HODGEPODGE WEDNESDAY...ALL ABOUT MOM

Well it's Wednesday and Hodepodge time again. Click HERE to join the others who participate.

1.  Share something you appreciate (or something you appreciated as you were growing up) about your mother.  Goodness how could I ever narrow it down to one?  There was soo much I appreciated about my mother, and having spent this last "almost" year without her, I am more aware of that then ever.  I guess maybe I will say that she was always my biggest cheerleader.  She encouraged me in everything I ever did, and was sure I could do anything I set my mind to.  She LOVED to listen to my stories and was always all ears when I had one to tell. She loved to laugh and taught me to find the humor in life and how to let it help you get through the hard times. I could go on and on here but it would only make me weepy, and you did say just "something".

2.  A quote most commonly ascribed to Plato reads "Necessity is the mother of invention."  When did this last play out in your own experience? Guess I take that quote to mean...when you feel you need/want something bad enough, you come up with a way to make it happen.  I am not sure that is exactly what it means, but I am going to go with that.  And for me that would be something really pretty simple.  I had been wanting new cushions for our porch furniture for a couple of years now. They had seen their last days and never had fit the chairs or bench right either.  But to replace them was VERY costly, and we are trying to save as much towards retirement as we can.  Sooo I figured out a way to just cut the sponge cushions down, and then re-covered them myself, buying the outdoor fabric as JoAnnes when it was on sale! I am very please with it.  Does this count? lol

FRESH PAINT ON OUR POTS TO MATCH HELPED TOO

THE SEAT CUSHION FOR THIS BENCH WAS A LITTLE TRICKY AS IT DIDN'T WANT TO BEND WHEN I WAS CLOSING IT UP...BUT LOTS OF PINS (AND ONE SLIGHTLY BLEEDING FINGER, LOL) AND IT GOT IT DONE.

THAT'S ME ON THE RIGHT WITH MY MOM AND SISTER

3.  Share one of the earliest memories you have from childhood.  Well lets see...I couldn't have been more then 4 (if that!) and we lived in Lincoln, Nebraska at the time.  I was looking out the front window of our door and it was snowing.  It was twilight and soo beautiful and I remember wanting soo badly to go outside and play in it.  And yet, young as I was I had such a good feeling of being snug and warm inside with my mom cooking dinner.  Random I know.  We moved to California when I was 4 and honestly it is about the only memory I have of living in Nebraska.

4. When did you last "hit the mother lode?"  What was it?  I guess for me it would be last summer when we had TWO new grandbabies join our family.  Luke in late May, and Vinny in August.  Truly my cup runneth over.

5.  What is/was your favorite dish mom made?  Do you make that dish for your family/friends now that you're all grown up?  Well again, it is hard to pick just one.  My mother was a wonderful, wonderful cook.  But for me it was probably her stuffing.  How I LOVED it.  I could never seem to get enough of it when she made it for Thanksgiving or Christmas.  One year on my 14th birthday I chose a turkey dinner with all the fixings for my dinner (we always go to chose our birthday dinners) just so I could have the stuffing. She let me invite a couple of my best girlfriends too.  Looking back I can't believe she went to all the work of a turkey dinner just for me.  I am soo glad I learned to make this before she passed away.  She talked me through it the first couple of times, but it did take me a while to get it to be as good as hers.  To me, it will always be, "mom's stuffing".

6.  Mother May I was at one time a popular children's game.  It required no equipment or parts to play. What was your favorite childhood game where you could just turn up and play - no gear needed?  Without a doubt it was Hide and Seek.  LOVED that. But I also loved to play Red Rover. Though that was not something a lot of kids seemed to like.  Everyone loved hide and seek.  Guess we always played pretty elaborate games of "house" too.  We didn't have to have "gear" for it, but sometimes we did though.

7.  Which TV mom (past or present) is your favorite and why?  Oh this is easy.  It's Ma from Little House on the Prairie.  I LOVED her.  And for all the obvious reasons.  She just seemed like the perfect mom. Raising her kids, loving them, praying with them, enjoying them.  She'd bake, sew, teach, and guide them through all of life's experiences.  Probably one of my all time favorite shows.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.   My thoughts have been very much these last few days ALL about my mom.  It was last year at this time, ON Mother's Day as a matter of fact, that she had a massive stroke that took her life a short week later.  I miss her of course.  In many ways that never even occurred to me I would. How many times I have thought to myself, "mom will LOVE this story." or "I can't wait to show her this" or "tell her that" or "ask her something" only to remember that I no longer can.  Her presence at BIG events like the birth of my last two grand babies, or Jessica's recent shower, Christmas, or our frequent birthday celebrations is missed HUGELY.  There is just a definite hole there, or a feeling of someone's missing.  And there is of course. I expected that.  But I think it is in the little things in my day to day life where I miss her the most. Her last year was spent living in my home here which meant there are memories of her everywhere I look.  I am glad for that now.  But every time I find myself falling into despair over her loss, I hear her voice.  And she is telling me to "move along" (one of her famous quotes) keep busy, enjoy my life. She knew the Lord and I will see her again, and talk to her again, and maybe even eat her stuffing again. This first Mother's Day without her will no doubt be a hard one.  But I have decided to focus on the fact that I had her for almost 59 years and have a thousand GOOD memories of her to sift through in my mind. She's in a MUCH better place now and I WILL see her again.  Happy Mother's Day mom!