are you a lover of cheese? What's your favorite dish made with cheese? Last thing you ate that contained some kind of cheese?

I am a great cheese lover..  I remember  on our bus tour of Holland we seemed to always be hungry everywhere we went... and when we  arrived at the Edam cheese factory  everyone was famished.. We stood around in masses around  our guide  and  salivated as he  talked about how they processed the cheese.  He  finally realized  our discomfiture  so he took  his  cheese slicer and started scaling off slivers of cheese and  tossing it up  into the air  toward us.at us.. I remember how we all dived for  our  piece like  some kind of caged animal that  had been fed in days.  HAHA I bought 2 rounds  thinking I could get it home with me... well,   we  lived in Germany at the time... but  our  suitcases had gotten so hot  on the bus we  ended up throwing it and  most of the things  in my  case away ... hahaha ...immature as we were back then.  But my favorite and quite easy cheese dish  follows:

I bake mine in a quiche dish.. 

Three-Cheese Walnut Spread

You can use light cream cheese 

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted 

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese 

1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese 

1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese 

1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper 

1 tablespoon snipped fresh parsley 

Apple wedges, pear wedges or assorted crackers (optional) 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place walnuts in a Baker. Bake 18-20 minutes or until lightly toasted. 

2. Meanwhile, in Bowl, microwave cream cheese on HIGH 1 minute or until softened. Add blue cheese, mozzarella cheese and black pepper; mix well. 

3. Remove baker from oven to Cooling Rack. Carefully pour walnuts into cheese mixture; mix well. Spoon cheese mixture back into baker, spreading evenly. 

4. Bake 8-10 minutes or until cheese is slightly melted. Garnish with parsley. Place baker on serving platter; surround with apple or pear wedges or assorted crackers, if desired. Serve spread using Spreader. Yield: 16 servings 

Nutrients per serving: (2 tablespoons spread): Calories 90, Total Fat 9 g, Saturated Fat 4 g, Cholesterol 20 mg, Carbohydrate 1 g, Protein 3 g, Sodium 115 mg, Fiber 0 g 

©The Pampered Chef, Ltd. 2003 

5. What's something guaranteed to make you roll your eyes?

I agree  wholeheartedly with Joyce,  but unfortunately I do understand  where this trend originated and  frankly I find it repulsive and when I see  people who should know better  perpetuating this  trend  I am sickened!

6. Your favorite book series?

Well, I  am  a huge romantic,  and  once I read one of Lynn Kurland's  Scottish time travel  books,  I was hooked... I don't care for her  fanciful series,  but the    time travel series    are   sublime to me...  and  she   does not write  graphic  steamy  stories....  

Oh, goodie, a new book is out...

7. Why did you choose your profession?

Well, since you ask, I will  say  that  in high school  I had a  double dream... I loved home EC and   and  was  in FHA since the 7th grade,  but  I dreamed of following in the ' family'  profession  to teach as well and so I also was in the  FTA  every year. When I enrolled in Radford College I  still didn't quite know  which.  I really longed to be  in interior design,  and   was  completely taken by the program  they  offered  there,  but  in the end,  I  chickened out... my confidence level at that time was such that I didn't think I had what it took   to work  for adults,  and I loved  being around children so much that I  opted for teaching. So I  entered the  K-7  program and never regretted it...  well until  the  SOL'S came around and  teachers lost every bit of autonomy they had  in  the Virginia school systems..  We were told exactly  what, how much, and when to teach every  objective....  As soon as  the state started micro-managing  the classrooms  scores and  quality in my opinion  started  to go down. And so  I  got my 30 years in and  retired at age 53.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

Even with the  world seemingly  running off the tracks of  civility and normality  around us  I am  devoting this year to  staying out of the fray as much as possible and instead spending  more time  in  exploits   with  my God and my savior, with my friends and  making new friends by    living  my testimony, maybe losing a few pounds  as I focus on things outside of myself, and enjoying life!  I told hubby talk radio shall not be played within my hearing this year.. so I may see very little of him.... Well, that is his choice!

Wednesday HodgePodge

Fly Me To The Hodgepodge
Welcome to another edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. Here we go-



1. What's something that has recently 'tried your patience'?

Organizing the basement.... has been very trying, but well worth the time and labor.... and expense of purchasing multiple storage shelf units.... and tubs.... but we had so much stuff to sort through and major decisions to make... but yesterday we actually took a FULL pick up load of stuff some really good stuff to the Good Will.... The issues come from lack of agreement on some things since some comes from my side of the family and some comes from HIS! 2. Do you think patience comes to us naturally or is it something you have to learn as you grow? On a scale of 1-10 generally how patient are you (1=I blow up at the drop of a hat and 10= I've got all the time in the world).

Patience, for me is definitely learned.... at 65 I can say that I about about 65 % of the way to totally patient.. or 6.5 on the scale.... the hard knocks of life well lived is the best teacher.. learning how to deal with unmet expectations. and just learning to wait on major improvements to one's home, til the money is in hand is another.... waiting and taking the hand you're dealt with grace and love is the primary impetus for me, unless, it is waiting for Lynn finish a (not that important) conversation with the guys after choir practice and it is already 9pm... and I want to go HOME!!!! Then all my grace flies out the window!
3. Share about a time when you felt like you could fly. Or a time you wished you could fly. Or a time you felt like you were flying.
I used to play like I was a fairy as a child... all dressed up in tulle and silk scarves... I would flit all around the yard.... then I used to have the most amazing dreams when I could fly... it was just a natural ability I had to simply float up into the air and soar over the ground.... I travelled many miles soaring in dreams... gosh, I wish I still had those!

4. Your favorite song with the word fly in the title or lyrics, or your favorite song that relates to flying in some way?
Fly Like An Eagle

Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future

I want to fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirits carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
Till I'm free
Oh, Lord, its a revolution

Feed the babies
Who don't have enough to eat
Shoe the children
With no shoes on their feet
House the people
Livin' in the street
Oh, oh, there's a solution

I want to fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
Till I'm free
Fly through the revolution

Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
5. What's in your fall picnic basket and where are we picnicking in your neck of the woods this time of year?





Lynn and I along with a couple of other couples would be picnicking at Mabry Mill on the Blue Ridge Parkway.. My basket would have a box of fried chicken from the Roanoker Restaurant, along with a dozen of their fresh baked biscuits, my mother's potato salad, sliced tomatoes to go on those delicious biscuits,a few golden delicious apples to snack on with cheese and crackers, and a couple bottles of Virginia's finest wine, Sweet Mountain Laurel.... and a Dutch Apple pie.
We would be absolutely dining off a red plaid cloth and have several wool throws along to bundle up in because it is chilly up there!!!

6. Carpentry, electrical, plumbing, landscaping....which skill would you most like to possess and how would you put that skill to use today?
At this moment it would definitely be landscaping..... I have longed for a brick paved patio right outside our sunroom for years.... We have the perfect, flat area that would be relatively easy to do, but getting it done has been nigh unto impossible... Hubby doesnt want to take up that stand of grass.. he says it is the best grass in our yard.... I say.. then transplant it!!! Just asking for something simple like this"



7. What's something you think is too expensive to justify buying lately?
Well, we have spent more than our usual amount of money lately on the kitchen and our new phones.... we did get to go to Ireland this year, so Christmas will probably be a lean Christmas as it is.... but things just keep coming up.... things that we have had on our bucket list for a long time..... and we have several friends going.... this time on a Viking Cruise down the Danube/Rhine.

Lynn and I lived there along the Rhine for a year in the 70's and we would so very much love to go... but, alas, it truly is quite out of the realm of possibility.... so I will fight for the patio come next spring!!!



8. Insert your own random thought here.

Of all the glamorous and exciting things I've written about on this post... they all pale in significance to one glory fact of our life.... come Christmas Lynn and I will be grandparents to 2 lovely granddaughters....
...

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Something on your October calendar that makes you smile?

Well, I was really looking forward to our Sunday School dinner group up in the mountains to enjoy the autumn colors and the exquisite food at the Pine Tavern that was going to be this weekend... but because of this horrid rain and treacherous roads... it is postponed til later in October... I imagine the colors will be even more spectacular.

2. Food for the soul or music for the soul...which camp are you in? Tell us why.

Definitely music. I play Pandora all the time..... I love all kinds of music, but gravitate more to Celtic, with a bit of New age Dan Gibson type,,,,or Kevin Kern....instrumental and praise music.... like Selah.... music is my favorite companion here around the house!

3. What are two or three things you've learned recently as the result of an online search?

Well, I am collecting a load of toddler Christmas craft ideas to prepare to do with my precious granddaughter when we go up mid December .... My fabulous job besides encouraging daughter during her final weeks of pregnancy, prepare meals and keep our lil Birdie happy! I was so delighted to here that her little Toddler group now that she is in the 2's is teaching them how do work on crafty items... and she is a fast and avid learner.. so this will be soo much fun!!!!

I am feeling the Spirit of God lead me to research what is Biblically involved in "preparing the way of the Lord" I love the song,,,, on this concept, but I am planning a series of blog posts on this, as well!

I love to spend time on Pinterest creating my own boards and have been asked by a good friend for some decorating help, and I am perusing that and Houzz for ideas that would fit her temperament, style, and home requirements.... Her family lives in a delightful farmhouse style colonial with a complete wrap around porch.... so I am really taking this search seriously... It is quite fun!!! 

4. Share your favorite game day recipe. You can describe it, post the how-to, or add a link to the actual recipe.

Well, we made our favorite game day food today to enjoy as we await the coming deluge... because it is the beast comfort food we do... it is a simple chili / bean pot.... served with fritos to scoop up the delicious broth..

1 lb ground beef... 90/10 

1 small can petite diced tomatoes

1 can kidney beans

1 can red beans

1 onion diced

1 diced orange pepper

1 packet of chili seasoning store brand

1T salt 2 tsp pepper

a bit of sugar to cut the twanginess... just to taste

1.Brown and break up beef really well in a bit of water in the pot so the beef really gets minced stirring with the potato masher

2. Add veggies, beans and spices bring to a boiling stage and drop back to a simmer and let it simmer for at least 2 or 3 hours....

All I know is it tasted really good today!!

5. What are your five essential steps for creating the perfect morning routine?

My husband spoils me in the morning.... I mosey on down stairs about 30 minutes after he gets up and he has the coffee ready... He brings me my coffee while I peruse my emails. He then brings me a lovely dish of Greek and fruited yogurt mixed, with fresh berries and topped with granola... I enjoy my breakfast at the computer and he has his standing here beside me at the kitchen sink....

He has always been a kitchen sink kind of guy ... for breakfast.... unless, of course, it is a big family affair... But I love our little tradition we have going on since we both retired..... it's his special way of taking care of me and I enjoy letting him!!!!

6. What small thing have you taken note of today?

Not so small but I delighted this morning to look out and see that my perennial mums are trying so very hard to bloom even in this wet, soggy environment.... I love their hardy determination!!!

7. Sum up your September in seven words or less.

September came and went in a flurry!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Well, I will share the song Prepare Ye the Way ...

that inspires me to do my upcoming series on the same topic!