1. Are you feeling more reset, restart, or full speed ahead as we move into May? Tell us why.
Ugh - I just looked at my calendar and apparently, it's Full Speed Ahead!
There are several events or "demonstrations" with the search & rescue team - I'll have to ask - I might not have to go to those. I'm sure they want to show off the K9s. We are considered "associate members" of the SE Michigan Dive team so we start having training with the divers as support. I WILL go to that. We also have our annual pack test where we hike 1 1/2 miles while carrying a 25lb pack.
There's a district event at my VFW post this month. The Day of Service where we go clean up a cemetery and put the flags out before Memorial Day. Then 2 different Memorial Day events.
OK, maybe my calendar isn't too bad. I have an appointment noted, several birthdays and the Spouse will be gone for a couple days so there's a lot of little dots for the month.
2. Painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, cinema, theatre, music...what's your favorite form of art? Elaborate.
Sculpture - mainly what I see when exploring cemeteries.
Architecture - I love cool old buildings
Music - altho it's odd to think of 80s hair metal / rock as "art". But so be it!
3. What time is dinner at your house? How do you feel about leftovers?
The dinner situation is a major bone of contention in my house. The Spouse is perfectly happy to eat whatever I put in front of him. But then there's the other 3 inhabitants, aka the Spawn & the grandkids, aka the RiffRaff. She, in particular, is VERY picky. The grandkids are slightly less so. And since I'm not a short-order cook, it makes trying to eat healthy very difficult.
Dinner is usually 7-ish and the Spouse & I will have leftovers for lunch the next day.
4.What's the last thing you fell down a rabbit hole investigating?
3552 have been awards and 110 are from Michigan! I was reading their citations.
5. And now for a question from the book Marilyn (Memphis Bridges) gave me...At what are you 'self-taught?'
Gosh. Blogging? I've kind of figured that on my own. Cooking? Meh. I definitely can't call myself a 5-star chef by any means. There are a few things that I can make, and everyone is happy with. But sometimes for other things I'll follow a recipe exactly how it says and my food won't turn out.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
I mowed the lawn for the first time this year yesterday. This is a chore that I DESPISE but has to be done. We have a double lot and it takes about 2 hours to mow, if I were to go non-stop. It's slightly not as bad now that we got the new mower last year, one that actually starts on the first pull instead of having to practically dislocate my arm. And why doesn't the Spouse mow the lawn, you might ask? It's because he's in worse shape that I am and I really don't want him having a heart attack. So I suck it up.
Looking at the positive side - I saw an empty robin's eggshell in the grass - which means babies! And for the first time...
a morel mushroom!
I sure wish I knew how to cook those!
Our crabapple tree is in full bloom and smells so good!
The granddaughter wanted me to go with her to look at it so I pulled a branch a branch down so she could smell it and that reminded me of something....
Welcome to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge for 2026!
My theme this year is simply things that I’m grateful for.
It’s a broad and varied theme but was surprisingly easy to fill in each letter!
Xanadu
We're not talking about the movie with Oliva Newton John from 1980 or the palace in Inner Mongolia that was used as Kublai Khan's capital and was written about by Marco Polo in 1298. The ruins are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
(oh, the things you learn when doing research on ~other~ things!)
According to Merrian-Webster, Xanadu is an idyllic, exotic or luxurious place.
This definition could be many different things, based on who you're talking to!
Funny story - I had just written this post and scheduled it, and I saw a video on Facebook from a horse sanctuary someplace and one of the horses they had just rescued was named Xanadu and they used almost the exact same definition I did!
Welcome to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge for 2026!
My theme this year is simply things that I’m grateful for.
It’s a broad and varied theme but was surprisingly easy to fill in each letter!
Work.
Ugh. I've been with the same company for almost 26 years now!
I've been in the billing department of said trucking company the whole time.
Me & my manager during the eclipse in 2024
I guess I need to be grateful for the family that originally started the company 100 years ago - when I started there in 2000, the owner was the 3rd generation. However his kids weren't interested in taking over, so he sold out to a corporation.
There actually used to be 3 companies in one - one was for local routes, one for regional routes and one of over-the road. There has been a LOT of changes over the years, mainly all 3 of the companies slowly oozing into one. It's actually easier for me, since before - all 3 companies required billing the customers a different way! And the owner was very old-school and didn't take to change well. Once he retired, I feel we came into the modern times.
Welcome to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge for 2026!
My theme this year is simply things that I’m grateful for.
It’s a broad and varied theme but was surprisingly easy to fill in each letter!
The VFW
aka the Veterans of Foreign Wars
I joined my local post back in February 2018 and still am only a handful of women who attend twice-monthly meetings and events with any regularity. I'm not 100% sure if I can say exactly WHY I joined.
I checked into all the other veteran's organizations and at the time, the VFW seemed to be the only one who treated female veterans as equals. Other groups placed the female vet in the auxiliary with the wives & family members! This was a huge red flag in my book. Hopefully they've caught up with the times.
I carried the post flag in the 2019 Labor Day parade
I think they were short on honor guard members that year, because ever since, I've ridden in the wagon.
I am also the newsletter editor, social media peep, website admin and the chairman for the VFWs Voice of Democracy / Patriots Pen programs and also for our post's annual scholarship.
Welcome to this week's edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge! Linking up with Joyce and everyone over at From This Side of the Pond as usual!
1. April 22nd is Earth Day...what's the most 'out of this world' place on earth you've ever visited? Tell us something about it.
I live in Michigan - and Hell is only about a 90-minute drive from me! I've been there many times. It's actually a cute little place - and they have an ice cream shop with the toppings in a real coffin!
I've also been to Hell that's in Grand Cayman, too. I would have to dig thru a box to find those pics, tho - I had a film camera then!
2. A favorite quote, verse, or song lyric with the word earth in it?
It's not really my "favorite" per se - but it's a good song and in my favorite genre of 80s hair metal.
Little Fighter by White Lion
"You were a fighter for peace on this earth"
3. What's the most trivial thing about which you have a strong opinion?
When to use an apostrophe. Definitely grammar & spelling.
People who think the speed limit signs in the US are in kilometers (aka driving excessively slow for no reason!!)!
4. What's your most commonly used kitchen utensil or tool? What's the last thing you made using that tool?
This is the main non-spatula tool that gets used the most.
For spaghetti, of course!
5. Marilyn (Memphis Bridges) gave me a great book of 3000 questions, and I'm going to try to use one in our Hodgepodge every week. Here is today's - What is your greatest extravagance?
I feel like almost anytime I buy something for myself is an extravagance, even tho it's not really. The Spouse & I both have "play money" accounts that a portion of our paychecks go into so we don't dip into the joint accounts. I use mine for Halloween stuff and don't feel guilty about it. Storage is getting to be the problem, tho.
This is funny - the one thing I can buy without worrying about it being on sale or anything is toilet paper! The Spouse grew up in rural Arkansas and didn't know about good TP! So when he moved to Michigan for work, he found he liked Quilted Northern (in the purple package) and now that's all we get. Somewhere I have a picture of him dancing with his QN in the Walmart parking lot during Covid because we were able to score some!
6. Insert your own random thought here.
~crickets~
Too many things floating around in there!
Back in 1994, a post member from my VFW passed away and left a lot of $$ to the post, so they created an annual $1000 scholarship in his name. So, we had the drawing for this year's winner and since I'm the scholarship chairman for the post, I get to contact said winner and possibly ending up presenting it at the student's awards ceremony at their school. BLARGH! I don't do well with public speaking.
Another lesson learned - when someone asks if you "want to do stuff with kids"- find out what it is before agreeing! I'll probably be this chairman for as long as I am a member of this post.
I started this post yesterday - and oh boy - guess what I saw today? An ad for Hell in Grand Cayman!
Welcome to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge for 2026!
My theme this year is simply things that I’m grateful for.
It’s a broad and varied theme but was surprisingly easy to fill in each letter!
A taphophile is someone with a passion for exploring cemeteries, studying gravestones, reading epitaphs, and appreciating the art, history, and cultural significance of burial sites. The term comes from the Greek words taphos (meaning "tomb" or "grave") and philos (meaning "lover of"), literally translating to "lover of graves". Taphophilia can range from casual interest, such as visiting famous graves or photographing memorials, to a more scholarly or historical pursuit, including genealogy and the study of funerary art. from taphophile.com.au
Seems pretty straightforward!
I love to explore cemeteries - the older, the better!
I adore the peace, art & history and wonder about the lives represented in that dash between years.
Rosalie Raymond
Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston SC
I regret not getting out of the car and exploring the entire Raymond plot.
They have some very neat stones.
Oak Grove Cemetery, St Mary's GA
The first time I saw this was in 1992 and for some reason it always stuck in my mind. So when the Spawn's dance team when to nationals in Orlando in 2018, I planned our trip so we could go here first. Plus St Mary's is also where the Naval Submarine Base is, which is where my first ship in the Navy had been stationed.
Sacred to the memory
Col. John Patterson
aged 52 years
Mary Young, his daughter
aged 19years & 6 months
Charles Young, the son of
Mary Young, aged 18 months
James Batcholer, aged 17 years
John Morris, aged 8 years
9 months, relatives of the above.
All born at Philadelphia, State of
Pennsylvania and fell victims within
a few days of each other, to the
yellow fever of 1801 at St. Mary's
State of Georgia
This marble is erected by
Francis Young and
Lewis Levy, sons in law of
Col John Patterson
The grief of their affectionate relatives
speaks louder than this cold marble.
Goodrich Cemetery, Bruce Twp MI
George Walden
1826-1847
This cemetery is supposedly haunted by George. I believe it!
North Dryden Cemetery, Dryden, MI
Deuteronomy Cooley
1852-1861
This whole cemetery has a lot of unusual names, but his tops the list!
Coming up in June - one of the guys from my search & rescue team is going to be playing taps at the Michigan War Dog Memorial for 3 fallen police K9s. One of our SAR K9s is going to be interred then, too. This is going to be one of the toughest things I've ever witnessed! I've been wanting to go explore there, but not in this manner.
