WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE #656

Thank you Joyce.

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1.What's something you find extremely difficult that most people would say is simple?

I'm drawing a blank, mainly because everything right now has been extremely difficult for me. 

I do have a hard time leaving the house to run errands. Not because of how I've been feeling but because when I had to quit bowling several years ago, that is when I would run all of my errands that day. 

I can't seem to push myself to leave the house to do that. I do however run errands after doctor's appointments which happen way too often these days. 

2.  "And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow fast in movies I  had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer." 

~F. Scott Fitzgerald

Does the season of summer make you feel this way? Elaborate. 

I can't really say that it does. However I'm sure that I felt like that years ago. Here in California the weather is pretty nice throughout the year. The summer however brings a time when we grow vegetables in our garden boxes. 

3. Pickles. Love 'em or no thank you? What's your favorite type of pickle? What's something you eat that definitely needs a pickle added?

I like pickles. I don't eat them very often but we always have Petite Kosher Dills in the house. I think they go well with a sandwich. 

4. Tis the season...do you know any June brides? Are there any weddings on your summer calendar? What's your favorite movie wedding? 

I'm a June bride. We were married June 24th of 1972. No weddings on the calendar this year. 

Mark and Debby

Oh my, it is hard for me to pick a favorite wedding movie. I like several. Father of the Bride, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Runaway Bride, Four Wedding and a Funeral to name a few. 

5. June 1st is/was National Say Something Nice Day...say something nice here. 

I love you guys! It has been so wonderful meeting all of you. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

James got the SMART Dolphin award on his last day of school for this year. 

Mark arrived home on Monday. He had a nice fishing trip. I'm happy that he is home. 

I didn't see Adam, Gabby or James while Mark was gone. Turns out Gabby had strep throat and they didn't want me to get it.

I was able to go and see James on Monday evening. That's when Mark was arriving at the airport not too far from their house. I went to their house and then Adam went to get Mark at the airport. Not one of my favorite things to do. 

Then Mark drove my car home since I'm not a fan of driving at night. 

OUR TRIP TO MONTANA

I always enjoy seeing the piles of hay. 

We did see a lot of yellow trees along the way. 

Flowers for my birthday.

Finley with grandpa.

On October 6th Amber and Dylan got remarried in the courthouse. They had divorced years ago for a very short period of time and then got back together. Since they recently bought the house there are papers that Amber's name needs to be on and she will also be getting on his insurance from the hospital. It was a very special moment for us. What was funny about being at the courthouse is that you 

Celebration dinner.

WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE #600

Thank you Joyce.

To join in click here. 

1. My very first edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge was published on November 10, 2010 (linked here if you're curious). Tell us something about your life from that era. 

I was looking at some posts from 2010 and came across one form January 10th which was our dog Skye's first birthday. 

(https://skyesofblue.blogspot.com/2010/01/happy-birthday-skye.html) I miss her so much. 

However, I did find my post from November 10, 2010 from Wednesday Hodgepodge

(https://skyesofblue.blogspot.com/2010/11/wednesday-hodgepodge.html)

2. What's a song you love that relates to time in some way? 

I'm going to go with "Yesterday" from the Beatles. 

3. May is nearly upon us. When did you last need to yell 'MAY DAY-MAY DAY!!'? 

Probably the day my ankle went out on me. The x-ray was taken early December. I had a steroid shot in the ankle bone since and it last 2 days. I am truly miserable and in pain when I walk and the surgery is pretty risky. 

4. How do you feel about food trucks? Is this a dining experience you enjoy?  Do you have a favorite What's something you've ordered from a food truck? 

I know we have purchased from a food truck at some point, but it was years ago. However, one of my favorite movies is about a food truck. "Chef" in 2014. 

5. We're bidding farewell to April...what are three adjectives you might use to describe the month you're leaving behind. 

"Busy", "Challenging", and "Family." 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We had a very busy weekend, flying out to the Atlanta airport on Friday which is the worlds largest airport. I couldn't believe it! Then we rented a car and drove to Acworth, GA. We hit a very hard storm on the drive and James was so scared. 

It was Mark, myself, Adam, Gabby and James for my great-nieces wedding. Seeing family was so wonderful and having them meet Gabby and James in person for the first time. Sadly I have very few photos. 

I'm pretty broken about that but it just flew by so quickly and was a crowed venue. Praying we get to see the photos from the photographer at some point, however, we should have gone to him to take some group photos. It's pretty sad that I have nothing to show you. 

So since the wedding wasn't until 4pm we went to Bass Pro Shop. James likes walking around that store. 

Here's a few random photos. 

Amanda and Jake.

This is my brother in law Bob, my sister Darcy 

and Mark and I. 

This one is hard to see and I guess Adam took it.

That's James with Amanda and Gabby to the left. 

Very blurry.....

WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE #595

Thank you Joyce.

To join in click HERE

1. Spring has officially sprung (in the northern hemisphere anyway)...did she roll in more like a lion or more like a lamb in your neck of the woods? What needs more of your attention in terms of a good spring clean this year-your house or your garden/yard? 

She moved in like a lamb. Some very nice weather in the high seventies. Going to hit 90 next week. 

Well Mark is working on the garden and the house definitely needs a spring cleaning but I can only do so much right now. 

2. What's put a spring in your step lately? 

Well there is a wedding we are going to at the end of April and I haven't seen my Florida family since before the pandemic. Adam, James and Gabby are going too. I can't wait for them to meet James. 

However, there is a lot more to be worked out before I can go so please pray for my health to be back on track. Will mention more in the random. 

3. When you were a kid, what was the best snack to find in your lunchbox? If you didn't do the lunchbox thing, tell us what was your favorite after school snack. 

I would go home for lunch and I don't have any memories of what my mom would make for us. We were just a block away from school. My mom was an alcoholic. But I remember watching Bozo! 

4. In what area of your life are you planting seeds ? 

Can't think of anything other than hopefully planning a trip in June to see Amber and Dylan's very first house. They just closed on Friday. 

5. Why do you live where you do? Would you consider living somewhere else? Why or why not? 

Well we live in Southern California because of something that happened years ago. Mark left me for a woman he worked with when the kids were very, very young. Then he moved to California because she went there in hopes that he would follow. 

Then he wanted us back in his life and he had a job in California so we moved out here to be with him. I know it sounds like a very sad situation and it was very difficult for me to leave my family in Illinois. However, in the long run, our children have found the loves of their loves here and I consider that a blessing for them. 

Well, California isn't the best state to live in. Lovely but costly. Obviously we are here because of  James and of course Adam and Gabby. However, it is very hard not to be with Amber and Dylan too who live in Great Falls Montana.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Well here is some more news that isn't happy or exciting. Not to mention that I don't need another health issue going on in my life. Enough is enough!

I woke up early on Thursday morning with chest pain. Something I have never experienced before in my life. Ended up going to the ER at 2 am. As you may know, things in the ER take forever to get worked out. I'll try to make this short. 

I was put in a room in the ER. I was taken for a photo of my heart. Then an hour after that they did a chemical induced stress test with and EKG. I got a thumbs up for that. Then I was sent for a second photo of the heart. I was also moved to a room which was patient observation. If the test were all okay they would send me home. 

They decided that they wanted to do an angiogram or angioplasty for further testing. However, I have to be off my blood thinner for three days so they sent me home around 9:30 pm. I got a prescription for a pill for possible angina. 

I have to say that with everything that is going on I have been nothing but completely stressed all the time and could have been caused by stress. I am feeling okay now and haven't had any chest pain at all. 

I have my left eye cataract being done next Thursday. Because of different testings it may not be possible to schedule something soon after another procedure. So it is possible I will not be able to have the ango tests done immediately. However, like I've been told, if it was an emergency they would have done it without me being off my blood thinners. 

The one thing I know is that I am not missing that wedding!!!!

TIME TO PARTY

Today Adam turns 39 and will be celebrating with him in Houston. We celebrated Mark's mother's 90th birthday yesterday. Of course we were missing Amber and Dylan which always weighs heavy on my heart. 

Mark's mom still lives in her house and does everything for herself. She is amazing and keeps very involved in groups through her church. There were 13 of us gathering for her celebration. 

There she is in the middle at Adam & Gabby's shower.

I'm not sure I shared this here but Adam started a new job on January 2nd. We couldn't be more proud of him. He didn't like having to leave notice at his other job but this was a good move.

Adam has been working on the Ethics Boards of 3 well know hospitals over the last 12 years. This current move is a very well know hospital only 9 miles from their house. It has saved him 2 hours each day in travel time. 

Their house is just about done. They should be in by February 1st. I swear they should have been on a fixer upper show. The house needed a furnace, air conditioner and ductwork. Being built in 1953 it only had a wall unit for heat. 

They have all new plumbing and electrical. Walls were torn down and a master bath was worked in. The house was just about totally gutted and it is looking awesome. Also it has original wooded floors which are being refinished. We go and see the progress every few weeks. 

New porches are being put on, the house is being painted, new windows have been put in along with a new kitchen and bathroom remodel. They also added cove molding in each room. 

Landscaping is being done and a pool will be going in too! Next year they will have a new roof put on. The location is absolutely amazing. 

I have a few pictures to share from their wedding. These were taken by the professional photographer.

SHE SAID YES......

That's right, Adam proposed to Tristen !

Here are some pictures from over the years:

Adam turned 35 in January and Tristen turned 31 in March!

So recently when Adam was with us in Mammoth Lakes he shared with us that they were planning on getting married before their big move to Pittsburgh and had been ring shopping. He felt it was time and the right thing to do before their big move. 

For those of you who may not know this Tristen recently got her doctorate and landed an amazing job at the University of Pittsburgh. Adam of course has an amazing job running the Ethics Board at Cedars Sinai but is on board to join her in Pittsburgh. If that isn't love I don't know what is! She begins her job in January. 

There are no plans yet for the wedding but I know that it will be very small. They have been living together for a long time now and they don't feel the need for a big wedding. They bought a lovely condo together several years back and I believe they plan on renting it out when they move. It is in the Westwood area of Los Angeles just off Wilshire Blvd. and walking distance to UCLA.  

We couldn't be happier. We fell in love with Tristen the first time we meet her and their relationship has been so beautiful and sweet. Wishing them their happily ever after......

(7-25-14 engaged)