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Wednesday, October 11, 2017

A Directionally-Challenged Hodgepodge



Hello, dear friends.  I hope that you are enjoying your week.  Today is going to be a picture-perfect Fall day here in the Northeast.  A long walk and some ball playing with my sidekicks are on the schedule.

If it's Wednesday, it's time for Hodgepodge








1.  On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your sense of direction? 1 = can't find your way out of a paper bag and 10=if I've been there once, I can find it blindfolded ten years later.






I would give myself a big fat zero.  It's not entirely my fault though.  It is genetic.  My parents didn't argue much, but when they did it was usually in the car over directions.  Neither one knew how to read a map.

I could safely say that I spent 8 years out of my childhood in the backseat being lost.





I still manage to get lost even though I have designed this unique GPS system.




When was the last time you looked at/used a map you could hold in your hand.  (phones don't count).





When the Mister and I started dating, he handed me a map to help him navigate.  When he saw that I was holding it upside down, he gave up and pulled over to the side of the road and figured it out.

So, to answer your question, the last time I held a map was 28 years ago. 



Choose one of these directional expressions and tell us why you chose it.  Back East, down south, out west and up north.


Not a clue.
Next question, please.





2.  Did you do more talking than listening yesterday? 
Is that typical?

I did a little of both.


I did some listening to the TV while I was tending to some household chores.





And I barked some orders at my assistants.




Describe yesterday in one word.








3.  Time, money, water-power-resources, opportunity... which one on the list are you most guilty of wasting?




Don't tell the Mister but I would have to say money.

My downfalls:











What might you do to change that? 



This may call for some drastic measures.






4.  Did your family take regular vacations when you were a kid?  




My Dad has always loved to travel.  My Mom - not so much.  We visited the Cape, Lake George, Spring Lake, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Canada, Hawaii, England, and Ireland.




We were only in San Francisco for one night because we were on our way to Honolulu.  Sista and I were preteens at the time. We got in big trouble because we opted to stay in the hotel, order room service, and watch our favorite TV show rather than venture out and see the city with my parents.  Until my dear departed Mother's last breath, she never let us live it down. 





Tell us something you remember about a family road trip from your own childhood.





I remember my first road trip to Camp Tegawitha.  I wore my uniform for the first time.  My mother (the overachiever) washed my white cotton shirt in bleach.  I sneezed for the entire three hours it took to get there.  My parents finally figured it out as we approached the driveway to the camp that I was allergic to bleach. 




5.  If you could grow anything you wanted, what would you grow? 




My legs.


Why?




Need I state the obvious?






6.  Insert your own random thought here.


Last year, my cousin Louise recommended the novel Our Souls At Night to me and I loved it.



Yesterday, while I was flicking through Netflix looking for something to watch while I folded laundry I came across the new movie Our Souls At Night.  It stars my old boyfriend before George, Robert Redford and Jane Fonda.  It's very good, not quite as good as the book, but definitely worth watching.  

Here's the trailer.



Until next time...










doggymom
Preppy Empty Nester
Preppy Empty Nester

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39 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness! You made my day today with lots of smiles and a couple of outright laughs! Your graphics are so fun and you are genius! Amazon is one of my downfalls, too, but it's just so stinkin' easy to just search, find, press "place order" and what fun to have packages delivered to the door! Thanks for the book recommendation.

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  2. I love starting my day out with a laugh and you managed to give me more than a few! (Amazon is my downfall, too...) This is a great start on a rainy morning!

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  3. My mother is the best at directions but I did not get that gene. The man yelled at me the first time he asked me to look at a map for directions and I told him he could do it himself (not in those exact words) from then on and have refused to help him ever since. Ha! Have a great day!

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  4. Katie, I read the book Our Souls At Night on your recommendation, and I too stumbled on the Netflix movie. I agree, the book was better. The author Kent Haruf died not too long ago. Sherri

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  5. We have to be sisters as far as having NO sense of direction Katie...I too, cannot work my way out of cardboard box! You know, I read Our Souls at Night and did a post about this book....I just really didn't care for it....the writing to me was rather choppy and clearly written from a male point of view....however, I want to see the movie...we shall see what the ratings are! Here's hoping!

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  6. I had to chuckle at Here Come the Brides. It was my favorite as well...Bobby Sherman!! swoon. Though now that I am older I think I would pick Jason out of the three Bolt Brothers. And Yes, I am an excellent map reader. I directed Marvin around a big road block just outside of Atlanta and won many kudos from the hubby. Its the little things!:)

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  7. I liked the book too, so will have to look for the movie. I feel like my hubs should know I'm no good with directions, but he keeps trying to 'help' me understand where in the world I am. I am happily oblivious : )

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  9. Your San Francisco story reminds me of my daughter Becca, who did the same thing on a trip to Boston once. But we stayed more than one day, and she did get to see the city.

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  10. You, you, you! You are so funny.

    Was that Dr. Ruth? Is she still alive?

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  11. LOL- I am the polar opposite with directions- if I am there once I am just like a homing pigeon and can find my way back there again....thank God because MyHero can barely find his way home from work...when we first moved into our first house there wa a big "BULLSEYE" (no kidding) painted on the garage door. Hubster says- well, at least I will know not to drive by the first few times I come home. lol

    I just saw that movie on Netflix, too, and thought it was quite good. I am glad to see that MY old boyfriend, Bob, is not all botoxed up and plasticized. It was a cute/kind of bittersweet movie.

    Have a great day, Katie. xo Diana

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  12. Katie,

    What a delightful, humorous approach to this week's hodgepodge questions! In the beginning of our marriage I held the map upside down a lot and couldn't tell which way is which. That was 38 years ago. I have a patient, loving husband who taught me how to master the beast and became a good map reading. My sense of direction is tons better but sometimes I get turned around. It's not as natural to me as it is with DH. He's truly gifted whereas my navigation abilities are a learned behavior. :) Thanks for the smiles and visit this morning!

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  13. You never fail to bring smiles and even chuckles with your Hodgepodge posts. Hubby and I decided a long time ago that our best traveling arrangement is him in the passenger seat with the map and me driving. When reversed I still have to drive and its just safer with one of us driving at a time. Have a great rest of your week.

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  14. Bha ha ha! Love this! Did you know I played Lottie in my High School prucduction of Here Come the Brides!? You are not only beautiful then but beautiful now...and funny, you're such a hoot! And let me tell ya, cutest assistants ever!!

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  15. haha - I had to laugh at all the GPS on the wind shield. I have to say, I hate my GPS - I think it messes up more than helps.
    GIRL - me & Amazon... how do people resist it?

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  16. I use the Waze app for directions and it's great! Try it!

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  17. Those legs...not the long ones...i can't get the image out of my mind!! I have a goos sense of direction - at least that is why I tell my hubby why I am always "on the go"! Glad we don't live close - our shopping habits might cause a problem.....one more week!!

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  18. I can't believe you opted to stay in your hotel on the only night you were in San Francisco, but our middle child would probably have done the same thing :)

    Trust me, long legs aren't what they're cracked up to be. I always wanted to be shorter!

    Kathy (Reflections)

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  19. I could hardly wait to read your answer to #5 as I knew it would be good and it was. Loved it! You always provide a good chuckle!

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  20. When you find out how to grow legs please please tell me! I would be happy with a couple of inches. ��

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  21. I chuckled all the way through your Hodgepodge!! Always a good read! I will look for the book and the movie! Thanks for the tip!

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  22. Love your Hodgepodge days! I could be better with figuring out directions, but I do know how to use a map. I actually would rather have a map in hand than use my phone. I'd like to grow my legs too!
    I'm going "back east" tomorrow. See you soon! 😋

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  23. You are so witty, I would love to spend time with you! The direction thing....lawdy, I just leave it to my bitch (Google, garmin, etc), but when with my sis in OH, she refuses a map. She got us lost last month and it was all I could do to NOT say I told you so....she just points and says, "it's over there, I think we're close". {eye roll}.
    The legs...lol. And I'm guilty the same as you....it's a job just keeping track of the deliveries and intercepting them!

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  24. Before GPS my sista used to say "she navigates by sense of smell". That was last year. GPS and I are now in a love/hate relationship.

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  25. I laughed my way through this entire post. You crack me up! :-) The windshield with 15 GPS devices was hilarious. I related to your story about opting to stay in the hotel room during a trip with your parents to SF. I stayed home from a summer vacation to Victoria Canada the summer after high school graduation, I still regret it! Oh, the teen years.
    xo,
    Karen

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  26. The legs! The legs! Hysterical as usual, Katie. Thanks for giving me some good endorphins from laughing so hard before going to work this morning. Also, I checked out Our Souls at Night. All I could think of was Robert Redford and Jane Fonda in one of my favorite movies, Barefoot in the Park. Interesting to compare them in a movie from 30 or 40 years ago and today.

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  27. I should have know better than sipping coffee while reading your hodgepodge! To many laughs to do that without splattering all over the morning paper (yes, I still read the news the old fashion way) at least some of it. I really lost it when I got to the legs, that was so funny, best laugh I've had in a while! This down south gal is headed up north with map in hand soon. Thanks for the fun..............

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  28. No kidding, I actually started sneezing after reading your bleach story, and then laughed during a sneeze at your leg answer. I think you could be hazardous to my health! Anyway, have a great Thursday. I'm equally late to everyone's Hodgepodge. :-(

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  29. Ahhh, family road trips...I used to sit in the back of our station wagon with a stack of comic books and wait patiently to arrive at Howard Johnson's for my standby grilled cheese sandwich. These days my children travel in luxury SUVs with iPads and movie screens for their kids, and a selection of drive thrus...they don't know how easy they have it now!

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  30. I'm YOUR TEN GAL...............GOOD AT DIRECTIONS!
    AS for family vacations............I remember ONE LAKE TAHOE!!!!!!!
    HAVE FUN WITH THE PUPPIES...........XX

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  31. I can find my way anywhere. I think I can sniff out my destination. I remember a lot of squabbling in the backseat as a child. Maybe that is so why I am good at directions. I couldn't wait to get out of the car. xo Laura

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  32. I can relate to this post on so many levels! Those same three retail devils also get a lot of my $$$. I can read a map, and I have a great sense of direction, but my poor husband can't do either. Everyone in the husband's family has legs for days, and on my side we are all short-changed so to speak. I comfort myself with the fact that Elizabeth Taylor was built the same way...

    We did take vacations -- long road trips which my father, a former teacher, thought were his duty to provide additional education. I have read every roadside historical marker in this country, I think. He also captured for posterity a photo of my little brother and me standing somberly beside each one. You can definitely see how much fun we were having.

    I did not know OUR SOULS AT NIGHT was first a book -- I will try to find it. We watched it the other night and really enjoyed it. Well, all but the end. It was a bit vague. I like things tied up nice and pretty with a bow. God knows hardly anything else is these days.

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  33. Timely post as Mr. LBD and I are returning from an overseas trip and I was just thinking how much nicer he is to travel with than my mother! We are actually in your state, Boston decompressing and overcoming the jet lag. At the lovely Inn on St Botolph Street...perhaps you know it? A residential neighborhood just a few blocks from the city life.

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  34. I can always count on you for some good laughs! I read that book as well so I am looking forward to seeing the movie. How could you go wrong with Robert Redford?! Enjoy the rest of your week!
    Shelley

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  35. You tickled my funny bone today Ms. Clooney.
    As a family of seven, we would take trips that were 3-hours max in the car. However, when school started in the fall, my parents would distribute us to family and friends and then go on a real vacation alone. (Can't say I blamed them.)

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  36. Your graphics are a riot! I LOL all through your post!

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