Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Do you and your family enjoy camping? What do you enjoy most/like the least when it comes to family camping? When was the last time you camped?

We used to go camping all the time! We still have all the gear stowed away in the attic. Back in the day it was the only vacation that we could afford to do as a family so when vacation time rolled around we packed up the back of the van and headed out. We never went very far, and sometime I would head out on a Thursday evening to get the campsite set up so we could have the whole weekend to just enjoy ourselves. It’s amazing at how efficient I got at putting up a huge tent all by myself, and with a toddler in tow to boot! I had it organized down to the very last detail and with our limited resources I would usually splurge a bit on the food. We usually had more treat’s on our camping trips then we did on a daily basis.

I think my least thing about camping is the point A to point B process. Hearing “Is all this crap really necessary!” as we loaded the back of the van! However justice would always be mine when later on in the trip we had a wonderful time because of “all the crap” we brought with us! 

My favorite thing about our camping trips was cooking over the Coleman stove and then having breakfast at the pic-nic table in the early morning.

Our last camping trip was a very long time ago. If memory serves my DD was probably about 18 months or maybe two years old so that would make it about 14 years ago. What I remember most about the trip, it rained and there was a small drainage ditch just along the side of our campsite. It had been a fairly significant rain fall and the gull had a steady stream of water flowing in it but it was not very deep, maybe about two to three inches of water. The DD had the time of her life as she tromped from end to end in the water. She was having so much fun giggling and laughing that she began to attract the attention for several of the other campers. This of course egged her on and on. She would waddle down the the end and then plunk down on her little bottom and the water would splash up and she would do her little toddler giggle at the top of her lungs. Then she would stand back up and repeat the process in the other direction. By the time I finally fished her out of there the gully had turned into a lovely little mud bath! She was covered from head to to, her cloths were soaked to the skin in mud but she was truly the picture of a happy camper. It is one of the mental images that mommies keep in the memory banks and one I wish I had a picture of but I do not.  

2. Did you attend a summer camp when you were a kid? Is that a happy or not so happy memory?

I went to a girl scout camp. Timberridge, I have to say that it was a very nice memory for me. I loved staying in the canvas sided tent and sleeping in the cots with the tent sides rolled up so you could feel the breeze at night, what there was of the breeze. Being Georgia and summer breezes were in short supply. But it was fun. The crafts, the games, swimming. Some of my best memories are the summers I spent at Timberridge.

3. Over the course of your life, what have you probably spent more time pondering than anything else?

Rebellion

4. Which of the seven natural wonders of the world would you most like to see? There are many lists of 'wonders' but this is the standard natural wonder list-Mount Everest, The Great Barrier Reef, The Grand Canyon, Victoria Falls, The Harbor of Rio de Janerio, Paricutan Volcano and The Northern Lights.

Having visited the Grand Canyon last summer I can genuinely attest to the majesty of the experience. I have never truly felt such a sense of awe in all my life as I did when I stood at the rim of the canyon.

Of all the wonders listed I think the one that I would moist like to see would be the Northern lights. Every time I see them on television or in the movie I am always fascinated by then and one day I hope to be able to look up and experience them in person. How cool would that be!

5. What was your first real job?

I worked as a paste up artist at a local newspaper. To give you some historical content, we actually proofread the copy out loud to one another to make sure that it read just like it was supposed to. The really fun ones were the legal notices of foreclosures and land sales…”all the tracts from the 44th marker to the 47 running along the north side of the tract, including the structure measuring 1200 square feet by 800 square feet, not including the hereto wit et all…”

6. Lemonade or Sweet tea...which do you prefer on a hot summer day?

If I am super thirsty then a nice tall lemonade fits the bill. If I am relaxing with a book under an umbrella then I need a good tall glass of sweet tea!

7. What is something that always brings a smile to your face?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

When did my little girl turn into a young woman? I find this process of transition fascinating. Y’all she spent over an hour getting her hair fixed just right and all we were doing was going to the Wal-Mart. Ear rings, headbands, eye shadow, out fits, does this go with this, does this look better or this? It just makes my head spin!

All critical fashion decisions aside I have to share that she got her final report card in the mail yesterday. All A’s and B’s and she is ranked 65 out of 588, not to shabby if you ask me!

Well a little hodgepodge-ness was just what I needed this morning. Y’all head over to This Side of the Pond and link up for more WH fun.

Blessings

R