Wednesday Hodgepodge 🏌️‍♀️

 

1. August is National Golf month...

Do you play? Does miniature golf count? 🏌️‍♀️

Do you enjoy following golf? No.

Have you ever been to a professional tournament? No. 

2. Astronaut Jim Lovell of Apollo 13 fame passed away this past Thursday. 

Are you interested in outer space and what's happening today in terms of space exploration? 🪐

Not really - 

 I do remember when John Glenn was the first to orbit the earth and that was a big deal. 

If space travel became common in your lifetime would you go? 

No. 

How do you personally relate to the idea of exploring something vast and mysterious...does the idea excite you, intimidate you, or something else? 

Right now in my life, I’m simply not interested.  It just feels too much to take on at age 71. 

Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." 

3. Describe your communication style in three words. 

Direct, honest, respectful 

4. Do you have a favorite cookbook? 

Oh, that's a tough one! Each one of my cookbooks holds a special place in my heart, as they’ve accompanied me through the many stages of my life. Letting go of even one feels like saying goodbye to a dear friend. I have to confess, my collection has grown a bit out of control, but every single one tells a story. I picked three...

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Mollie played a pivotal role in the development of farm-to-table cuisine and the emergence of new California cuisine. As a prominent chef in the Bay Area, she lived in the Berkeley Hills until recently, when she moved back to her native New York. 

I am not a vegetarian myself, but I do enjoy good vegetarian cooking on occasion  I did spend 12 years, on and off, cooking for a vegetarian family from Sweden when I was their children's nanny. 

My latest cookbook is a treasure I bought a couple of years ago. 

Amazon Review: In this classic Southern cookbook, the “first lady of Southern cooking” (NPR) shares the seasonal recipes from a childhood spent in a small farming community settled by freed slaves. She shows us how to recreate these timeless dishes in our own kitchens—using natural ingredients, embracing the seasons, and cultivating community. With a preface by Judith Jones and foreword by Alice Waters.

A favorite celebrity chef? 

Too many to name but I do like Kristen Tish. 

Do you watch any cooking shows on TV? 

Only the ones available to me on Hulu and Amazon Prime. 

5. As a child did you have any back to school traditions?

Yes - Catching the N-Judah streetcar on Cole St where I lived and riding to Market St for a full day of school shopping with my mom and my sister. We would shop at Macy's, JCPenney's, and the Emporium, and eating lunch at the diner in Woolworth's.   

 If so, did you carry on those same traditions with your own children? 

No, I had three sons, and my boys weren't into shopping with their mother! Anyway, they got new jeans and shirts. They were also easy to please. The boys and I did have to go out to buy school shoes - back then they measured your foot so we were always assured of a good fit.  We always had round table pizza in Menlo Park afterward. 

Do you have any back-to-school traditions you've started on your own? 

After Labor Day, I would go through the clothes the boys could still wear that weekend. I would wash, mend, and sew on buttons, and then iron the new clothes while listening to The Beach Boys music blasting. September and October have the best weather on the peninsula, so it was always hot. It felt like the last hurrah before school started. We ended the day with pizza for dinner.  (okay so we like pizza) 🍕🍕🍕

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

All this talk about school is fitting since tomorrow is the first day of school, and I live right across the street from the bus stop. I'm looking forward to the sound of the school bus and watching the kids as they line up for the bus. It feels like I, too am getting ready for school. In two weeks, I will begin another BSF leader training for this year, and my Bible study year will start on the 10th.  Instead of getting a backpack, I’m cleaning out my dirty old briefcase and buying sticky notes and new pens. I don’t need new clothes. I just need a servant’s heart to guide new women who love the Lord and want to learn.