Chat & Hodgepodge Blog Hop

Who can believe, it’s the first day of Summer already? Not me! This year is evaporating entirely too fast and that’s simply not acceptable, but what am I to do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing, except to make the most of my days and enjoy each moment in the company of family and friends.

Speaking of which, I’m headed over to Patrice’s @Everyday Ruralty. Would you care to join me? Today’s Chats On a Farmhouse porch, include:

1. Do you ever go on picnics? When was the last one? Do you go somewhere with benches and tables, or do you take your own blanket? Every time or 99% of the time, we take a day trip to the mountains, I pack of sandwiches, potato chips, and other snacks. There’s something magical about eating an ordinary sandwich on a picnic. It just tastes better. Have you discovered this to be true? I’m OCD a bit when it comes to germs. That being said, you aren’t going to find me having lunch at a public lawn or picnic table. We found it far easier and more enjoyable to find a quiet secluded spot with a beautiful overlook to eat from the trunk of our car or while sitting inside enjoying the ambiance that surrounds us. It’s really nice!
2. What’s your favorite tropical fruit? I don’t really think of myself as a tropical fruit person. It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just usually when I buy fruit it’s about the usual domestic types – apples, grapes, oranges, etc. I think my favorite tropical fruit has to be bananas. I like pineapple, but it’s rare I eat it. I find it difficult to eat just a little of it at one time because of the acid, I suppose. I loved pineapple-orange juice as a kid, though.
3. Wendell would like me to ask you if you’ve ever ridden a horse? Any pony rides as a child? Wendell, I’ve always loved your kind. Your species are beautiful and regal. The only time I’ve ever come close to riding a horse (never been on a pony) was when I was a wee thing, maybe 3 or 4 and someone sat me on the back of one your distant cousins. It felt like someone has placed me on top of the Empire State Building. It may as well have been to someone as young as I was. I was nervous the entire time and I really hated swatting at the flies – not a pleasant experience to say the least. I pretty much decided I wouldn’t grow up to be an equestrienne.
4. Describe the purse you are currently carrying. If you don’t use a purse, what color is your wallet? By most women’s thinking, my purse would be considered small. It’s not tiny but can not pass for carry-on luggage. The purse I’ve carried for the better part for the last 10 plus years has been a red leather bag my DH got me at JcPenney’s. No, it’s not the same one but an identical one. I (DH, too) liked this purse so much that he got me two or three spares. We’ve learned over the years the things we like have a way of disappearing and disappeared this purse did. I’m in need of buying another one, as have only one left in reserve and I can’t find one I like equally well as this one. The main problem with my purse is the strap, really. You know right where it connects (the stitched seam) with the purse is tearing away. It’s only on one side, too. I don’t know how to keep this from happening. It’s done it on all of them, too. Does anyone have any clue on how to get this repaired?
5. Please tell me the last funny thing that you just recently remembered. This can be something funny that happened to you in the past, or just something funny that you remember. My DH was telling us a story that happened to his co-worker’s wife while on vacation a few years back while visiting the Grand Canyon. Long story short, she didn’t want to use the port-a-potty facilities. She passionately HATES this type of public restroom and to make matters worse of the 15 units the only one available had a busted lock. She instructed her husband vehemently, “Don’t let this door come open!” It so happened it was a horribly, terrific windy day when what do you think happened. The port-a-potty door swung opened startling the woman and making her scream at the top of her lungs. “(His name – first, middle, & last), I told you to watch the door!! BLAH, BLAH, BLAH”. He began laughing hysterically. You see, no one was paying a lick of attention to what was going on until she started screaming bloody murder which called great attention to her and her situation. Next time, I think I would find a tree to go behind if I were her. lol

Let’s keep the hop going, as I visit Joyce @@From This Side of the Pond.

1. Summer officially rolls in with the Hodgepodge this week, for those of us in the Northern hemisphere anyway. What song says summer 2012 to you?

2. What’s your favorite quintessential summer food? Is this a trick question? You’ve gotta be kiddin’, right? There is absolutely only one quintessential summer food.  I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!”  Do you wanna watch something funny? If you can get past his mouth, then check out Eddie Murphy’s ice cream skit.

3. I’ve spent a lot of time traipsing up and down the NJ Turnpike in recent weeks. Did you know the rest areas on the turnpike are named after people who lived or worked in NJ? Clara Barton, Walt Whitman, James Fenimore Cooper, Molly Pitcher, Joyce Kilmer, Thomas Edison, and Grover Cleveland just to name a few. Of these, I listed, who would you most like to have known and why? Clara Barton… I think was a nurse. Molly Pitcher carried water to the soldiers during the American Revolution War. Joyce Kilmer wrote the poem called, Trees. Joyce Kilmer forest is in western North Carolina and we’ve visited there a few times. Thomas Edison…duh, he’s kinda like the father of inventors. He brought illumination to our world. 🙂  

4. At what age did you move out of your parent’s house and what prompted the move? I was 6-months short of being 18 the summer of 1979.  I was definitely too young to get married, but I did and moved to Tennessee.  In my self-defense, this wasn’t an uncommon thing for girls in rural West Virginia. The summer of 1979, three of my classmates got married around the same time as I did. We were all fortunate to finish high school, but many don’t. DH always encouraged me to pursue my dreams. I didn’t want to be a teenage statistic. Also, I wanted to be an example for my younger siblings and do something my parents didn’t ~ finish school.

5. What’s more satisfying to you – saving time or saving money?  It’s hard to say one over the other because, but I think for the most part I prefer to save time and in some cases saying time is saving money.

6. Name something you think brings out the good in people. A natural disaster or tragedy generates a person’s charitable tendencies quicker than just about anything. Unfortunately, many scam artists know this and are always on the look for an easy target. This has made us cynical of strangers who ask for money. 9 out of 10 times, we’ll turn someone we do not know down. I’m trusting God to always direct my heart otherwise and never to lean on my understanding of the situation. I think He will clue me in on those who really are in need.

7. This last question comes to you courtesy of Kathy over at Reflections...will you be taking a vacation or a staycation this summer? If so where will you go? If a staycation is on the calendar have you made any special plans to fill the time?  Vacation is out of the question even though we would love to do this. It’s just so darn expensive! Chances are we’ll try to work in a staycation as early as next month, but this isn’t definite. However, if we can swing it then we’ll just do the usual sorts of things – knock around town, dine out a lot, light shopping, etc. It’s always a lot of fun for us to simply unwind and relax.

8. Insert your own random thought here.  My DH bought me this just because he’s so sweet…

Nikon has some of their digital SRLs on sale right now. We got mine at Best Buy. They have this one in a sweet bundle with two lenses: 18-105mm & 55-300mm, a 16GB SanDisk SDHC class 10 memory card, and a Lowe Pro camera bag. I told my DH this could be a very early birthday and Christmas present for me. He smiled, saying “It may just have to be.”

I haven’t used my new toy yet. I need to get a filter for each of my lenses and then I’m good to go. I hope to test it out this weekend, though. I’m so excited!

You may want to join the mid-week meme I co-host, if so, check out, Summertime Memory – Wayback Wednesdays. Enjoy your afternoon!

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