Chit Chat, HodgePodge, & Wayback Wedneday Memes

Nothing went a stray last night with Earth’s close encounter or at least nothing I have yet to hear about. I missed the big sha-bang as Asteroid 2005 YU55 passed over head. I can’t recall what I was doing, hmm, I do recall a flash of something…I see…yes, large, beady eyes! Maybe, aliens beamed me up and wiped my memory clean. I’m beginning to think this phenomena happens a lot…you know the whole alien erasing my memory thing, not asteroids zinging dangerously close to the earth.

That’s all exciting stuff, don’t you think? Brrr, it’s a wee bit chilly here in Knoxville. The thermometer reads 45 degrees. I think it may be too cool to sit outside on Patrice’s porch today.  Maybe, she’ll have a fire going and we can congregate around it with cups of hot coffee.  Let’s stroll over to Chit Chat On Patrice’s Farmhouse Porch..

Join the discussion, if you care….

1. Dreaming asks: What accomplishments make you the most proud?  I think it would be the fact, I’ve home-schooled our children from K-12.  Home-schooling is a very personal decision. It’s also a nerve wrecking choice.  Raised to believe education is best left to a certified teacher,  it’s no one wonder I had doubts about my ability, but the reality is a parent is a child’s first teacher. It was so magical to teach our children how to read and then watch them soar with this passion. That would have to be also one of my fondest memories, too. Our youngest will be graduating next spring. This chapter will be ending quicker than I ever thought possible. Where tomorrow will lead him, I do not know. I know whatever he does or where he goes he will be a well-rounded, well-equipped adult. 
2. Suzanne asks: When did your family first come to the country which you now live?Hmmm, I’m gonna to have to say a long, long time ago.  Actually, I don’t know the answer to this. There’s a lot of Irish or Scott in my blood line. This leaves me to believe they probably immigrated to the US during the potato famine from 1845-1947, but since I know my grandparents were born in the US and possibly my great-grandparents were, too.  I’m going to have to check with someone in the family on this. It would be neat to know. 
3. Wendell asks: What’s your favorite way to serve carrots? Over all, I prefer to eat them raw.I think Wendell and I would get a long famously.
4. Do you decorate with anything that has Santa or Father Christmas when you prepare for Christmas?We have some ceramic Santa ornaments that we hang on our Christmas tree. That’s about it, though.
5. Do you prefer big dogs or small dogs? Something in between, maybe? Generally, I like mid-sized dogs best – not too small or not too big. They’d have to stay outdoors. One day, I would like to have a couple of mid to large-sized dogs.

 

It’s always nice to spend time with Patrice and catching up with friends! The morning is still young, I’m going to visit Joyce next.

 

1. Of all the tools and gadgets you own which do you most enjoy using?  In 2005, my DH bought me a nice set of Wusthof Knives. I didn’t own any superb cutlery until that time. I use my knives more than anything else in the kitchen, so I’d have say these are my most enjoyed tool.
2. When (if ever) is impatience a virtue?  Gee, I don’t know if it’s ever a virtue. It seems like every time I become too impatient to wait for anything and jump prematurely then things go wrong.  I make this mistake all too often. I need to wait on the Lord to move the situation instead of taking matters into my own hands.
3. What temperature do you keep your thermostat set to in winter? Do you have another way to heat your house besides a furnace of some type?  Our home needs a new heating system. It has the old baseboard heaters, which are a bit unreliable. We have the breakers turned off and strictly use portable heaters only in the rooms needed during the day. We never have the heat on at night while we sleep. We watch the thermometer closely and if it gets warmer than 73 degrees then we back the heat down.
4. Do/did you have a close relationship with any of your grandparents?  I’m the oldest grand kid of my maternal grandparents. I spent many of my childhood days with my grandparents while my mother worked. I got married when I was 17 and then moved off.  For the past 32 years I haven’t had a lot of time to create new memories, but I do feel like we have a fairly close relationship. In September, my grandpa went home to be with the Lord. That was sad. I saw him in July; he not only felt better, but knew who I was and even asked about our two daughters who weren’t with us. That’s a good memory of him I’ll carry always. Since my grandpa’s passing, my grandma hasn’t been doing so well, I’m told. She’s had many health issues for a long time. However, she’s slipping away quicker since losing her best friend of 68 years.
5. When did you last have a family portrait taken?  Aah…years! We use to be good about using the self-timer feature on our camera to take a Christmas photo, but since our daughters have moved away and their work schedules so unpredictable we haven’t done this. Perhaps, we can get one in the coming months. I’d like that very much.
6. What does the word patriotism mean to you?  That’s an interesting question.  Patriotism is that sense of swelling pride I get when I think about this great country we live in. I’m so thankful and proud that we are a nation that’s free. Free to worship God, free to own a car, free to vote, free to buy a $500 pair of jeans(I’m free to do this, not stupid), free to do most anything I desire. Patriotism is respect as we stand when the National Anthem plays. Patriotism is “I’m willing to give my life to protect this land” feeling. I feel this, too. Especially when I was younger and I knew, if I could be of service to this country then I would. To give my life so others can continue to live in freedom and no tyranny is what I want for all Americans. I’m so proud there are many, many fine men & women who do just that day in and day out. They protect America and her families as they are on 24 hour call. Sometimes they are stand guard on foreign soil. It may be hostile or may be neutral, but threat to them is always near, but they willingly do this to secure our homeland and to remove all of our fears. God bless America! God bless the men & women who serve tirelessly to keep her free!!  
7. Do you like to play cards and if so, what’s your favorite card game?  Card games were my favorite past time when I was a kid. There wasn’t anything else to do, like kids have today. I could spend hours on end playing Gin Rummy with my uncle and his wife. In fact, he was the one who taught me how to play. I use to be mesmerized by my best friend’s mother who played solitaire when I was little. I taught myself how to play and that became a fun favorite for me since it didn’t need other players. Today, I don’t play physical card games with the exception I may play Texas Hold ’em on occasions with my son. However, I still play solitaire. I play solitaire a lot! But, I play it on my iPhone. I have the Spider solitaire app and just love it. I rarely win, but the challenge is what I’m after anyhow. It exercises my mind and that’s what I’m after. I think it may give me a slight edge, but I don’t know if that’s just my mind telling me that it is or it actually is. lol Oh well, whatever it is doing or not doing, I love playing Spider solitaire! 
8. Insert your own random thought here.  I’m on the nature detox program, I wrote about Detox Your Body Naturally. but I’m not super serious like some. For starter, I’m making sure to drink two tablespoons of lemon juice in warm water & a packet of Splenda each morning. I began this on Sunday. The purpose of this is to prepare your digestive tract for the day.  Lemon has many helpful benefits. Did you know that lemons…maybe all citrus fruit gives your skin a youthful appearance? That has me sold! “What’s all this with detox”, you ask. I’m a weekly randomizer at Stacy Uncorked Random Tuesday Thoughts, but if you missed that blog post, RTT: Skin Rash to Halloween to Christmas then basically, I came down with a horrible rash. The bottom line: it’s due to toxins in the digestive system. So, I implementing more fruits and vegetables in my menu to cleanse my digestive tract. Who knows, maybe it’ll help me to drop a few extra pounds. I have 10 pounds, I’d love to shed before the end of the year. You know with this detox plan, even if it doesn’t do precisely what I want, I’m sure to learn a lot about the way my body reacts to these changes. Every lesson learned, I apply it elsewhere and continue on the path of self-improvement. One life – one body gotta make the most of it while I can! 
   
   
   

Thanks for supplying us with a fun Q&A. I love these get-to-know-me/you get togethers each week!

Angela from Mommy Time Out has made me co-host of this mid-week round of fun. I hope you’ll decide to join in sharing some of the memories. If you’ll kindly stick around a little while longer, I’d love to drive traffic up just a bit on this meme. Participation is a little weak. I’m unsure why this is. I think it’s a neat blog hop. What do you think of it? How could it improve? Is this something you would be interested in joining every week?

Today, we’re going to travel back in time to 1998.

 

I am usually lost when it comes to walking down memory lane on my own. It’s next to impossible to rely on that old tinker toy upstairs better known as my brain. I always enlist the help of  The History People to jump-start the recollection process, as I read facts on the year Angela spotlights for each week’s post.

Alright, yeah…everyone remembers the big scandal on Capital Hill that year, right? You know, when President Clinton denied having kiddie sex with an intern. Okay, Monica Lewinsky wasn’t a child, but she could have passed for his daughter. He defiled the Oval Office and shamed our country. I would say, he needs spanked, but I’m afraid he might like that too much. You just never know.

What about those two young boys in Arkansas who shoot and killed four of their fellow students? Did that not just rock your world a little? I know I thought, what’s wrong with this picture? How is it our young people…kids…I mean babies turn into cold-blooded murderers? I strongly believe it has much to do with parents lack of involvement in teaching their children the basics: what’s right and wrong, and then enforcing punishment for bad behavior. They need to know there are consequences to one’s actions. Life isn’t a movie or video game, if you do something bad then you go to jail or if you have sex too soon you become a parent or if you take drugs you can get addicted or worse DIE.

Try as I may, I can’t think of any landmark things going on in our life that year other than my DH was still unemployed (1997-2000). That was such a difficult period. God was good to us amidst our struggles. While no one likes talking about it, it does fill me with a sense of deep appreciation for what we have. I know, I’ll never again take  these things for granted ever again. Jobs can disappear as quickly as they come!

On an upbeat note, my favorite song that year was…

 

 

It’s your turn to go wayback, Wayback to 1998! What memorable events do you remember? To participate in this blog hop you don’t have to follow a bunch of rules. It’s simple! Just link up  your blog, twitter, or Facebook below (only one please) . Kindly leave a comment letting us know You are now our newest follower and we’ll pop over to your lovely blog. Thanks for the memories!

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