It's Hodgepodge Time...

 Thanks to our hostess, Joyce, for this week's Hodgepodge!  Join in HERE!

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 388

 

1. When is the last time you experienced nostalgia?  Over the last few days, I have been looking at old photos and they have made me feel somewhat nostalgic.  Isn't it wonderful to have photos!!  This one is me with my daddy a very long time ago (the mid-70s). Not a good print because it's from a slide.  Taken in our backyard, in Millersport, Ohio.

 2. September 29th is National Coffee Day. Do we need this?  Of course! Ha! So are you a coffee drinker?  Yes. If so how many cups per day, and tell us how you like it. Is there a recipe you enjoy that calls for coffee as one of the ingredients?   These days I only have one cup a day and I can drink it black or with sweet cream.  I do not have a recipe that calls for coffee.  There was a time when I was 'addicted' to coffee and would get a migraine without it in my system.  When working, I would drink two or three cups a day. Now (shock) I can take it or leave it, actually.

 3. Do you find praise or criticism to be more motivating? Explain.  I don't accept praise well.  I do learn from criticism if it is given constructively.   I don't know that I am motivated by praise or criticism though I do try to always do my best and pay attention.

 4.  What's a television series you keep coming back to and re-watching? We re-watched 'John Adams' three times; we re-watched the Sopranos twice; we re-watched 'Peaky Binders' twice.  I'm sure there are more...

 5. As the month of September draws to a close give us three words to describe your mood.  Cautiously, warily optimistic.

 6. Insert your own random thought here.  Some of our community's winter residents are beginning to arrive!  It is nice to have friends coming back.  Things get a little more lively when our snowbird friends are here!  Joe and I are picking up a couple from New York (up-state) who live right down the street from us.  MJ and Ernie are flying into Tampa this afternoon.  They leave a car here so they can fly back and forth.  MJ is the woman who crocheted our name and gifted it to us last year...

Thanks for popping in today! 

Your visits and comments are appreciated!

Peace & hugs!  God bless!!

(Good-bye to September)

 Thanks to Annie for continuing the Tuesday 4 tradition!  You can join in HERE!

Tuesday 4

Marriage

 Welcome to Tuesday 4 in honor and memory of Toni Taddeo.

              

1.. How did you meet your husband/wife?  Joe and I met on a Monday night in a restaurant/bar that was hosting a benefit for a young man who had died of meningitis (he was an employee at Joe's gym).  I was there with a girlfriend from work (we stopped in after an early movie) and he was there with friends from his gym.  A chance of a lifetime meeting! It was meant to be!

2. How did you know he/she was “the one”?  It didn't take too long.  We met on August 1, 1983 and were talking about marriage by October. We married on May 11, 1985.

3. How did he propose?  He never really proposed.  We just started talking about getting married and (since I was divorced) I had to file for an annulment with the Catholic church. That took 18 months. Joe's first wife had died of cancer.

Lynn is standing next to me in pink. She was with me the night I met Joe.

Nancy is in lavender and both of my friends worked with me at the American Red Cross.

Both sons stood up with their dad.

4. Do you have any favorite stories from your marriage or about your husband/wife?  We have been married for 35+ years so there are lots of stories.  Let's just say he still makes me laugh and we are still in love.

Thanks for your visit today!

(I didn't wear a white gown but thought this was a cute avatar.)

Peace & hugs!  God bless!!

Monday's Weekend Recap...

 

Backing up to Thursday, we went out with Bob & Sharon and Tim & Judy to Ford's Garage Restaurant. As always, we had a great time and the food was very good. I posted this photo on Friday, but here we are again...

On Friday, we invited Helen and Cheryl over for dinner.  I intended to put a pork roast in the crockpot, but I found a recipe I had saved on Pinterest and decided to try it instead. It turned out GREAT if I do say so myself.  HERE is a link for the recipe. The only change I made was to slice some potatoes and added them to the other veggies and I gave them all a good spray of Olive Oil. It is called Sunday Pork Roast.  The recipe is for a 2-3 pound roast. Mine was only 2 pounds so it only took an hour instead of the hour and a half in the recipe. I am sold on sheet-pan recipes now.  Joe loved it and Helen ate two slices of meat (hurray!).  I highly recommend this recipe, y'all!!

Saturday was a lazy day. I got the laundry done and felt good about that. I also did a little cleaning here and there.

Yesterday we went to church which is always such a great way to start our day.  It was announced that our Thursday morning Bible Study will resume on October 7th and Sunday School, and Church with the nursery will be back in full swing on October 11th.  

Our Governor announced last week that Florida will reopen at Phase 3 immediately.  Restaurants back to 100% capacity, businesses may all open, etc., etc.  Masks are to be worn inside buildings until October 5th.  It may be extended again but if not, people are asked to just use common sense and be responsible. Businesses may continue to require a mask but that is left up to them and local governments and how the numbers are in specific areas (still higher in Miami, for instance).  Joe and I will continue to be careful with where we go and keeping our hands clean, etc.  

That's all I've got for this post. 

I wish you all a great week ahead!!

Peace & hugs!!  God bless!!

Sunday Stealing...

 Thanks to Bev Sykes for today's questions!  You can join in right HERE.

Hi! I'm your host Bev Sykes of the blog "Funny the World". . Welcome to Sunday Stealing. This feature originated and published on WTIT: The Blog. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

Stolen from Life Entirely

1. Something someone told you about yourself that you never forgot.  In 6th grade, my friend Mary told me I looked like Haley Mills.  (I didn't.)

2. What are your 3 top pet peeves.  Being late; people who are always late; "open here"s that don't work.

3. List five places you want to visit. Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark (family history)

4. Share something you struggle with.  Patience.

5. Post words of wisdom that speak to you.  Worry is interest paid in advance for trouble that rarely comes.

6. Something you always think “what if....?” about.  What if I won the lottery...

7. Five blessings in your life.  Faith; Family; Freedom; Friends; Home...

8. Something that you miss. Seeing people smile (the masks); hugs!

9. Post about your zodiac sign and whether or not it fits you.  I am Sagittarian but don't pay a lot of attention to what that means.

10. Think of a word. Search for it on Google images.  Write something inspired by the 11th image.  I typed in "blessed" and this is the 11th image.  It speaks for itself...

11. Write about an area of your life that you’d like to improve.  That patience thing.

12. What made you laugh out loud today.  Our cat, Vinny, went crazy running through the house. It made me laugh!

13. What are your goals for the next 30 days.  I'm retired. I don't have goals other than one day at a time.  I have plans, but goals... Nah.

14. Your highs and lows for the month.  I don't dwell on the few lows that happen. Life happens.  Highs are getting out to eat with friends.  How about just waking up to a new day!!

15. Favorite movies that you never get tired of watching.  It's A Wonderful Life; While You Were Sleeping; Sleepless in Seattle; Scrooge; You've Got Mail.... the list is long!

16. Books you have read more than once.  Gone With The Wind; Pillars of the Earth; The Bible; The Fox; The Once and Future King...

17. Something about which you feel strongly.  Read John 3:16!

18. Five things that make you really happy. See #7

19. What are you excited about?  That my BFF Elaine and her hubby will be our neighbors in January, February, and March of 2021!

20. Three celebrity crushes.  I'm kind of over that but you all know one would be Sam Elliott.

Thanks for your visit today!! Happy Sunday!

Peace & hugs!  God bless!!

Saturday 9...

 Thanks to Crazy Sam for today's questions!  You can join in right HERE!

Do You Want to Dance?

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants' posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love to answer the questions, however, and here are today's questions!

Saturday 9: Do You Want to Dance? (1972)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

This week, we're inspired by The Divine Miss M's plea for a definitive answer. Here are nine random "yes or no" questions. Naturally, you're welcome to elaborate, but if you want to zip through with a Y or an N, that's fine, too.

 

1) Do you check your cellphone first thing in the morning?  Not usually.

 

2) Are there dirty dishes in your sink right now?  You will never find dirty dishes in my sink. Never.

3) Have you laughed yet today? Yes!

4) Have you written a check in the last week? No.

5) If you met someone who shared all your strengths and weaknesses, would you like him/her? Probably. Strengths and weaknesses don't make a person...

6) Is a bride ever too old to have a big wedding? Heck no!

7) Do you put potato chips in your sandwich to make it crunchy?  I have done that but not in a while. My favorite is cooked ham (deli) with pimento cheese and crushed potato chips. Yum!

8) Have you ever taken a nude photo of someone (not a baby)?  Nope.

9) On Monday, will you be playing Bud and Mimi's cool new meme, Monday Madness? (Our last shameless plug, I promise.) No, but I will enjoy reading those who do!

Happy Saturday and thanks for coming by!

Peace & hugs!  God bless!!

Friday Fotos...

 

We were at the farm (Joe's client) on Wednesday so I have farm pictures (big surprise!).  We saw no cattle going in and no cattle going out this week so you get horses and a dog and the beautiful blue Floria sky... 

Doc and Pistol were in the farthest pasture again this week. I walked to the corner and called them.

The arrow points to them as they started toward me.

Pistol & Doc...

Then I walked down to see Majesty and Vanna and gave them some treats too.

My phone camera allows me to say "smile" when I take a picture and I use it all the time.  I snapped

this one just after saying smile.  I'm pretty sure Majesty understood me!!

Vanna...

I didn't see or hear any planes, but they did leave some contrails in our beautiful blue sky.

That beautiful view...

Tex, one of the working dogs, was out of his Kennel and begging treats (which he got).  I also got to give treats to Arya and Kobe (the two Jack Russels).  Roho was still in his kennel and also got treats.

The guinea hens were out in force and walked right past me, making their usual cacophony.  

A cactus plant was blooming quite prettily...

Last night, we had dinner with Sharon & Bob and Tim & Judy at

Ford's Garage.  Good conversation and lots of laughter.

Always fun and a fun place to go, with vehicles hanging

from the ceiling, horns honking, tires for sinks in the bathrooms...

I had a patty-melt and tater tots. Love me some tater tots!

Our waiter was happy to take our picture. Sharon, Judy, and Tim on the right. Bob, Joe, and me

on the left.  We were sitting under one of the vehicles.  The tires were turning!

We are going to Longhorn Steakhouse next week!

Helen and Cheryl are coming over for dinner tonight. I put a pork roast in the crockpot with potatoes and carrots. I'll steam some broccoli too and am baking a cake for dessert.  It has been a quiet week and by that I mean we didn't have any doctor appointments or places to be at prescribed times (other than dinner with friends!). Nice.

Thanks for your visit today!

Peace & hugs!  God bless!!

Whimsical Wednesday on Thankful Thursday...

 

It is Whimsical Wednesday on Rebecca Jo's Thankful Thursday!

No rules and no linky...

Check out the gown and help her choose some shoes!

It is just a fun and whimsical thing!

(Photos from The Storybook of Dreams & Beauty)

An elegant evening gown in that beautiful basic black.

She needs some shoes!

Shoe #1 by Jimmy Choo

Shoe #2 by Jimmy Choo

Shoe #3 by Dolce & Gabbana

My Thoughts:  First, I love wearing black and wear it a lot so the elegance of this gown really struck me! As usual, I could not wear any of the shoes but picking for the model... I'll go with all that sparkle on the Dolce & Gabbana #3 pair.  What are your thoughts?

---------------------------------------------------------

Today is also Thankful Thursday and I like to link up with Rebecca Jo at Knit By God's Hand to share some blessings.  Just click over HERE to join in!

** I am thankful for kettle corn. The big bag we just got at Sam's Club. SO GOOD!

** I am thankful for our community group from church.  We meet by Zoom every Wednesday evening and I just love them all. I am looking forward to meeting again in person - sooner would be nice.

** I am thankful for my family. Such a blessing.

** I am thankful for our home and this community and for our friends here. Dinner out tonight with two couples at Ford's Garage. Yum.

** I am always thankful for each of you who visit and leave comments!

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Peace & hugs!! God bless!!

It is Hodgepodge Time!!

 Joyce gives us a hodgepodge of questions and we link up with other Hodgepodgers! Join in HERE!

Thank you, Joyce!! 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 387

1. It's fall y'all. What's something you love about this season and also something you don't? I can't think of a thing to not like about Fall and what I like the best is less humidity and lower temps here in Florida. Yes!

2. When you think of the colors of fall, which one is your favorite?  Burnt orange - that paprika-like color is my favorite.  Is there somewhere you could easily day trip to see the leaves in all their glory?  It would not be an easy day trip, unfortunately.  Will you?  Not this year.  😞

3. What's one thing you've let 'fall' by the wayside during this season of staying home and staying away?  Well, obviously, we haven't been able to travel for vacation or to visit family.  We missed being at two funerals which broke our hearts.  I haven't let anything at home "fall" by the wayside, I don't think.

4. If you're wearing a sweater is it most likely a cardigan, crew neck, v-neck, or zip-up hoodie?  Definitely, a cardigan, and that won't happen until, probably, January here in Florida.

5. What's your secret to dealing with change?  I have not had problems dealing with change.  I have always just been able to pretty much go with the flow.  It is what it is - do your best and get on with it.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.  When you get to be "a certain age" and when your grandparents and then your parents are gone, all of a sudden you realize that you are the oldest generation in the family and how did that happen!??!!!  Two of my favorite cousins, Lana and Vicki, are one and two years older than me so we are the same generation and we are now the oldest in our families.  Vicki has stage 4 cancer and is being cared for by hospice.  Makes me so sad.  She is a retired nurse and has opted to not have chemo/radiation.  Her sister, Lana, just had her second hip replaced.  I had my second knee replaced.  Good grief. How did we get here?!!  I talked with Lana the other night, on the phone (they live in Kentucky) and it was so good to catch up with her and she filled me in on how Vicki is doing, etc.  I miss my cousins.  We talked about having a reunion again next summer.  Unfortunately, Vicki most likely won't be there.  Put Vicki Willman on your prayer list, if you would, please.

Tysa (their youngest sister & the age of my youngest sister)

Vicki, me, and Lana (2017)  Tysa lives in Interlachen, FL

and is raising three grandchildren with her hubby, Frank.

Our last reunion in 2015 with our son, Jeff, talking

to Lana and Vicki, over at St. Pete Beach.

Vicki, Lana, cousin Bob, and me - a very long time ago!

Thanks for coming by!!  

Do you have cousins you are close to?

Peace & hugs!  God bless!!

The Tuesday 4...

 Thanks to Annie for today's questions!!  You can join in right HERE!

Tuesday 4

Your Home Routine

 

Welcome to Tuesday 4 where we offer 4 questions of topics for you to discuss each week. Begun by Toni Taddeo, we keep it in her honor.

This week's topic is your home routines.

 1. What laundry products do you like to use or find best for you?  I buy my laundry soap at Dollar General. I get a gallon jug for $5.00 and it cleans as good as Tide.  I also use OxyClean.

2. Dryer, line, or combination of both?  I haven't had a clothesline since I lived at home during high school.  I know how good sheets smell when hung outside but that doesn't make up for the convenience of the dryer.

3. Do you have wood floors or carpeting and which is best?  Wood and tile except for the two guest rooms which have carpet.  I would prefer wood or tile over carpet, but the guestrooms are rarely used so the carpets are okay in those two rooms.

4. Housekeeping professionals give the following guidelines. Which do you follow? Do you have better ideas?

1. open windows first  Not in Florida
2. clear up clutter before cleaning.  Yes.
3. start in bedrooms first  I don't think that matters. I usually do bathrooms first.
4. give cleaning products time to work. Read directions...
5. Always sweep or vacuum before mopping  Of course.
6. use a toothbrush for hard to get at areas  I've done that
7. keep things on a central cart if you can Not a hotel...
8. dust everything  yep
9. vacuum your furniture often, mattresses once a month or so. I have never vacuumed a mattress but I do have mattress covers that are washable...

A cleaning company we hired a bunch of years ago said to start in a room and work around it clock-wise dusting, vacuuming, then wiping and/or mopping.  I do use the clock-wise thing, starting from the door.

Thanks for your visit today!

Peace & hugs!  God bless!

Monday's Weekend Recap...

 

I will back up to Thursday to just mention our dinner at the Japanese Steak House. I posted about it on Friday with several photos, but this one is worth sharing again...  The food was great!

We went down to the farm (Joe's client) on Friday last week, so here are some farm photos to share...

Instead of cattle as we entered the property, we saw two deer!!  

First time in a long time to see deer on the property!

There were some cattle in the lower pasture, by the pond...

Since I didn't see Majesty and Vanna last week, they got all my treats and attention.  

Doc and Pistol were still in a farther away pasture so I missed them.

I had a little visitor while I was reading...

When we were leaving, nearly the whole herd of cattle were there to say good-bye!

This isn't my photo. I swiped it from our local news station's Facebook page.  Fell in love with it!

FOX 13's Paul Dellegatto 

r

tSotGreat Blue Heron striking the perfect pose on Cocoa Beach‎. By Jason Sponseller‎

We didn't make it to our church in person yesterday.  Joe has been having some asthma/COPD related problems lately.  He ran out of his rescue inhaler and the VA took longer to get his replacement to him (by mail) so he was without it for about 10 days. It finally came Saturday, but he is struggling.  We both had a bad night so stayed home and watched our service on Facebook.  (He is actually doing better as I type this Sunday afternoon. Praise God.)

I told Joe he would be eating at Terri's Diner last night.  I made meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans for our dinner.  Typical diner comfort food!! And there will be leftovers for tonight!  Looking forward to reading your posts today!

Thanks for your visit!

Peace & hugs!  God bless!!