Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Wednesday Hodgepodge for May 20


How did we get 2/3 of the way through May?  Somehow it's Wednesday, May 20 -- and time for the third Hodgepodge in May.  To join in, head over to From This Side of the Pond and get the questions from Joyce, then answer them on your own blog.  Here are the questions for this week:

1. In a single sentence tell us something about your 40's. If you haven't reached that milestone yet tell us (in a single sentence) something about whatever decade you're in now.

My first thought was, "Oh boy.  Do I even want to admit what decade I've reached this year?"  Then I realized that second question is only for those who haven't reached 40 yet.  So all I have to do is in a single sentence tell something about my 40s.  Well, there's this: My kids were at boarding school and college while I was in my 40s, and that is when my spiritual growth really began to take off.  (For those interested, the book below can be found at Thriftbooks.
The book I decided to study when my nest was temporarily empty.  With it I began my road to greater spiritual growth.
2. Life begins at forty. Agree or disagree? Tell us why. And if not at forty, when?

I don't think life begins at forty; to be really technical, life begins at conception.  (You know, I believe that this is one of those "Joyce making us think" questions she is so good at.) I'm not even sure what "life begins at forty" means.  Some people, after all, never grow up.  And aren't children, teenagers, twenty-somethings and thirty-something living beings?  At forty many people are working their hardest and their homes are often filled with children and teens.   They may not feel as if "this is the life!"  I'm not any closer to a coherent answer to the question, so I'll quit trying.

3. Share a favorite book, song, or quote with a number featured in it somewhere. 

Easy one.  The hymn "The Ninety and Nine" has always been a favorite of mine.  The illustration on the book cover below -- a book I refer to often --  always makes me think of that beloved hymn. 

4. A picture's worth a thousand words, a stitch in time saves nine, back to square one, catch-22, on cloud nine, my two cents...pick a number phrase and tell us how it applies to your life currently.

Those are some good choices for phrases all right.  I think I'd better refrain from adding my 2¢.  Either "a stitch in time saves nine" or "back to square one" could work for my current crochet project.  This is a pretty throw crocheted in panels.  It is a UFO of several years' standing.  This year I was determined to finish it.  I  completed what was to be the last panel, sewed it to the rest, and found it was at least 6 inches too long.  So ... my first thought was to just throw the thing away.  However, my hubby was not having that.  ("You have too many years of work invested!")  He looked it over, determined where I needed to go back to, and helped me figure it out.  Understand that each panel has several border rows crocheted around it.  So those needed to come off, then I had to remove those extra 6 inches.  Thankfully, crochet is easy to pull out.  I did all that, then we both did careful measuring and counting before I replaced the border rows.  So, fast forward to last night when I sewed the panel to the others.  Inexplicably, it was now 6 inches too short!  Aaargh!  Our current thought is that I am going to leave it in place and just do the best I can to lengthen it to match the others.  Then it has more border rows crocheted around the whole thing.  It has all been much more work than I ever envisioned when I tackled the project, and is thicker and heavier than I anticipated.  I'm no longer sure the recipient is even going to like it.  I've learned lots of lessons from it, however.
Creativity: I'm going to need it to fix this crafting dilemma
5. Last time you drove more than 40 miles from home? More than 400 miles from home? Where were you going? Was it before or after this current season of social distancing?

The last time we drove more than 40 miles from home was last Saturday.  My hubby was purchasing a small used sawmill to use in sawing out lumber from our property and our son-in-law's land as well. The owner happens to live in a very scenic corner of the Lakes Region.  We took the camera along but failed to take any photos.  We also (gasp!) stopped at a lakeside ice cream place and ate our ice cream sitting on the dock in an area "not maintained according to CDC guidelines" which we could "approach at our own risk".   So thankful that was an option.
Same lake, different day, month and year
I can't even remember the last time we drove more than 400 miles from home.  It must have been when our younger daughter (now in Nevada) lived in South Carolina.  I'm thinking it must have been 2004. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Today has been a really gorgeous day here, blue sky, warm temps, a lovely breeze.  Just the perfect early spring day.  I got out for a nice long walk and it was so nice to see yellow forsythia and purple azaleas, among other flowering plants.
Photo is from Pixabay
So ends another Hodgepodge!  Happy Wednesday, everyone!

8 comments:

  1. My thoughts on 40 are two: I turned 40 in the year 2000. As a kid I thought that year sounded so futuristic and that I would be so old. Laugh at that thought now. I also decided that year that I was over coloring my hair. IT took the next year for me to actually do that and wow, was that liberating. I think it stacks up there in so many ways as one of the best things I have done.That sounds crazy but it is the other ways that make it that. IT is 40 miles from here to Pensacola and I haven't been in ages. Kind of missing it.
    I don't know that life begins at 40, but some wisdom came with it.

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  2. Oh that crochet story! Yikes. I am not good with frustration to the max. Glad that Mr. T prevented you from chucking the whole thing.

    Yes, I am always grateful when I am allowed to make my own reasoned choices.

    Blessings today!

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    1. I am not good with frustration either, as you can see from this story. And there's frustration a-plenty in life right now! Mr. T has a good bit more patience than I have and so his voice of reason prevailed.

      Being able to decide for ourselves what is safe is something I guess I have really taken for granted.

      Blessings to you as well!

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  3. Your crochet project reminds me of my last one. I made 2 Christmas throw pillows. One turned out great, but somehow I messed up on the other, making it a tad smaller. I use them, but it bothers me to this day...
    Kathy (Reflections)

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  4. Love your answer to when live begins:) Hoping my 40's are a time of great spiritual growth too. Ice cream beside the lake sounds perfect. Have a great week.

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  5. I used to crochet but set it aside a long while back and have toyed with the idea of picking it back up. Do I need another hobby though? That's my dilemma. Glad you enjoyed a day out!

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  6. Hello Mrs. T. You and I picked the same title for our Hodgpodge. It was good to read your answers. Hope the rest of your week and weekend are good!

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  7. Wow! A lot of interesting thoughts here to digest. You know, I did that exact same Bible Study probably back when I was 40 ish also. Seems like I actually led that study with some other ladies from my church. I will have to go back and see if I'm correct, but I remember that title so well. My 40's were busy too...our kids were either in high school or college and we were pastoring a church in Michigan and then we moved to a church in NH! They were very busy years. Oh, and that hymn, "The Ninety and Nine" is one of my favorites too. I love the drama of each verse as we go through the whole story of the Shepherd finding His lost sheep! I remember singing an arrangement of that in our choir many years ago and it was so wonderful. I've never forgotten it. Wow, you stirred up some memories for me. Sorry I can't help you with your crochet issue. I can't do any kind of needlework and don't have the patience to try. So I admire your tenacity. Have a blessed and glorious weekend!! Enjoy your lovely spring weather!! You deserve to have some!!!

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