Tuesday 4~ October Memories

 October Memories

I have been putting off doing this meme today because we had other things to do to prepare for Hurricane Milton. But now it is evening, and I feel like it will be a good distraction for me to do this rather than continual watching the news and storm updates, which are very stressful.  So here we go:

Welcome to October's first Tuesday 4 kept in memory of Toni Taddeo.
You are always very welcome here and your participation is much appreciated.

1. What memories do you have of Octobers past?
Oh so many memories...starting with when our grandson was born in October 25 years ago, we would go up to Maine to visit him for his birthday, and we'd always go to the Fryeburg Fair in Fryeburg, Maine.

Click HERE for a previous post that will tell all about October memories.

This picture was taken the last time we went there in October for Noah's birthday and to the fair.   This was October of 2013.  The following May our son Matthew died after a 4 year battle with cancer, and our annual October trips up there stopped, But then we started having Noah come down and visit us for his birthday, and he did that for a few years until he graduated high school, and then, well, you know how it is once they graduate, things change.  But we have so many wonderful memories of happier times together.

2. Besides here in New Jersey, some of the coziest neighborhoods I've driven through were in rural Ohio and Pennsylvania. The picture reminds me of those times. Does this photo bring any thoughts to mind for you?

Yes, that house reminds me of this house, which was in a small rural community in Nova, Ohio, which we rented while hubby was going to seminary.  We had some interesting adventures while living there!

You can read more about THIS house and those adventures HERE. 

Our three sons were having a lot of fun playing the the autumn leaves!  (Circa 1979)

3. As weather cools I do enjoy Pumpkin Spice and Pumpkin Latte flavors in my coffee. Do you like flavored coffees or teas? Which are favorites for you?
I am not a huge fan of pumpkin spice flavored tea, but  I will enjoy an occasional cup of Pumpkin Spice tea during this season just because.  I don't drink coffee at all, so no pumpkin flavors there for sure! 

I was actually drinking some pumpkin spice tea and eating a piece of my daughter in law Rose's wonderful pumpkin spice cake, and feeling very thankful!

4.An orchard near me not only sells apples but pies and their famous apple cider donuts in the fall.
What kind of pies, cakes and pastries do you like to eat?

I LOVE apple cider donuts and fresh mulled hot apple cider!  It's not something that you will readily find here in Florida, since we do not have any apple orchards here (boo hoo!), BUT, in a couple of weeks (Lord willin' and the creek don't rise!"), we will actually be in North Georgia in the mountains, and we will go to an apple orchard there and get some fresh apples and hot apple cider and apple cider donuts! That will be one of the highlights of our trip there, so I do hope nothing spoils that!!  And apple pie is my favorite pie.  I will eat pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, and I also love homemade cherry pie (made with the tart cherries that are meant for a real cherry pie...not that sweet canned cherry stuff!) I really don't eat a lot of pies and cakes and pastries anymore, as they just don't agree with me. I try to avoid a lot of sugar, and once you get used to not eating it, it's very hard to eat very much of anything sweet again! So I really try to limit what sweets I eat.  But I've always loved all of the above mentioned pies, and also my mother's homemade coconut cream pie with meringue. Click HERE for THAT story!

May God bless and protect our precious brethren in Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and all impacted areas.   Yes, friends, we are praying and waiting and watching for Hurricane Milton to head our way, but as I've said before, where we live we are not in the high impact zone and we are not evacuating, but we still expect a lot of high winds and possible loss of power. So I may not be able to write again for a little while, but I will definitely try to let you all know how we are one way or another. Your prayers are very much appreciated for all of us down here in  Florida.

"I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you." Joel 2:25

Thank you, Annie, for sharing that verse with us above,  and also for the prayers. God bless you all, and good night for now!

Tuesday 4: The Best!

 

The BEST!


Here is an older Tuesday 4 from Toni Taddeo.  Why not play along with us?

I was having difficulty coming up with good answers, so I decided to ask my hubby these questions to see what he would say.  I found his responses interesting, and they helped me come up with some of my own. So here we go:

1. What was the best thing you have ever bought?

He said: The electric Tea Pot!

Yes! It's so much fun to watch the pot boil!!  Hubby insisted on buying this for me after my numerous occasions of letting the teapot boil dry on the stove.  We tried whistling tea kettles, tried setting a timer...but I hate to tell you how many teapots were ruined on top of the stove by my neglect.  I'd set the full teapot on the stove and turn on the burner, and then I'd get distracted by...well, life! Children, phone calls, laundry, the computer, a good book, a knock at the door...you name it, they were all good excuses...but since he bought me this electric teapot there have been no more incidences of teapots boiling dry because it shuts itself off when it is done boiling.  Now, I must confess I have let the water sit there and get cold again before remembering to pour a cup of tea...but, well, what can I say? 

That's life!

And the electric rice cooker is another miracle invention that hubby discovered when he was home doing the cooking after his early retirement and before I retired.  Bless his heart, he who had never really ever cooked more than hot dogs before decided he would cook supper every night while I was still working. It was the best thing that ever happened in our then 40+ years of marriage! I would come home after a long day at the office and a 45 minute drive to walk in the door and smell the wonderful aromas of supper being ready to eat!! To me, that was just the best thing ever! 

Sadly, once I retired he forgot how to cook.  But in the meantime, he bought this rice cooker because again, you can put the water and rice in the pot, plug it in and turn it on and in about 20 minutes you have perfectly cooked rice! No boiling over, no scorched bottoms...a great invention I must admit!

 2. What was the best book you have ever read?

So I asked my theologian husband this question, and I disqualified the Bible, because, obviously, that is the BEST book anyone could EVER read, so he had to come up with a 2nd choice. I was surprised by his answer of Billy Graham's classic "Angels, God's Secret Agents". 

It truly is a great book, highly recommended. Sadly, we no longer have it on our bookshelf. We purged a lot of books over the years as we made our many moves.   

I also thought of a favorite book or two, but these were from childhood:

I was just sharing these stories with Lily Grace...  (Lily asked me to apologize because she hasn't had any new adventures lately. We've been a bit remiss in going places where she can go and have an adventure, but I've promised her something special soon)

I am sure you all remember this classic "The Little Engine That Could"... I always thought this a great little book to encourage children as well as adults.  Sometimes all we need is for others to believe in us and encourage us to try!!

"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."

And it's always good to hear from our friends and loved ones some words of praise and cheer as we do accomplish our goals in life...something we should also remember to do for others who may be struggling with their load...they may just need a little cheering on their way!

3. What is the best food you've ever eaten?

Hubby had to really think about his answer and be very careful not to insult his wife sitting there beside him waiting for his answer.   He very diplomatically responded with something that we both could agree upon: my mother's coconut cream pie!  And he quickly added that I make it just as good as she did...but he explained that he'd never had a real coconut cream pie until he tasted my mother's, and he's never forgotten it!  This is a link to a post I wrote about her pies with a picture of my attempt at making it just like hers.

4. What was the best movie or TV series you've ever watched?

Hubby's answer was "The Ten Commandments", "El Cid", and "King of Kings".

For me it would have to be "The Sound of Music".  I will never forget watching that movie in the first ever cinema theater in our area. It was so awesome!! I learned every song and thought I could sing them all just like Julie Andrews.  (I was about 15 when it came out).  I used to sing the songs in the shower, and one time when I came out of the shower to go to my room, my parents were sitting in the living room  and had been listening to me sing.  They said, "we didn't know you could sing like that! Maybe we should get you some voice lessons!"   I wasn't sure if I should be insulted or complimented! But I never took the voice lessons at that time. I did have some later as an adult, and I gave it up because every time I'd practice the scales, the dog would start howling.  Besides, my voice kept dropping from soprano to low alto...can't do the Julie Andrews routine at all anymore! LOL. But I do love to sing and make a joyful noise to the Lord. That's what really matters most.


So now you have our answers!  

So what would your answers be? Get blogging and let us know.