A Mooning Hodgepodge

How is it possible that it is Wednesday already? I am sure it must be, because the Hodgepodge questions are here.

1. Did you watch the solar eclipse? Your thoughts? Sun Chips, Moon Pies, Starburst candies, a Blue Moon beer, a Sunkist orange, or a Milky Way candy bar...what's your favorite eclipse related snack on this list?
It was cloudy here in Minnesota. Even with clouds, and not total coverage I could look outside and tell  the sun was being covered. It did get darker. It was eery.  The wind stopped blowing, the birds quit singing. I did watch the live feed from the NASA web site. I loved every minute of it. I was excited to see what God was bringing to us.

I guess a Milky Way bar is my favorite. I don't think I have ever had a Moon Pie.
2. What are you 'over the moon' about these days? What's something you enjoy doing every 'once in a blue moon'?

Over the moon? As in excited, loving it? Hmmm. I guess it would be the blanket that I finished crocheting a couple of weeks ago. It has inspired me to try more difficult patterns. And I am having great fun.

Once in a blue moon? Every now and then I go to the city for a few days. I am going there in 2 weeks! Yea! When in the city I do a lot of shopping, because of I limited stores here (just Wal-Mart), I stock up on lots of groceries and make a trip to Aldi's. Have lunch and dinner out maybe. I get to spend some time with my son which I always love to do.
3. Tell us about something in the realm of science that interests you. How do you feed that interest?
Well. I do enjoy all things skyward. I enjoy the stars at night. The wonder and awe has never left me. When my son was young we would spend time each night looking at the stars trying to identify them. We watched the Hal-Bop comet in the early 90s. Oh, and I can't forget the Northern Lights! Amazingly beautiful. I don't have a telescope, however, there aren't any lights to block the night sky.

I also think I would have made a pretty decent medical examiner.4. What are a few things you remember about going back to school as a child?

I remember getting new shoes, a new box of crayons, and a new uniform. This is a grade school memory. High school memories, eh, not so great. I was a rebel. I was one of the kids that stood across the street smoking until the last moment.

5. I've seen several versions of this around the net so let's make one of our own...share with us five words that touch your soul and briefly tell us why.

My words start and end the same except it might be two words. God's love, God's faithfulness, God's promises, God's peace he gives to me,  God's forgiveness.  These are the things that make my life worth living.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Harry's daughter arrived yesterday. I don't have any randomness right now. I will share a photo though.

The night of the Neal Diamond concert. My son took this photo of us. I hate the way I look in a photo, but my son is a handsome guy. Don' cha think?

A dog days of summer Hodgepodge

1. Do your actions match your words? Elaborate.

Sometimes my actions match my words, but rarely. I pretend a lot. I pretend that everything is good, That I am not overwhelmed. That I am not exhausted. That I can handle it all. When in actuality I don't think I can do what I am doing for too much longer before I collapse.  Shhh, I have never told anyone that.  

2. Sick as a dog, go to the dogs, dog days of summer, dog tired, it's a dog's life, every dog has it's day, can't teach an old dog new tricks...now doggone it which saying could most recently be applied to your life?

Dog tired sums my life up very neatly. I am getting ready for Harry's daughter and her annual visit. Cleaning the house from top to bottom. And then doing it again in case I missed something. Having many, many lists to work from.

However, dog days of summer are nice too. I am not fond of what happens to the lakes in the area, but I do like that it signals the almost end of the heat.
3. Your favorite book featuring a dog in the storyline? What makes it a favorite?

This is a tough one. So many to choose from. I remember reading "White Fang", thinking it would be my all time favorite book. Flash forward many, many years to "Marley and Me". Oh how I loved the movie. So much so I HAD to read the book. It is wonderfully touching. Hilariously funny. Sad. Loving. And then, there is "Because of Winn-Dixie". The dog is heroic in my mind. Just because of the simple reason he is alive. 

4. What's something you hope to one day have the confidence to do?

I don't know if I need confidence to do this or courage. I would like to be able to learn to swim. It is such good exercise. But, I can't get into the pool. I can't take baths, because I get nervous when the water covers me. I get nervous if the shower drains to slowly. I have almost drowned twice in my life, and those experiences have left me with a phobia. Not drowned to the point of needing CPR or anything, but close enough that I needed rescuing.

5. August 16th is National Tell a Joke Day. So tell us a joke.

There was a man from Nantucket...oh wait I better make it a clean one.

I have 2 favorite jokes. 

This first one is much better told in person, but I will explain it to you.

Very quietly, I ask the question, "How do you sell a deaf man a duck?"

The person replies, "I don't know. How do you sell a deaf man a duck?"

Very loudly I shout, "Do you wanna buy a duck?"

It cracks me up every time. I am laughing now.

The other joke is:

Where in the Bible is baseball mentioned?

Answer: Genesis 1 In the BEGINNING  God created the heavens and the earth.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

This is a photo from the bridge going over the Kettle River. I wish it were brighter, but the day was gray and cloudy.

Friendly Fotos

Joining  Debbie to day for Friday Foto Friends.

Last week I showed you the sunflowers just as their yellow faces showed . What a difference a week makes. I think they look confused. It was a cloudy, rainy, dreary day the poor things don't seem to know which way to face.

 A beautiful sea of yellow. Sunflowers make me smile.

 This bridge crosses the Kettle River in Sanstone, MN. It is a high bridge, and I mean high! I had to stop on the road, because there isn't a shoulder. I hate bridges. I wasn't about to get out out of my car. No way, no how! 

 I don't know if the trains still run on the trestle bridge or not.I wish the day had been sunny, but I will take what I can get

 These two were in a field, in the rain. It doesn't seem to bother them at all.

Last week A couple of you commented on my post from the week before. I am still not sure what I doing when I attempt to join this. I must have put in the wrong thing. Hopefully, it won't happen again.

As busy as I should be right now I am taking time out to join in on the fun with the weekly hodgepodge. The theme this week is Grand. As in grandbabies.

1. Do you try to set rules for yourself about how you use your time? Explain.
I used to have only a "routine" for my daily chores. It seemed I was always behind. I developed a rigid schedule for myself. That didn't work. Just yesterday, I began 

yet another way to get things done. I made a list of things I needed to accomplish this week. Then I put the days of the week on separate pages of my notebook. I assigned the jobs to the days. Yesterday I was able to cross off most things. This morning I transferred the undone things to today's list and noted them with a star. I will repeat the process each morning. I hope by the end of the week to not have to transfer anything. With that in mind I left Friday blank. I need some sort of routine or schedule or whatever you want to call it, because without it I would crochet all day and never see the messes pile up.

2. Monday was National Lighthouse Day. Have you ever visited a lighthouse? If not, do you have any desire to see one up close? Of the 10 Most Beautiful that made this list which would you most like to see in person-
I have been to a lighthouse. Splitrock Lighthouse on Lake Superior.

You can read about it here:\

http://www.mnhs.org/splitrock   OR

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/split_rock_lighthouse/narrative.html

It was someplace I really wanted to see inside. However, when I got inside and saw the type of steps I would have needed to climb, I waited outside. I am terrified of open stairs, you know the kind that you can see through? Terrified of heights.
Lindau Lighthouse (Germany), Fanad Lighthouse (Ireland), Portland Head Light (Maine), Yaquina Bay Light (Oregon) The St. Augustine Light (Florida), Peggys Point Lighthouse (Canada), Start Point Lighthouse (England), Tower of Hercules (Spain), Bass Harbor Head Station (Maine), and White Shoal Light (Michigan)

I have never been to any of these lighthouses. If I were to get a chance I would see the 2 in Maine. Maine is on my short list of places to visit.

When you've been away, what's your 'lighthouse' telling you you're on the right road home?

 When I am away from home for any length of time, and it is time for me to return home my feelings are ambivalent.  First, I know that I MUST go home. Second, I don't want to go home. Being away is like living in a fantasy world. No stresses. No decisions to make. Just relaxation and fun. Total fantasy. 

3. What have you unintentionally stopped doing? Is this something you need to pick back up and begin again, or is it something you need to let go of for now (or even permanently)?

When my computer was down I just the Kindle to go online with. Using the Kindle to go to Facebook was a lot of hassle.  I stopped going. I only go now to see if friends/family have updated things I should know about. I am there less than 5 minutes compared to the hours I spent there before. I am guessing that I will keep it just this way. FB can really be a time sucker.

Another place online I used to spend a lot of time is the auction site for Goodwill. There are bargains galore, but again a time sucker. 
4. We've had a full week of August. Share a GRAND moment from your month so far.

My BF's dad is coming into Minneapolis this month. I always like to go into the city to see and visit with him and get some Dad love. No one could decide where or when to have a family picnic (yes I am considered family).  At a lake? At a park? On a Saturday? On a Sunday?There is now a date  and a place for the get together which is Grand for me. I can make my plans for my getaway.

5. Tell us one song you love with the word 'baby' in the title.

I sang this song to my son almost every night. It was one of his most requested. Not because of my unlovely voice. "Hush Little Baby". Sometimes when I can't sleep I sing it to myself.

Hush, little baby, don't say a word,
Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird.

And if that mockingbird don't sing,
Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring.

And if that diamond ring turns brass,
Mama's gonna buy you a looking glass.

And if that looking glass is broke,
Mama's gonna buy you a billy goat,

And if that billy goat won't pull,
Mama's gonna buy you a cart and a bull.

And if that cart and bull turn over,
Mama's gonna buy you a dog named Rover.

And if that dog named Rover won't bark,
Mama's gonna buy you a horse and a cart.

And if that horse and cart fall down,
You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town.

So hush little baby, don't you cry.
Daddy loves you and so do I.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

My husband's daughter arrives in 2 weeks from today. The house is a mess, the room where she sleeps I can't see the bed. It has become a catch all sort of room. Irregardless of how I answered question number 1, I can't get motivated to clean. I just don't seem to care. I do know it will all get done, because I will eventually become a whirling dervish (don' cha just love those 2 words? I have to say them again.) I will become a whiling dervish, but even then it won't pass her white glove test. One the positive side of her visit, and there is one, she does all of the cooking and cleaning up afterwards while she is here. She likes to cook for her dad. I feel like I am on vacation not having to plan, cook, and clean up. She will be here 8 days.

I hope I haven't shown you this before. Pardon me if I have. I did a CAL ...crochet along...and this is the final result. I almost gave up many times, because the pattern was so far out of my comfort zone. I am certainly glad I didn't stop.

Excuse Boo in the photo. She thought I had put it on the floor for her comfort.

 There are 6 squares. Three different patterns.

 Each square has it's own color combination.

 I am very pleased with the final result. I am thinking Christmas gifts now. I am going to make this again and again.

Friday Foto Friends #90

Deb (Breathing in Grace) mentioned that Foto Friends has been on for 90 weeks. I haven't been in on the fun that long, but I sure do enjoy my time here. Without further delay.... I might have over done it on the photos this week, but you will learn why.

 St. Croix River overflow. 

 There is a lot of water in the overflow for mid summer.

 It is haying time for the farmers. Hard work for them when it has been so blasted hot.

I know they don't do this for me to enjoy. However, haying season brings back good memories. As a teen friends and myself would go into the field and throw the square bales onto the truck. We got paid in gasoline for the car and cigarettes. 

My latest creation. HOH yesterday. This was way, way out of my comfort zone. I made stitches that I have never heard of. I ripped out more times than I can count. And, I think everyday I was thinking of hanging it up. I persevered and finished. I am so glad I did. Just ignore the cat. She thought I had placed it on the floor for her morning nap.

The pattern was the 6 blocks of three different patterns. I wanted to show you the individual patterns.

 
 The one above is almost entirely of puff stitches. It started out round.

 This one is really just crocheting, but stitching over and under previous stitches. 

 This one took the longest and gave me the most grief. But, it is my favorite. It started round and after the sunburst was made it got squared up.