Wednesday, August 23, 2017

A Total Eclipse (almost) of the Hodgepodge

It came and it went, just like that.
Another week that included a once in a lifetime event.
I would love to have just a nickle for every pair of cardboard glasses that were sold.
More about that later.
Come one over to this week's Hodgepodge...

...where Joyce asks the questions and we write the answers.
~
1. Did you watch the solar eclipse? Your thoughts? Sun Chips, Moon Pies, Starburst candies, a Blue Moon beer, a Sunkist orange, or a Milky Way candy bar...what's your favorite eclipse related snack on this list?

Yes, I did and I have to say that I was a bit disappointed with my experience. My location was to have 94% coverage and I guess I just didn't realize that the 6% that was uncovered still let out A LOT of light from the sun. There had been tons of hype...signs along the interstate warning folks to keep their headlights on, news media telling everyone how dark it was going to get, etc., etc. I was at work and kept stepping out every little bit and doing the selfie thing with my phone since I didn't have any of those glasses. I got a little chuckle about all of those warnings that said not to take selfies with your phone because the sun's rays would ruin it. I mean how many of us have taken tons photos of the sky, sometimes even directly at the sun? Hype, hype and more hype! I kept waiting for it to happen and before I knew it, it had passed! The sky did get strangely dimmer but it was cloudless until right after the moon passed over. I saw many great photos that were captured during some cloud-cover and they were stunning, showing that perfect crescent-shaped slice of sun peeking through. I was, however, able to capture it too, although I wasn't even aware of it until I enlarged one of the photos.



...I found that it was literally under my nose the whole time...LOL! A perfect reflection of it from the camera lens! And here's another, even more defined....

And then moments later the clouds moved in, enveloping the sun completely.
 

My son, Adam, drove about 50 miles east from where they are in TN and was able to witness a 99.5% coverage. He said it was the coolest thing he's ever seen...it got completely dark and the crickets even started chirping! It's amazing how just a few miles could make such a huge difference! And my favorite eclipse related snack? Well, I think I'm going to go with the healthy one, a Sunkist orange.
2. What are you 'over the moon' about these days? There's probably something but I just can't seem to think of one thing right this minute. Does that make me a bad person? What's something you enjoy doing every 'once in a blue moon'? Well, I don't drink, so it can't be that...hmmm...it can't be eating desserts because I do do that...I know, how about getting a professional pedicure...yes, that's it! I normally do my own but there is NOTHING to compare! Hmmmm...home alone this weekend...I am thinking that the "blue moon" might just be showing up within the next few days. Thanks for the great idea, Joyce!

3. Tell us about something in the realm of science that interests you. How do you feed that interest?

Been racking my brain over this one...so many things that are of interest to me are pretty much just examples of God's unending and magnificent creations. You can back them up with all kinds of scientific facts until the cows come home if you'd like.

4. What are a few things you remember about going back to school as a child?

Going back to school was just about as exciting to me as Christmas. I knew I would be getting new clothes and shoes...that was the main source of my excitement...and new school supplies were right up there as well. I remember getting all of my new supplies out, spreading them all over my bed and organizing and re-organizing them several times until I got them just right. And just the thought of using a brand new lunch box with matching thermos filled me with joy, especially as the aroma of that cold meat sandwich wrapped in waxed paper wafted out when I opened the lid. There was usually an apple or a banana, maybe some Frito's and a couple of the vanilla/chocolate duplex sandwich cookies... remember them? To this day, those cookies bring back fond memories whenever I see them. It was an extra added treat when Mom would give us an extra nickel a couple of times a week for ice cream...you know, the cups with the little wooden paddle spoons?
 

This is me in the first and second grade. My mom never failed to cut my bangs crooked... every. single. time.

5. I've seen several versions of this around the net so let's make one of our own...share with us five words that touch your soul and briefly tell us why.

LOVE - Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ~1 John 4:8
JOY - The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for , and with my song I praise him. ~Psalm 28:7
PEACE - And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 4:7
TRUTH - Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. ~John 8:32
FORGIVENESS - For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ~Matthew 6:14

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

I want to thank those who are praying for my brother, Bob. Two of my other siblings and I were able to spend precious time with him and his family this past weekend. He is very weak and frail and it was quite a shock to see him like that. He wasn't able to play his guitar along with my other brother but he was still able to belt out (well, kinda) a few of his favorite old songs. When we left to go home we told him goodbye knowing that this would be the last time we'd see him on this side. I do appreciate your continued prayers as he and his family face the days ahead. God is good, all the time.
Love,

27 comments:

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  2. I just loved this post, Debby! I laughed at the crooked bangs story, because that's what my mom did too. Maybe it was the fashion. LOL And always very short. :-) Your love of Jesus shines in your writing. Love it. Prayers for your family and your brother in these days. And by the way, I can't believe all the stuff you got in your school lunch. It made me laugh, because my story would sound like The Four Yorkshiremen (if you've not heard it, YouTube it sometime. Hilarious.) Blessings on your day, friend.

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  3. Hahaha! Right under your nose! That's fantastic! We were in the path of totality and it was the coolest thing I've ever seen. I noticed how incredibly light it was, too until the it was in totality. I was amazed by the amount of light when only a sliver of the sun was still visible. Such power! Nashville Daughter enjoyed totality, too. We were just all amazed with it. So sorry to read about your brother and I will keep Y'all in my thoughts and prayers.

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  4. A great bellow of laughter escaped when I read about the eclipse right under your nose. Ha! I still get excited about the first day of school, and I'm the teacher!
    We had partial coverage here and the light was very eerie. I saw a few crescent suns.
    I'm sorry about your brother - hard times, holy times.

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  5. Hi Debbie! I love the pics of the eclipse. And those clouds are fabulous. Hey, your bangs in those cute photos look just like the ones I had in elementary school. O.O I loathed them being crooked and still cringe at my photos. Ah mothers...
    Have a great week!
    Toni

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  6. So glad I could join you today dear friend.
    1. Did you watch the solar eclipse? Your thoughts? Sun Chips, Moon Pies, Starburst candies, a Blue Moon beer, a Sunkist orange, or a Milky Way candy bar...what's your favorite eclipse related snack on this list?
    Milky way bar hands down! I was actually working during the Eclipse and needless to say it was so cloudy that we could see nothing. But, I saw some great photos on FB from friends. And yours girl....cracked me up with it being there under your nose! LOL!

    2. What are you 'over the moon' about these days? Awe this was is easy. Right now it would be that I still have money left on my Starbucks gift card that a friend gave to me! YES, YES, and YES! It was quite a generous gift at that and I decided to not tell my three daughters I had it so they would not guilt me into buying them a Starbucks and I could make it last longer! I am holding onto what is left and enjoying at least one Starbucks a week. My once in a blue moon would be to get my face waxed. Well, I mean to pay for it to be done! I usually do my own...cause I am frugal like that......(CHEAP) my girls said! But every now and then I break down and just DO IT!

    3. Tell us about something in the realm of science that interests you. How do you feed that interest? There is quite a few things that I could get to "preaching on here" but I am going to pick one and agree totally with you Debby.

    4. What are a few things you remember about going back to school as a child?
    Well apparently this answer will tell that I like cookies! But I can remember that at least once a week we would be served the biggest bestest peanut butter cookies in the world at lunch. And...it just so happened that I was good friends with the head cafeteria lady's daughter so that meant I got an extra cookie. YEP that was a good reason to me to want to get back to school.

    5. I've seen several versions of this around the net so let's make one of our own...share with us five words that touch your soul and briefly tell us why.
    Loved your answer Debby.
    Well, off the top of my head the first five words that come to me are:
    Faith
    Family
    Live
    Laugh
    Love

    6. Insert your own random thought here.
    When I get to heaven I am seriously gonna ask the Lord why in the world did He think it was necessary to create mosquito's!

    Love you bunches Debby.
    Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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  7. Great eclipse pictures! Your school pictures are adorable--with those sweet Peter Pan colors. Guess we all had bangs cut by our moms. The yearly new shoes, and new pencils, etc. All very exciting. We came home for lunch as we were half a block a way. But once Jr Hi started I carried my sandwich and apple in a boring brown bag with a nickel to buy milk. Good choice for your five words. I'm so glad you got to see your brother and sing a bit with him. Tough times.

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  8. DEBBY! So sorry for the typo. I hate it when people put a y on my name, and I try not to do that to others. Love those cute pics. Have a great day!

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  9. The eclipse was cool, even though we only saw a partial one.Enjoy that pedicure, if you do get it.I don't like anyone touching my feet's a pedicure was not my speed.I did try it, but likely won't do that again. LOL

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  10. Prayers for your brother Debby. Glad you were able to be with him and sing with him.
    And I had the exact same bangs -- short and crooked! And you're too funny, with the eclipse right under your nose!! I was disappointed here, too, because there was so much cloud cover and my little paper thingy I made with a hole in it didn't work at all!
    Good words to choose, and good words to go with them. xo Deborah
    ps my mom and sister said the temperature dropped 8 degrees and they heard the crickets out in Denver.

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  11. hahaha, I love those first and second grade pictures of you, Debby. They are precious. I chuckled because my mom did the same thing and cut my bangs crooked sometimes, and my kindergarten picture shows it. Yes, I remember the vanilla/chocolate sandwich cookies. I think I had those in my lunch as an extra treat, but not that often. These pictures are wonderful, especially that last one. I didn't actually see the eclipse cause I didn't want to look up at the sky, but it did get strangely darker, and that was weird to see during the morning hours. Never got all black though. I really like your five words that touch your soul.....especially "love." Oh Debby, I'm so sorry to hear this about your brother. It got to me when you said that he sang some songs while all of the siblings were there. Thinking of you, my dear, and sending thoughts of comfort and love.

    ~Sheri

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    1. ps...a few of my blog friends saw those crescent shapes around their homes and on their deck. : )

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  12. So many joys of a large family and then some hard sorrows, too. Praying for your brother and all his family.

    Love the photos of you this week...the eclipse captured under your nose and the wonderful Mamie bangs that we all wore along with the little collared plaid dresses. You perfectly described the joys of returning to school.

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  13. Sending good thoughts and prayers for your brother Debby ...

    I did enjoy seeing your photo's on this post.

    All the best Jan

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  14. Oh those bangs!! The best thing I loved about a new school year was the new books, the new pencils and the covering of the books. Oh.....and creating a title page for each book....so much fun! So sad to hear of your brother's failing health, Debby. I will keep you and your brother in my prayers and thoughts. Xx

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  15. Oh, Debby! I am SO sorry about your dear brother! Oh, this just makes the heart ache deep inside. Coming from such a musical family, I can't even imagine how much it hurt you that he couldn't play his guitar. I am praying for you, dear friend, and trusting God to comfort your hurting heart through this deep grief. I loved seeing the pictures of you when you were little...you were SO cute! The crooked bangs just added to your charm, and I SO remember those exact emotions over the lunch box aromas, getting new clothes, and organizing school supplies. It was so sweet to visit with you today! You are such a dear blessing to me.

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  16. How wonderful that you and your siblings were able to spend time with your brother, Debby. You will always have those special memories of him still being able to belt out a song. Prayers for him and your family, dear Debby.
    The verses that you shared were so meaningful to me, especially today. Thank you for sharing them.
    I'm sorry that your were a bit disappointed with your eclipse experience. I was happy to share it with my mom, sis, a niece and one of my sons, in Ohio. We passed around one pair of glasses and ate Moon Pies!

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  17. Great post! I was exactly like you when it came to my new school supplies. I organised and reorganised until everything was just so. I loved it.
    I am so very sorry to hear that your brother is ill. Sending lots of love your way and I hope you have all sorts of hugs to help you through.
    Enjoy the rest of your week,
    Andrea

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  18. Fun photos! My mom would always cut my bangs SOOO short, but at least they were straight...lol.
    I am sorry to hear about your brother Debby. Prayers for your family and for you.

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  19. My bangs were always cut straight across, and my hair straight around...and my hair is straight as a stick...not really cute back then. LOL Seeing your hair cut short like that reminds me of my school pics.

    So sorry about your brother...I cannot imagine knowing I am losing one of my brothers.

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  20. Haha!! Oh my, right under your nose! Girl, you had me in stitches. Only Debby Ray. :-)
    As always,I love reading your hodgepodge posts and learning more about you.
    Your description of back to school days were exactly as I remember it for myself, exactly. We really do have much in common, maybe because we are both Debbie's, but with a different spelling of our names. :-)
    I loved that ice cream with the wooden spoon and the smell of a new lunch box, but my favorite treat was the hostess snowballs, oooh yum...
    Beautiful answer's for those excellent words.
    My experience of the eclipse was pretty neat. I sat on our back deck the whole time, our temperature cooled off as I charted the temps for one hour.
    My husband phoned me and told me to go and look at the shadows of the leaves from the trees on the driveway and I would see a solar eclipse crescent, it was amazing! I saw hundreds of these crescents on our driveway, just as plain as day. I put a piece of white paper down and took a photo of it as well. Had he not phoned me I wouldn't have thought to look.
    The leaves act like hundreds of pinhole cameras, so you get hundreds of images.
    The cows in the field and my Donatella were tied all day and I had heard that it effects the animals.

    So nice to visit with you~

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  21. Oops! I wanted to say the animals were tired, not tied. :-)

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  22. Oops! I wanted to say the animals were tired, not tied. :-)

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  23. Haha!! Oh my, right under your nose! Girl, you had me in stitches. Only Debby Ray. :-)
    As always,I love reading your hodgepodge posts and learning more about you.
    Your description of back to school days were exactly as I remember it for myself, exactly. We really do have much in common, maybe because we are both Debbie's, but with a different spelling of our names. :-)
    I loved that ice cream with the wooden spoon and the smell of a new lunch box, but my favorite treat was the hostess snowballs, oooh yum...
    Beautiful answer's for those excellent words.
    My experience of the eclipse was pretty neat. I sat on our back deck the whole time, our temperature cooled off as I charted the temps for one hour.
    My husband phoned me and told me to go and look at the shadows of the leaves from the trees on the driveway and I would see a solar eclipse crescent, it was amazing! I saw hundreds of these crescents on our driveway, just as plain as day. I put a piece of white paper down and took a photo of it as well. Had he not phoned me I wouldn't have thought to look.
    The leaves act like hundreds of pinhole cameras, so you get hundreds of images.
    The cows in the field and my Donatella were tied all day and I had heard that it effects the animals.

    So nice to visit with you~

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  24. You got some great pictures of the solar eclipse! How neat to see the moon crescent in your glasses, wow! I'm so sorry to hear about your brother Bob, but I'm thankful you got to spend some precious time with him. I hope you have a wonderful week :)

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  25. Hi Debby,

    I so enjoyed reading about your solar eclipse experience and I like the crescent moon reflection in your glasses, very intriguing!

    You are so adorable in your class photos; I can see the adult 'you' in the child; how fascinating! And yes, I remember getting very excited about new clothes, new school supplies and money for a treat - such simple times, I miss them, every now and then.

    So sorry to hear about your dear brother, Bob. I was glad to learn that he managed to sing a ditty or two, when you last saw him. Prayers for him, his family and yours.

    Wishing you a peaceful week,
    Poppy

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  26. Just catching up and am so sorry to hear about your brother. You ill all be in my prayers.

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Thank you for stopping by today! Your sweet comments are such an encouragement to me.