Dyeing to be Grey is Dumb in the Hodgepodge

I missed the Hodgepodge last week because I was on a lovely vacation in the Smoky Mountains. We headed west to the south of Ohio and northern Kentucky and eastern Tennessee. That pretty much en-"compasses" our travel stops. I'll be blogging about that soon, or when life settles down a bit, whichever comes first.

1.July 15th is National Give Something Away Day.  What can you give away? Will you?

I can give away some items headed for the charity thrift store nearby, but will I? No, not on July 15th I won't. My day is too crowded.  We bought a house today, July 14th, as our first rental property (and maybe our last, depending on how it goes!) so my to-do list does NOT including itemizing give-aways.  I'll be giving away my time by waiting for the plumber and washer/dryer delivery truck. Does giving away time count? 

2. Do you have a mantra? Please share with the class if you feel comfortable doing so.

"Better do it now while I'm thinking about it."    

3. Who does the grocery shopping in your house? How many times a week do you shop? Do you make a list or pray for inspiration in the produce aisle?

My husband and I share the duty. He doesn't mind; I abhor, loathe, hate, despise, deplore the job.  I really do. All the planning, finding, comparing, loading onto the belt, paying, loading into the cart, pushing to the car, loading the car, driving home, unloading the car, loading the shelves and drawers, dealing with those ubiquitous plastic bags.  I've said if I ever become independently wealthy, I will hire someone to do all my grocery shopping, from meal planning to stocking my kitchen. Heck, if I were independently wealthy, I'd hire a chef to go ahead and whoop up a delicious home-cooked meal every night that I wanted.   Wait, you didn't really ask for all reasons why I hate grocery shopping, did you?  I make a list because I see it as a mission: get in, get out.  I also pray for inspiration because I'm burnt out from 30 years of doing this.

4. Is there a TV show you're embarrassed to say you watch? You're going to tell us what it is, right?

Modern Family.  I think it's hysterical, the best writing out there in sitcom land, the best acting, and such chemistry between the cast members. 

5. A recent article listed fifteen words we should eliminate from our (written) vocabulary in order to sound smarter-

that, went, honestly, absolutely, very, really, amazing, always, never, literally, just, maybe, stuff, things, and irregardless

 Of the fifteen, which word is your most overused?  It just might be just!

6. So apparently dyeing your hair gray (in your youth!) is a thing right now. It's called 'The Granny Hair' trend. Your thoughts? 

I think it's dumb. Come on, young'uns, save the grey for when you've earned it like the rest of us! For us it is a crown of wisdom; for you, it is a waste of money. Enjoy your beautiful blonde, brunette, red, black, whatever-color-of-the-month suits you, but please save that last remnant of grey for when you've matured into it.  

And (just) for the record, my hairdresser told me last month that she loves how I have a natural "ombre' in back. It's brunette on top fading to grey at the bottom . She says people pay good money for that and I get it for free. (Not that I want it, but I will be 50 next month, and my word of the year is "embrace," so I'll be embracing my free natural ombre along with my new natural age.

7. A while back Buzz Feed asked members to share the most beautiful sentence they've read in a piece of literature. A hard thing to narrow down, at least for me, but let's try. What's one of the most beautiful sentences you've ever read in a piece of literature?

Whew! That's tough.  How about two? One is from the Bible (Lamentations) "His mercies are new every morning."   ( I need new mercies every morning, and look forward to them! Such hope and if I've screwed up this 24 hours, or it has screwed ME up, there's always tomorrow to start afresh. )

  And the other line I like is from Shakespeare's Sonnet 116:

 "Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds..."

(I believe that love is only true when it doesn't go looking for a new and better model when the feelings wither and wane. Love is not a feeling, it's a commitment. Great when the heart flutters with the feelings, but if it doesn't, love remains faithful, steadfast, sacrificing.)
8. Insert your own random thought here.

We finally closed on our new house today. I should clarify we are not moving; this is a rental property and our first experience. What an uphill climb it's been to this point, but God has given us new mercies every morning to deal with lawyers (the sellers' lawyers, not ours) who got their degrees from the bottom of a cereal box. Just sayin.'  Today was settlement, followed by cleaning, changing locks, doing small repairs, and making a grand master list of stuff we need from Home Depot.  I'd rather go to Home Depot ANY day than step foot in the grocery store.  Maybe they should start selling food....