Hodgepodging Springing Beauties

 Backyard, daffodils and flowering crab
May, 2016

This year, we were still snow covered in mid April, so it will be a while before we see daffodils and the flowering crab in bloom.  As I write this, it's the first of May, the snow is  [finally!!!] gone, and it's in the lower 70s. Once again, we went from winter to summer in about a day. That is not uncommon in NW Wisconsin.

Join Joyce and the Gang
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 She writes the questions;

we write the answers.

Plug them into your own blog post

and join in!

1. April showers bring May flowers or so the saying goes. Is there a flower you associate with a particular memory? Explain.

From April of 2012

The type of flower shown above is what I think we called 'springing beauties.'  When we were kids, we'd make May baskets out of construction paper on the first day of May, place a few candies, some springing beauties, and maybe a little note, and sneak to the neighbor's house to hang a May basket on their door before running off. It was intended to be a nice surprise. And I think they were supposed to chase us down to kiss us. (Or am I making that up? They'd probably be arrested these days.)

2. Last time you helped someone? Tell us how.

The last time I helped someone was a few minutes ago when I helped my grandson with a math problem.

3. It's National Salsa Month (the food, not the dance) so tell us, do you like salsa? Hot, medium, or mild? Homemade, store bought, or from your favorite restaurant only?

Mr. C's homemade salsa, the very best

I do like salsa, medium hot, but almost every other salsa, compared to Mr. C's, is a disappointment.

4. When I was twelve years old...

When I was 12 years old, my joys in life were my horse Shammar, playing with the neighbor kids at the creek, building forts, and playing football. Life would be so much easier if we could go from 12 to 25 and just skip those years in between.

 via somewhere on the web,

but looks like my horse Shammar

5. It's the first of May so let's run with it-first things first, don't know the first thing about it, first dibs on something, first impression, first rate, first cousin, first string, first come first served, at first light-which phrase can best be applied to something in your life currently or even recently?

Two grandsons are with us this week and last. So I'd say I'll go with: First things first. Let's get our school work done first, then go outdoors to play - unless it's going to rain. In that case, play first and do school work while it's raining.

 Grandpa's famous French toast and sausages breakfast

before starting school

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

So yesterday morning I was sitting in bed, drinking my early morning coffee, when the 8 year old appeared and slid in beside me. To set this up, I'll have to say that he has always been fascinated with the idea of my first and second hip implants.

G: Does your leg hurt?

Me: No, only if someone puts pressure on it.

G: or something falls on it?

Me: Right.

G: If a penny falls on it?

Me: No.

G: If a nickel falls on it?

Me: No.

G: If a dime falls on it?

Me: No.

G: I have a silver dollar. If a silver dollar falls on it?

Me: Maybe.

Games with friends,

after our Full Moon Walk

 April 29, on our Full Moon Walk
with friends (see above)

***


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Hodgepodging Childhood Memories

 My maternal grandma as a teen
She was at least one generation removed from the photo grin.
And I wouldn't smile either - with that stiff collar choking me!

Join Joyce and the Gang

for

She writes the questions;

we write the answers.

Plug them into your own blog post

and join in!

1. Growing up, were you close to your grandparents? Tell us one or two specific things you remember about them.

Oh yes, I was close to both sets of grandparents. I remember my maternal grandma bringing bananas and doll clothes out to the farm, I remember her sweet nature and her love of Jesus, her leading Child Evangelism classes in her home, and her generosity to her neighbors even though she certainly did not have an extra penny to her name. Even so, she paid for me to take a taxi from her house to my piano lesson (in town), gave me old copies of McCall's magazine so I could cut out the Betsy McCall paper dolls, fed me raspberry sauce as a treat, etc. etc. And I mostly remember that her house was cluttered and INTERESTING. (Take that, you spartans!)

My paternal grandma kept nothing extra, but she made up for it (having a kind of boring house) by making great homemade bread (and putting butter AND salt on it), teased my grandpa about the fact that he spoke Swedish when he was a kid, had a very dry sense of humor which I loved, and gave me fond memories of her - AND of my grandpa, whom I remember praying in church and crying as he prayed. Because he was an emotional person? No. He was a humble man who loved God, who was overwhelmed by the realization that God became man to rescue him (and all of us) from ourselves, from our sin, from eternal death - because God so loves the world. And I'm totally with my grandpa on that. It never ceases to choke me up.

You really got me with these first two questions, Joyce, and you can consider yourself lucky that my answers aren't longer than they are!

 Shammar looked kinda like this horse, 

with a white blaze the length of his face.

2. What's an item you were attached to as a child? What happened to it?

First, I was attached to my horse, Shammar, who kept me slightly scared of him the entire time, although I loved him. He was Arabian/Welsh and beautiful, scared of butterflies and would freak out if a fly or butterfly flew past him as I was riding. Then I had to simply hang on for dear life as he bolted back to the barn. I can't tell you how many times that happened. Sometimes I wasn't lucky enough to stay on and had to brush myself off and walk back to the barn. You can tell I wasn't a great horsewoman, but I loved that horse enough to decorate his side of the calf barn with photos of other horses, took him sugar lumps and carrots, etc. He totally didn't deserve me.  And when I was out of school, my dad sold him to some people in a neighboring village. I don't know whatever happened to him.

Secondly, I was attached to my shoebox full of baseball cards. All the best players: Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Bobby Richardson, Hank Aaron, Juan Marichal, Roberto Clemente, etc. etc. etc. And my mom threw them out the year I was in Bolivia. I've complained about this before, so I'll let it go without piling on. But they would have been worth something today. See? It pays to keep stuff.

 Henry and Mr. C. playing frisbee in the south yard

3. When you look out your window, do you see the forest or the trees (literally and figuratively)? Explain.

Literally, I see the forest. This is rural Wisconsin. Figuratively, although I love detail, I think I'm pretty good at seeing the forest, the bigger picture, and try to look at all angles of a situation and being willing to admit that I was wrong. Or that I've been wrong for years.

Greek Yogurt with Raspberries!

The raspberries in the garden are ripe about three weeks earlier than usual.

4. Do you like sour candies? Which of the 'sour' foods listed below would you say is your favorite?

No, I don't like sour candies, except for the sugared sour gummy things, whose name escapes me, but I don't go out of my way to buy them. If they happened to be the only candy in the house, I might eat a couple - if all the chocolate chips were gone.

grapefruit, Greek yogurt, tart cherries, lemons, limes, sauerkraut, buttermilk, or kumquats 

I don't think of Greek Yogurt as being sour, but I do love it - and tart cherries.

Have you ever eaten a kumquat? What's your favorite dish containing one of the sour foods on the list?

Not a fan of kumquats. I would love a tart cherry pie, but I'd probably be eating it all by myself while Mr. C. ate a bag of salty chips. So I'll pass on that one.

 The gluten-free cherry pie I made for July Fourth

I wasn't thrilled with the crust, but the cherries were good.

GF dough is nearly impossible to weave because it breaks.

And guess who ate most of the pie. Somebody had to get rid of it.

5. July 1st marked the mid point of 2017. In fifteen words or less, tell us how it's going so far.

Like every summer in Wisconsin, it's going far too fast.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

 One of my favorite places:

The Amish community near Westby, WI

 Another Barn Raising nr. Westby

 I made the mistake of draping a fresh-clean blanket over the bench.
Tommy and Smokey, cute as usual

Linking to Maggie's Mosaic Monday

***

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