Song challenge week 8, Hodgepodge Q&A and a Brushstrokes photo do-over

February is nearly gone.  Time continues to march on despite personal or world crisis.  Everything is normal on the home front here for which I count myself blessed. Where ever you are in life at the moment, perhaps you’ll find joy with today’s song picks for this week’s song challenge.  Mary wants us to use a body part, a flower, and instrumental. 

 

The lyrics You are the apple of my eye, Forever you’ll stay in my heart came to mind for a body part and while “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” doesn’t list a body part in the title, but I couldn’t resist using Stevie Wonder’s 1973 #1 Billboard Hot 100 song.  One of the prettiest songs in recent years to hold a special place with me is Sheryl Crow’s “Wildflower“.  DH was a sweetie to buy Crow’s 2005 Wildflower album recently.  There are number of excellent instrumental movie/TV theme songs I can think of and even some oldies came to mind but I couldn’t come up with anything off the tip of my brain.  Once I looked around a YouTube, I was reminded of Santana’s magic with my discovery of “Europa“.

 

Weekly Song Challenge playlist tracks: 1. You Are the Sunshine of My Life 2. Wildflower 3. Europa

Here are my responses to Joyce’s Wednesday Hodgepodge questions this week.

1. Your favorite cleaning product? Do you clean your own house or hire out? Most disliked household chore? What one chore do you not mind so much?  Clorox is an excellent all around cleaner and disinfectant but my favorite has to be Kaboom with bleach for the shower.  That stuff really gets the tub sparkly clean.  We have a problem with black mold forming in our shower and this stuff makes it vanish.  I don’t mind doing housework.  It’s great seeing one’s productivity and the good feeling it gives.  I don’t want to hire a cleaning crew for various reasons but even if I wanted to I wouldn’t because of the satisfaction it brings me.  Perhaps, some day this will change but for now, I’ll enjoy it for what it is.

2. It’s Canned Food Month…do you use a lot of canned goods? What are the three canned items you purchase most often? Last thing you made using a canned ingredient?  Canned tomatoes crushed, diced, and paste.  Canned beans – baked, green, pintos, and kidney.  Black olives and although these items usually aren’t in a ‘can’ they are canned – green olives and red cherry peppers.

3. Can of worms, anything can happen, can you imagine?, as best I can, kick the can down the road, more than one can take, no can do, not if I can help it…choose an idiom and tell us how you currently relate.  I’d rather stay away from a ‘can of worms’ at all cost.  At present, I can’t say that any of these idioms describes my status.

4.The last Tuesday in February is National Spa Day. Are you someone who enjoys a day at the spa? Last time you visited a spa? Do you have a favorite spa? Are salons open for business in your area? Have you made changes to your hair and nail routine since Corona hit? In what way?  I’m not a spa kind of girl.  It sounds like a nice idea, though.  Nothing has changed regarding my hair or nail routine, as these are things I do myself at home. I think these places are open in our area, though.

5. Believe it or not this is the last Hodgepodge of the month. In one sentence sum up your February.  It’s been the coldest February in years that I can remember and I’m happy to see it go.

6. Insert your own random thought here.  Over the weekend we watched, The Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)<–movie trailer link] on Amazon Prime.  I knew there was a sequel to The Blues Brothers (1980) but never had a desire to see it.  I figured it wouldn’t be any good but when I spotted it on Prime fixing to expire, March 1st, I thought why not give it a try.  I’m really glad that we did!  Dan Aykroyd not only starred in the film but is a script co-writer.  The movie had most of the original cast except for those who passed prior to it’s release.  The only living star at the time this film was made who didn’t make it into the script is Carrie Fisher but her role in the first was a cameo so perhaps this is why.  The script has a similar tone to the first which I thought was a hoot using a mix of old and new cast members bringing a lot of good energy onscreen as well as a ton of great music.   If you’re skeptical as we were, I encourage you to keep an open mind and go into it with the mind set you’re just going to have fun.  The flick earns my thumbs up approval!   👍 😉

 

 

I originally shared this image years ago, here, that I also did a little photo editing on but a different technique and honestly now I’m not sure what software I used. One thing I am sure of it wasn’t Brushstrokes. That’s what I used to achieve the painting like effect in my new re-imagined photo.

I’m temporarily retiring my WildWednesdays linky party.  The participation is usually low so I figured this would be a good time since I’d rather take things easy for awhile.  I plan to join these Wordless Wednesday Communities … Sandee, Natasha,  Marie, and Wordless Wednesday.  You’re invited to come along to the party with me! 😉

Join me tomorrow for Thursday Art Date with Rain.  Have a wonderful day!


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39 comments

  1. KABOOM: Agree with how awesome it is! 🙂
    I had no idea there was a Blues Brothers remake…guess I missed it!

    1. Mary,

      The Blues Brothers’ isn’t a remake but a sequel to the first. Don’t feel bad, we either missed accidentally or figured it wouldn’t be any good without John Belushi but we were proven wrong. We enjoyed the film.

  2. I love the Stevie Wonder song and your refreshing upbeat attitude, Cathy! We use Clorox and I also use white vinegar. I am going to try Kaboom and thanks for the tip! 🌸

  4. I’ll have to give Kaboom a try. The shower is hard to keep clean.
    I think everyone is looking forward to March.
    Loved your Two Thumbs up for Wednesday!

    1. Willow,

      Kaboom comes in a non-bleach formula, too. Just make sure yet the bottle with the white spray top AND it will say with bleach on the front label. 😉

  6. Hey Cathy, I am trying to play catch up today. Who doesn’t like Stevie? Great art and some interesting questions this week. I am a clean freak. I have all kinds of cleaning supplies but I am with you, bleach takes care of so much. I hate cleaning the refrigerators. Have a great day today.

    1. Nicole,

      My daughter who shares your name is also a clean freak. I like things clean and tidy but I’m not an obsessive cleaner. Cleaning the refrigerator is a tedious job but it has to be done. I try to keep things rotated and cleaned out but stuff escapes me sometimes.

  7. Clorox sure is popular these days and we enjoyed your answers. When we lived in WV a neighbor 3 houses down was the spitting image of Dan Aykroyd, so much so that when people saw him walking his dog they’d stop and stare, then wave.

    1. Brian,

      How fun is that a Dan Aykroyd look-alike! It’s interesting to come across people that have a strong resemblance to an actor/actress. It’s not an often thing but it when it does I always say, “Has anyone told you that you look like…” Sometimes I get a yes and other times they are surprised, even flattered.

  8. I didn’t know there was a sequel to the Blues Brothers. Glad to know it didn’t disappoint. Maybe we’ll have a chance to check it out before next week.

    1. Joyce,

      I’m happy to share this tidbit with you. I didn’t know about the sequel for years, either. I can’t recall how it came to my attention but this is the first time I found it on one of our streaming services that didn’t require an extra fee, so I’m glad we got a chance to see it. Maybe, y’all can catch it on Prime this weekend. 🙂

    1. Carol,

      Thanks and yes living moment by moment is something we all are doing with some getting by better than others but hopefully enjoying every moment given to its fulliest. Thanks for visiting, my dear!

    1. Libby,

      Yeah everyone in the country knows the horrors Texans have been through with the weather. I am glad to hear the weather has improved. It’s such a welcome to have sunny blue skies this week with lovely warm temperatures again. Incidentally your gravatar profile does not have your blog connected to it. This makes finding a way back to you difficult if one doesn’t know where to look. Since I can recall if I stopped by yesterday, I will hop over to Joyce’s to look for your link up. 😉

  11. I didn’t choose Clorox as my favorite on my own blog . . .but I, too, love Clorox! Even down in Alabama we have had a cold February but the next two weeks look much warmer.

  12. I love your song challenges especially the last one which just shows what a great guitarist Santana is. My mom always had a Cleaner because we owned a business and she had to do so many things she didn’t have time so she would hire a housekeeper that either lived nearby or they stayed with us and had room and board. Many were horrible cleaners and didn’t last long. One, in fact, was a kleptomaniac. My brother and I recall her bending down to see us and saying, “Just call me Grandma”. My brother and I instantly disliked her. She smoked up a chimney and caused a fire in her room and she wore an apron and there was a hole in the pocket and my mom’s rings fell out. She told me to ignore it that she was cleaning the area and forgot to put t(me back but I yelled for my mom and told mom what I saw. She was let go but so many things went missing and we knew she took them. Give me Mr. Clean which I like using and I hate cleaning toilets.

    1. Birgit,

      It’s hard to work outside the home and keep your house tidy but some women can do that. I don’t know how but my late MIL did it as well as my mom. Once I got old enough I did things after school to make things easier for mom and then during the summers I did a lot more but still there was things that needed her attention. That’s horrible the one lady stole from your folks. Some people have no shame nor grateful for the opportunity given to them. That could’ve been a steady gig for years and if she got room and board then WOW! I remember hating to clean toilets but I got used to it. It’s not the funniest job but I sure do like a clean toilet bowl!

    1. Patrick,

      Whew, 80 is getting pretty warm in my book. We normally have mild winters but it’s been cooler and snowier ever since December. I’m glad to have the sun and warmth again.

  14. You did great in the Song Challenge! I completely botched it on my end, though. Instead of going with an instrumental I went with an instrument mentioned in song title. Next time I think I should try to be awake when choosing my songs. By the way, I’m open to suggestions tor the song themes, if you have any ideas, feel free to shoot them my direction.

    1. Mary,

      I didn’t think anything of it that you used the mention of an instrument in your song, instead of it being an instrumental. I still enjoyed the music. Green Tambourine is a great oldie! Thanks for the invite to throw in some prompt suggestions. If something comes to mind I’ll be sure to let you know.

  15. Music is what feelings sound like. Perfect.

    I love the editing on that cart of flowers. Beautiful.

    Love your Q&A too. I’m going to get some Kaboom.

    Thank you for joining the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.

    Have a fabulous Wordless Wednesday. Love and hugs. ♥

    1. Sandee,

      Be sure to get the Kaboom with bleach. It has a white spray top. Sometimes I accidentally pick up the green spray top version and it does not have bleach. I think the green color confuses me into thinking it has Clorox. My brain must think green equals clean. 😀

  16. ALways nice to learn more about you through the questions. I prefer to clean my own home too. XO

    1. Ellen,

      I prefer cleaning my home, too. Even if I had lots of money, I’d still do it. There may come a day when I will want to hire it done but for now I’m enjoying it.

  18. It’s been super cold here to but then, the last few days, we have cold mornings and wonderful afternoons! Yesterday it was mid 60s and I sat outside and today is supposed to reach 71.

    1. Yesterday, we got a Walmart delivery. While bringing in the groceries, I noticed two little crocus blooms beside the front steps. I imagine the seeds were deposited in our that spot by the critters bringing forth a wonderful beautiful surprise for my eyes. What a happy sign of spring to see! 🙂 It was also very warm yesterday. I think we reached 70, too. And…it was super sunny!! I loved it!!

    1. Sue,

      This photo do-over, I used my iPad app Brushstrokes. I didn’t keep track of which filters I used but this photo-editor manipulates images to have that painting-like effect, so you really can’t go too wrong if you pick what appeals to your eye. I’m sorry I can’t be more specific. At least you have a direction. I absolutely love this little app! I’ve used it many times to recreate images. 🙂

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