Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. I read here a list of 13 things you should do in June. I'm paraphrasing a little but basically...
Go on a road trip with your best friend, pick fresh strawberries, host a garden party, take a morning run, treat yourself to a flower bouquet, spend a whole day hiking, discover a new coffee shop, try a new ice cream flavor, read at least one book, visit a Farmer's Market, make a swing for your home, and visit a new city. 
Which thing on the list do you most want to do? Of the activities mentioned, which one holds the least appeal? How many on the list will you attempt in June? What's one thing you'd add to the list?

I would love to go on a road trip with my best friend, my husband. A lot of the things on the list sound like fun, or are things I have already done.

Running though ..... nope, not going to happen. As for discovering a new coffee shop. The discovering part would be okay, I guess, as long as I didn't have to drink any coffee.

2. What's something you could do today to feel more peaceful? 

Spend more time with the Word of God, and maybe go for a walk in the woods.
 

3. June 7th is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day. Are you a fan? Swiss mocha, rocky road, chocolate chocolate chip, peanut butter and chocolate, or a dish of plain chocolate...what's your pleasure? 

I don't care for chocolate ice-cream, or really any of those flavors.
 

4. If you came with a warning what would it say?

Caution: Gets irritable when it's hot and humid outside.

I try not to let my feeling miserable affect those around me, but I'm afraid it might just a tad.
 

5.What's the most interesting website you've visited in the last week? 

Rosebud made a new blog post, which I read and found interesting. Other than that, my online ventures have pretty much been confined to email, Pinterest, and checking into Facebook a few times.
 

6. Spring, summer, autumn, winter...which season are you? Why? 

My life right now feels like a mixture of spring and fall. There are new things coming which gives the feeling of hopeful anticipation. (Spring)
There's also a feeling of change, as if we were at the end of something good, which gives a feeling of nostalgia and a certain hollow aching. (Fall)
 

7. "You lose sight of things...and when you travel, everything balances out." ~Daranna Gidel

Would you agree with that sentiment? Explain why or why not.  

I would tend to agree with this sentiment. It helps getting away from everything sometimes and returning with a certain restfulness and a new appreciation for what you have.
 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now with everything. Life is happening too fast and I'm unable to keep up.

Trying to focus on the little things helps me keep my sanity ..... I think.

Monday's Check List

Make a healthy, filling breakfast for LV before he heads off to work. Check.

Return a DVD and books to the library. Check.

Avoid running over three chipmunks, a wild turkey, more than a dozen mallard ducks, a timid bunny, and an indecisive squirrel on my way to the library. Check. Thankfully.

Make alterations on a stack of tops and a dress for Rosebud. Check.

Deep clean and oil the sewing machine. Check.

Get mail out. Oops ... missed the mailman.

Do several loads of odd laundry. Couch covers, sewing machine cover, etc. Check.

Clean front porch of all the dropping rhododendron blossoms. Check.

Read to Buddy. Check. But with more coming up before day is over.

Get things ready for Caprese Stuffed Burgers for supper tonight. Check.

Hit my word goal for the day. Excuse me while I go try to make that I can check that off my list as well.

Picture my Week

It continues to rain, and rain, and then rain some more. Buddy has taken to playing on the porch a lot. It's a nice option to be able to play outside, even when it rains.

There's only so much you can do on a porch though. So I've been reading a lot to him as well. His favorite book could have been featured in all of the past "Picture my Week" posts as well. He enjoys helping read it by taking care of all the barking parts.

We have several baby kittens that are finally old enough to play with. Buddy isn't quite as impressed with kittens as the girls are.

Since the first dandelion Sailor presented to me when he was itty-bitty, I could count on him having an eye for flowers for Mom. This week he presented me with this handpicked bouquet.

 

On our visit to the library this week, I noticed these four hanging out in the children's section. They looked well read, which made me smile.

Fears

Going back to the questions y'all asked, and answering this one today.

What is your greatest fear?

 Spiders, mice, snakes, and heights all pale in comparison to my greatest fear. One I really don't even like talking about.

 

Fear is such an ugly thing, and I'd like to think I've come a long way in not fearing or worrying about the worst case scenarios that could happen, but the thought of having a child missing turns my stomach.

 

For a few minutes I once thought Sailor and Rosebud had been kidnapped. We had dropped them off at their grandparents while we went on a day trip to visit family. Mid afternoon our driver came bursting into the house acting all agitated and announced he had just received a call from "Grandma" saying that the children had been playing in the sandbox all day, but someone just drove off with them.

 

The horrible cold clammy feeling that followed my initial scream, and then the awful weakness as I collapsed in the bathroom is something I don't think I'll ever forget.

 

The driver had meant it as a joke. What my mother-in-law had called to say was simply that they were taking the children over to the neighbors to help them plant their garden and wanted us to know where they were.

 

It was a huge relief knowing everything was okay, but the terror and shock had been so overwhelming it took days to get back to normal.

 

I blame this experience on why this is my greatest fear.



Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Tell us about one fun thing on your June calendar.

Working on the list of June goals the girls and I created at the beginning of the year.
 

2. How careful are you in the sun? Do you tan or burn? Do you make it a point to see the dermatologist every year? 

Tan or burn? I do both. I try to be careful how much time I spend in the sun, until I received a nice tan, otherwise I'll get burned really fast

No, I don't visit a dermatologist every year.
 

3. Describe a time when you wanted to 'throw in the towel'? 

Yesterday I couldn't get online with our desktop computer. Having a wireless printer, that also meant I couldn't print anything that was stored on there, and with an important meeting coming up today it was important that I get certain things printed.

Everything indicated I was connected, and my laptop and other devices had no problem. I was about ready to throw in the towel, but as a last ditch effort and did a full system restore, taking everything back to how it had been before the latest automatic update. It worked.

Sad, really, how stressed and frustrated we can get due to uncooperative technology. Sometimes the days before all this became a part of our life .... well ... I can see why some people view the Amish life rather wistfully.
 

4. What's a song you love that has a day of the week in the title or lyrics? 

I can't think of any.
 

5. Are you a fan of berries? Which one's your favorite? What's the most recent berry dish you've eaten? Which blueberry breakfast food appeals to you most-blueberry pancakes, blueberry yogurt, or a blueberry muffin? 

I do like berries. Strawberries and blueberries are probably my favorite. The most recent thing I ate that involved berries was a bite of lemon blueberry cupcake that Rosebud made. Delicious!

The blueberry breakfast food that appeals the most to me is the blueberry yogurt, but only if it started off as fresh vanilla yogurt with fresh blueberries sprinkles over it. I don't like the premade stuff.
 

6. What's something you want to do before your next birthday? 

Nothing all that big or monumental. Just a whole lot of little goals I have sprinkled across these next few months. Things such a trying certain new recipes, doing specific crafts, completing some writing projects, and refinishing some furniture.
 

7. June 1st is National Say Something Nice Day, so let's all say something nice here. 

So thankful for good friends! They make the world a sweeter place.
 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Yesterday a very persuasive college student stopped in trying to sell some educational books. He was nice, but that in turn made me feel almost guilty for not buying anything from him.

I would think that would be a miserable way to spend a summer, and am glad my summer doesn't include going from door to door trying to convince the people inside that their life would be so much better if only they bought the overpriced book I was trying to sell.