Some Red, Green, Red, White, and Blue, and Straw

Since I have been experiencing blogger's block off and on, I thought this week I would use Joyce's prompts to get me moving a bit.  I'm only moving a bit, but it feels good nonetheless!



1. What do the words 'freedom' and 'liberty' mean to you? Does your mind go more in the direction of not being persecuted or discriminated against or does it head in the direction of doing what you please?


We can never do exactly as we please because we have a responsibility to live well and within the law.  However,  the freedom and liberties offered by our nation allow us to make many choices and have protection within the law to live with those choices.

2. Nathan's sponsors a hot dog eating contest every 4th of July. Last year over 40,000 people attended the event and almost 2 million watched it on TV. The winner ate over 60 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. How do you like your hot dogs? 

I like them adorned with yellow mustard and buried in onions.  (And I like to chew them.) A pickle or two on the side makes me crave fries less.  I don't eat hot dogs often, and when I toy with being a vegetarian, I know they are one thing I'd miss.  No shame there, just truth.

3. If you were going to enter an eating contest what would be on the menu? 

Red licorice. Really fresh Red Vines or Twizzler Pull-and-Peels.  Sigh.  My niece bought a bag of the latter the other night, and guess who has been eating them?  The only reason there is any (one) left is because they aren't mine.  Although she texted last night and told me to have at them.  So I did.

When I Googled to find this image, borrowed from a now defunct blog for which it was borrowed from somewhere else, I learned Red Vines have their own Pinterest boards.

4. Do you run your house more as a dictatorship or a democracy?

A democracy.  Actually, I just typed democrazy, and that typo made me laugh!  Glad that's not true though.  Often (see question 6) it's just the two of us, and we flow together pretty well. 

The two of us...

5. Where was your favorite summer place when you were a kid?

Gosh, when we lived on Brantwood Avenue, there were a passel of us ranging from 7 to high school aged.  We'd play on the front porch and in the garage.  We'd go to the pool all together--if my mom were alive, you could ask her how many of us she fit in our convertible Corvair.  We'd play running bases.  I guess I would have to say home.  On my own, I would sit on the front porch, put my feet up on the railing and read.  Simple, simple pleasures.

Good ol' 83 Brantwood Ave!

6. Do you have a guest room? Would you want to stay there? 

We call our guest room Mac's room, but it's full of Brad's bedroom furniture.  Mac is still in LA (not L.A.), but Alice our niece is staying in the room now.   She'll be moving to my brother's when Mac comes home next month, and then Mac will move out when he finds a job and has collected a nest egg.  Would I stay there?  YES!  It has the world's most comfortable bed.  It used to be in Brad's guest room when he was single. I was the guest, and I loved sleeping on that bed.

7. Next Wednesday America celebrates her independence. Do you have any special plans for the 4th of July? If you live outside the USA when and how does your country celebrate its own patriotic holiday?

Fourth parties were intermittent when I was growing up, some years we'd have them, some years we'd go to them, some years we did nothing much.  Working retail for a number of years made The 4th seem like any other day.  Brad and I try to get to some fireworks on either or both the 3rd or 4th, we might go to Ribfest (though I don't eat ribs) but it will all be pretty low key.  I did make this wreath though:

 Hundreds of felt squares, folded in fourths and pinned to a wreath.  

Easy.  Forgive the shady photo, my battery was dying!

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

The lawn crew came at 7:15 to mow.  To mow grass that has seen rain once in maybe six weeks.  To mow grass that literally crunches when stepped on.  Grass that's painful to walk on barefooted.  Why mow?  It certainly hasn't grown...

Grass appears somewhat green in this picture taken from my front porch. 

Trust me, it is straw...In some places it's white.

And on She Doth Podgeth

Joyce, from This Side of the Pond shares some great prompts each week, and for the third week in a row (this is a big deal because I'm not consistent), I'm joining her "Wednesday Hodge Podge."  And yes, I know it's Tuesday...But you might read this post on Wednesday, so there you go!

1. William Shakespeare's birthday is celebrated on April 23rd...when did you last read Shakespeare? What's your favorite Shakespeare play?

I took a Shakespeare class in college, and when we started reading the first play, the other students were all laughing at things that went over my head.  So I went out and got the Cliffs Notes for each play.  I needed them!  I did wind up getting an A, and many of the "laughers" got B's.  I think it's because I had to really work hard researching every paper I wrote.  Can't say I really ever found his work funny.

Though not a Shakespeare fan, I did enjoy Kenneth Branagh's Taming of the Shrew. Emma Thompson is so fun!

2. What food(s) would you recommend a foreign visitor try when they visit your home country?

McDonald's--it's different than in other countries.

Any locally grown fruit or produce.

Chicago deep dish pizza--yum, yum, yum.

3. What's a lie you often tell yourself?

I'm brutally honest with (read "incredibly hard on") myself, and when others find fault, I see it too.   So I don't really kid myself so much...

4. What's something you're good at that might surprise us? Remember this is a family friendly blog!

Reading aloud.  I love to read aloud!

5. Who is your favorite animal character from a book?

Charlotte the spider from Charlotte's Web, or the little mouse from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. 

6. April showers bring May flowers...do you have a green thumb?

My thumbs are a pale shade of green, but they get withery and brown if they see anything exotic...or housey.  I kill a lot of house plants.  They call me a murderess.  

7. Speaking of rainy days...which one of the following activities would you most want to spend time doing on a rainy day-

sort photos and create albums

bake cookies

read a good book

hold an all-day movie marathon

organize closets, cupboards, or bookshelves

try a new recipe

fix something that needs fixing

Read a good book.  Emphasis on good, please!

8. Insert your own random thought here.
My shoe broke today, and I'm uncertain it's worth fixing.  I would miss those cuties. 

Hodge Podge

Two weeks in a row!  This is my second week of joining Joyce at From This Side of the Pond. 

I love her questions...

1.  Spring is in the air and the birds are singing.  What is your favorite bird?

My favorite bird is the cardinal. They were my grandfather's favorite, and so when I see one, I think of him.  Right after my mom died, I was on the phone with a friend.  The snow was coming down hard outside, and I was inside weeping as we spoke.  Suddenly a cardinal flew by and landed in a backyard tree.  Its color, such a crimson contrast against the pure snow, offered me such comfort--it felt as though Grampa was telling me Mom was with him.  I don't believe in coincidences, and looking back now, I realized it was a God thing.

Shortly before my dad died, one of our last Father's Days with him, we all sat in that same yard watching a father cardinal work all day to bring food to his next of babies that was just under our kitchen window.  We marveled at how hard he worked.

So there are three reasons I'm fond of redbirds.

 

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2.  Speaking of birds, do you tweet?

I do not tweet. I'm on facebook too much, Pinterest too much and I blog.  Good grief, no one is all that interested in what I have to say!  I don't follow anyone on Twitter either.

3.  Its been reported recently that employers are not only viewing the facebook pages of potential hires but they're also requesting your facebook password to have a look at what you've kept from public view. What say you?

There is nothing on my facebook wall or in my photos that would cause me embarrassment. But I do limit the number of and who I'm friends with there, so I would be bothered by a prospective employer (AKA a stranger) looking at my posts. It's personal.  I wouldn't take a prospective employee to a family function, to workout, or out for a drink either. There are questions an interviewer is not allowed to ask, and this would fall into that category.  Privacy must be respected.

Somewhat related, when I was voted onto our education association, I unfriended a few parent friends and administrators.  I just didn't want any muddied waters.  This answer is sort of muddy...I don't write about work on facebook (I teach school), but if a peer slipped and posted something, I wouldn't want their venting to be seen by eyes who could misconstrue it.

Anyway, it should NOT be a condition of employment.

4.  It's April and you know what that means-Major League Baseball is back in action. What's your favorite baseball movie? If that's too hard, what's your favorite sports themed movie? 

Baseball is my favorite sport--my brother is an MLB scout, and all his kids played in college.  I'm a third generation White Sox fan.  Hm, my favorite baseball movie?  Pastime.  I know, you haven't heard of it, but I love it.  Sandlot is fun, Field of Dreams has some major errors (one that it stars Kevin Costner--ew), and Bull Durham suffers from some casting issues, but Pastime is pretty pure.

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5. Something else this season brings-asparagus. Yes please or no thanks? If it's yes please what's your favorite way to have it prepared?

Grilled with butter.  Yum.

6.   What drives you? (Don't you love how I sandwiched that one in between asparagus and jugglers???)

What drives me? This is too ambiguous.  My husband is underemployed right now, so that drives my need to work (I always have worked).  However, the job I have is important and constantly under fire, so it's essential I do it well--teachers are scrutinized.

At my core, God drives me.  I work to layer things over Him, shameful confession, but without Him I am nothing.

7. April 18th is International Jugglers Day...can you juggle?

I cannot juggle, but I would like to learn.  I have a feeling I'd stink at it, but I'd like to give it a go.  Hm, perhaps I should peruse YouTube...

8.   Insert your own random thought here

Everyday, and I mean everyday, I find myself wishing (and praying) that my kids would care as much about their learning as I do.

Hodge Podging for the First Time!

I've been wanting to join this hop for a while, Joyce asks such good questions, and when I came across one of my favorite Bloggers Rebecca's replies here today, I knew this week was my week.  Okay, while that's all really true, I've been feeling both wordless and censored of late, so this seems like a good way to dislodge some thoughts as well as avoid any hot button issues.

1.  Have you ever played golf?  Any interest in playing?  Do you have a significant other who loves to play?  Did you watch the Masters this weekend?


Years ago, one of my brothers attempted to teach me.  He said I had a natural swing, and that amazed me because I'm not a natural at anything athletic.  I was into it, one lesson's worth, until I 1) found out how much golfing costs, and 2) remembered that I had give up mini-golf just because I was really awful at it. Eventually, the ball is expected to get into that hole.  Par five for a whole hole is negated when I need 8 strokes on the green alone.

Brad used to play golf, but it is damaging to his back, so his never used golf shoes are going on Craigslist.  I found out he has said shoes while the men watched the Masters and I struggled to stay awake on Sunday afternoon after a delicious lunch.

Sidenote:  I once went to the US Open because I had a crush on Ben Crenshaw.  I was 15, he was cute.  That is the total of my fandom.  Decades past and pretty boring.

2.  Hats are back in fashion this spring...how do you feel about wearing a hat?  (FYI--I'm not talking baseball caps.)  When was the last time you wore one?

I have a dry scalp.  Hats, even baseball caps, drive me crazy because they make me itch so.  I also have naturally wavy/curly hair.  You think straight hair gets flattened by a hat?  Try Bozo hair!  My husband loves for me to try on hats, but we've yet to buy one. I really don't know where (I'd be able to stand) to wear it.

3.  On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being "proficient" and 1 being "I'd starve," how adept are you at using chopsticks?

If chopsticks were the only utensils to use while eating and fingers alone were not allowed, that would be a two--I'd be a size two.  Is that what you mean?   If I could stab the food with the end of stick, I'd get some nourishment but it would be awfully tedious.  Cheerios would be a challenge...

Years ago I went to London where I stopped one night to eat Chinese food.  I asked for a fork, and I was mocked by my server. Eye rolling is universal says this American who was eye-rolled by a Chinese woman working in England.

4.  Has technology taken over?

Taken over what?

5.  In the course of a day, how often do you look in a mirror?

If rear view mirrors don't count, then not many.

I look in the mirror quite a bit when I'm getting ready for work--have you even noticed that outfits that seem great in your mind don't always look so great on the body holding your mind?

After the morning, I don't look again until I'm home that night.  I'm a teacher, I'm just too lazy busy.  If I'm lucky enough to get to a bathroom during my day, there's only time to go and wash hands.  Nothing else.

6.  Tulip or daffodil? 

Tulip.  I kick myself each spring for not planting tulip bulbs the previous fall.  Confession?  We're not supposed to plant anything, we live in a townhouse and there are rules, but I plant anyway.  Just not tulips.  Yet.

Later today* I will post a photo of my tulips centerpiece from Easter.  I snapped photos of them this morning, but my school laptop is not being receptive to my decision to download them. Next year my own will be in that vase, with you as my witness!  (Can you hear the resolve of Scarlett O'Hara in that proclamation?) 


7.  I am proud of myself for  __________________.

Giving blood.  Can I move this one to number one?

I AM PROUD OF MYSELF FOR GIVING BLOOD!

I understand there are some people who medically cannot give blood. But bluntly put, most can but don't.  Yes,  I've had bruising.  Yes, I've been turned away (for low iron). Yes, I usually get a headache. Yes, I hate needles.  (For Pete's sake, who likes needles?) 

But I go to give.  I'm so happy to do it, I cry when there is success.  The people who work for Heartland, where I donate, are amazing.  If they have to stick me a number of times, I let them.  Giving blood saves lives. The pain I feel is nothing compared to what any of the recipients of my donation are enduring.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

(I'm feeling very parenthetical today.)

*Done 6:28 PM