My friend Kari, at A Grace Full Life, does a series entitled 'What I Kept' on her blog, which I enjoy every month. I thought I'd do my own version here to inject some positivity into my blog. Please enjoy these photos I've saved on my phone as well as other miscellaneous things I've written down or bookmarked.
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| Sunday night at my house is Big Salad Sunday. Every few months, my husband grills a large amount of chicken that we divide up and freeze for our salads. The pictured salad is a Greek one that I made up myself. It contains mixed greens, chicken, roasted chickpeas, kalamata olives, diced cucumber, sliced grape tomatoes, and toasted pine nuts. We top it with feta cheese and croutons. It's amazing, if I say so myself! |
"Aging, real honest-to-God aging, has so much less to do with the physical burden of years than it does with the cumulative weight of experience." Grant Ginder in Honestly, We Meant Well.
(This explains why some days I feel so mentally exhausted)
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| Every few years when I'm in the area, I will drive by my childhood home, which my parents sold in 1991. The last time, I saw this huge playset in my old backyard. The 'treehouse' is taller than the actual house. As a child, I think I would have been too fearful to be up that high. "She is well aware that on the journey toward separation that is life with even the best-loved children, it is all too easy to lose their respect." Andrea Lee in The Children. (My take: adult children are still watching you, even from afar) |
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| My oldest daughter sent me this photo of her kids seeing the ocean for the first time. They went to Virginia Beach in June. I still feel this magic, every time I see the ocean. "When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati because it's always twenty years behind the times" ~ Mark Twain (This just makes me laugh! What does Ally Bean think?) |
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| This photo made my day. I was a Girl Scout leader for 8 years and one of my former scouts sent me this picture of herself in front of the Girl Scout's First Headquarters Museum in Savannah, Georgia. Love that girl! |
Nobody makes me laugh like my spouse, and every great once in a while, he will recreate this SNL skit for me at appropriate moments in our lives. Going through my parents' belongings over the past few months has given us a few of these moments and it's always good to laugh until we cry.
Okay, so that first photo of the Greek chickpea salad immediately made my mouth water because it's got everything I love. I swear to God, you and I have the same taste in food! Kalamata olives (along with other olives) are one of my favorite things to toss in a salad OR just eat them out of the jar. That salad DOES look amazing! Btw, I made a soup last night with chickpeas. It's soup season again! :)
ReplyDeleteLoved the aging quote. And I agree, it is the weight of those extremely challenging experiences that does it.
Isn't it something how seeing your childhood home brings back memories and feelings? It's like a house retains the memories of each person who has ever owned it. As you know, I just recently had that experience with my childhood home.
"When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati because it's always twenty years behind the times" ~ Mark Twain"
LOL! That's a great one!!!
OMG, I didn't know you were a Girl Scout?!? I was a Cub Scout!
Hilarious SNL skit! Isn't it incredible how SNL has been the launching pad for so many amazing actors and actresses? I've enjoyed all the different casts. However, my favorite will always be the "original" cast members! God, how I miss Gilda Radner!
Fun and positive post, my friend! Enjoyed it!
And thank "you" for being such a longtime Bloggin' friend. You are so appreciated and loved!
X
Isn’t Greek food so delicious??? That is by far our favorite salad I make. I made my first chili of the season yesterday. It was pumpkin chili with 3 kinds of beans, ground turkey, and pumpkin with lots of toppings. So yummy!
DeleteI’ve been feeling old lately, for sure. And that childhood home sure holds memories, even though I haven’t lived there in 39 years. Yes, I was both a Girl Scout and a Leader. I have so many fond memories of leading Middle Child’s troop. Maybe someday I’ll do a post if I can find any pictures.
You’re right; SNL original cast was the best. I also loved the Phil Hartman era. So much talent and it’s so funny how they can take the simple and make it hilarious like the sketch I posted. Hope you’re having a good week and I appreciate and love you too!
You know, if it was just a regular salad, I wouldn't have said anything. But you had to have the BIG SALAD.
ReplyDeleteI am a fan of Greek salad! So delicious. The Greeks know what's what when it comes to food, I'll say.
Your childhood backyard is huge! I would have loved a big treehouse although that IS pretty tall.
Lol, I have to say Big Salad so that my husband and daughter don’t complain that it’s the only thing we’re having for dinner. 🤣
DeleteYes, it was a big backyard. We had a corner lot and the left side sloped down to the street. Our much smaller swing set was turned perpendicular to that one and we had a huge pin oak tree where that treehouse is now.
That salad looks so good! I will usually cook chicken in my slow cooker with Italian dressing to use on a salad at least once a week. The first two quotes you posted definitely resonate with me. I will on occasion drive by my childhood home. Not often though. I grew up in Detroit and it's not the best neighborhood anymore! I remember that skit from SNL. Too funny!
ReplyDeleteI like grilled chicken on my salads, but I do cook chicken in the crock pot with white wine when I need cooked chicken to add to casseroles. I'd like to drive by my father's childhood home, but I don't want to get shot! So yes, I understand!
DeleteBig salad Sunday! I believe I need to start a new tradition. Yours looks AMAZING.
ReplyDelete"Cumulative weight of experience." I felt that. 🖤
Your childhood home reminds me so much of mine in Ohio.
Nothing beats seeing the ocean for the first time. I love the photo of your grandchildren.
I love that Mark Twain quote. I can't wait to read Ally's reaction.
That SNL skit would be one my Dad would LOVE. It also reminds me of how my uncle used to make fun of people who were photographed pointing at things. Why don't they just take a picture of what they're pointing at? 🤣🤣
I loved this entire post so much! Thank you for loving mine. 😘❤️
We have really focused on healthy eating over the last few years. I love that our childhood homes resemble each other. I was glad my grandkids got to experience the ocean. We are certainly not close and Lake Erie just isn't the same thing. The vintage SNL skits are great, but I also still crack up at the cheerleader duo every.single.time I watch them. XO
DeleteBig Salad Sunday! I love that, but honestly, I'd love to have Big Salad MTWTFS&Sunday!! That's my kind of meal, minus of course, the disgusting olives. LOL!! I do love everything greek, aside from olives.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun post. Your grandkids seeing the ocean for the first time? I can't imagine! Having grown up going to the beach since day one, it's always been there.
LOL'ing at the Mark Twain quote.
I have the biggest smile on my face after seeing Steve Martin and Bill Murray together; two of my favorites, even though I don't recall seeing this skit before. It's genius and I can see why your honey would bring it up, especially at times when you're cleaning out someone else stuff. ❤️😜
OMG. Something else we have in common, I was a GS leader for about 7 years!! The Coach and I took our girls to see Juliette Gordon Lowe's house about 10 years ago. I love that your former GS thought to text you---very sweet.
We do have small salads most other days. I’ve never understood the olive dislike, but I know you’re not alone. Who doesn’t love their salty goodness? And speaking of salt, I’ve maybe been to the ocean 8 times? I know, shocking!
DeleteMy husband doing that Steve Martin hillbilly accent is hilarious to me. Hilarious, I tell you! There were quite a few things we’ve come across that we had no idea what they were. Straight into the garbage bag!
Awww…how fun to see Lowe’s home. I was Middle Child’s co-leader from 1st through 8th grade. My co-leader was a very funny woman. We were completely different people (I was the crafty one; she was the nature/adventurer). But we had a lot of fun together.
You know we do a Big Salad once or twice a week and your Greek salad looks delicious. Funny, I have to call it a Big Salad to so my husband doesn't complain and feels like he's getting more than just a bunch of veggies. lol
ReplyDeleteIsn't it an odd feeling going by homes that we were connected to in our childhoods? I've gone by my grandparents farm and it just brought me to tears realizing how much I miss them and the fun I had at there.
The picture of your grands seeing the ocean for the first time is just adorable. When we lived in SW Florida there was a bridge to get on to Ft Myers Beach. At the highest point of the bridge you could look out in front of you and there was the gulf as far as you could see. Simply stunning. It's one of my favorite memories.
I miss that era of SNL. Have a great week!!
Lol, yes calling it a BIG salad tricks them! Haha! Aww, that is nice that you’ve been able to drive by your grandparents’ farm. My maternal grandparents had a small farm, but it’s 2.5 hours away and I haven’t been there since 1987. I’d like to see what it looks like now, though it’s no longer a farm, I’m sure. That era of SNL was the best!
DeleteI can't remember not seeing the ocean. It must be extra amazing the first time.
ReplyDeleteNice to see you, Joe.
DeleteThat salad looks so good! I've never roasted chickpeas. I keep saying I'm going to, but I haven't gotten around to it.
ReplyDeleteI love the picture of the kids seeing the ocean for the first time. I never thought about how it would be more memorable if you live in a land-locked state. I don't remember the first time I saw the ocean; some of my earliest memories are of being on the beach.
That's neat that you go by your childhood home sometimes. My sister took her girlfriend by ours during the summer. Our parents just moved out in 2016, so it hasn't been that long. She said the yard is different, but that's all that has changed.
I love roasted chickpeas, but they do not stay crisp. They get soft again if you store them in a container overnight. That always surprises me.
DeleteI guess quite a few of my fellow bloggers have always lived by the ocean. All we have is Lake Erie and it’s a very dirty brown color and not very exciting.
Seeing anything from my childhood is strange because everything seems smaller than it once did.
Love me some chickpeas. . . That salad looks amazing. . .
ReplyDeleteIt is delicious!
DeleteI went up for my 50th HS class reunion this summer, and went past my old house. Oh, my gosh, it was almost unrecognizable; I can't begin to describe the changes they've made to it. I actually knocked on the door, and the new owners (still the folks who bought the house from my dad in '73) actually let us in to look around. Again, virtually unrecognizable. Not all bad, just WAY different. . .
ReplyDeleteWOW!!! That is so nice that they invited you in to look around. And actually surprising that it's the same people since 1973. It must have been a real step back in time for you!
DeleteWhat an aweseome backyard you had. The salad looks so tasty. I make myself the same Cobb salad every day at lunch. BORING. I love a more involved salad, but I rely on restaurants to create those. I've never seen that SNL skit. Given the situation in your mom's house I can only imagine the kind of material youe husband is getting to insert in his version. Thank heavens for humor. Love that your former girl scout is still in touch. Oh wow- what a sweet pic of the grandkids. Terrific view.
ReplyDeleteIt was the perfect backyard for neighborhood kickball games, that's for sure. I love creating new salads on Sunday, though I'm beginning to run out of fresh ideas, even with Pinterest for inspiration. There have been quite a few items in my mom's house that we really didn't know what they were used for. One was a huge metal pole that had arms and legs. The Goodwill store guy thought it was possibly for drying clothes, but I didn't know how the clothes wouldn't slide off since the arm poles bent down.
DeleteThat salad looks good. I have often gone looking at old places I lived, but sometimes it's hard and seems to make me sad. I been by the Girl South place in Savannah many times. Jeff. https://fromarockyhillside.com
ReplyDeleteIt’s definitely sad. The house I lived in for college was demolished.
DeleteNext stop, Cincinnati!
ReplyDeleteLove Mark Twain quote and I love that salad. I think I'll have one for my Sunday dinner.
I haven't been by my family home in years since it's just too painful to see strangers living in what I still think of as my house.
Thanks for sharing that photo of your daughter's kids seeing the ocean for the first time. It gave me a real lift.
The Girl Scout photo was lovely, but as a former Cub Scout I used to consider them as my sworn enemies--or at least as far as my sister was concerned.
And, good God, I actually remember seeing that SNL sketch when it first came on. It's so cool that your husband performs it for you. And I still got plenty of blogging love for you.
Until next time...what the hell is that?!
Feel free to steal my salad recipe, Rob. Yes, it is hard to see other people in your house. I often drive by our last home on the way to a friend’s and it’s disappointing that they are not keeping it up like we did. Because, isn’t it still our house?!?
DeleteMy husband and I also remember seeing the sketch the first time around. Steve Martin was the best! I’m glad you enjoyed the grands checking out that ocean view. I was excited for them.
Cincy Or Bust!
The salad looks amazing! I haven’t made chickpeas in a bit and I have been craving all kinds of salads lately. I think I’ll try your salad soon. Thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteI don’t think I could drive by my childhood home. I would probably be irritated at the changes they made. My best friend sold her house a year ago and I can’t even drive by that house because I don’t want to see new people living in her home. She moved to Georgia and I miss her terribly.
The ocean gets me every time. No matter how many times I see it, it’s still wondrous, and overwhelming, and beautiful all wrapped together. I’m sure the kids loved it!
Hey Theresa! I hope you enjoy the salad. It can definitely be hard to drive by homes that held so many memories. I feel the same way when friends move; it’s hard to see their homes with new peeps living there. Isn’t the ocean so amazing?
DeleteAlly Bean thinks Mark Twain was onto something with that quote. No one has ever called this area progressive, we lean into the past here. Love the photo of your Girl Scout in front of the building.
ReplyDeleteMy husband’s parents grew up around the Cincinnati area for a time and he still has family there. I’ve not experienced it all that much, so I was interested in your take. Wasn’t that sweet of my former scout to think of me?
DeleteI've never revisited my first childhood home as it's a bit off the beaten track. I've looked at it on Street View and now it looks very small by today's standards. I know what Grant Ginder means by the cumulative weight of experience. Sometimes it feels like a bit of a burden. I wouldn't want to go back to the pristine innocence of childhood though.
ReplyDeleteI like to use Street View to revisit places I’ll likely never go again, like my grandparents’ homes or ancestoral places in Europe. Very useful and interesting.
DeleteThe salad looks amazing, except for the cucumbers. I would have to leave those off; but slice some so hubby could put some in his salad. They don't like me. When in the area, I drive by my childhood house also. Actually there are 2 here in town; but my young childhood home is about 50 miles from here, and in recent years, I have driven there to see it. Such fond memories. How cute of your former GS to do the picture. I've been there, though wasn't a GS. Glad you're keeping your sense of humor, it's essential to get through everything you're dealing with.
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Bummer on the cukes! That’s nice that you’ve been able to drive by both of your childhood homes. Yes, I’ve tried to maintain my humor during the process. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteThat salad sounds good. I've been eating a lot of salads over the past year because that's good on a low carb diet.
ReplyDeleteI’ve been doing low carb for about a year as well. I’ve only brought down my A1C by .2 but my doctors seem happy that I’m out of the pre diabetic range now.
DeleteWhat a fun collection. And a great idea. So is the grilled chicken thing. I shared that with Hubs. Super sweet of your former girl scout to send that pic. ~Betsy
ReplyDeleteThe grilled chicken in the freezer is especially nice when there’s four feet of snow on our deck where the grill resides! Sshhhhh…..that scout was one of my faves. I just ‘got’ her.
DeleteOh, yeah. I forgot grilling wasn't a year-round experience for you. And, heehee, your secret is safe with me. It seems clear you were one of her favorites too. :)
DeleteWe really miss grilling in the winter, but have been known to fire up the grill on New Year’s Day as a treat.
DeleteI love Kari's posts and I think it's great that you're doing this, too. Cincinnati may be behind the times, but they do make a mean chili. I could go for some Skyline today!
ReplyDeleteWe love Skyline chili over spaghetti! And it sounds good on a chilly day like today.
DeleteThat a big playhouse! The home I grew up in has been my sister's for many years. They remodeled and repainted so that part of it doesn't look quite the same, but I can still remember most other details inside and out. It was a neat house. She and I have no relationship currently so whenever I drive past now there are too many sad and angry feelings attached.
ReplyDeleteOMG, the SNL skit, sooo funny! Hadn't seen that in forever. It would apply to couple things we found in his parents' house. haha!
That's a great picture of your grands at the ocean!
Well, hello! That’s sad about your sister, but I totally understand because my husband doesn’t speak to two of his sisters and I barely have a relationship with my brother. Yup, sad AND angry feelings, for sure when you see the house. I figured you could relate to that skit and the crap you found!🤣
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