To memories - and making them each day. It's Hodgepodge time.

It's hodgepodge time again. I had planned to write a blog post this week because several things have been on my mind, but I will wait now and have fun with these questions first.   So, for your blogging pleasure….  ta-da!  The weekly Hodgepodge!

1.  "Summer is like childhood.  It's full of warm memories and gone too soon." - Kellie Elmore.  Agree or disagree?  Share something you love about the summers of your childhood. 

I agree with Ms. Elmore.  I have good memories of childhood summers so I'm lucky.  And, yes, every year I feel summertime goes by very quickly.  I'm never ready for cooler weather.  But, thankfully, football in the fall is something I DO look forward to so it helps me say goodbye to summertime a bit easier.  (I do intend to write a separate blog about football - coming soon.)

A favorite childhood memory of summertime?  Back then we kids weren't put into lots of camps to fill the time as the kids of today have, but we did attend vacation Bible school each summer.  When I got a bit older (11, 12, 13, years old) I was a "helper" during VBS and I remember helping in the "babysitting room" for mothers who were teaching.   It was "play time" for toddlers - and I enjoyed playing right along with them.

2.  Are you a fan of auto racing - NASCAR, Indy, stock, Grand Prix, etc. ?  Ever been to a race in person? Any desire to do this?  Do you know a lot about cars?  Do you notice particular makes and models when you're out and about? 

Am I a fan?   No.   Have I been to a race?  Yes - twice.  I went to the Indy 500 when I was a member of our high school marching band and we got the opportunity to march in the parade through town, then ending at the track.  We marched once around the track (it's really big and quite slanted around the curves!)  We watched a few minutes of the race but that year there was an early crash and we could not stay through all the delays.  We had to board the buses and head on back to our small town in Ohio.

The second car race I went to was the Coca-Cola 500 in Concord, North Carolina.  My husband was working for Coca-cola at the time so we got complimentary tickets, and even got to view the festivities and the race from a loge up high above the grandstands.  I was offered the opportunity to go down into Jeff Gordon's pit area, but I declined.  If you have not been to a NASCAR race, you have no idea how HUGE the place is (football stadiums dwarf compare to the size of a race track, the grandstands, the fields, etc.) and the noise!!  It was crazy loud!   So, I preferred staying in the loge - enjoying refreshments and AC.   Once was enough for me.

I know very little about cars, although I have a brother who is fanatical about cars. He knows most everything about them inside and out.  The guy reads car magazines all the time.  He has a huge garage "complex" at his home and collects cars, works on them, sells them, etc.  My hubby is a car lover too.  So, I'm around it.  But I'm not interested.   Do I recognize makes and models?  Oh - sometimes.  But really, it's not something I try to learn.  And, when I look for a vehicle for me to own it's all about comfort, gas efficiency, and storage.  I don't care about how fast I can get to 60 lies per hour when I step on the gas.  I don't car about the rumble of the engine.

3.  What is something you think is too serious to be joked about?  Or do you think anything and everything is fair game? 

War.  Mis-use of guns.   Poverty.   Disabilities.      Not funny.

4.  April 29th is National Lasagna Day.  Are you a fan?  Do you have a great recipe, and if so where did it come from?  If given the choice would you choose a plate of lasagna or a plate of spaghetti? 

I like lasagna, but I think I have only made it 2 or 3 times.  Guess it's because it takes steps… first boiling the noodles, making sauce, layering, then baking. (I know - I'm lazy in the kitchen)  I heard recently there are noodles you can buy now that you do not have to boil first.   I don't have a special recipe.   And if given a choice between lasagna or spaghetti I probably would take the lasagna.  I do love the taste…just not the work.  I'm not a big pasta eater in general.  Lots of carbs and calories, little value.

5.  What's a simple pleasure you'd miss if it were not a regular part of your life? 

I can't answer with just one.   Coffee…     doing crosswords…     working & weeding in my garden…  reading…     listening to music…       my pets….      this computer.

6.   If you could be the CEO of any company, which one would you choose? 

First off, being a CEO isn't all it's cracked up to be.  (Hubby was one and had tons of stress trying to keep the board happy.)     But, if you are asking what company could I run and why…  I would pick a company that offered services to those in need.  I think I would get satisfaction knowing I was making a difference to those who need a helping hand.   Habitat for Humanity perhaps.  Any charitable organization.

7.  August is just around the bend…  bid farewell to July in exactly seven words. 

Thanks for the beautiful days and evenings.

8.  My random thought. 

I have several thoughts running around in my brain right now, and I hope to take time to write about them later in separate posts.  My daughter's wedding plans continue and everything is going well.  My dad just had to put his rescue dog down and I worry about his loneliness.

 On a larger scale,  I struggle with  Americans' willingness to jump into war and other countries' civil struggles. (Sending humanity care - yes.  But military? )  I love football but wonder how much I can support the players and team leadership when time after time horrible things happen (but doesn't it in every sport - and every way of life?)

I worry about dementia and alzheimers as I get older and more "forgetful".  Am I normal?

What is normal?  HA!!!!  

Oh - my. I better stop thinking.    My mind CAN really go to random places sometimes!
For now, have a great day and week fellow bloggers - and to everyone who read through to this point.
As Si Robertson says…"happy! happy!"    Have a happy day!