Hodgepodging Mother's Day and Other Stuff

Our first garden asparagus - last night for dinner!
Steamed, bright green, a little butter, a sprinkle of salt: Delicious.


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 She writes the questions;

we write the answers.

Plug them into your own blog post

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1. Share a favorite memory of your mother or share a favorite something from your own life as a mother. If you're a mother (or stepmom) tell us how your experience as a mom differs from your own mother's experience.

 My mom and dad - Both cute, nice, and kind.

I'm pretty sure I was adopted, but they never let on.

My favorite memories of my mother were as a grandma to our kids. She was a good mom too, and extremely hardworking and conscientious, but always busy. She was a wonderful grandma and had more time on her hands at that time in her life. She loved to go swimming and loved to serve us treats on the deck in the summertime. Both of my parents taught me to love and trust God and recognize him as the source of all beauty, love, and truth.

My favorite memory as a mom is probably the 21 years I homeschooled our kids. It was a great experience, and I loved taking the kids to the creek, laying a blanket on the bank, eating a picnic while reading aloud to them. Or nature walks...or visiting historical sites, etc. etc. Memories too numerous to recount here. 

Differences in our experiences? I had a dad who was nice and kind, loved God, loved my mom, and was my biggest fan; Mom had a dad who wasn't a nice or kind person, didn't love God, and pretty much just loved himself. My own mom had to work away from home, whereas I was able to stay home with our kids. I value that opportunity and time with them. And my kids better quit complaining about all the Civil War battlefields they visited. I mean it!

 Wishbone Longstreet

2. In May we celebrate teachers (May 9) and nurses (May 6) both. Most every family has at least one in their midst, so tell us something (or a few things) you appreciate about the teacher or nurse on your family tree.

 Daughter and  Mr. C.

I appreciate our daughter teacher in our family. At present, however, she is not teaching but is doing curriculum assessment at NWTC. She is smart, organized, extremely capable, and fun! AND, she (and our SIL) moved back to Wisconsin from Texas, a really smart move. I think she's wonderful. :-) The photo above is from when she was teaching at University of North Texas. We're planning to visit them in June and go into Door County (for my first time ever!) A three-hour drive to visit them is sure a lot better than a 20-hour drive!

3. Chicken salad, egg salad, tuna salad...which would you go for if all three were on the menu? On bread or a bed of lettuce? If you answered bread, what kind of bread would make it the perfect sandwich?

 'Order the chicken salad!'

I would ask if I could get a hamburger with fried onions. There's not too much that can go wrong with that, right? I stay away from any of the meat/chicken/egg salad things. Shudder. I'd love to get my hamburger on a thin, gluten-free bun, but you know that's impossible, at least in this country.

4. Do you have a desk? Is it organized? If so, share your secret to keeping it that way. If you don't have a desk, where in your home do you take care of family paperwork and business? Where do you normally sit to blog?

 My beautiful antique desk

(if you could see the top)
Fortunately, this clutter does not extend to my kitchen.

Of course it's organized. Wouldn't you say it's organized? I know exactly where everything is, and if it makes you nervous, don't worry - I'll tidy it up before company comes. And yes, I sit at this desk to blog. And to Google everything in life.

 The drawer and inkwell (upper right corner, which I'm afraid doesn't show up)

Believe it or not, the same desk, when I'm expecting company

But we're friends, right? You're okay with the Before pic??

I'll let you know when I find the secret to keeping it this tidy.

5. When I was nine years old....

I was in fourth grade. I liked my teacher, but missed country school. The city kids were snobs. And the girls wore fancy dresses.

 Sorry, this is at 7.

No 9 year old pic available.

I see I'm missing a tooth

and why do you suppose my mom cut my bangs so short??? 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I've been working on getting a few new things added to my Etsy shop, HomemadeSoapnSuch. Mr. C. has been wondering (aloud) for the past few years when the 'Such' is ever going to appear. Well, hopefully, by early June, along with a couple new soaps, the 'Such' will also be listed. Hopefully. You will find a clue on my desk, but I know you don't have time to go looking through all that clutter, so that's okay. Neither do I.

Have a wonderful Wednesday! 

P.S. Thank you to Joyce who always brings us the Wednesday Hodgepodge. I LOVE having 5 questions with a 'random' added at the end. 

 Happy Mother's Day!

 ***


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