School days hodgepodge

 

 It's Wednesday, and time for the Hodgepodge -- the linkup where Joyce, at  From This Side of the Pond, asks the questions and bloggers provide the answers on their own blogs.  This week's questions revolve around late summer and back to school.  Here goes!

1. August is National Back To School Month...how does that make you feel? Share a back-to-school memory. 

It seems like schools, especially colleges and universities, go back to class earlier and earlier in August every year.  

Back to school time always brings memories -- some good, and some not so good.  In my early years school was very difficult for me.  Thankfully, as time went by,  I did eventually realize that I enjoyed learning and so I managed to cope with the other aspects that had made school so challenging.

As I sifted through old treasures at my childhood home, one unexpected good memory of back to school  surfaced.  It's the one where every year, my mother made me some new outfits for school.  And she also made some special occasion things too, like 8th grade graduation dresses for me and, years later, my sister.  She also made my high school graduation dress.

It would have been late summer each year when my mother would take me downtown to look at pattern books in our local five and dime.  I would choose patterns I liked and sometimes we would pick out fabric together.  Other times, I distinctly remember choosing fabric first.  There was a shop in a nearby town that had lovely fabric.

One of my favorite dresses was a collarless shirtwaist (likely from the pattern below) made out of a fabric with botanical drawings of fruit on a cream colored background.  I had a pretty pin resembling peaches that I wore with it.  I still have that pin, in fact.

And I am sure I had a jumper similar to the one pictured above.  I think it was a teal flannel print with sort of a Tyrolean look.  So sweet! 

I'm working on a blog post about back-to-school sewing, to publish one of these days ...

2. Something you've learned in 'the school of life'? 

Oh, lots of things.   One is the truth of the old saying "two wrongs never make a right".  Another is that bitterness will eat a person alive if they let it.

3. Three words to describe your current mood.

 Only three words?  I'm fighting either allergies or a summer cold, and neither is fun.  My current mood is a little less than optimistic and my head feels stuffed with polyester fiberfill.  I honestly can't come up with three words to describe my mood.

4. A summer food you've eaten too much of/are tired of? A summer food you haven't had enough of? 

I've definitely eaten too much ice cream this summer, although I must clarify that nearly all of our ice cream intake has taken place at seasonal ice cream places.  It's almost a crime not to patronize them, when the season is so short!  That said, I can't say I'm tired of ice cream.  I'm sure we'll be seeking it out again this weekend.  So many ice cream places, so little time!

The iconic sign at Dairy Delites

A "Snowball" at Frosty Scoops

Ice cream in a homemade waffle bowl at Hatchland's Dairy Delites

Specials at Moose Alley Cones in Pittsburg.  My hubby and I had a Muddy Moose on that visit.

I haven't had enough corn on the cob, meaning we haven't had any corn on the cob yet this summer.

5. What small stuff do you sweat that you know you shouldn't?

Oh, I don't know.   I'm having trouble thinking of anything so I will skip this question.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We're so looking forward to seeing our Nevada family the first of September! The last time we saw them (pictured below) was May 2021, so it is high time we get together.  Part of their family came here in spring 2019, but several have not been to New Hampshire since 2015 ... and the two youngest girls have never been here.

And that wraps up the Hodgepodge for this week!  Why not head on over to From This Side of the Pond and snag the questions to answer on your own blog?