Welcome Kittens & Dawgs! When we were in Blowing Rock North Carolina in April, we eventually got around the road construction before getting back on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I failed to get the overlook name but if I remember right this is south of Linville Falls hiking trail. It was a breathless view and I decided to shoot a panaramic.

Look again, this time for the arrow to the left.

In the distance is a hotel ontop of Sugar Mountain. There are no markers indicating this but we know the area. You can open the photo in another tab to enlarge for a better look. I did take a picture with my Big Girl camera, zooming in a bit the hotel is more visible. Can you see it without enlarging the image? If not, click on it!

Visit Sugar Mountain Lodging site if you want to learn more or just to see the hotel better. They have a few photos scrolling at the top of their page. We visited the lodge many years ago but didn’t stay. It was part of one of our family outings. I think it’s time for a revisit!

I’m joining the Wednesday Hodgepodge community this morning to answer the following six questions posed by our host, Joyce. This is an excellent way to get to know your fellow blogger and you’re invited to play along.

1. Summer is upon us this week in the Northern hemisphere. Tell us three things on your summer bucket list. I don’t have a bucket list. Why do people see themselves as getting old or over-the-hill or life is going to end soon? The cycle of life means we all will make that final journey someday but a bucket list seems too gloomy. Why not make it a wish list of things to do? Why not embrace every single day celebrating life to its fullest? Thinking about my summer wish list this is what I’d like to see happen… 1. Find a new home 2. Buy 3. Begin the move . These really are wishful things. We are very picky on what we’re looking for in our next home purchase so realistically I don’t think I will find it before summer ends but I am working the listings harder this year than ever before and I’m praying for God’s direction to lead me down the right rabbit hole to find our ‘dream house’.

2. Something fun you used to do as a kid in the summertime? There were many fun things I did as a kid but I guess one of the best things we did was play in the creek. The water was always cold and it felt really good on hot days. The things we did as kids. You couldn’t pay me enough to stick a single toe in a creek much less my whole foot! It’s way too nasty these days. Talk about filth! UGH

3. Rooftop or backyard? Why? Definitely not rooftop. I’m scared of heights. I’d say backyard but we don’t have much of one, so I’d rather so side yard. There’s more room for us to sit outdoors if we had a lovely patio which we don’t but I hope in our next house that we have either that or nice screened in porch. That’s what I really want a screened in porch. I hate fighting bugs during the summer and they’ll absolutely eat me up!

4. Do you read food labels? Place importance on them? Make an effort to find out/care about where your food comes from? Yes, I’m a food label reader. There are certain foods I need to check to make sure that honey isn’t in the ingredients because of DH’s allergies. When I look for sugar-free items, I’m careful for now to only get products made with Splenda. I also check product manufacturing country. I won’t buy it unless it’s made in the USA.

5. A song you’ll have on repeat this summer? I don’t know that I’ll have any one song on repeat this summer but like always I’ll be listening to mewsic.

6. Insert your own random thought here. I don’t know about you, I know tomorrow is the first official day of summer but I already see the days fleeting past me. It seems one month fades into another like a blink of an eye. Plus, we got a prelude of summer weather for weeks now and I’m finding it really hard to live in the moment. You know, trying the whole not wishing the days away, I’m so ready for fall to get here mentality. But…I’m trying. Really! I’m not getting any younger, in fact, I’m speeding my days passed me and that’s something I can’t get back. I need to throw on the brakes of life and enjoy the hot, sticky, nasty weather. Soon, it’ll be gone! That being said, next month, I’ll begin my semi-hiatus in Blogosphere which means I will only be doing one post each week and that’s on Mondays.