Wednesday Hodgepodge - May 24, 2017

From this Side of the Pond

1. What color is prominent in your home? Are you glad about that or wishing you could cover it up or remove it?

White is the prominent wall color. Some rooms have colors (like yellow for the family room and my office; blue for two bedrooms; and green and turquoise for another bedroom). Other than that: all white.

Dark green is the other prominent color in our home. I found out it is a dated color after we had water damage a few years ago and needed to replace carpet in the family room and my office. That particular color is very difficult to find now.

I like the color and wouldn't change it in several of the rooms.

The green  carpet is representative of the color of the blinds and

some accent paint in various rooms of the home.

(Taken on April 2, 2013.)

That being said, the majority of our windows are covered with dark green blinds. This definitely has limited what colors we could paint walls.

If I could do anything over, I would keep the blinds a neutral color so that we could paint the walls a different color. (Although, as I type this, perhaps moving to neutral-color blinds would be good so that we could change things up a bit.)

2. What's something you'll NEVER do again?

Have an extensive amount of livestock. We used to have sheep, chickens, turkeys, and a horse. I enjoyed that time in my life; and loved seeing the animals roaming in the pastures; and the chickens walking around the yard and pastures.

Olivia looking at chicks at another farm.

(Taken on September 30, 2007.)

Given the season of life I'm in now and the length of life some livestock have, it isn't practical. I'm grateful I had that time in my life where we could have animals; and that I have the memories of them to draw upon.

3. Tell us a couple of ways you fit the stereotypes associated with your gender, and a couple of ways you don't.

I'm a stay-at-home mom who takes her daughters to a variety of lessons and activities, enjoys crafting, sewing, and cooking. Adopting both the girls has been such a blessing. I truly cannot imagine my life without them. They have brought such joy to it; and enriched it in so many ways.

Taking the girls to various activities:

Above: Sophia recording a CD that has

music she plays on the harp (May 2017) and

Below: Olivia painting outdoors at an art event (September 2016).

When I think of my dad and his role in the family (as well as other males), there are some things that I do around the home and farm that would stereotypically fall into the male role (or at least what my dad would have done):
=> Mow the lawn on the lawn tractor as well as fill it with gas and can fix it if the mower deck comes unattached (it's an older mower);
=> Repair the fencing as needed;
=> Deal with all the service men/repair guys - both with ordering the services, overseeing their work, and paying them.

4. May is Motorcycle Awareness Month. Have you ever owned a motorcycle? Ever ridden a motorcycle? If the opportunity presented itself would you hop on a motorcycle and go for a ride?

I have never owned a motorcycle, but have ridden on one. My first ride was during Vacation Bible School. If any child memorized a Bible verse by the end of the week, they could go on a short motorcycle ride on the back of the Pastor's motorcycle.

I memorized John 3:16 and earned a motorcycle ride.

Source

The short ride - without a helmet and not very fast around the parking lot - was exhilarating and exciting...and so worth the effort of memorization at that young age.

As a side note, this was in the 1970s, so way before organizations began thinking of potential lawsuits and liability issues. No one blinked an eye at the fact that none of the children wore helmets while on a motorcycle because no one was wearing helmets when riding a bike.

A motorcycle from 1974.

In the past 15 years, I've only gone on two motorcycle rides. If presented with an opportunity to go again, I definitely would!

5. If someone wanted to understand you, what should they read, watch, and listen to?

The best way to understand me would be to read about the personality type INFJ, the astrological sign of Cancer, and a book about introverts.

Source

In terms of watching something, maybe a t.v. show that I enjoy: Modern Family, The Goldbergs, Speechless, or Black-ish.

In terms of listening, the sounds of nature - birds singing and calling to one another, frogs singing, owls hooting, crickets chirping - all of these sounds are ones I love to listen to throughout the year.

An oriole and cardinal in the backyard on August 23, 2012.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Four years ago today, this was the sunset as I stood in the pasture looking to the west.

When I was growing up, our home faced west over Bass Lake. We saw so many amazingly beautiful sunsets. I am so grateful that our home has open views to the west so that - since 1995 - we can enjoy seeing the gorgeous colors of the sky and clouds as the sun sets.