Star-Spangled Hodgepodge

Because of Joyce's fun topics, I am linking up again today for her Wednesday Hodgepodge. You know you want to give it a try, too. Go ahead. Jump right in and add some new zip to your blog material! Do it for me. For yourself. By George, do it for America!

1. What is something about living in this country that you value? "This country" is whatever country you call home.

I value our freedom to worship whenever and wherever we choose. There is no underground church. Not yet anyway. I am sure I don't value that freedom enough, and won't unless it's threatened or completely taken away.

2. What is a favorite something you own that is red, white, and/or blue?

I'm going with three separate favorites, and they're all bling. I don't say that because of what they are, but because of what they represent to me: overtures of my husband's romantic side which he'll be the first to admit, is not exactly a natural thang. The red? A ruby ring he bought for Christmas one year when the kids were little and money was scarce. The white? A strand of pearls he gave me. He had worked 15 years at his former company at that point, and they gave him an award-type catalog to choose from. He said to me, "You pick." I said, "Why me? You're the one who's done all the work." But he said something like he wanted me to have it 'cuz I hadn't gotten paychecks all those years for my work. (Sniff, sniff. I got teary-eyed just writing that.) I picked the pearls. The blue favorite? A pair of blue topaz post earrings he presented me, completely by surprise, at our 20th wedding anniversary dinner date. Funny thing is, though, I can't wear them because of a slit in my left earlobe. I can only wear dangles or hoops or else it looks like the earring is falling out. Poor guy heard me wrong (not to mention he really doesn't pay attention to earrings I wear). He said, "Sorry. I thought you said you could only wear posts.") He tried. Gotta love a guy for trying.

3. Do you fly a flag at your house on patriotic holidays?

Yes, I do. In fact I am a patriotic junkie. Most days when the weather is nice, I fly a flag. In my opinion, the American flag is the most gorgeous flag on earth.

4. What ingredients do you think should be included in a great picnic basket?

Lots of napkins, wipes, hand sanitizer, ant killer, food "tents" to prevent bugs, and a checkered tablecloth. It's gotta be checkered. I'm not a huge fan of packing picnic baskets because it's like Thanksgiving dinner: a whole lot of prep and the food is eaten in four minutes flat. And unlike Thanksgiving dinner, the bugs invite themselves to the table. ( Er, except for those relatives who "bug" you to host, and when they offer to bring something two hours before sit-down time, you say, "well, we've pretty much got it covered, but they say "how about drinks?" and you say "sure" but what they show up with is a two-liter bottle of off-brand ginger ale-- not that that's ever happened to either me or you, of course-- but I was in the mood to write a record-breaking run-on sentence that not even Henry James could trump. Now you may catch your breath and read on. Now that you've forgotten the question was about picnic baskets.

5. What is one piece of interesting piece of trivia you know? Interesting is, of course, a relative term.

The first capital of Maryland was St. Mary's City, not Annapolis. Does that count?

6. Wednesday, May 24th, is National Escargot Day. Ever tried them? "Eew" or "ooh"?

I have never tried escargot and have said no to the invitation. I imagine that eating snails would remind me of all those slippery-slidey textured things I've tried once and gagged on (or swallowed out of sheer couth and willpower in public--like squid, oysters, and mussels). So I guess that would be an "eew" for me. Although, the word "escargot" always reminds of a riddle about how to make "an S car go."

7. What is one thing you know for sure?

I know that the name of Jesus is above every name in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.

8. Insert your random thought here.

If you're a person of prayer, I would appreciate prayer for my friend's mom who fell and broke her femur in more than one place. It's called a spiral fracture because she twisted it as she fell. I can only imagine the pain. Doctors say she won't be bearing weight on it for three months. The foot on that same leg was scheduled for surgery earlier this month, but there was infection in it that needed to be cleared up first.