Summertime and the Hodgepodge is Easy

Actually, in my opinion, the Hodgepodge is never easy...

..in fact, some of the questions really make you think very hard!

But yes, summertime is officially here.

I do enjoy summer but to tell you the truth, I really prefer spring...

and I tolerate the summer until fall comes.

It's also Wednesday and time for Joyce's Hodgepodge...

where she asks the questions on her blog and we answer them on ours.

If you've never joined in, you should give it a try...

...you just never know what you might learn about your fellow bloggers!

Here are this week's questions:

 

1. The first day of summer rolls in later this week. What are ten things you'd put on your list of  quintessential summer activities?

 

1. Visit my Tennessee Bunch...happening tomorrow!

2. Make and eat black raspberry pie and ice cream for Jim and Adam's birthdays.
3. Head to Ohio for a family reunion...happening next month.

4. Sit on the porch and listen to the rain.

5. Take a weekend trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
6. Eat some watermelon.
7. Head to the beach after Labor Day (when it's cheaper).
8. More porch sitting.
9. Anticipate the arrival of fall. (no doubt I will be ready for it)
10. Use up as many of the 80+ hours of accrued vaca as possible before September 30...or I lose it.

Will you try to manage all ten this summer?
I will do my best to accomplish these goals. 😄

2. Do you collect seashells when you're at the beach? Sometimes, depending on how collectable they are. What do you do with them once you get them home? When the boys were little (or the grand boys) they have been known to put them in their fish tank, lizard habitat or whatever critter they may have had at the time. Years and years ago I made a wind chime out of some smaller shells. Usually they just stay in the plastic bag that I brought them home in. What's your favorite place to comb for seashells? You don't find many whole shells at our go-to beach (Carolina Beach) so I don't even try...but I might be on the hunt if I was at the Outer Banks.

 (source)

Shells from Ocracoke

How many of these 'best beaches for hunting seashells' have you visited? Destin, Ocracoke and the Bahamas.

 Sunset at Miramar Beach, Destin, Florida

Beach at Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas

Which one would you most like to visit? Calvert Cliffs State Park (Maryland), Jeffrey's Bay (South Africa), Sanibel Island (Florida), Shipwreck Beach (Lanai Hawaii), Ocracoke Island (North Carolina), Galveston Island (Texas) and The Bahamas. I would go back to Ocracoke in a heartbeat but not necessarily for the shells. I love lighthouses and it's closer to home. Unfortunately, any photos that were taken are in an envelope somewhere with the negatives...no digital camera in those days.

 

3. At a snail's pace, shell out money, come out of your shell, go back into your shell, drop a bombshell, happy as a clam, clam up...which 'shell' phrase could most recently be applied to some event or circumstance in your life? Explain.

It would have to be a combination of snail's pace and shell out the money. Home improvements can creep along like a snail and you can't do it without shellin' out the dough!

4. What summer activity do you dislike? Sweating. Why? I think you know why. And speaking sweat, I was playing around with my macro lens over the weekend and as I was trying capture the water drops on my rose bush leaves, something else came into view.

Who knew that a teeny-tiny sweat bee was so colorful? I have seen these annoying, bothersome little creatures all my life and I have to say that I was stunned by the beauty of it. I am so thankful that you can never grow too old to be amazed by God's creations!

5. What's something you see as quickly becoming obsolete? Kindness and respect. Does that bother you? Very much so.

6. Insert your own random thought here.
After 13 years, I may be getting a new 'ride' this week. It's kind of exciting! 😊