Summertime Hodgepodge

 

Another Wednesday Hodgepodge hot off the press. Thank you, Joyce!

1. “Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.” Sam Keen

Do you feel less guilty relaxing in July than you do in January? Elaborate.
No, but I would much rather sweat in January than in July. There is less for me to do in January. July is filled with mowing, weeding, watering which makes me sweat. Even if I weeded everyday there would still be more weeding to do. I generally do not feel guilty for relaxing.
Found this welcoming gate on a beach walk way back in 2009!
2. What’s a telltale sign you’re upset?
I stop smiling…

3. July 16th is National AI Day. What are your general thoughts and/or experiences with AI? Have you purposely used it? Does it excite you, scare you, or worry you? What do you see as a benefit? How about something relating to AI you see as a negative?

I haven’t given AI deep thoughts. I probably use it mostly in my google searches for information. I ignore the prompts that ask if I’d like help writing, etc. False information connected to people or misrepresenting images are worrisome.

4. You’re invited to a summer pot luck and are asked to bring an appetizer, salad/side, or dessert. Which category do you go for and what are you bringing?

Dessert is the easiest thing for me to sign up for. Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookies or Peanut Butter Rice Krispie bars with Chocolate/Butterscotch Topping are what I’d probably bring.

5. It wouldn’t be summer without___________________.

It wouldn’t be summer without a trip to the beach…

…and Ice Cream.

We’ve had many enjoyable last minute adventures in the summertime.

Lavender Festival in Sequim, 2012. It always happens the third weekend in July. We enjoyed them very much in past summers. BTW: you pronounce Sequim -squim.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Update from last Wednesday’s Hodgepodge; I did manage to bake some blueberry muffins. I used this recipe. I left off the topping because I stay away from cinnamon these days, our grandson is allergic to it. I enjoyed them even more without the topping because the result was delicious muffin tops with just a bit of crispy edges.

I also liked the fact that this recipe makes 8 muffins, not a dozen.

Update on our A/C: A technician came out on Tuesday afternoon and within 20 minutes our unit was repaired and ready to cool us again. So thankful! Doubly thankful, as we are supposed to hit the 100’s next week!

Sweet Hodgepodge

Sweet Southern livin Jo has come up with questions for Wednesday Hodgepodge.
~
1. Let’s start things off right…Wednesday is National Dessert Day. What are we having? How often do you  make/serve dessert? Store bought or from scratch?
~
We can have my signature Creamy Cheesecake, pictured above…
or a family favorite; Peanut Butter/Butterscotch Rice Krispy bars
memorial-010
or in the cake realm; Another family favorite, Applesauce Spice Cake.
We added a new favorite in 2020, Strawberry Ice Cream Cake.
Lately I only make a dessert when we are having company. I made this Ice Cream Cake yesterday for dessert after our Raclette meal that we introduced to my brother’s family.
~
I like scratch desserts but am not opposed to store bought. In fact see question #3 for something I always buy instead of bake.
~
2. Slow as molasses, icing on the cake, that’s the way the cookie crumbles, have your cake and eat it too, half-baked idea, that takes the cake…which phrase might be applied to something in your life in recent days? Explain.
~
I’m going with icing on the cake. Since my brother’s family (originally from Texas) landed in the Pacific Northwest on their RV journeys around the USA some other members of our family gathered here, too, and we were able to have a mini family reunion of sorts.

My sister Kathy sitting to my left is now our matriarch. Four out of 8 siblings plus two spouses and eleven cousins rounded out the group for a few days of food and fun.

3. Something that’s ‘easy as pie’ for you to do?

Sticking with the pie theme here I’m confessing that making pie is not in my wheelhouse. It is not something easy for me and I choose to avoid it by buying good quality pies in the frozen section of the grocery store and popping them in my oven! So ‘easy as pie’ is not a phrase that pertains to me.

4. Are you someone who likes to ‘sugarcoat’ news you think might not be well received, or are you more of a tell it like it is and let the chips fall where they may? Do you like to receive your news the same way you give it?

Please don’t sugar coat it. Get it out now and let me know what’s up! I’m a tell it like it is person. Don’t beat around the bush, either.

5. Something you did recently that made you feel like a ‘smart cookie’?

Driving for over 6 hours by myself from Bothell to Colville with stops at the Home Depot and Costco in Spokane. I was smart to bring a book on CD to listen to. That makes the hours go by quicker for me and keeps me awake. For this trip I listened to “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe read by Michael York, delightful.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

 

Looking forward to our Western Larches (Tamarack) to turn golden.

October is a busy busy month here at Our Country Bungalow. Still ahead is our annual family hunting weekend and this year we are throwing in our first professional family photo shoot. It’s been fun coming up with a clothing theme so we look a bit coordinated. For the majority of the days in October all of our guestrooms are full to the brim.