Root Canal and Alien Teenagers (Wednesday's Words)

River posted two lists of six words  each to choose from for Wednesday.  I chose the first list and decided to try my hand again at creative writing with the prompt.  The words are:  satellite, bananas, unannounced, cherry, backtracked,  included.

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

Once upon a time, a baby cherry fell from the treetop, cradle and all, when the bough broke. Of course she was surrounded by other baby cherries who had fallen with her.  

Her Mommy and Daddy cherry had been eaten by two alien teenage boys the week before when they arrived by satellite unannounced. The boys had been given a list of must-eats and must-not eats upon arrival, much like Adam and Eve were told in the Garden to which they came as aliens.  (Methinks Adam and Eve were created as teenagers, but such fact is omitted from the Bible and unverifiable.)  

Anyway, to backtrack to the baby cherries and the teenage aliens...

The teenagers had been told by their alien parents to eat bananas upon arrival on earth, but as teenagers, whether alien or earthly, they didn't wait for the details, nor did they care. Food is food, and devouring it in mass quantities is all they care about. The teens didn't realize that cherries aren't soft throughout; they have pits included. 

Crunch! Crack! Yowsa! 

The boys broke all their mushy alien teeth in the feast. 

Serves them right. 

They swallowed not only pits but also their pride, and dug a canal into the roots of the cherry tree to backtrack home to their parents.  
  
And that is how we got the term "root canal."   



                                                                    

The 100th Wednesday Hodgepodge Already?

Time flies when you're having coffee over your laptop every Hump Day with 100 of your favorite online friends. Give or take.

Welcome to the 100th edition of Joyce's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Kudoes to her for coming up with thoughtful questions week after week.  And especially THIS week, when she prepared the 100th Hodgepodge whilst preparing for Hurricane Sandy.  Her piece of the American landscape pie was beat up pretty badly there in north Jersey. (Thanks, Joyce, for your faithful "interview" posts.
It's always fun to anticipate what you're going to ask, and to get to answer questions about things as far-ranging as food, family , and filosofee.)

I thought for sure that Joyce would ask things such as:
               If someone gave you $100,000 today, what would you do with it?   ( I had an answer ready for that!)
               Do you want to live to be 100? Why or why not?   (I had an answer for that, too!)
               Have you stuck your foot in your mouth at least 100 times? (What do you think?)

1. What creeps you out?

              -centipedes, or any bug with 100 legs or fewer (or more)
              -men with beards and really big glasses
              -the smell of fire or smoke that I can't pinpoint the source of
              -crickets, grasshoppers, praying mantisses (mantissi?),  frogs; anything that hops unpredictably
              -the calm before a storm and THEN the raging winds through sky-high trees at my house

2. What's your least favorite candy?

              Tootsie Rolls.


3. Are you a fan of scary movies? What's the scariest movie you've ever seen?

              No, I'm not a fan of scary movies. Demonic influence, blood, guts, violence, fear...none of that entertains me. I wasn't allowed to watch horror movies when I was growing up, but one night when I was at a slumber party in  9th grade, my friend Kelly and her brother and their friends put in the movie Nightmare on Elm Street.   I was scared witless and realized (with appreciation) why my parents had forbidden them in our home and never agreed to let us see one at the local cinema.  By today's standard, Nightmare on Elm Street was pretty tame, but it opened a door that should have stayed closed to me.

4. What part of life confuses you the most?

               Confuses me? I'm not sure I understand the question; could you please clarify your meaning, Joyce?   Just kidding.  Um, right now I am questioning something I had hoped I'd never have to question--why people, whom I thought had integrity, really will compromise what they say they believe in order to be part of the "in" crowd, and are old enough to know better. I  will keep it vague like that, but suffice it to say I am not talking about young people. That wouldn't confuse me; that's perfectly understandable. Nor am I referring to anyone in my family; I would have worked through that with many conversations by now.

5. Pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, poppy...what's your favorite seed?

                 By themselves? Sunflower seeds.  In something?    Poppy seeds in lemon cake.

6. Imagine your life ten years from today...what's changed?

               1) Our first three children will be married and have started their families. I sure hope I'm the grandmother of at least five little children by then.  That would make me exceedingly happy, provided they all lived within an hour's drive, but better yet, less than 20 minutes from us.
              2) Our youngest is in college, majoring in business and trying to invent something that will change the world and earn himself a truckload of money.
               3) Sadly, I think my mother will have passed away and my dad will be dying a slow death of heartbreak. I hope against hope he doesn't get Alzheimer's like his mother had, and I really hope my mom lives a lot longer than I expect, but this is what I picture happening in the next ten years.
               4) I imagine that Paul and I will have discovered the fun of traveling overseas together.  I imagine we will still be living here, but talking regularly about downsizing; I will be complaining the house is too big for two people and he will be complaining about the yard work.
                 5) I imagine we will be as active  in the church we joined in 2013 as we were in the one we left after 17 years. 
                 6)  I will have taken many more art classes and will have improved in that hobby.Perhaps I will be selling some of my work. Hah!  Maybe I will be teaching some art  when I'm not lovin' on the grands. 
                7)  I also imagine Paul and I be eating out almost all the time. I don't imagine I'll enjoy cooking regularly for 2 or 3 people; the thrill of cooking has already begun to wane as my family-at-home shrinks.
                8) I will have met five more of my blogging friends in real life.  Who wants to be part of that list?
                9) I might have just figured how today's technology works.  Today's--as in, 2012's in 2022. My daughter posted this on my Fb Wall. She knows me.

 

7. What do you a) love the most and b) like the least about the Hodgepodge?

             a.  I love having made what I consider a new circle of friends, especially ones in my middle-age category and those who are beyond me in years and wisdom.    I look forward to reading others' HP posts  (and not just their HP posts, but more of their blog) each week, and receiving comments from as many as who take time to say hello on mine.  I also really look forward to the HPs that make me laugh. Some of you crack me up every time, which keeps me coming back. And not just your humor, but your honesty and transparency about your lives.

             b.  What I like the least is not getting my entry in the top 13 or so some weeks. Why? Because I  just don't get as many notes in my comment box if I enter later in the day.  And I LOVE comments. They make me feel like I'm not writing into thin air, that someone is listening and
entering my little world for a few minutes.  

8. Insert your own random thought here.

                   I've also noted that some people respond more the random thought than my other answers, which begs me to ask, If you're in a hurry, is that all you read?

                   Please keep up the Hodgepodging, Joyce. It's obviously quite the highlight of the week for many of us here in blogland. In fact, some weeks it provides the only post we get around to writing!

What's Cooking in the Hodgepodge?

 Joyce has cooked up another Hodgepodge of enticing questions. I "bit into" the meme again. Judging from its popularity, the Hodgepodge appeals to lots of "buds." 

Sorry for the corn.  Shucks, I ought to just get on with the answers,

1. In what ways do you indulge yourself?

     a.  computer time      b.  naps usually, when I need them    c. mani-pedi when I need that, too
     d.  good hairdressers        e.  certain foods (cheesecake)     f.  eating out    g.  annual massage
     h.  about every 2 or 3 years, a vacation to my good friend Barb's house, or she comes here
     i.   shopping     

     Whoa!  I am a pretty self-indulgent person , huh?

2. Have you ever taken a cooking class? Any interest? What type of class would you most like to try?
      I have never taken a cooking class, but I have great interest now. In fact, it's on my 101 list.  There are many different cuisines I'd like to learn (Japanese, Indian, French, Brazilian) but I think I'd really like to learn to make sushi from the masters. Our whole family loves sushi.

3. What does it mean to be a good citizen?

A good citizen is self-informing rather than relying on media and other people to inform hm.  A good citizen obeys the laws of the land unless they contradict the laws of God. A good citizen votes his conscience in elections.  A good citizen supports his leaders to the best of his ability, and when he can't, peacefully opposes those leaders insomuch as he is able.

4. 'Tis the season of the political advert...do these ads influence your vote?

The ads don't sway my vote, but they are getting on my last nerve. Rather than spend money to
forward what he stands for, the candidates are mudslinging "left and right"!

5. What's something you see today that makes you wish you were a kid again?

Bicycles. They epitomized my freedom when I was young.  Transportation has always appealed to my independent streak and wanderlust, and it started in childhood with my first bike in third grade. Whenever I see a kid on a bike, I secretly grieve a tiny bit of my bygone childhood.  I still remember the day I got that first, brand-new bike. My dad (a pastor at the time) and my  mom took my sisters and me to Hutchinson (Kansas) to pick out the bikes. "Hutch" was a long way from home, so it was always kind of an all-day trip with multiple errands.

Before heading to the bike shop, we had to stop at the hospital for my parents to  visit my friend Lyndee's mom.We girls stayed in the waiting room. I remember the carpet was dark green and there was an aquarium.  My mom was sniffling when she came out to tell us it was time to go,. I wondered why she was so sad when I was feeling happy about getting a bike. I  had no idea how sick Lyndee's mom was. Within two weeks of that visit, she died of cancer. I felt a twinge of guilt that I was riding a new bike while my friend had just lost her mom. Sometimes I still have a flashback to that feeling when I see a young girl on a bike, seemingly carefree, but not understanding why some children's parents die. 

6. What's your least favorite cliche?

Oh, dear, I HATE cliches! (I avoid them like the plague.)  In fact, I wrote a humorous post a couple years back about what it might be like to dress up for Halloween with a bunch of my friends, each of us dressed as a cliche. The post is called Walking Cliche' for Halloween,

The cliche' that is my least favorite is probably "at the end of the day"  especially when it is SAID at the end of the day.

7. What percentage of your Christmas shopping has been completed? How does that make you feel?
    Maybe 2%.  I have a shoebox almost full of stuff for Operation Christmas Child, and a few stocking stuffers.  We're talking about doing a different kind of Christmas this year. The older kids would rather go somewhere--take a little trip--and not exchange gifts.  The youngest kid wants gifts and doesn't care about a trip, but he'll take both.  I (the self-indulgent one) would also like to go away AND have a gift exchange, since gifts are one of my top love languages.  That said, I'd like to be completely finished shopping and gift making by Thanksgiving so that I can really enjoy the Christmas season. 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

    Gluten-free eating has been great for me. I've only been doing this "diet" since October 1st. As of the 8th, I had lost 7 pounds.  Now, I'm no mathematician, but I do believe that's a pound a day. The
main differences I've notices so far:  I don't have a stomach ache anymore, my face is thinner, and I managed to get in a smaller size pair of pants easily this morning. And my joints don't hurt. That's with just a week without gluten!  I give my sister, Andrea, credit for inspiring me, and give God the thanks for the grace. This is the easiest AND most effective way I've ever dropped weight in my life.

Hodgepodge: Pinions, Pride, and Patches

Both my Hodgepodge answers and my A to Z Challenge post above are brought to you today by the letter P. I will try to be brief for this post, but don't hold me to it. Brevity is not my forte. Call me the poster child for prolific posting.

The rules are simple for the Hodgepodge at my lodge: Drink up some tea or coffee while you read my answers, then think up, and then link up with Joyce, our happy Hodgepodge hostess.

Let me know if you play along--or just let me know in my comment box. Me and about 59 other Hodgepodge addicts, that is.


1. Spring is in the air (at least in my neck of the woods) and the birds are singing...what's your favorite bird?

Once upon a time it was Cal Ripken, AKA a world-renowned Baltimore Orioles baseball player from (very close to) my hometown. But I couldn't name one O's player now if you paid me. The Ravens are the beloved "birds" in these parts.

But I suppose you meant real birds. The kind that are hatched from eggs. I love hummingbirds, cardinals, robins, American goldfinches , nuthatches, and chickadees. That's my short list. I adore any songbird, really. But I will say that cardinals have a spiritual effect on me because one was an answer to prayer a few years ago when I was despairing. I've shared that story before somewhere on this blog.



So let me tell you a different bird story that my mother once told me of a lady she knew. This one's a comedy-thriller. Or a thriller-comedy, take your pick:

Once upon a time, there was a certain middle-aged woman who was very familiar with the Bible. One day, when the woman was in her mid-40's or so (when the memory comes and goes like a sneeze), this woman was abducted on the sidewalk and forced into a strange man's car.

Scared to death of what this man might do, the lady "took her thoughts captive"; her mind flew to the King James Version of one scripture about God's protection. It says, "He shall cover thee with his pinions."

Pinions are the outer part of a birds' rear wings that contain most of the feathers. In her terrified state, the woman could not remember the word "pinions." She could only picture in her mind what they were: feathers.

She spread out her arms and started flapping them like wings in the passenger seat, trembling and shaking wildly, and began yelling, "Feathers! Feathers! Feathers!" The man yelled back at her to shut up, but that only made her cry and yell all the more. "Feathers! Feathers! Feathers!" Flap, flap, flap, cry, cry, cry.

Certain the woman was more psycho than himself, the abductor forced her back out of the car at the next stoplight, and that was the end of that.

2. Speaking of birds...do you tweet? If so tell us your screen name and we'll come flocking to your Twitter site. Even if you don't let's all pretend here that we do-in 140 characters or less, sum up your week so far.

I don't tweet. My week: Sunday lunch w/ youngest sons and hubby. Monday made 4 quiches. Today cleaned kitchen, bathrooms;laundry. Viewed professional's wedding pics of son and bride!

3. Its been reported recently that employers are not only viewing the facebook pages of potential hires but they're also requesting your facebook password to have a look at what you've kept from public view. What say you?

Butt out.

4. It's April and you know what that means-Major League Baseball is back in action. What's your favorite baseball movie? If that's too hard, what's your favorite sports themed movie?

I can only think of one baseball movie at the moment. Field of Dreams. It was so-so. You know, sad and predictable and triumphant. Favorite sports-themed movie: Remember the Titans.

5. Something else this season brings-asparagus. Yes please or no thanks? If it's yes please what's your favorite way to have it prepared?

Yes, please, but only if it's pencil-thin. I love it simply grilled or roasted with a little salt, pepper, and butter. But if you want to lather it with cheese or toss in some herbs and bacon and more veggies, I won't complain. Or if you're thinking asparagus-crab dip, I'll be right over.

6. What drives you? (Don't you love how I sandwiched that one in between asparagus and jugglers???)

My own selfish desires drive me, more often than not. Whether I am driven to eat, clean, shop, nap, organize, write, decorate, paint, play with the dog, watch TV, snuggle with my hubby, or pray with my youngest child, I usually am driven by desire. Sometimes guilt or compassion or duty will drive me. Also knowing people are coming over will drive me to notice and take care of many things I've neglected. (That's pride shrouded in embarrassment if things are in disarray.) I've almost never been driven by money. As I always say, good thing my husband is. I would make a poor breadwinner.

7. April 18th is International Jugglers Day...can you juggle?

Literally or figuratively? Figuratively, yes. Most women are efficient in juggling all sorts of things simultaneously. Literally, no. I stay entertained by my hubby who can juggle.

Funny story, bless his heart: A few weeks ago my husband came home from the library all excited to show our son a few new hobby books he picked up for him. He had forgotten one little detail ,though: son's arm was in a sling from a broken collarbone. What was the topic of said hobby books? Juggling!! You have never seen a father laugh so hard while trying to apologize.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

My mom had a cornea transplant and cataract surgery on one eye last week. She is doing quite well. Colors are so much brighter. Whites are white, not brownish white. The only problem was that she told the nurses and doctors three or four different times that she's allergic to latex. And yet someone wasn't listening.

Imagine her dismay when she woke up from anesthesia with an itchy ring around her eye. Not on the eye, but a large circle of itchiness above her brow, on her nose and cheekbone. She asked the nurse to please take the patch off immediately to find out the problem. Lo and behold, what was the plastic patch adhered with? Latex tape. Thankfully the nurse was able to sooth her skin with something and reapply the patch with non-allergenic surgical tape.

All in all, my mother is very grateful for her new cornea. When I took a loaded veggie quiche to her yesterday, I do believe it was a sight for sore eyes.

Hodgepodge: Putting, Primping, and Pinkeye

This week Joyce brings us another octet of questions for us to ponder and answer. Here's my Hodgepodge of asnwers. (Please ignore the fact that some questions are in red and others aren't. The text color button is playing favorites.)

1. Have you ever played golf? Just miniature golf. Any interest in playing? Not really. Walking all over creation hitting and tracking a little ball that would probably end up in the water or sand is not a pastime that beckons me. If I want water and sand, I will go to the beach. Do you have a significant other who loves to play? My husband likes to play--doesn't love it, and I've asked him if he'd like me to learn so we can have a hobby together in our empty nest years. He is about as interested in having me learn as I am. He's got a long stride and doesn't like to converse much. I have a short stride and would totally turn the game into a chit-chat session. You know, talking is "par for the course" when you're with me. Did you watch The Masters this past weekend? No, but I saw a clip of the winner when they put the coveted green jacket on him and he got all emotional about it. I'm sure I'd cry, too, if I won, considering I've never played.

2. Hats are back in fashion this spring...how do you feel about wearing a
hat? (fyi-I'm not talking baseball caps) When was the last time you wore one?

I like hats and wish they didn't look ridiculous on me. I would love to wear one. I keep saying one of these days I will get all pretentious and dress up for the Preakness like I'm "all that."


3. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 meaning proficient and 1 meaning
"I'd starve", how adept are you at using chopsticks?

Maybe a 2 or 3.

4. Has technology taken over? Pretty much. I wish it would take over my household duties.

5. In the course of a day how often do you look in a mirror?

What a question. Hmm, let's see, every time I'm in the bathroom which is probably 10x/day, and
I look in the vanity mirror of the car to put on lipstick and check my teeth and hair twice a day. So at least a dozen if I'm doing the math right.


6. Tulip or Daffodil?

Which blooms first? Grows taller? Is my favorite? Daffodils remind me of the birth of my first child, so they're sentimental, but for looks I prefer tulips.

7. I am proud of myself for... not doing too much barking about my husband's driving on our trip to Ohio and back. It can be scary, which is probably why I sleep a lot. The man has to be multitasking to be happy, so he not only drives, he sight-sees, messes with the GPS, fetches a drink out of the cooler, eats sunflower seeds, and pops a CD in. Once in a while he looks at the road and cars ahead of him.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Bad news: I got pinkeye the night before our trip out to Ohio to visit my brother-in-law and his family.

Good news: We had a great time. anyway. I just didn't touch him.

Bad news: I wasn't as much help as I intended to be. Ever realize how often you need your hands for things????

Good news: My hands will get to get to hold a miracle in November, Lord willing. My sister Jill is expecting her first baby! Yay! She and her hubby are "over the moon" about it. And so am I !! I get to be the aunt of a "little little" niece or nephew again. It's been 12 years since I knew what that felt like. And that was only for a few days in Texas. This little one will be only 15 miles away, and you can bet I will be finding excuses to just be "in the neighborhood." Good practice for grandmotherhood, I'd say, without rushing the newlyweds.

E is for Eva

Eva was my great aunt, my dad's uncle's wife. Aunt Eva and Uncle Frank had eight children. Seven sons and finally a daughter. They named her Joyce, but I think it's because they were RE-joicing that, at last, they had a girl. I want to say she was "Eva's Diva," but I don't really remember that Joyce was spoiled. Probably was, but I didn't really get to know her until she was in college, and she was a lovely, admirable girl with high moral standards without being a snob.

Aunt Eva and Uncle Frank Nickel travelled often with their whole family in a hearse, which is I guess the closest thing to a limo or van they could get back then without appearing to be materialistic Baptists or wayward hippies. They were a singing group, and their music took them all over the United States. They could turn four-part part harmony into ten-part harmony by simply opening their mouths. I remember when they came from Illinois and pulled into our long, gravel driveway one hot, summer day. As they emerged from the hearse, I believe there were only four kids. There weren't ten Nickels left (or, as Uncle Frank said, "fifty cents") by the time Joyce was in grade school touring with them, but as I recall, at least a sextet from the Nickel Family Singers' Hearse/Limo.

Every meal started with prayer and/or a sung prayer. Every after-dinner conversation seemed to make its way to the piano for a hymn-sing. Every farewell was set to beautiful music. You would think you'd been transplanted onto the Austrian Alps alongside Julie Andrews and those drapery-clad Von Trapp kids. The hub of this family wheel was Aunt Eva, smiling at Uncle Frank and the almost-all-male brood with them while they sang, "God Be With You Till We Meet Again."

What a sweet memory. Aunt Eva left a legacy of music in me. And she also left an unforgettable image of a singing hearse parked at our house in Maryland countryside.

Hodgepodge: Mopping, Shopping, and Hopping

Volume 72 from Joyce's Hodgepodgin' noggin. Wow! And I thought *I* could ask a lot of questions!

These are my answers to her query this week. Read them if you wish, and if hungry for more variety, then click on the button above to see her answers and the links to more.



1. What's the last job you did that required elbow grease?

My kitchen has gotten more of my elbow grease lately as I've been in a spring cleaning mood. (Take my temperature; it could just be a sickness.) I've scrubbed grease off the appliances, sucked bugs and dust out of the windowsills with a vacuum , double-mopped the floor (once for clean, twice for shine) and scraped that icky build-up from around the faucet.

2. March Madness, aka the men's Division I basketball championship, is nearing an end. What sort of 'madness' has your house seen this month?

Good madness? Our son's wedding shown here, there, and everywhere.(See my past few posts. I've gone mad showing off my lovies.)
















By the way, I can NEVER hear the term "March Madness" without remembering the March when I was recovering from a broken ankle. On the last Sunday night in January, 1995 (at age 29), I wrenched my foot so hard playing volleyball that I passed out from pain. Two teen girls drove me home. I couldn't bear weight, so they carried me under the armpits up the steps and to my threshhold. My hubby was watching a Maryland Terps basketball game. The Terps were Final Four material that year.

Mind you, this was in the days before cell phones, so Paul hadn't heard how hurt I was before I got home. Nor did he really see me -- his beloved wife of eight years and mother to three small children--, when I finally did get home...crawling toward him... in pain... while those teen girls stood in the doorway commiserating. "Oh, Miss Zo, I hope you're going to be okay!" The Man was fixated on the basketball game. Fixated, I tell you. Terps fans on TV cheered so loudly that he couldn't hear my voice as I lay on the floor, swollen foot propped on the sofa next to him, writhing in agony. "Honey," I moaned, "can you pleeeeeease get me some ibuprofen?!!!"

He said, and I repeat, "Can it wait till halftime?"

My madness that January night lasted well into March. I am not sure I have yet forgiven him.
Ever since then, when I really want his attention, I hop on one foot in front of the TV and scream, "No, it can't wait till halftime!!!!"

I could be embellishing part of this story, but it's the way I remember it, so I'll stick to this version.



3. What's your favorite shop for browsing?

Consignment shops. There are a few near me that I frequent. One in particular has two levels of beautiful things--from furniture which has come from model homes and upscale homes, to designer purses and accessories, pillows and prints, a Christmas nook, and Persian rugs. It's like shopping my older sister's closet, my mom's jewelry box, my aunt's kitchen, Martha Stewart's basement, and Santa's tool shed --all under one roof.

4. Is there ever a time when giving up makes sense?

Oh, sure. The term "cut your losses" is often the best advice. Quitting is sometimes the wisest thing one can do, given the options, circumstances ,or repercussions.

5. What's a song you love that contains the name of a city, state or country in its title?

One of my favorite songs takes me back to the stage when I was in the show "The Music Man." We sang and danced the soft shoe (a tap dance) to the lyrics sung by the leading man, Professor Harold Hill: " There is just one place that can like my face--Gary, Indiana, Gary, Indiana, not Louisiana, Paris, France, New York, or Roooooooooome. But Gary, Indiana, Gary, Indiana, Gary, Indiana, my home sweet hoooooooome!" (clickety-click!)

6. When did you first begin using a computer?

In college, circa 1983-84, I took a computer class using a language called Basic. Sounds easy enough, doesn't it? It was the hardest class of my college career. It was the first class after high school chemistry that convinced me that my brain doesn't fire on all cylinders and never will, this side of heaven. I ended up withdrawing from that class in order to save my GPA as an English major (a case in point for question #4).

7. Did you buy Girl Scout cookies this year? What's your favorite?

No, I haven't seen them for sale yet, which is a very good thing. I love Thin Mints, followed by Samoas. Literally.



8. Insert your own random thought here.

Please continue to pray for my brother-in-law Tony and his family. The cancer surgeries have taken their toll on his body and spirit, as you can well imagine. It's really hard living nine hours away, unable to be on hand for practical help.

Hodgepodge: Spring, Sun, and Sneak Peek at Son's Wedding

Before I plunge into the Hodgepodge Q & A, I want to announce that today is our eldest child's 24th birthday. This year his gift came early, eleven days ago. The gift of a beautiful wife, who said to him in her vows, "I hope to grow really, really, REALLY old with you!"

Happy birthday, Ben, and God bless your marriage. We love you and Dee very much.

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

Now, on to the HP.

1. The first day of spring is here...do you enjoy working in the yard? Weeding, raking, mowing, planting-your favorite springtime garden chore? How about your least favorite?

I enjoy yardwork initially, when spring is still a novelty. My favorite chore is planting annuals in borders and baskets. I also enjoy watching my hubby and sons spread a truckload of mulch around and my daughter taking joy in her herbs and veggie garden. I really love to sit back and swing on the porch swing at 5 in the afternoon with a tall glass of lemonade and just admire the beauty of all the new color, inhale the smell of new bark mulch, and think about putting the hose away when I'm good and rested.

My least favorite springtime garden chore is weeding. Apparently God doesn't enjoy it, either. He likes to plant and water as do I, but delegates the weeding to me, which I,following His example, delegate to my children.

2. What puts a spring in your step?

Anticipating any kind of pampering--and relishing the results. Before the wedding I had many springs in my step. A pedicure with polish that matched my dress. A manicure with French tips (or is that tips with a French manicure?) The tips were something I'd never had, but I like them a lot). I also got a makeover at Nordstrum and the gal who did my makeup told me that pink looks great on me because my skin has pink undertones. Now I am rethinking what I've been living by since 1987--when a "Color Me Beautiful" consultant told me I'm an autumn. I've been wearing fall colors on body and face. I am now suffering PSID (Personal Seasonal Identity Disorder). Help! What do YOU think? Am I a spring or an autumn?

3. Describe a time when you had to spring into action.

En route to my sister's college graduation in Baltimore City, about 12 years ago, I saw a little boy step off the curb on a busy street and a second later heard a "thud!" He'd been hit by an SUV that was next to us. I told my dad to pull over and I sprang out of the car to help the child. He was flat on his back but conscious. I stood over his skinny little black body and wiped the gravel off his pink hands. He was scared, and his friends who had dared him to step off, stood back, equally scared and apologizing and crying.

It was a bright sunny May day at high noon, and while I was nervous as all get-out on the inside, I was calm on the outside and began delegating action (see a theme here?) . I got the boy's mom's number and called her with pertinent info. Someone had called the ambulance already. I knelt down and asked if I could pray for him. (I'll call him Tyrone.) He asked, "Are you an angel?" That scared me because I thought it meant he was seeing the bright lights of heaven. I calmly said, "No, Tyrone, I'm not an angel, but I love Jesus and want to help you." He screamed, "I can't see anything!" I thought for sure that meant he'd hit his head so hard that his optic nerves had been damaged. But in the next second, I was told by another bystander, "He's just looking at the sun." So I moved a bit to the left and instantly there was shade on him. He smiled, "Oh, that's better! I can see! I can see!" and I was happy that being fat enough to eclipse the sun maybe isn't the worst thing in the world.

4. We're having carrots for dinner...would you prefer yours raw or cooked?

Let me answer that by asking you this: Are you serving them in salad or in stew? I like them raw in my salad and cooked in my stew.

Sorry for being a smart-mouth today. Can't help myself sometimes. Even with a delete button at my disposal.

5. Do you take the shampoos and other sundries from your hotel room when its time to check out?

Yes, ma'am. I figured we paid for them. Why not? I take the coffee and creamers, too. Sometimes when I run out of my regular supply, you will find me digging through the pantry like a drug addict in my pj's, muttering "Where's that hotel coffee? I need coffee so bad, where is that HOTEL coffee???!!!"

6. What's the most enjoyable team or club you've belonged to and what was it that made it so?

The Varsity Cheerleading Squad in high school. Actually I was chosen in 7th grade for the JV, but in 8th grade made Varsity. I enjoyed the camaraderie we shared . It was a Christian school, and we had devotions and prayer before every practice. I was in really good shape and had a petite frame, coordination, and flexibility which have all long since vanished. The school spirit, the getting out early for away games, the kissing my basketball player boyfriend in clandestine encounters in the dark history classroom. Well, you asked what made it enjoyable! I cannot tell a lie.

7. Is cloning a sign of progress?

It might be scientific progress, but I think it's dangerous to messing around in God's territory with DNA.

That's all I will say about it.

No, actually, I will add one more thing (of course): The day they decide to clone me will be the day the world declares that science has REgressed. "All of me is more than enough for all of you..." Woops, I think I just butchered some lyrics there.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Here's Ben being made perfectly presentable by his dad. Ben's face is getting pink from nerves. Paul's lips are pursed in his signature "Mr. Fix-it" face. This is real stuff, not just "pretend for the camera" nonsense.






Here's Dee, being primped for the last time before Ben sees her. Her mama is holding her train and veil. This is the start of the photo session behind the Historical Society building in Haddonfield, NJ. It was a private courtyard where the bridal party and parents met to witness the "first look" .

















I will reveal more pageantry very soon and blog about various segments of the big event so that I can re-savor the moments.

Hodgepodge: Green, Growls, and Grown Kids

Wedding pictures and post are coming. The last two days have been a mess--literally. The wedding was beautiful, gorgeous, and everything it should have been, but when the weekend was over, it was O.VER!. The dog has diarrhea from kennel stress, Joel broke his clavicle yesterday playing soccer, and my husband had to fly out to California on Monday and takes a red-eye home tonight. So I've been playing maid, nurse, and chauffeur all by myself. My respect-o-meter for single moms has hit an all-time high.

And now... without further doo-doo, let's check out something a bit more predictable--a Wednesday Hodgepodge from Joyce.

1. St. Patrick's Day will be celebrated this coming Saturday...what's a favorite article of clothing you own that contains a touch o' the green?

I really like the teal green blouse that I wore to Ben and Dee's engagement party. It's comfy and light for a summer's day, and can be dressed up or down with the greatest of ease. (I don't especially care for the expression on my face in that picture because it looks like I'm either on drugs or need drugs, but nonetheless, I like that green top.)

2. What's a favorite 'green space' in the town, state, or province where you live?

Actually my own back yard is one of my personal favorite green spaces, but in the summer I love to spend as many Friday afternoons as possible up at Sandy Cove Christian Conference Center located on the Chesapeake Bay. I could just lie on a blanket all day and watch the white sailboats glide by on the blue water. Swimming and shuffleboard, miniature golf and a snack shack on site make for a pleasant and lazy family day trip. It's easy to feel that the place is bathed in prayer, because I'm sure it is. It feels like a respite to a weary soul and body in the arms of Christ.

3. Do you wish you were taller, shorter, or think you're just about right in the height department?

I don't bemoan my (lack of) height most of the time. However, it would be more convenient when reaching things over my head in the kitchen, or dancing eye-to-eye with my husband. I also think that most clothes look better on taller people, but that's not a big deal. For the most part, I'm fine with my 5'3" height.

4. What's the surest way for someone to pick a fight with you?

Whoa! There used to be quite a few ways, but by God's grace I'm more self-controlled and less easily provoked than I once was. That said, you will certainly make me growl if you:

-insult one of my family members

-dismiss my ideas without giving me good reasons

-deceive me

-mess up a room I've just cleaned or dump a basket of laundry I've just folded

-tell me I'm "too needy"

-look at your watch when I'm talking to you

-fail to visit me after major surgery

-bring up sins of my past that have been forgiven but still grieve me

-ignore my attempts to communicate with you. I hate having my emails or calls ignored no matter what the issue, but the worst is the silent treatment when I'm angry. TALK TO ME, PEOPLE!! TALK TO ME!!

5. Broccoli-Spinach-String Beans-Peas...of the four, your favorite green veg? (Or the one you dislike the least if that first option's too hard. I just know there's some veggie haters out there.)

That's a hard one because I love beef with broccoli, spinach just about any way (in salads, spanikopita, and in smoothies); string beans are safe and go with everything; peas add a sweetness to an entree. Eenie, meenie, let's say string beanies.

6. March is National Women's History Month...besides friends, neighbors and the women you're related to, who's a woman in history you admire and why?

Susanna Wesley, mother of John and Charles Wesley had something like 19 children, not all of whom lived to adulthood. Many died in infancy. One was accidentally smothered by the maid. The way she loved God even through multiple losses of children, speaks a great deal of her character. She also took time each week individually with each of her children. That inspired me to put "Mommy/Ben or Mommy/Sarah or Mommy/Sarah dates on the calendar to make sure that I was spending time with them as people, not just as my students or as a group. They liked that.

When Susannah was overwhelmed and needed a break, she would put her apron over her head and talk to God. Her kids knew not to bother Mama when she had the apron over her head. (I tried it once upon a time, with drastically different results. I believe they kept asking me why I was being weird.) Some people don't know that Samuel Wesley, her husband, had a spending problem and was twice jailed. He squandered almost every dime he was given, so Susannah had to manage on a pittance to feed her family, and find a way not to harm her husband's reputation at the same time. I admire women who handle finances well when their husbands don't. And I feel very blessed that I am not in that position.

7. You fill in the blank: Keep Calm and _____Pray_______on. I was going to say "dance on," but not every situation calls for dancing. But every situation calls for prayer, no matter how seemingly insignificant.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

At long last, I feel a deep sense that our choice to homeschool when it was viewed with scorn and skepticism, back in the early 1990's, was the right choice. Homeschooling was new and only a handful of us were courageous enough to do it. Not even our pastor at the time was "on board" because there was no empirical evidence that it "worked." At times I was fearful that our weird education method and "sheltering" would ruin my kids' chances at gainful employment. Now, I can say that my adult children are all three on solid career paths. Our third child just accepted a job offer with a major investment firm--a summer internship which starts in June. I am grateful for my husband's and parents' support and encouragement, for the small circle of friends who journeyed with us in the beginning years, and for the stamina and faith to persevere. I am also grateful that I'm no longer homeschooling nor carry any guilt whatsoever that we aren't .

Hodgepodge: One Giant Leap for the Year

Can you believe it's already the last day of the second month of the year Two Thousand Twelve? I think the date February 29 is so cool . I have friends who celebrated 52 years of marriage on their 13th anniversary because they got married on this date .

Let's leap onto the next lilypad of Hodgepodge questions From This Side of the Pond, shall we? Get your cup of coffee, your spot of tea, or your Bud. Weis. Er, whatever you want to sip on to toast this special day as you read my answers and then hop around the worldwide pond of Hodgepodgers today.

1. The Hodgepodge falls on the last day of February this year, a leap year. How will you spend that extra day?

If you must know, I have a to-do list that is packed solid:

-Drop boy off at school

-Deliver crockpot of soup to church

-Get eyebrows waxed

-Buy a shaper (My hubby says, "You mean a girdle?" and I say, "They don't call them that anymore. A girdle is for old ladies, which I'm not. I'm middle aged and need my shape shaped up a bit under my dress for the wedding."

-Buy a strand of pearls (which, looking in the mirror, reminds me of the phrase "casting your pearls before swine.")

-Pick boy up from school

-Rest

-Paint my nails

-Attend ladies' meeting

-Pack up my art lesson and stuff for Thursday's class

2. What has recently required a leap of faith on your part?

My brother-in-law's cancer diagnosis and the ensuing tests, surgeries, and what-ifs that accompany such a trial.

3. We're one week into the season of Lent...are you marking these 40 days in some way? Giving something up or adding something extra to normal life? How's it going so far?

No, I've never really observed Lent. I grew up Baptist/Methodist/sometimes Jewish/Episcopalian, you name it, so my traditions flexed. But if you count a wedding as adding something extra to normal life, then yes, but it has nothing to do with Lent. Except that we're giving up a lot of money .

How's it going so far? Okay. I'm just really, really, REALLY glad I'm not the mother of the bride. The stress this week about what we're responsible for as the groom's parents has been getting to me, as well as the stress of knowing I can't forget to pack anything because the wedding is two hours from home and we're going up there the day before. Plus I'm not wild about the haircut I just got. Grrr.

4. When was the last time you sat beside a fire?

It was a Tuesday in early January. I got as close as I could to the fireplace at Panera when I met my hubby for a dinner date. I think it might have been the one and only night of such wannabe winter weather in January, so maybe we were just there to celebrate White Precipitation Day??? The wet powder fell from heaven and dissolved on the sidewalk like communion wafers in the mouth as we sat near the fire "mmming" and "ahhing" our "You Pick Two" of tomato soup and a portabello sandwich." The fire was just for ambience: more like an extra on a Hollywood set than a leading role.

5. Surf and Turf is on the menu. Do you order as is or do you ask for just the surf (lobster), just the turf (steak), or a menu so you can select another option?

I order by my mood, but Surf and Turf is often very fitting to my mood, for sure. If lobster were the only "surf" choice, I'd take it, although I much prefer jumbo lump Maryland Blue Crab. The steak would be cooked medium.

6. If you could have any television program back, not in reruns but in new episodes, what program would you choose?

Hmm, that's a toughie to answer. Leave it to Beaver, Lost in Space, or the Andy Griffith Show. I think I'd go with the Beave, since our youngest likes the show, too. And he sort of reminds me of Beaver when he is sorry for getting in trouble with his teacher. Last week he was telling me after school that he lost his stamp for inappropriate talk. I asked him what he said. "Well, Mrs. K is always telling us she's the Queen, that her chair is her throne and stuff like that. We were walking out for recess and I was first in line behind her, and I said, 'I'm walking behind the royal behind.' "

She reprimanded him, made him miss some of recess, and took his stamp away for the day. (A stamp is what they get on their calendar for good behavior.) He was really sorry for saying what he did because he loves and adores his teacher. He just didn't think before he spoke and wanted a laugh from the class. It was all we could do not to laugh as he explained and confessed.

7. They say an elephant never forgets. These days would you say your memory is more like an elephant or a gnat?

I had to read the question twice because I forgot the first part of it before I got to the end.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Speaking of leaps, I heard about a program called FROGS that I want to get involved in. FROGS is a clever acronym for Friends and Relatives of Great Students, and is a mentoring opportunity at the school across from our church. Volunteers go in and read and study with the elementary aged kids. I can so picture myself enjoying that since I love schools. I do. They rev my engine. And I love helping kids succeed academically. And I have time on my hands. So it seems a perfect fit for me in this stage of "what to do that's meaningful in life now that I'm not a young mommy or a homeschooler or staying up late nights with teens whose day starts at 11 pm with a need to talk or college kids who need me to edit their papers or cut out 16 Easter bunnies for a seasonal preschool learning game?". Now I have time in between helping grade 32 math papers as a "favor" for my daughter-turned-first grade-teacher, fixing dinner, teaching art, folding laundry, blogging, running carpool, scrubbing toilets, and zoning out on Facebook. I think I can leap like a frog in my schedule right now--after the wedding, that is. After a certain Handsome Prince marries his beautiful Princess and begin their "Happily Ever After" story.

Hodgepodge: Highway Drama and Trauma

Joyce has asked another batch of questions to the Wednesday Hodgepodge!

1. February 22nd is National Be Humble Day...what makes you proud? What keeps you humble?

Proud in a good way? I'm proud of my children. Proud in a bad way? How much time do you have? What keeps me humble? Embarrassing myself after a pride-fest!

2. Where is the catch-all (aka dumping ground) in your house?

There are a few: 1) the first counter you come to upon entering the kitchen. It's the mail catcher, for starters. Another catch-all is my bedroom. And the back of the basement tends to catch what we can't decide what to do with when it's it in the way upstairs.

3. Do you make it a point to visit State/National Parks when you travel or even in your own hometown? What's your favorite?

No, not really. I have some fond memories, though, of hiking the White Mountains in New Hampshire seven months after my last child was born. My closest friend at the time moved up there with her family to help plant a church, and we missed each other greatly. I had wanted to visit sooner, but from February 14th to September 15th, 2002, my body would not have been able. I had torn all my pelvic ligaments giving birth, the SI joints were out of place and chronically painful, and my bladder was permanently damaged and half-paralyzed. The drive up there was but a dream, let alone doing anything physical once we got there. However, in October we went because....drumroll, please...it was a celebration of the miracle of my healing on September 15th. It happened in an instant that Sunday after church when a man and his wife laid hands on me and prayed. I didn't think I'd ever walk without a limp, or at the very least without pain, let alone go for a three-mile hike in New England, but God decided on September 15, 2002, to touch my body and make me whole again. To this day, I talk about the "mountaintop experience" I had after being in the lowest valley.

4. How would you define honor?

To place high value upon in the mind, with the mouth, and with deeds.

5. Angel's food or Devil's food-which cake do you prefer?

Angel food cake is in my top three flavors of cake! It has an addictive quality to it--light, sweet, spongey, slightly gooey.

One year our care group was having an Ebenezer Dinner (Ebenezer meaning "thus far hath the Lord helped us.") These dinners were times for remembering God's faithfulness in the past six months) and I made an Ebenezer Cake (which is what I called it). It was a storebought angel food cake which I cut in half through the middle, added a layer of orange filling, then glazed and sprinkled with chopped pecans. I then filled the middle of the ring with fresh peach-tinted roses because I just adore cakes decorated with real flowers! I miss those Ebenezer dinners. Our "log keeper" would pull out the prayer log and read the prayer requests that had been mentioned, and answered. It would lead to discussion, and sometimes tears, but always to appreciation for the love of our Lord Jesus who hears our prayers.

6. What's the most recent road trip you've taken? Where did you go and how many hours did you spend in the car? Do you like to zoom to your destination without stopping or leisurely wind your way there with stops along the way? What is your car snack of choice?

Our last road trip was to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for vacation last summer. It was one wild ride, begun at 9 pm and ending around 6:30 am, and since someone typed the wrong address into the GPS, the drive became a labyrinth of scary back roads, speed bumps at 68 miles an hour, convenience stores that weren't, and other memories I've repressed in order to maintain a semblance of sanity.

Hubby likes to zoom, and since he is the command man at the wheel, zoom is what we do. He drives like he lives life--with the destination clearly marked. Life is a mission, and so is a vacation. I would prefer to stop and gather rosebuds while I may, or peruse art shops and wineries along the way. (I convinced him ONCE to do that--at Assateague we went to an art shop, and at Gettysburg we went wine-tasting because it was just us. The clerk who waited on us was a transvestite, but that's a whole 'nother blog post. He-she only added to the long list of hubby's Reasons Not to Stop the Car on the Way There.)

My snack of choice? I'm not sure I have only one. Sometimes I want cashews, other times Oreos, and sometimes grapes. My hubby has to have sunflower seeds (Ranch flavored). He cracks them open with his teeth and uses a plastic disposaable cup as a spitoon. Yup. That's how my man rolls.

7. Recent headlines told how a preschool child in NC had their packed lunch from home taken away and a school lunch substituted by a school inspector who deemed the homemade lunch unhealthy. Reportedly the parent was then billed for the school lunch (chicken nugget meal) although an update to the story says the parent was not billed. The inspector was conducting a routine inspection of the classroom-he/she was not there solely to peek in the lunchboxes. The packed lunch contained a turkey and cheese sandwich, an apple juice box, a bag of chips, and a banana. You can read the story here. Your thoughts?

Oh, you are getting me on one of my soapboxes with this question! Where to start, where to start? First, I will say that sounds like a typical lunch I might pack my fourth grader. Second, bravo to the mom or dad (or child) who actually packed a lunch with protein and fruit instead of Lunchables or something really crappy. I am a firm believer in parents having authority over any school authority, and even if the lunch was something another person would deem "unhealthy," the choice is the parents', not a government official's. Uncle Sam has no right to tell people what to eat; I don't even think they should be sanctioning what fast food restaurants should offer: let the people decide! As for the child being offered a chicken nugget meal instead. Seriously? I bet chicken nuggets are far worse than lunchmeat, or at least no better! My daughter works in a public school and she is appalled by what the school offers for breakfast and lunch to the kids.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Last night I went to bed hearing a medevac helicopter flying close overhead. It's never good when you hear that sound. I commented to my son that there must've been a bad accident nearby. This morning, as I began to read Facebook posts, I read horrible news. The car accident involved three cars. A Cavalier with three siblings in it crossed the double yellow line, sideswiped a Toyota, and then spun into the path of an oncoming vehicle. The siblings' car split in half upon impact, ejecting two of the kids. All three of the siblings were pronounced dead at the scene. Two were in their 20s, one was 17. The other drivers suffered varying degrees of injuries. On top of the trauma, when the first medevac copter landed, its engine caught on fire. The flight medics were unharmed. This accident took place about five miles from my house.

I cannot, cannot, cannot imagine being the parents who had to learn of this tragic, sudden, horrific loss of their three children at once last night. Lord Jesus, come quickly!

I Didn't Go AWOL; Hodgepodge Brevity

So I thought I was just going to take a break and come back here Tuesday, but my laptop is nearly kaput and we need to back it up and not use it until that happens, or else risk losing a lot.

I've been reading facebook and blogs (and commenting a teeny bit) on the little tablet we have, but it's kind of a pain, and I can't post on Blogger with it. Probably a good thing. I have had a huge lot on my proverbial plate this week, both logistically and emotionally. When I'm on overload all I want to do is escape to sleep, blog, read, eat, run (as in away). Sometimes I pray, but why is it that all I can sometimes muster is "Help, Lord!"? And why is it just sometimes -- a last resort when I have at my disposal more than I could ever ask for or even imagine, since my God is exceedingly and abundantly able to supply all I need?

I have been concerned, not in a funny way, about my memory. I am not recalling some of the simplest things. I'm forgetting what I said to whom and am always asking, "Did I tell you this already?" because I know how annoying it is to hear the same old story from someone who just loves to talk. Or I remember an event or a conversation in a way that no one else remembers it, so I'm wrong. I try not to take it personally when it feels like the people in the right are ganging up on me, but it feels like I'm acquiescing and aging at the same time (giving up control and losing control at the same time). It's one more way the Lord is showing me my mortality and His omniscient sovereignty. I should probably take a class to get my brain working harder, to force it to engage like a muscle.

Emotionally the cancer diagnosis hit me hard yesterday. The call from my sister-in-law came just before a big combo party I was hosting for my mom's 70th, Joel's 10th, and Sarah's graduation/new job combo celebration. My brother-in-law has a long road ahead in fighting melanoma. And those in the fight with him feel rather inept, especially from a distance. My husband also received word from his doctor that his lungs are hyperinflated, which is an early sign of COPD. Are you kidding me?
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease? Isn't that a smoker's disease? My man is a runner and has never smoked! How can it be? Well, I am praying that it isn't so, that the pulmonologist will say it was merely bronchitis that swelled his lungs. I will deny and deny and deny until I hear it from two sources. Or three. Or fourteen hundred. That's how I am.

Okay, I'm at the library and promised my son I'd be off at 4:30. It is 4:30, so I'll keep my word.

Anybody want me to answer this week's Hodgepodge late?

Hodgepodge: Reminiscing and Romance

1. What is something you are loving right now?

My daughter's excitement over getting hired to teach first grade full time. She will be starting this Friday. What a blessing to land a position literally a month after her graduation ceremony! The school is exactly the kind she's been praying for (an economically-challenged, low-performing school where kids seem to need extra TLC). But oh, boy, she's got a learn to learn! She will have 32 students and has to learn all their names, which isn't easy, considering some of the names sound like what you hear when you drop a handful of silverware on a tile floor.

She has been "teaching" since she was a little girl. (Here's a picture of her with her great-grandpa when she was five months old.) I remember how, at the tender age of five, she used to line up her stuffed animals and dolls on her bed and situate them attentively against the wall. Each one would get an imaginary pencil in their paw or hand. I'd eavesdrop outside Sarah's door and hear things like, "Mandy, are you yistenin' ta me? Sit up stwaight. Bobby, are you payin' tension ta me? Diss is not pway time, it's cwass time." (Her older brother used to say, "Mommy, she's not teaching. She's bossing!")




2. Paris, Venice, New York, and Rome are considered four of the most romantic cities in the world. Which one would you most like to visit?

Talk about a hard question to answer! The French Impressionist, French-speaking dreamer in me would love to see Paris. However, I have not given up on my my greatest travel dream which is to see Italy with my husband, and when we do (I'm not even letting myself say "if" but "when" ) we will include both Venice and Rome. If I had to choose, that would be hard. The romantic artist and historian in me wants to see Rome, but the artist and lover in me says Venice. Pressed for just one, I guess it'd be Venice. When we return, I will be sure to blog ad nauseum about our "Rome antics" and "Venice vistas."

















3. Are you a romantic?

Absolutely! Such a romantic that I gave birth to my last child on Valentine's Day. I didn't choose the day; I had to be induced because he was over 9 pounds at 38 weeks, and the only time slot open in Labor & Delivery for me was February 14th. That ended up being wonderful, because Valentine's Day had become my favorite holiday over the years, thanks to my daddy, Lyle. He has always honored my mom and us girls every year with chocolate and heartfelt cards. We would wake up and find those things at the breakfast table, and then as adults await his gift in person at the door or in the mail, depending on where we lived.

I always felt I couldn't thank him enough. I knew I was going to name our last son after him but the bonus of having that baby on Valentine's Day allowed me to place Joel Lyle into my father's open and eager arms. "Here, Daddy. A Valentine with your name on it." If my dad was a balloon he would've burst from joy at that moment.


4. What's your favorite love story made for the Big Screen?

"The Notebook" ranks up there because it pictures the love of a man for his wife
who has been stricken with Alzheimer's. He is loyal, patient, and kind long after she has forgotten him or their story. It reminds me of my grandparents when they lived across the hall from each other in the nursing home. Grandpa would say, "Kathryn, here are our grandchildren. They've come for a visit. You remember Rachel?" Grandma would smile and stare blankly at my older sister and ask, "Who do you belong to?" And my sister would say, "Your son, Lyle." No recollection in her face whatsoever. Grandpa would touch Grandma's arm and say, "Lyle's family used to live in Alden when he was a minister, you remember?" And she'd say, "Lyle was a MINISTER?" Oh, the heartbreak. I remembered the days when she'd go on and on about how she loved having a son in ministry. Ironically, she remembered me, and how we used to play with baby dolls in the metal camper behind their house. I think it must be because Grandma and I were like two children playing together, and she remembered childhood things, but the fact is I was nine and she was about 59 when we played together.

5. Everyone loves Pooh bear and friends...which character are you most like and why? Click here for help in answering this question.

Kanga. According to the quiz results, I am "warm and loving and great with children. But kids know not to misbehave around me or I'll put them in time out." Hmm, see answer # 1 for someone who might be Kanga, Jr !

6. What's the best chocolate something you've ever eaten?

Triple Chocolate Layer cake made by my friend Sharon. It is a chocolate cake with chocolate pudding, chocolate chips, and chocolate frosting. Technically that's a quadruple chocolate cake, right? You serve it warm and the chocolate is like sweet lava in your mouth. I think I could eat it for lunch right now.

7. Share a favorite quote about love.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." That's exactly what Jesus did. He did the ultimate laying down of his life after 33 years of dying to himself day in and day out.

To me, it's easy to think of jumping in front of a Mack truck or a bullet to save my husband's or child's life, because "perfect love casts out all fear" and I wouldn't stop to think about myself. I'd just do it with everything in me, out of love. But to lay down my life in small ways every day by choice has been quite the test of love, and often I've failed. Yet they still love me after decades of failures and maybe a few successes? And vice versa.

8. Insert a random thought here.

A couple weeks ago I posted the "dream dress" my girl steered me to, as she was squelching major guffaws all the way to the rack. (We were at this bridal shop in NJ for my future DIL's dress fitting.) This "dream dress was ugggggggleeeeee!"




















But I failed to show you the really, truly dreamy-romantic dress that my daughter would love to wear someday. It's one I would wear if I had it to do over. (Click to see details. This one is stunning!)

I can't wait to get a new battery for my Nikon so I can get back to taking pictures with good lighting and better resolution than my easy-peasy purse camera. Nonetheless, this dress is a work of art, and merited a picture of any quality.