Wednesday Hodgepodge

I just cannot seem to be a regular participant in the HP as hard as I try.  Life  gets in the way more than I prefer, but it is what it is and I'll show up when I can.  Now, for this week's questions................

1. What's something bizarre you've seen or heard recently? 

I mean, it's everyday and it gets more bizarre each and every day.  I listen to our local news and half way listen to the national news and that is about all I can take.  For one thing, everything is repeated OVER and OVER until it absolutely makes me dizzy.  Yes, the news is bizarre!

2. July 18th is National Sour Candy Day. Who knew? Do you like sour candies or other foods with 'sour' flavors? Kimchi, rhubarb, gooseberries, tamarind, dill pickles, sour cherries, sauerkraut, cranberries, and  grapefruit...of the sour foods listed which is your favorite? 

I had no idea there was such a day.  I am not a fan of sour candies or foods with sour flavors.  I do want 3-4 dill pickles on my hamburger and that's about as far as it goes with me.  I'm not sure I've ever been a fan of sour, not even as a youngster.  But, my Grans love all the sour candies.

3. Share a favorite memory of an aunt or uncle. 

This is my Aunt Wanda, my Mom's oldest sister.  She died about 10 years ago at the age of 92.  She was so, so dear to me.  She was the mother of 4 boys and as a little girl I loved to go to their house because there was always something going on.  She loved me like a daughter and after my Mom died, she was such an encouragement to me in my grief.  My last visit with her was the year that she passed away and it was such a special time.  She lived in Virginia and I flew up to spend time with her as I was pretty sure it would be my last time to see her on this earth.

4. How would you describe your ability to manage stress? 

Hummm........I guess it depends on what type of stress it is.  I feel like I have lived through some very stressful times and came through on the other side.  I try to ask myself if something is really worth the stress I'm feeling and a lot of the time, it is not.  I know that no amount of stressing can over ride the power of prayer.  And, I am blessed with precious friends that have and will continue to pray for me when I might have difficulty praying.  Thankfully, the Lord hears the groanings of our heart and there have been plenty of groanings of my heart in my 70 years.  

5. What do you think about when you let your mind wander? 

At this point in my life I wander about my future, our future.  I am such a planner and there are some things in this life that cannot be planned.  I wonder about such things as, how will my life end, will Hubby and I live out our days here in this house, will our health fail or will we just sail on out due to old age.  I certainly do not dwell on any of it, more or less just fleeting thoughts.  My future is secure in the Lord and my eternal home awaits me, it doesn't get much better than that.

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

You may remember that some months ago I mentioned on one of my HP posts that my Dad had a wound on his little finger that I was treating with Monuka Honey because NOTHING that had been prescribed had worked.  This sore came up on his finger last Sept.  He had no idea about how it got there and could not remember injuring it.  It did respond favorably to the honey and healed up.  But, within a week, it came right back, only worse than previously.  I asked his Dr. to prescribe Home Health Wound Care  this past Feb. and they began seeing him and treating it.  After two months of NO success they called and told me that they were pretty sure it was a skin cancer and I needed to get him to a dermatologist.  So, I won't go into all the details but the wound ended up being a Basal Cell Carcinoma (Monuka Honey does NOT work on cancer).  Last week he had surgery on the finger with a Mohs specialist (if you do not know what Mohs is, you can Goggle it).  It was a much bigger ordeal that even she was expecting and we ended up being at her office for 8 hours.  It required a skin graft because it had almost gone to the bone.  Talk about STRESS!!!!!  These past 10 months of dealing with this have been beyond stressful.  But, I took him back for his first checkup yesterday and the skin graft seems to be doing well and the Dr. was more than pleased.  She changed the bandage and I will take him back next Monday for another check.  It is going to be a process but right now he's on the right track.  Now, folks, if you are NOT aggressive with your own health care and any one that you might be in charge of, you or they may not survive.  I would love for you to see the pictures of this wound and how it worsened over the months.  I would never post such gross pictures but let me assure you that the Dr. said that the cancer was just before going to the bone.  If you have a sore come up and it does not response to treatment within a short time, get to your dermatologist.  I have learned so much through this and just hate that I had no idea this might be a skin cancer.  If I had not asked for Home Health Wound Care to step in, he likely would have lost his finger.  Okay, let me hush! Oh, and did I mention the pain he has endured.

I leave you with one of my favorite verses................

July Prime Purchases

Well, if I have calculated correctly, 2023 is half over.  It's crazy how fast the days are going by. But, obviously not faster than I can shop on Amazon. ~big chuckle~  It's all about convenience folks! I sort of feel badly saying that, but I imagine most of you would agree.

CAPRI  LEGGINGS

I've featured these on a previous post in solid black but they have so many great colors and patterns that I ordered this pattern and they are so comfortable  and cute!  And, the mesh jacket below looks really cute with them with a sleeveless black tunic top underneath.

AMAZON

DKNY  MESH  JACKET

I really like DKNY sports wear and this black mesh jacket is so cute.  It is so thin and being mesh it is not hot at all to me.  And, as I mentioned it looks really cute with the capri leggings shown above.  It comes in white as well.

AMAZON

BROWNIE  PAN WITH  DIVIDERS

I have seen these pans, know a few folks that have them and decided that I needed to get one.  I was told that to make the divider come out perfectly, you need to spray the divider and the pan very well with Baker's Joy or whatever flour/oil spray you use.  Well, I can attest to the fact that it does work very well.  I did my favorite brownie recipe and poured it in the pan, then put the divider in.  I let them cool a while and then slowly removed the grid and it worked beautifully.  I just used a small spatula to remove the delicious perfectly sized brownies.  One recipe of my brownie recipe makes two of these pans. I filled the pan right at half way and no more.  For me, they were the perfect thickness.

AMAZON

KEY  FOB

Okay, did you know that you can replace the outside of your fob?  We certainly did not.  They can get so dirty and ugly looking and Hubby was going to the dealership and just order a new one.  Well, he was talking with someone and they told him that all he needed was to replace the outside and he could find them on Amazon.  And, he did and we both are sporting new fobs now with the same insides as were in the old fobs.  Who knew?  And, the best part is they are only $10!

AMAZON

JERGENS  SELF  TANNER

When I tell you I have tried more self tanners than the law allows, I'm telling the truth.  And, I always come back to this one and have quit trying any other brand, no matter how highly recommended.  I use it about 2-3 times a week in the summer and it gives me just a tad of a tan and I'm very happy with it. And, a little goes a long way and one tube last me pretty much the entire summer.

AMAZON

YELLOW  BOX  FLIP  FLOPS

I love Yellow Box brand as they tend to run narrow and I can usually wear their flip flops.  I wanted a pair of navy and I thought these were just too cute and they are very comfortable.  Of course, I do love the bling on them. They come in 3-4 colors.

AMAZON

NINE  WEST  STRETCH  BRACELETS

I featured some smaller stretch bracelets last month and I now wear these bigger ones with them.  It makes for such a nice look.

AMAZON

LEMI  SHINE  APPLIANCE  CLEANER

This may be a repeat but if you are looking for a really good appliance cleaner then you need to give Lemi-Shine a try.  I use it for both my washing machine, garbage disposal and my dishwasher monthly.

AMAZON

BOSCH  LIGHTWEIGHT  STAND  MIXER

If you've been hanging around here very long then you know that I love to bake.  I use a mixer a whole, whole lot.  I found out about this lightweight Bosch about 10 years ago and just ordered my second one. My other one was just about on it's last leg.  It weighs a mere 8 pounds, takes up such a little bit of space and does a superb job.  I feel like I could be the Bosch poster child for this mixer, I love it that much!  A heavy bulky mixer IS NOT for me.

AMAZON

12" RECHARGEABLE  FAN

This little jewel will be going with us to the state competition of our youngest Granddaughter's All Star softball tournament this next weekend.  There's no heat like Louisiana heat and we are going to be as prepared as possible.  It is rechargeable and will run 5 hours on high speed.  I have a couple of hand fans and we'll likely be using them in addition to this larger fan.  I mean, one has to do what one has to do.

AMAZON

SUN  BLOCKING  UMBRELLA

And, along with our fan, we'll be taking this sun blocking umbrella. I didn't even know there was such.  These are made specifically for blocking the sun and I will sure be using it.  It's a travel size so it works best just covering one person.

AMAZON

NEOPRENE  TOTE  BAG

And, how about this cute tote bag!  It will hold all of our stuff, sunscreen, water, snacks and you name it.  It's made of a washable neoprene and sits up, has inside pockets    I wanted something very light weight where the weight would mainly be from the items inside.  A lot of folks have the neat little 

collapsible wagon that they load everything in and pull to and from the parking lot to the ball field.  We do not have a wagon so we may have to make a couple of trips back and forth to the vehicle to get everything.   It comes in a whole lot of cute patterns.  

AMAZON

BAKERY/CHARCUTERIE  BOXES

I hate to constantly be mentioning my love of baking cookies and my love of finding cute containers to put them in to give them away.  But, it is what it is and I ran across these cute containers the other day and had to have them.  They work so well and are so cute with one my labels and a ribbon tied around them.  And, if you are a fan of charcuterie, they would work really well for those too.

AMAZON

CORDLESS, WATERLESS  DIFFUSER

I wasn't at all sure about this when I ordered it but I diffuse lavender every night (and have for years) in our bedroom.  I "think" it really aids in good sleep.  I got tired of having to add water every night before adding the oil, so when I saw this, it caught my attention.  I mean, I had no clue there was such a thing. Well, it is "all that and a bag of chips."  It was easy to set up and it will run 8 hours so that works for using it all night.  I'm ordering another one for the living area of our home as I feel like it will  work much, much better than burning candles.  I have tried Pura (the plug in fragrance diffusers) and just not impressed after trying for months to like them.  This diffusers has 5 different settings for the strength of the fragrance.  I do not want an overwhelming fragrance, just one that is soft and light.  This diffuser is very sleek, a bit non-descript and there is no overspray because it is waterless.  

AND, there you have it for this month.