Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Bits of Life Wednesday - Hodgepodge


It's as though the mare turned and said,
'Stand up, Honey! Can't you see she's taking our picture?!'

Who? Where??
They're Percherons, I believe, such beautiful draft horses!

I found the following bit of information interesting: (from Wikipedia)

"The Percheron is a breed of draft horse that originated in the Huisne river valley in western France, part of the former Perche province from which the breed takes its name. Usually gray or black in color, Percherons are well muscled, and known for their intelligence and willingness to work. Although their exact origins are unknown, the ancestors of the breed were present in the valley by the 17th century. They were originally bred for use as war horses. Over time, they began to be used for pulling stagecoaches and later for agriculture and hauling heavy goods. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Arabian blood was added to the breed. Exports of Percherons from France to the United States and other countries rose exponentially in the late 19th century, and the first purely Percheron stud book was created in France in 1883." 

Join Joyce and the Gang
for

 She writes the questions;
we write the answers.
Plug them into their own blog
and join in!


1. What has been the highlight of your summer so far? (It's still summer people!)

It might still be summer in your neck of the woods, but it's looking VERY like fall up here in NW Wisconsin. Soybeans are turning yellow, corn is ripe, sumac is turning red, the petunias are very leggy, etc.  And are we ever getting the rain!

But the highlight of our summer would have to be the birth of our FIRST GREAT GRANDCHILD:

Sweet P


2. What do you wish you'd done more of this summer? Less of?

I wish I'd spent more time at any of Wisconsin's 15,000 lakes. I wish I'd thought less about sorting through books and downsizing and how I should be doing more of it but wasn't. We spent good times with our two daughters' families, one in Wausau and the other in Madison, enjoyed birthday parties for a couple grandkids, a big family reunion, and the week that two of our grandsons were here with us.

Two very special grandsons!

Lake Mendota
at
UW Madison

3. Something you're looking forward to on your September calendar?

There's nothing specific on our September calendar except for dental appointments, but September, if it can get this rain out of its system pretty soon, should be a beautiful month. It usually is, and we typically get beautiful sunrises in September. I'm looking forward to the drier air (my hair will be so happy!), the cool and crisp of fall, and of course the color of God's landscape!

 A September morning in 2014


And I will be planning our October 13 'Early Thanksgiving.' We're hoping to get the whole family together, here, for that.

4. Best/favorite book you've read this summer?

My TWO favorites (in this order) would be 'Four Witnesses' by Rod Bennett, which I would encourage everyone to read:


and...
'Olivia the Spy,' by Ian Falconer,  Kindle version purchased while visiting grandkids. :-) (which I would encourage everyone to read aloud to their grandkids!)

5. Share something positive, encouraging, or uplifting here.

There is nothing more positive, encouraging, and uplifting that I can think of, than knowing that God, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe loves me, is merciful, forgiving, and in control of all things. And that Jesus is the exact representation of God (because he IS God). It is a great truth that we need to keep in mind when the world seems to be going crazy around us.

“Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:18-19  
  “'For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.  Do not be afraid, for I myself will help you,' declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.” ~ Isaiah 41:13-14

The Lord is My Light and My Salvation
based upon Psalm 27 
6. Insert your own random thought here.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the amazing Joyce for her dedication to Wednesday Hodgepodge for all these years! That was incredible commitment, Joyce, and we're grateful that you gave us something to write about with such interesting/clever questions. I jumped onto the Hodgepodge bandwagon quite late, but when I did, I found it to be a great place to meet other bloggers, read their take on the questions, and have that special Wednesday post we all loved. Thank you, Joyce! Enjoy your new home, lake, and that darling grandson!



Tommy & Smokey say HI!
enjoying the morning sunshine


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Have a great Wednesday!
Join me on Instagram: @cranberrymorning
Judy

21 comments:

  1. I'm so glad we've connected through our blogs, and look forward to keeping up with you this way. September skies are some of my favorite. I love your uplifting thought. I was just scrolling through my FB feed and could feel myself getting worked up about the Nike brouhaha. Your thought is a great one to keep at the front of my brain!

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  2. Oh I have been hearing the echoes that Joyce was moving on from the Hodge Podge. I didn’t, in the end, enjoy the participation, but I certainly loved the reading. I have so many friends who did participate and it was always interesting to see how each one made the Hodge Podge her own. Clever writers!

    You don’t have much time for planning between now and your sensible Thanksgiving—what fun!

    Hope that September moderates to one you will enjoy. Enough rain...some warmth...and nice colors.

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  3. I always enjoy Cranberry Morning . . .
    And Hodgepodge is a treat . . .
    Sweet Great Grand . . .
    I enjoyed seeing pictures yesterday of my four year old Great Grand going off to preschool . . .
    And being reminded of how fast time sweeps by . . .
    Happy I can watch, listen, enjoy, hug, love . . .
    Just like Smokey and Tommy . . .
    Happy September Judy . . .

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  4. Sweet P is positively Precious. You must be on Cloud 9 Judy! Love the photo of the horses. Hope you can relax this week and not worry about downsizing!!

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  5. Oh wow! A great-granddaughter! What a blessing. She is beautiful. :) I know you must have had a wonderful time having your grandsons there with you.

    Tommy and Smokey are beautiful kitties.

    Amen to your response to #5!

    I've been doing a lot of thinking about decluttering and not so much of actually getting it done, too. But, thankfully, other things have gotten done along the way. I'm sure your time wasn't wasted. How could it be? You were spending it with family. :)

    Have a blessed day. :)

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  6. Judy, I love those cats !! they are so huggy. I liked all your pictures. I know you feel in love with the new baby. I have 4 greats already. Your little guys are adorable too. Blessings, xoxo, Susie

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  7. That is an adorable picture of the baby. The sunrise picture is beautiful, as well. We are getting lots of rain here on the Texas Gulf Coast, too. Have a great rest of your summer and a blessed week

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  8. I can't wait to show these horsed to Bob, his paternal grandfather used these for pulling his hay wagons and plowing. he has often described them to me. also one of my most favorite movies, Lady Hawk, the knight rides a big black horse like these as his war horse. that little baby butt is adorable.
    congratulations on your little sweet pea. does today count as an answer for Sept calendar? it is my birthday. 74 is the big number... the only thing on the calendar besides that is a skin cancer removal on the 11th. not eagerly waiting on that.

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  9. Hello Judy, your great-grand is adorable. She is a sweetie. I love the horses and the cute kitties posing. Summer went quickly, I am hoping we do not have a bad winter. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Enjoy your day and week ahead!

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  10. Oh I hate that this is her last Hodgepodge.
    Those Percheron horses are gorgeous but not as gorgeous as your beautiful great-granddaughter.
    That one photo of your sky is drop dead beautiful. I mean it.
    And lastly knowing God is THE most important thing in the worl.

    Love, sandie

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  11. Your photos!!! Always incredible! The horses … your weather … your seasons … your lakes … the baby Sweet P … the positive thoughts and your random … all make for a beautiful Hodgepodge today! I always enjoy.

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  12. Yes, and amen, to your answer of #5. Wow! Congratulations on your first great granddaughter, so sweet! Blessings in September!

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  13. I always enjoy your Hodgepodge posts Judy, especially with the lovely photos. Your great granddaughter is adorable. Congratulations.

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  14. Amen to #5 and Sweet Pea is just as cute as she can be! It seems to be that great grandparents see to be getting younger and younger!

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  15. I always love your photos and how you use them to illustrate what you write! The Hodgepodge will be missed, but so many of us have connected through Joyce and those connections won't be lost. Great answer for #5.

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  16. The Percherons are beautiful. I've a soft spot for them because my grandmother always told me about her dad working the farm with them. She had a lot of trouble with one of her feet because when she was a kid she got too close and one of the big boys stepped on her foot.

    The grandsons are adorable and they look so happy being with you and the kitties are cute!

    Love your #5. Well said!

    Enjoy the rest of your week!

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  17. I can't think of a better "uplifting" thought to share!! Oh, what grace!!

    It sounds like you had a lovely summer. Oh my goodness, the new great-granddaughter is precious! I know you're in love! Sweet babies and cherished time with family . . . oh yes, a lovely summer!

    (My new laptop came today. I am back in business!)

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  18. Judy, as adorable as the grands are - not to mention your darling great grand - that picture of Tommy and Smokey is THE best ever!

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  19. Your uplifting thought is the most uplifting possible! Psalm 40:2 is one of my favorites: "He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings."

    I like how you've created Bits of Life Wednesday. It definitely has helped/will help with missing the Hodgepodge.

    Our summer has been truly blessed as well ... I hate to see it end. Even though the heat and humidity have been unusually bad and we have some mold to deal with, it was a lovely summer.

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  20. Hello sweet Judy! It seems like forever ago that I posted on your blog. I have always thoroughly enjoyed reading your Hodgepodge and I hope you do decide to post on your blog from time to time. Congratulations on that darling little brand new great-grand baby girl! Sweet Pee is just precious! I loved your #5 answer and totally agree with your random thought. I do hope to see you in Blogland from time to time or in the Instant Land of Gram, although I don't find myself sharing much on there since I was hacked. Anyway...take good care!

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  21. We are going to be 101 degrees today! Your great grandchild is precious. Enjoy! I'm glad you are working on your downsizing. We haven't started yet. Enjoy your September. I like your Bible quotes. Joyce's Hodgepodge will be missed.

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Hi! And thanks for stopping in at Cranberry Morning. I love reading your comments and visiting your blogs. I am unable to respond to No-Reply bloggers, so please make sure to enable your email address on your blog. Also, many Google+ blogs don't allow me to comment because I'm not a member of Google+. So, I'm not deliberately avoiding you, but Google+ is not commenter friendly.