You Light Up My Hodgepodge

Hello and Happy Wednesday!

Welcome back, Joyce and congratulations on that beautiful new grand baby boy!

And what a handsome little guy he is!
I guess you already know your life will never be the same, right?
~
And a week without the Hodgepodge is like a peanut butter sandwich without the jelly...
...it's like being at the movies with no popcorn...
...or having a lawn mower but you have no grass to mow.
It's like having a hummingbird feeder with no hummers swarming!
And speaking of hummers...

They have been swarming like flies recently...

...nearly dive-bombing you when you walk out onto the deck!

 

This little guy sees that SOMEONE is eating his food.

Awww...looks like he's gonna be nice and share! 😊
~
So come on over to the Hodgepodge where Joyce asks the questions...

...and we answer them on our blogs.
~

1. Do you try to set rules for yourself about how you use your time? Explain.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. When I know there is some sort of deadline or time frame involved, then yes...but I have to tell you that I work better under pressure. If something needs to be accomplished a month from now, I can pretty much tell you that I won't be starting on it tomorrow... unless whatever it is will take a month to complete! One thing I do is make sure I get my quiet time with the Lord in and it isn't always the same time everyday. I think it's possible to get hung up on too many "rules" in our lives and sometimes doing so only adds to the stresses of every day life. Here are a few examples of my take on this... 

2. Monday was National Lighthouse Day. Have you ever visited a lighthouse? If not, do you have any desire to see one up close? 

I love lighthouses and you'd think that living here in NC for the past 25 years, I would have seen them all. Unfortunately, that is not the case...I have only seen what might be the most famous one, the Lighthouse at Cape Hatteras. You may remember seeing this on the national news back in 1999 when they began the delicate task of relocating it to keep it from falling into the sea. You can read about it here. We took Adam there the summer of 2000 before he headed off to college...Hatteras Island is a wonderful place. The lighthouse was already at it's new destination by then but unfortunately, wasn't open to visitors due to the new foundation that was not completed. I took some photos (non-digital) but was unable to locate them. Here's one I pulled from the web.



Of the 10 Most Beautiful that made this list which would you most like to see in person- Lindau Lighthouse (Germany), Fanad Lighthouse (Ireland), Portland Head Light (Maine), Yaquina Bay Light (Oregon) The St. Augustine Light (Florida), Peggys Point Lighthouse (Canada), Start Point Lighthouse (England), Tower of Hercules (Spain), Bass Harbor Head Station (Maine), and White Shoal Light (Michigan)  The Fanad Lighthouse in Ireland would be my pick since a trip to Ireland is on my bucket list :)

When you've been away, what's your 'lighthouse' telling you you're on the right road home?

Oh my...I think there are so many ways to answer this question. First of all, no matter where I've been or how long I've been gone, home is always a welcome spot...like Dorothy said "there's no place like home". Getting off of our exit from the highway is usually when the anticipation kicks in for me... home is just around the corner! I could also answer this by thinking back to when I was a young girl still living at home.  If any of us were out past dark, Mom always had the porch light burning so we could easily see the house when we returned home. There's just a special kind of comfort that memory brings with it. I could go on and on...but I won't :)

3. What have you unintentionally stopped doing? Is this something you need to pick back up and begin again, or is it something you need to let go of for now (or even permanently)?

Somewhere between February and now, I lost my vision and enthusiasm to finish my office/craft room redecorating project. I had a great start with brand new floors, even bought the fabric and had a plan for everything. I got as far as making the window valance, the room arranged like I wanted it and even got some organization started. I don't remember what exactly got in the way...I was on a roll! It is definitely something that I need to pick back up, regardless, but especially if we decide to put our home on the market in the spring.

4. We've had a full week of August. Share a GRAND moment from your month so far.

This past Monday, August 7 was our 41st wedding anniversary but I guess you couldn't really call it a grand moment because it came and went much like any other day. Jim was working a 9-day stretch so there really wasn't a good time to do anything special. I did have a little fun on Facebook by posting a photo of us in the back seat of our getaway car right after we were married. See below:

Debby Ray

Yesterday at 11:12am · 

So forty-one years ago today, this happened. Over zealous friends and relatives thought it might be a good idea to write "funny" messages all over Jim's cherished Gran Prix that day. Did you know that black shoe polish doesn't come off of a white car? My new hubby was NOT a happy camper and had to get a new paint job after the honeymoon. Ah...the memories...

LikeShow more reactions

CommentShare

We had many, many "Happy Anniversary" greetings, sweet comments and well wishes...some were from even several of you!

5. Tell us one song you love with the word 'baby' in the title.

6.  Insert your own random thought here. 

It looks as if I will probably be making a trip next weekend to meet up with my siblings from Ohio as we gathering to visit my oldest brother, Bob, at his home in South Carolina. He has been suffering from cancer in several areas of his body and has recently decided on no more chemo. It looks like we may be having another family reunion of sorts...definitely not the one we had hoped for. Your prayers for him and his family would be most appreciated.

Enjoy the rest of your week, my friends!♥

Simple Pleasures and a Bloggiversary

Hello my peeps!

I hope everyone has had an enjoyable week.

~

It sounds as if we are in for a fabulous weekend, weather-wise...

...temps barely reaching 80 degrees, no humidity and plenty of sunshine!

I plan to savor every moment because I'm pretty sure it will not last long.

~

 So another year has rolled around and tomorrow will mark my third year of blogging!

It's funny...sometimes it seems like it's been much longer than that...

...at other times I still feel like such a newbie. 

I am very grateful for each and every one of you who pop in to see what I'm up to!

This past year has had it's share of trials and tribulations and I thank you all for your prayers.

But oh, what wonderful blessings as well and I thank you for rejoicing with me!

And if you know anything about me at all,

you surely must know that it's the simple things in life that make me happy...

...it just doesn't take much.

~

They say diamonds are a girl's best friend...

...but although I do have a few (nothing extravagant, mind you) and am quite fond of them,

watching a butterfly light on a thistle just delights my heart.

Or sneaking up on a dragonfly, getting so close you can almost reach out and touch it...

...now that's exciting!

~

Here a few more shots taken over the past week of some more of my favorite things.

Snapdragons...they remind me of my dear sweet mother...

A Ruby-throated hummingbird...some of our Lord's best handiwork...

Queen Anne's Lace...

such a delicate masterpiece!

And did I ever tell you how much I adore milk thistles?

Surely I have...I'm almost positive :)

Milkweed blooms and bumble bees...

...more butterflies on more thistles...

...and a little Picmonkey mirror-image fun.

Just a few of my simple pleasures.

There are many more where they came from :)

~

Thank you again for hangin' around to see what year four has in store.

Hugs to all!

Glorious Critters and Such

Happy Monday, my friends!

I hope you all had a great and relaxing weekend.

~

You know, the world is just filled with fascinating and beautiful critters.

Does it ever just blow your mind how God came up with all of them?

Since I started my blog a couple of years ago, 

I have to admit that the things that I used to take for granted,

almost seem like new discoveries for me.

~

I believe this lovely dragonfly is a twelve-spotted skimmer...

...according to the description on Google.

If they stay still long enough to get a good photo you can certainly appreciate their beauty.

I found this one swarming around in a grown up area in front of our local Walmart.

Queen Anne's Lace was also growing there and on that particular morning

 the sun illuminated the outline of it, creating the most glorious effect.

 

And then there's that sensation you get when you reach down to pick a tomato...

...and what you feel isn't a tomato at all...

...but one of these "lovelies".

My first response was... EEEW!!

But you know, after I cut the part of the vine off where it had been eating the tomatoes,
(the worm was still on the vine because if you think I was actually going to touch it, you would be WRONG)
I stood there studying the intricacy of his design and I was actually in awe this tobacco hornworm...
...not to be confused with the tomato hornworm.
Imagine that...a tobacco worm was eating my tomatoes!



Who else but the God of the universe could (or would) create something like this?
I was making a joke about it having eyes all the way down it's body...they do look like eyes, huh?
They aren't eyes, but they actually breathe from them!
~
So I was getting ready to go shopping on Friday and this guy just would not get off my car.
I didn't take the time to google this one...



...but my, what BIG eyes you have!
~
But I have to say, my favorite encounter with critters this week was of these baby hummers.
At first I thought it was just one baby but after reviewing my photos,
 I noticed the different color variations in their feathers,
this one having red on top of it's head.



They were just learning to fly...and drink from the feeder.

You could almost see the uncertainty on their little faces,

this one looking quite puzzled as Mama was hovering near.

How adorable!



The drama came when this one landed on top of the feeder and didn't quite know what to do.
Once, he fell to the ground and just laid there for a moment.
I quickly ran out to try to rescue him and then he just as quickly flew away!

It wasn't five minute later, he was back again on top of the feeder...
...and after hanging on for dear life, let go and plunked into the window sill!

I was able to get really up close and personal with him...

...and then off he flew again.

What amazing little creatures they are...glorious, indeed!

The earth is most definitely filled with HIS glory!

Have a blessed week :)

After getting ready to link to Judith's Mosaic Monday,

I realized her title this week is "The Little Things"...

...how appropriate!

Also sharing at:

Amaze Me Monday

Sharing His Beauty

Roses of Inspiration

Donna's Photo Challenge...Late Summer Hummers

Hey everyone!

It's time for Donna's Personal Photo Challenge and it's all about movement this month.

~

And speaking of movement...

...for some reason, our hummingbirds left us for a few weeks earlier this summer.

We still don't know why, but we surely were glad when they decided to come back.

For years I've been trying to get some good photos of those quick little guys and gals.

 Capturing a decent photo of those little hummers is not an easy task...

...especially with a little point-n-shoot.

~

This first shot was from last summer...not the best example of great photography,

but there was something I liked about the movement it displayed.

It was taken with my tried and true little old Sony P & S.

Even though it is a mass of blur, I liked how you are able to make out every part of the bird...

 ...yet still see all of the action going on.

I had the camera sitting right up to the window on a tripod, set on macro setting...

...with the zoom extended as far as it could go, clicking the shutter as fast as I could.

Edits were done in Picasa and Picmonkey. 

 ~

A couple of months ago, I was finally able to upgrade to a DSLR (yay!)

so, I've been doing some experimenting with my new camera and zoom lens.

These next two were taken using a 300 mm zoom lens, f/9.5, 1/500 sec., ISO-800, using a tripod,

 through the glass door since I couldn't get them to come around while I was outside.

I thought this one showed another interesting example of motion as it quickly flew away.

Buh-bye little hummer!

~

Our feeders were drained dry while were out of town last weekend 

and we haven't seen the hummers this week, although it is still quite warm here.

We put out new nectar today so we'll see if they return.

Just maybe, I'll get a few more shots taken before they leave us for the season!

~

Have a fantastic weekend!