Wednesday Hodgepodge

 1. When is the last time you experienced nostalgia? 

It seems I've been experiencing it a lot lately. Most recently was last evening as Sharon and I were preparing supper and she started singing Blessed Assurance. We sang the entire song together as waves of nostalgia/memories swept over me. It used to be Mahlon's favorite song when he was a little boy and he'd sing it all the time while playing. I can still see him sitting cross-legged on the floor with kittens in his lap petting them and singing them to sleep with this song.

 2. September 29th is National Coffee Day. Do we need this? Ha! So are you a coffee drinker? 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? 

I wouldn't call myself a coffee drinker, but in the past year I have learned to enjoy iced coffee from Sheetz a few times a month. Their dark chocolate, blackberry flavored one is my favorite. Aside from that, I don't drink any coffee.

I can't think of a recipe I have that uses coffee other than a chocolate cake, but I don't really care for it that much.

 3. Do you find praise or criticism to be more motivating? Explain. 

 Constructive criticism can be helpful, but at the same time praise from someone whose opinion I value is also very motivating.

 4.  What's a television series you keep coming back to and re-watching? 

I'll watch Andy Griffith occasionally. It's been a long time, but we used to enjoy reruns of I Love Lucy and the Dick Van Dyke shows.

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

Happy or maybe I should say joy ... it feels a little deeper than surface happiness.
Fall-sy ... fall always evokes feelings of wanderlust, coziness, anticipation of doing fun crafts, projects, baking, and a happiness that I can't really describe in a single word other than fall-sy.
Content ... can't explain this either, but there's a feeling of deep contentment these past few days.

 6. Insert your own random thought here.

Earlier this month there had been underlying feelings of unease and being unsettled. It took me a little while to figure out what was going on. I took a step back from my online presence and spent more time outdoors. I did a lot of sewing, reading, and baking. Steven and I played a ridiculous amount of games, and I focused on all the little things I enjoy so much.

It finally clicked for me ... it's September. It's two years since my brother passed away. Once I identified the source of those underlying uneasy feelings I was able to deal with it and move on to the three feelings I mentioned above.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 

1. What's one thing you learned at the ripe old age of whatever age you are now?

I just recently learned that Word has a feature where it will read back what ever you wrote. 

Steven especially loves using it. He's writing short stories, and now instead of asking us to read what he wrote, he will ask us to listen.

2. I read here a list of foods that can help you look younger - extra virgin olive oil, green tea, fatty fish, dark chocolate, vegetables, flaxseeds, pomegranates, avocados, tomatoes, spices, bone broth

How many of the foods listed have you tried? How many do you eat regularly? Your favorite from the list?

I have tried all those foods. The ones I use regularly are olive oil, vegetables, avocado, tomatoes, spices, and fatty fish such as salmon and tuna. I also love sardines, but the rest of the family doesn't, so I rarely ever have them. 

My favorite from the list is probably avocados, I could happily eat them at every meal. I really like vegetables as well.

3. Something you miss from the 'good old days'? When were the good old days anyway?

When were the good old days is a good question. Right now I miss the way things were last year. I miss seeing smiling faces when out and about.

Looking back further there are more things I miss, but I'm unsure if there has been that much of a change, or was I simply more innocent and naive in my Amish bubble?

4. What are two or three of the most rewarding things to be found in growing older?

One of the things I've found that I really like as I grow older, is how things no longer tend to embarrass me like they used to. Happening to send a drumstick flying across the kitchen in front of visitors as I unstick it from a pan is much more funny than embarrassing now.

5. What's your favorite part of your life right now?

My favorite part of life right now is being able to spend quality time with family. It's the best. Ask me again in 10 -20 -30 years from now and I'll probably still answer the same way.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

We find it to be annoying how the paved area in front of our multiple bay garage is often used as a pull over spot for those wishing to check their phones, allow someone to pass, turn around, change a toddler's stinky diaper, switch drivers, and more. This morning a big rig swooped off the road and parked.  His engine idling noisily as he sat there waiting. Maybe his ELD was making him take a 30 minute break?

Rosie Mae needed to leave for work and he was blocking her car. The longer she waited the more courage she got. Finally she announced, "Well, I'm going out to tell him he's got to leave, mush, skedaddle, hit the road, get out of my way."

She marched outside, but he stayed. Apparently she didn't scare him.

Sharon and I watched as she maneuvered her car with care, patience, and admirable skill into the yard and then out onto the road and was on her way.

I'm thinking about buying traffic cones to set along the front of our parking/drive/garage area. Or would that be rude?

Childhood Games

     The first game I remember playing is checkers, but the 'pig in the pen' version instead of the normal rules.
    Daddy was sitting on his favorite chair, and pulled my little table in front of him to teach me how to play. It was great fun trying to trap his 'pig' with all of my 'fence' pieces, but I don't recall ever being successful even as we played game after game.
    The next game we had was a homemade one. For months Mom would save any empty cracker boxes and carefully cut out two inch squares from them. She kept adding them to a container on top of the refrigerator, until finally one day she had enough. She sat down and using crayons she wrote a big number on each card. John and I watched with interest, and were excited when she said she would teach us a new game on Sunday.
    Sunday rolled around and we all headed to their bedroom and sat cross legged on their bed. She dealt the cards and we played a thrilling version of 'Slap' 
    I have no idea why we always sat on their bed to play this game, but it added to the fun.
    As the years passed the 'Slap'game was retired and gradually a few more games were added to our meager collection, and we loved them all: Memory, Sorry, Uno, Scrabble, Probe, and Monopoly. 
    Nothing ever came close though to the thrill of playing 'Slap'