Wednesday HodgePodge Fun

While eating breakfast this morning, I headed over to Joyce's blog to see what her "hodgepodge" meme questions were for the day and I enjoyed them so much I decided to put off the mopping of the floors to play along. 😊

1. Do you like your name? Are you named after someone (grandparent, etc)? If you have children how did you choose their names? 

I love my name (Faith) but hated my middle name and still do (Ellen).  I'm named Faith because my parents, as Christ followers and after trying for 7 years to conceive, had the "faith" that the pregnancy would go well.  They first wanted Donna because the Donna Reed show was so popular in the late 50s (I was born in Dec of 59) but my cousin was named Donna and mom didn't want to copy her oldest sister.   Someday I'll share the story of how my younger sisters Joy, Hope, and Jill were named. 

Yes, I have two daughters.  We chose their names (mostly, I did and Dave agreed) based on heritage/ancestry.  Courtney Elisabeth (our oldest) is an old French gender-neutral name (representing my side of family, via my dad) and Old English (representing Dave's side of the family), meaning "of the court" or "queen-like" and she definitely was our little princess.  Her middle name Elisabeth, is the Biblical spelling of Elizabeth (my mother in law's name) and spelled with the s is how my mom's middle name was spelled so both grandmothers were thrilled with what we chose. I put her name in the color of her bedroom once she turned 12 and wanted a more "grown up" look. That bedroom is now our guest/exercise room and is painted a more ocean type blue grey. Courtney was the only one in her class with that name!

My youngest daughter is Claire Rebekah.  Claire is the feminine French spelling meaning "light" or "like a star" (and she has certainly shined on stage with her ballet) and it represents my side of the family (I'm half French via Dad's side) and Rebekah is a Biblical name that means "to bind" or to tie family together.  It also is a name and spelling I've just always loved. I put her name in purple as when she turned 10 and wanted a room makeover, she wanted her fave color in wallpaper that looked like swirled paint.  The room is now Dave's home office and the wallpaper is still up as he likes it! It's a soft lilac color and quite soothing. Claire was the only one in her class with that name, although younger friends and acquaintances have told me it's become a very popular name (Claire)

2.  A piece of red velvet cake, a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a slice of blueberry pie? You can only have one...which will you choose? If you could pick any red, white, or blue dessert other than those listed here, what would you choose? 

If I could only eat one of the above, it would be vanilla oatmilk ice cream with blueberries on top. 

Any dessert not listed here.....hm......probably raspberries and blueberries as a fruit cup with shredded coconut on top. 

3.  What's a job you'd like to try for just one day? 

Forensic psychologist or profiler trying to figure out the mental state of serial killers or abusers. 

4. Any patriotic decor in your home currently or coming up this summer? 

Absolutely!  Here are some pics of how my home is decorated from now until August when I then decorate in Summer themed items like sunflowers and daisies: 

a windsock hanging off the trellis 

my rock/flower garden in backyard

on a bookshelf in family room

living room chair

family room decor

front flower garden 

Front entrance..the American flag
will come down on Saturday and up will go a summer themed one
but the flag will  go back up for the first 2 weeks of July 
to celebrate Independence Day 

coaster in living room

front yard

Family room 

family room coasters

cloth napkins in dining room

I also have a "Welcome" flag in the flag colors hanging on the side entrance to kitchen from garage  that I neglected to take a photo of and a small round navy blue sign for the outside side garage door that has cut out stars and says "Welcome Friends". Those 2 items  will hang there until August.

5. It's the end of May, so let's exercise our brains. Sum up your month with an acrostic using the word MAY. We can do it!!  

M= many busy days

A= annoying black flies in the mountains 

Y= yearning for time on the beaches at the mountain lakes 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

The  Tuesday evening small group Bible study/book group I lead only has one more week of reading/discussion and then we'll wrap up with a "Dinner on the Deck" night. I'm so looking forward to having a break from leading this weekly group.  We will meet up again in mid-September!

ENJOY YOUR WEDNESDAY!  The weather is gorgeous here so after housework and an errand, I plan on taking a nice long walk. 

Tuesday 4: Seasons

Welcome to the Tuesday 4 Meme!!  

I really enjoyed these questions when I saw them on Linda's blog so decided to play along while I wait for my laundry to finish. 

1. Do you have a favorite day of the week and how about  a favorite month of the year? Why?

When I was teaching full time (special ed Prek) I loved Mondays, believe it or not. New week, new lesson themes, and most of the children were eager to be there. Also, it's when I had a full classroom team in my room (speech, ot, pt along with my TA) which made it easier to work on specific goals with specific children and do some play therapy, too. 

Now that I'm retired, I like all the days! If I had to choose a fave though, it would be Sundays when both daughters are typically available to get together or come over for dinner or just hang out. 

Favorite month is harder!  How about we do it this way and do it by seasons.

My favorite Spring month is June (yes I know Summer falls mid-way through June) but I LOVE the end of May leading into June.  Everything is so lush and green by then at least here in eastern NYS. 

Fave Summer month:  August. Usually the days are less humid, the evenings are simply delightful and the best hiking for the mountains is mid-August through Oct.  Why? because most tourists from the  states to the south and west of us head away from the Adirondacks and head home due to their public schools starting in August. Ours begin after Labor day so I love the mountains once the tourists are gone. 

Fave Autumn month: October.  The crisp air, the chilly mornings, the plentiful sunshine and no bugs while hiking! Also, all the fresh produce!!  October is truly delightful here in eastern NY. 

Fave Winter Month: the first one: end of December: Winter Solstice and youngest daughter's birthday (mine is earlier in the month as is my nephew and his mom, my sister Joy)  Christmas, New Year's Eve, and just the freshness of the fallen snow (if we actually get any in December!). 

2. What’s the most beautiful or magical thing about each of the four seasons?

The changes in weather and the way the mountains look so different in each season. 

3. Summer is coming... what does this mean in your life? How will things change, stay the same ,etc?

For me, it means my husband will actually use his vacation weeks. Also, our anniversary is the last day of June. Life slows down a bit in regards to leading my weekly women's book group and we don't typically have choir rehearsals in the summer. Our evenings are longer, outdoors often around the bonfire pit. 

Things that change: we tend to eat dinner a bit later; we tend to have more adventures in the mountains and lakes; we tend to get together with good friends more and the hiking season really picks up which means I'm busy volunteering at leading my hiking group I founded 2 years ago! 

This year the beginning of summer will bring our youngest niece's graduation from high school and her grad party. 

Things that stay the same: we still attend church and volunteer with Production (Dave) and HomeBound organization (me).

4. What do you look forward to in each season?

This seems redundant but:

Spring: I look forward to the flowers, green grass, grilling our food,  and milder temps. 

Summer: all the things mentioned above plus coffee and breakfast, lunch, dinner on the deck (unless temps are above 85 which will force us to turn on the central air and eat indoors), swimming in mountain lakes and relaxing on the beaches, visiting family we may not have seen over the winter. 

Autumn: more mountain hikes vs deep woods hikes; cozy sweaters and cute riding boots or ankle boots; power walking in the mornings with no humidity; bonfires, game nights with friends, Harvest events

Winter: the cozy warm house with candlelight flickering for evenings and some mornings; more time to read and watch movies; Comfort foods like my homemade mac and cheese, stuffed pepper soup, and other slow cooker meals plus the things mentioned above. 

Just about 3 more weeks until Summer officially begins!!  

 

I'm Confident of This Very Thing

 The good work that begins in us at our salvation will be a  process  until Jesus returns or we go home to heaven. This Scripture means that after our salvation, we become spiritually transformed (sanctification process) and that God the Father does not abandon us when we become a Christ follower. And it's not by our human efforts!!  God's character...His Power...enables us not our own strength or talents. 

This verse has been going around in my mind, along with the Scripture song that was sung in the mid 1980s in many worship services, all weekend. 

I was reminded of this when I was on a hike Saturday morning. I was confident in leading this hike, even though the 3 of us who signed up, had never hiked this particular trail.  One reason I was confident is because it's a loop trail for 3.5 miles and very easy to follow as the state of Massachusetts had paint blazes pretty close together. 

 My friend E and I could have hiked at a bit faster pace,  but we weren't going to abandon the new member (B) even though she's 30 yrs younger and probably more physically fit than we are! I know the feeling of being abandoned on a trail. I hiked a few times with an old friend who would basically jog or run the trail leaving me to just hike alone. Sometimes I enjoyed it as we always chose trails that are blazed (we don't do bushwhacks unless absolutely necessary like to get to a falls, or to get around blowdown) but the feeling of "what if something happens and she is  way  ahead of me...." would be prevalent. So no way was I going to abandon a brand new member of the hiking group.  We fell into a steady rhythm and thoroughly enjoyed the trail and the fellowship. None of us felt abandoned or that we were going too fast or too slow.   

Sometimes we might feel like we've been "abandoned"  in situations we are dealing with on an emotional level.  Maybe we're going through some kind of trial....challenge...whether it's physical, relational, financial, mental, or emotional.....and we can "feel" abandoned by family, friends, and even God.  Our feelings are real, after all!  

Yet when our confidence is in Christ, we have the blessed assurance that He is walking  right alongside us. 

When we are yoked with Jesus, He guides our way, He bears the brunt of the burden (if we're willing to let Him!) and we can rest in the confidence that "God's got this" 

Give you burdens over to God and He will give you rest...I have confidence in that very promise. 

Saturday Nine Meme: Soldier!

I'm participating in Sam's Saturday Nine meme.  Head to her blog to join in!

Saturday 9: Soldier (2016)

Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.

Memorial Day is a federal holiday that honors men and women who served and died in the United States Armed Forces. We want to make sure that message is not lost this weekend.

1) Are you a veteran? Are there veterans in your family? Do you know anyone who is active military? We are grateful and want to hear about it.

I'm not a veteran.  Nor is my husband.  Nor our daughters. However, my dad, paternal grandfather, paternal uncle, maternal uncle, my father-in-law, and my nephew (Dave's brother's son) were all in the army!  Dad served during the Korean war and Grandpa M served in WW2. Our nephew did 2 turns in Afghanistan.  I know Dad's brother (Uncle Art) was in the Korean war same time as Dad and I don't know where my mom's brother (Uncle Don) served. My father-in-law served here in the States (long story but he was in California during the Korean war).  

2) This song is about the courage it takes for soldiers to march into battle. Gen. Patton said, "The soldier is the Army. No army is better than its soldiers." He was emphasizing that each individual's dedication is essential to the unit's success. Do you work well as part of a team? Or are you better on your own?

I was a Master teacher for Special Education prek children with disabilities so I was in charge of my classroom of 10 students ages 2.5-6 yrs old and overseeing my teacher assistant's duties. I had 2 different interns in my classroom at 2 different times whom I had to oversee.  My classroom team was: my TA, 2 Speech therapists (sometimes 1 depending on the year), an OT, a PT, a social worker, a psychologist (2 for several years as I taught children who were survivors of abuse/domestic violence so 2 were needed to serve them).  I would run the team mtgs each week and we all got along great. For IEP conferences, it was usually me, the speech therapist, 1 OT, 1 PT (depending on the child) and the social worker. Sometimes it was just me and the speech pathologist. I always had great teams of people so I was very fortunate. 

Now that I'm running my own hiking group, I find I like  working independently! 

 

3) As of 2025, California is the state with the most military bases. Have you ever visited or lived on a base? 

I used to live near a military base when I was growing up. My parents took us there once. It was called Griffis AirForce Base but is no longer a military base. It is now an airport and a business tech park. Now we live about a 1.5 hour drive north of West Point. I've only ever driven past...I've never been on the grounds. 

4) At the turn of the of the 20th century, wristwatches were considered non-essential jewelry items, with pocket watches preferred for everyday timekeeping. During WWI, soldiers in the trenches needed to both synchronize actions across the battlefield and keep their hands on their weapons, so the wristwatch went from "fashion item" to "standard issue." Do you often wear a watch, or do you depend on your phone for the time?

I wear an Apple Smartwatch SE and love it. 

 

5) Jeeps were originated by the US Army during WWII. Back then they were specifically for soldiers deployed to the European Theater, today there are more than 18 million Jeep-branded vehicles on the road all over the world. Have you ever driven a Jeep?

Yes my   college  (freshman year)  roommate Marsha owned a jeep and she let me drive it once to the beach.  We had a blast! We went several times during college years as Rochester is not that far from that beach on Lake Ontario. 

 

6) While Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses are a timeless symbol of cool, they were designed during WWII for a specific purpose: to give American flyers relief from glare at high altitudes. Tell us about your sunglasses.

I just ordered new sunglasses from my youngest daughter this past Tuesday! I chose some Ray Ban frames but then saw the Ralph Lauren ones and preferred those for my face shape.  They should be available for pick up sometime next week. I will have the same lenses as my regular glasses (progressive) but with the anti-glare, etc. Because I just got new regular glasses a few weeks ago, I qualified for my 2nd pair to be 50% off!  Plus with the  discount from Target I was able to get brand new high end sunglasses for less than $300!  That's huge for me. My current pair with my old prescription were about $820. Having an optician in the family now is saving us some bucks!

 

7) Memorial Day kicks off the summer season. What's your favorite picnic food? 

I enjoy a lot of different picnic foods but my fave is my homemade potato salad made with the vegan Hellmann's. It's SO very creamy!! Another fave is making corn on the cob over the grill. 

8) This marks the weekend when Americans traditionally step up their outdoor activity and do things they may not have been able to do during the cold winter months. For example, when is the last time you worked in the garden or tended the lawn?

I mowed the lawns on Wednesday evening and I tended my flower garden yesterday afternoon. 

9) As you answer these questions, is there an air conditioner or fan on? 

No, it's nice out....in the upper 60s which is perfect for Spring. 

HAPPY SATURDAY!