Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your summer so far? Why?
(1=eh and 10=best summer ever)  
I wish I could give it a 10....so I wouldn't sound like a broken record. I have been complaining about the heat since June.  It has been a boring summer, stuck in the house most of the day. 1=eh.

2. July 26th is National Aunts and Uncles Day. Did you have many aunts and uncles growing up? Were you especially close to any one or maybe all of them? Are you an aunt? (or uncle for the men who join here on Wednesdays) Share a favorite memory relating to one of your own aunts or uncles or relating to a niece or nephew who call you Aunt (or Uncle).  
I had Aunts and Uncles and I am an aunt to 2 nieces and 2 nephews. Uncle Bucky was my favorite  .  He was a big gruff teddy bear, who had a story for everything.  When we were younger, he had a big gold front tooth, that I always though was attractive.....???? I wanted to know how to get one. He told me that when he was my age and he lost his front tooth, it came in gold, because he never, ever stuck his tongue in the space.  Of course, I had 2 chances for a gold tooth and was never successful.
My niece Megan was about one and sitting in the highchair eating at our house. Our puppy at the time Tai was a jumper and he was jumping up at Megan making her anxious.  Mr BC yelled NO Tai, and Megan began crying.  It wasn't her he was yelling at, but, she wouldn't have it....She wouldn't smile or go to him until she was about 3 years old. I still tease him that she loves me best.

Megan and Aunt Katie, she still loves me most!

3. What's your favorite food dipped in chocolate? What's your favorite food dipped in cheese? 
I haven't had one for a while but I love chocolate dipped frozen Bananas.  Bread dipped in fondue cheese is great.  I haven't had that for a while either.

4. When were you last astonished by something? Explain. No explanation needed....Trump making it so far in the presidential run-up. I am astonished and dismayed, there is a chance he could win.

5. Surf board, paddle board, ironing board, Pinterest board, score board, clip board, bulletin board...which board have you most recently encountered? I keep some of Mr BCs health information on a clip board, also information on emergency procedures, so that it is close at hand.

 6. What's your favorite story from scripture? Why that story? 
David and Goliath: David, a young boy, kills Goliath, a giant, with a stone, by faith. 

7. If you were to travel from the east coast to the west coast in your own country, which five cities would you most want to see?  
Boston, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Anchorage. I've been to San Francisco, but I love it. The other cities would be new to me.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
I really like Michele Obama, I think she is a fantastic First Lady, Mother and Human.  It was when my so called Facebook friends started posting mean things about her that I started hiding them.

 

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Do you find yourself influencing your world, or is it more the other way around?  
My world is influencing me!  Our yard is level, but because of the rain and a pesky groundhog, it is soft and as I walk around I step into unlevel areas where he has tunneled.  Between, that and all the fallen branches from storms, it's a real struggle to play ball with Totem and Gwennie.

2. July 14th is National Tape Measure Day...the device was patented on this date in 1868. When did you last use a tape measure? Do you always know where to find one in your house?  
I usually by pants by measure length, but sometimes I have to hem things.  My tape measures are in my sewing box, I also know where to find my yard stick and flyswatters.I
Tell us one way in which you feel blessed 'beyond measure'.
I have reasonably good health.  It would probably be better if I lost some weight, as we all probably need to do.  I have to take care of Mr Bankerchick so it is important, that I stay healthy.

3.The Plaza Hotel (Eloise), The Land of Oz (The Wizard of Oz), Narnia (The Chronicles of Narnia), The Hundred Acre Wood (Winnie the Pooh), Wonderland (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), or Never Never Land (Peter Pan)...which storybook land (on this list!) would you most like to visit and why?  
I think the Land of OZ.  I read many of them when I was younger and the books were so magical.  Of course I watched the movie when it was re-released at theaters and every time it was on the TV.

4. Where and when do you get your best ideas? Usually when I am doing housework, especially the dishes. Any time I am doing solitary work and have a chance to think.

5.  So what have you been watching on TV this summer? Anything good? 
I love all the Sunday night Morse mystery spinoff shows on PBS.  Endeavor, was good,  Inspector Lewis's final season is coming up, in August. Sunday nights are wonderful.

6. 'Don't swim for an hour after you eat', 'Dog days of summer', 'Knee high by the Fourth of July'...choose a summer saying from the list or share one of your own, then tell us what image or memory comes to mind when you hear it spoken. 

Here in MO, Dog days of summer apply all the time.

             

7. In a single sentence, sum up one life lesson you've learned. 
 When you're cooking, clean up as you go along...it works with life too.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 
I have a confession to make....I downloaded Sims Medieval and spent all day on Sunday playing.  It is all about building a kingdom by making interesting Quests.  I am not as obsessed by it as I was on Sunday, but I play it for a while every afternoon, while Mr BC is taking a nap.  The music is very good, and Patrick Stewart amusingly narrates, while the game is loading.

 

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. It's officially summer (in the northern hemisphere anyway). Which summer month is best and why? Here in Missouri, there is NOT a single summer month, that is best.  I hate summer.  I hole up in the house with the AC, and only venture out to walk the dogs....early! Spring and Fall are the best months. I do miss living on the coast during the summer.

2. Can you swim? How did you learn? June 27th is National Sunglasses Day. How many pair do you own? I took swimming lessons at the community pool in our town when I was in second grade.  I took lessons at the YMCA when I was a little older, and in my freshman year of Junior College, where you had to take a semester of gym, (1966) I did a semester of swimming.  I loved the pool.  I have a pair of sunglasses that fit over my regular glasses.....very stylish!

3. What characteristic do you judge most harshly in yourself? How about in others? Procrastination is the worst....While I am in my house in the summer, I put off everything.  Cleaning my house.... I just hurried around yesterday to pick up the house, before the delivery of all Paul's medical supplies. 
Paying bills, when I was cleaning the flat surface that is my dining room table, I found a bill that I thought I had lost, so I had to go last week to the city office in a rush to find out what I owed and pay it.  It is the only bill I have to actually write a check for, as our town is so outdated, that I can't pay it over the phone or by computer.
Now, I tend to judge pessimism, disloyalty and greediness harshly in others.

4. Robert Frost wrote the now well known poem entitled The Road Not Taken. What's a road (literal or figurative) you've always wanted to travel, and where do you hope it takes you? I always wished, I had a chance to live and work for a while, in another country.  At my age, I might still be able to travel to other countries but, I don't think I want to live anywhere else but here. 

5. Popsicles-yay or nay? If you answered yay, what's your favorite flavor? 
Popsicles-Nay, because, sensitive teeth and brain freeze.

6. Brexit-on a scale of 1-10 how knowledgeable are you on what's involved here? (1=very knowledgeable and 10=what's Brexit) Is this news you'll follow or is it something you think won't impact your life in any way shape or form?
I understand it like a 5 or  and I believe it will impact the global economy and spread, I am not sure it will impact me directly....but I believe, and if Trump thinks it's good....it can't be! Will there be other exits? Could be.

7. Share a favorite song on your summer play list.




8. Insert your own random thought here. 

The Missouri Legislature Republicans have enough votes to override the Governor's veto of a new law. The measure, which would allow people to carry concealed weapons without permits, that are needed under current law. 

In a late Sunday interview with The Associated Press, Nixon cited concerns with a provision that would allow most people to carry concealed guns even if they haven't gone through the training currently required to get a permit. He said it should be left up to sheriffs to deny concealed carry permits and that changing those laws would mean "dramatic steps backward for public safety."
 
So untrained gunslingers will be walking the streets of Hooterville and its environs, thinking they are a well regulated militia, 'protecting' us all.

#Throw Back Thursday, 1987

The girls are 11 and  14 and it is July, 1987, in Missouri and we were living in California.  Grandpa had a horse named Tony Boy and the girls claimed him as theirs.  The first time DD1 rode him, was when she was 10 and he bucked her off. She had riding lessons at camp that year, so she was encouraged to get right back on. DD2 always complained that she never got to ride him as much and maybe that was true, but  Tony was quite assertive and Grandpa was worried that she might get thrown off.  DD2 always had to ride with some one. Boo Hiss!  What beautiful girls if I do say so myself.