Wednesday Hodgepodge - 7/5/25

Joyce provides the questions, we provide the answers and we link up here to compare notes!

1. Let's compare this May to last May. What's changed? What remains very much the same? 

Essentially things are still the same here - Hubby and I are enjoying being retired and building our lives in what still feels like a new home although we've been here well over 4 years now.

The big change though is that our younger son and his family are now living in the US so the Other Side of the Pond.  Last May saw the beginning of that move when DIL Elizabeth and Grandson Rory left for Vermont in May while my son Michael and Grandson Vinny remained here finalising things before the family were reunited in July.

They had all been living with us since the beginning of May and we were backwards and forwards to their flat preparing it for renting out.  Vinny was only 3 then and although there were good reasons for splitting the family at the time it was hard for him to understand so it was hard for everyone.

But they are now happily settled in their own home in Vermont, both have jobs and the kids are settled in school and Kindergarten.  And of course we had a lovely visit with them at Thanksgiving.

2. What's something you may do this month? 

Finish sorting out the spare bedrooms.  We've been playing musical beds and changing the arrangements - switching a double bed for twin beds for when the family visit us.  The Grandkids are getting older and bigger - they've outgrown the toddler bed we have.  So far we have managed to get rid of the double bed - the council took it away yesterday.  Hopefully by the end of the month we will have bought the twin beds we need and got the rooms straight.

3. Mother's Day is approaching (in the US of A)...in what way(s) are you like your mother? 

I expect my kids would say that I share a lot of my Mother's mannerisms.  

4. Did you have a favourite book as a child? What was it and why was it a favourite. 

I had quite a few favourites:

Little Women,

What Katy Did (and the sequels)

Famous Five

Black Beauty

I've always loved reading.

5. Are you more of a tortoise or a hare? Explain. 

I think I'm a bit of both.  I can procrastinate a lot and move slowly on things - so like a tortoise but when something really needs to get done I can turn into a hare.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

After a long spell of good weather it turned really chilly at the beginning of this week.  I had to put a jumper on yesterday.  We did manage a walk around the lake on Sunday though and spotted another group of ducklings - we counted 13 but it was impossible to get a picture of all of them together they were moving around quite fast.

We also spotted these two ducks which we hadn't seen before - apparently they are Ring necked Teals.