Hot days of summer - hot times in our world!

Hello to all who are taking a moment to read my Hodgepodge answers today!  I hope you are staying cool in this July heat.

1. Do you find yourself influencing your world, or is it more the other way around? 

I hope to be a good influence in my own little piece of the world.  I don't really know how others respond to what I do, but I do it anyway!   I never want to lose the hope I feel that, yes, I can make a positive difference.  And,  I think it's important to speak out when needed, and I think it's important to "do" something good for change. 

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? Tell us one way in which you feel blessed 'beyond measure'. 

First, I am just amazed that there is a National Tape Measure Day.  Really?   huh. 

 We always keep one in our laundry room cabinet.    I just used a tape measure on Sunday when my daughter, her boyfriend, and I were trying to figure out if a nightstand would fit in the backseat of his car.   They were here visiting, and since hubby and I are down-sizing, we are passing some items on.  Thankfully the nightstand DID fit - and off it went!

Blessed beyond measure?  How about the fact that I have daughters who like to come home and visit! That makes me very happy!  ( :

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? 

Wow.  This question is 'different'!  I do not know the lands from Eloise or The Chronicles of Narnia.   So, of the ones I am familiar with, I would say I would go to The Hundred Acre Wood.  Beside the possibility of a honey pot landing on my head, and some bees swarming after me, I don't think it's as dangerous or 'odd' as some of the other lands in the list.

4. Where and when do you get your best ideas? 

I think I do some of my best thinking in the shower!  ha!  True.    But, if I'm looking to 'steal' a great idea I go to Pinterest!

5.  So what have you been watching on TV this summer? Anything good? 

I am definitely limiting my TV viewing these days.  Too much negative news.  Too depressing.  I am so fed up with the so-called 'news stations' that I really do not watch any of them anymore.  I have not gotten into any of the series on Netflix.  In general, summertime television leaves me bored.

BUT... I am hooked on The Bachelorette!!   Who else is?   Who do you think Jojo will end up with - if anyone??   We are down to 4 men now and it sure looks like Jordan will be her pick - but the producers love to edit in a way to throw the viewer off.  So, I'm not sure.

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.

Growing up in Ohio I definitely remember hearing the saying about corn: "knee high by the Fourth of July" from my childhood.   I remember riding in the car along rural roads and looking at the cornfields and seeing the stalks growing... with that expression in my head.

7. In a single sentence, sum up one life lesson you've learned. 

Each day is a new beginning and a blessing.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

Should I get heavy here?  There is so much that could be said about this past week in America - the violence, the racism, the divisions, the gun issues.   It was a hard week.  I felt so sad, so frustrated, even so mad at times.   I know we as a country always have problems and things to work on, but we seem so very polarized these days and unwilling to compromise - and especially unwilling to find the good in people.    Sad.     The hot days in summer seem to bring out hot tempers too.   

It's so important to make the effort to be positive, when so much negativity is on TV, and on social media.  Step away and look at the big picture!  But also, step forward and do what is right.  Step in - and make a difference!