Currently Hodgepodging ~ November 4, 2026

Hi friends!  Linking up with some of my favorites, Joyce and Amy, today with Hodgepodge and Currently!

 1. Our  November Hodgepodges always include a question related to gratitude. What is one small thing you're grateful for today? 

I am grateful for time with my oldest daughter on Monday.  I drove 10 hours round trip to see her for about 3 hours.  I had not seen her in 3 months and won't see her again until Christmas.  It was worth it to spend some time with her.  

2. Chrysanthemums-pansies-burning bush-ornamental cabbage-camellias...your favorite in an autumn garden? Would we find any of these in your yard/garden this year? 

They are all so pretty!  I don't have any yet, but I have thought about buying some pansies to put in a pot on my patio.

3. If you could clear out or organize one physical space or mental habit before the year ends, what would it be?

I really want to spend some time in my garage going through a few more bins that I haven't gotten to since moving in the spring.  I spent some time getting settled and then it got too hot.  Soon it will be too cold, so I hope to do a little organizing soon!

4. Brussel sprouts...love 'em or no thank you? If you said love 'em how do you like them prepared? 

I didn't eat brussel sprouts until a few years ago. I like them if they are roasted and better yet, if they are cooked with bacon or a balsamic glaze.

5. It's reassuring to know that_this world isn't all there is and my eternal home will be in Heaven.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

No-vember – Saying “no” to

I am saying no to some extra things I have had on my calendar lately.  Some of these I enjoy, but just need to pull back on some things.  I am really trying to protect myself as we enter into this holiday season where it is "couple" emphasis.  I don't recommend becoming single in your 50's.  Having a birthday next week has me a little depressed.

Thanking for

I am so thankful for a new place to live this year.  I am excited to decorate for Christmas this year.  

Eating/Drinking

I rarely cook, but I do eat!  I keep so much cooked meat in my freezer, I always have something to pull out to eat.  I ate a Mediterranean chicken bowl from a local restaurant Monday.  Tuesday, I had I had a big breakfast and lunch with dessert, so I didn't eat dinner. Today I am going to lunch with a friend, so I probably won't eat much tonight.  I tend to eat most of my food at breakfast and lunch.

My new holiday drink of choice is the Coke Zero Creamy Vanilla.  I really have been enjoying these!

Cozying up to (could be literal or figurative)

For a single girl who's not dating, I cozy up to a blanket!

Watching/Reading

I am beginning to watch some Christmas movies!  I also have a few shows & movies I want to watch.  Maybe as my schedule slows down, I will have a little more time to watch tv.

Thanks for reading and have a good day!

Hello Monday/Life Lately ~ November 2, 2026

Welcome November, my favorite month!  So happy to see you! Today I am doing a little bit of life lately for my Hello Monday.  Somehow, life has felt busy, so much that I haven't been blogging as much the past few weeks it seems.  I really aim to blog several days a week, but as much as I love this blog community, I give myself much grace when I don't.  So today's post has a few things from my weekend and the past few weeks.

What better way to start November 1st than by watching a cheesy Christmas movie?  After waking up super early Sunday due to the time change, I watched a Christmas movie in bed.  This is one from the Great American Christmas channel.  Since it was raining outside, I walked on my walking pad for part of the movie.

Saturday evening, I went trick or treating with 8 of my greats.  So many homes had candy in a bucket by their doors.  I thought this was a creative set up in someone's driveway!  There were a few homes that had inflatables and other decorations, but weren't home and left no candy.  And some of these people had lights on but didn't come to the door. It was interesting to observe.

My niece made these yummy pretzels with caramel, apples and chocolate drizzle.

I met a friend for a late breakfast Saturday and sat in the "Elvis" section of the restaurant, which is in an old home.  

One of my walks last week, the fog was so thick that morning but pretty to see while walking.

This was a pretty sunrise another morning!

I tasted iced coffee a few weeks ago and it had this creamer in it.  I am not a coffee drinker, but I really enjoyed this drink so much that I bought this creamer.  

Friday night, I was downtown for an open house for my daughter's office.  It was so nice to see her office and meet her team.  Everyone was dressed up for Halloween, they had great food/drinks and it was a fun atmosphere.  Wild story, I actually graduated from high school with the guy that is my daughter's boss.  I don't think I had seen him in 38 years until Friday night.  

Before the event, I walked around downtown Memphis and my sister met me.  The last Friday night of each month, stores and bars stay open late with specials.  They call it South Main Trolley Night because it is on Main Street where the trolleys run. One of the sights is the National Civil Rights Museum.

The wreath you see in the distance is on the balcony where MLK was shot in Memphis.

After leaving downtown, I stopped by the hospital afterwards for a short visit with Jen and her son.  

A few other random life lately photos.....

I organized my fall clothes and have eliminated a few pieces.  It literally was just a few pieces, but I will probably get rid of a few other things as I start wearing fall clothes more and see what else is out there.  It felt so good to pull out all my pants, including jeans and leggings and take inventory of what I have.  I have pants in several sizes.  Does anyone else have or keep a variety of sizes??  

Last Sunday, we had a charcuterie board for an event at church.  A caterer was hired for this one and it was such a pretty, full table display!

Y'all know from time to time here I talk about my love for brisket.  I thought this was great that I saw at a BBQ festival!

Y'all also know my love of dancing!  I went line dancing a few weeks ago and met up with Kendra and one of her friends.  It was a fun night and I hope to go back soon!

Looking forward to a new week and hope your Monday goes well!

Hodgepodge ~ October 28, 2026

 Good morning blog friends.  I hope everyone is having a good week out there.  Thank you Joyce for hosting each week for Hodgepodge.

1. What most recently gave you goose bumps? 

I took dinner to a friend of mine Monday night whose father passed away a few weeks ago.  When she was sharing some stories with me, I had goose bumps.  It was a sweet time as we talked a lot about grief.  Grief is a recurring theme in my life and I am actually attending a grief event this week on navigating the holidays.

2. What does Halloween look like in your home and/or neighborhood these days? Do you participate? 

When my kids were little, I loved walking our neighborhood with the girls. For a few years, we would sit on our front porch and give out candy and have a fire in the fire pit.  Halloween was always the night I made the first pot of chili for the season.  I heard there really aren't trick or treaters in my current apartment complex.  I am sure most go to the neighborhoods nearby.  This year, I will probably go to my niece's house to see my kiddos.

3. Pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, poppy, chia...your favorite seed on the list? What's something you like to make/eat that calls for one of these seeds in the recipe? 

I do love a poppy seed chicken dish, but haven't had it in so long.  Maybe I can put that on my winter list to cook!  I use chia seeds in my smoothies, so I always keep those on hand.

4. What's the most (or one of the most) 'fall photos' you've ever taken? Share it here. Just one. 

I remember the first fall in my new house at this time & I was so excited to have this fall set-up.  It was my first fall living back in the USA and I had a variety of pumpkins, mums and a bale of hay. I loved sitting outside in our little cul-de-sac.

5. Somehow we're rolling in to November next week. If your October were a chapter in a book, what would the title of this chapter be? 

Birthdays Richmond Rethinking

I spent time celebrating birthdays this month & I spent 5 days in Richmond with family. I also have been rethinking of how to spend my time going forward with friends and activities.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

In a random series of events, my daughter and I met a friend at a Jewish BBQ festival Sunday afternoon for about an hour and met the mayor of Memphis while we were there and we all got a picture.  It was a different afternoon for us, but we had fun!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Friday Favorites ~ October 23, 2026

 Good Friday morning!  I think I am glad it is the weekend.  At least a little less work this weekend to do, right?

Monday after a few hours in the office, I drove to pick up my great nephew for his birthday outing.  Today he turns 10 years old!  This guy made me a great aunt and I treasure him.  He calls me his grandmother and it just melts me.  He is only close with one of his grandmothers (my sister) so I am like his other grandmother.  He has had quite the year as he had a cochlear implant earlier this year.  I am so proud of how brave he is and what he lives with each day.  We had Mexican food and then Lego shopping!

Later that afternoon, I met my old friend from work for frozen yogurt and a diet coke from McDonalds!

I early voted!

Then I joined two women I use to go to church with for a walk at our main park in the city.  We walked 4 miles & it felt nice after eating Mexican and yogurt earlier.

Tuesday was work & then I cooked dinner for Brook, Wade and I.  It was a simple menu of grilled chicken (using my bourbon marinade I bought in Louisville this summer), roasted potatoes and salad.  I took a walk after dinner then joined them to watch Dancing with the Stars.  The dedications to all the mommas made me teary.

Wednesday I worked at home and then went to sub for a few hours.  I sub from time to time, so technically, this is my 4th part time job, ha!  I piece several jobs together to make ends meet, while stilling have some flexibility with my schedule.  There are definitely pros and cons to this.  The pro is my flexible schedule.  The cons are no benefits, no paid time off and my brain stays tired trying to sort through the different roles.  But this is part of the life I didn't want, but have to keep going forward.  

Wednesday night was the season home opener game of the Memphis Grizzlies, our NBA team.  They played the Utah Jazz.  My favorite Grizzlies player was traded to that team earlier this year so I wanted to go see him play.  It being the season opener made it such a fun environment.  I picked up Wade & we met up with Brook downtown after she got off work.  I had a friend meet me down there too so it was a fun night and the Grizzlies won!

Hey Jaren Jackson Jr.

My Thursday was busy working a few hours as a sub and then I went to my regular job and got home at 8.  I am tired.  Do I stay this tired as I get older and older???

Y'all enjoy your people, football and fall weather this weekend!

Hodgepodge ~ October 21, 2026

 Hi friends!  Linking up with Joyce today for this week's fun Hodgepodge questions.

1. This week's Hodgepodge lands on 'Back To The Future Day'. October 21, 2015 was the date the movie characters (Marty McFly, Doc, and Jennifer Parker) traveled to in the future in the 1989 film Back To The Future Part 2. 

Did you see the movie? Tell us a something about what was happening in your life in the fall of 2015. 

Oh, I loved this movie!  Here are some pictures from October 2015.  I went down a picture trail and found a lot :).  It happened to be a good travel month for me.  I was living in Colombia at the time, but flew to New York City to meet up with my mom, sister and sister-in-law for a girls trip.

I also went on a trip with my family to Armenia, Colombia, which is in the coffee region.  We were with the team we worked with while living in Colombia and took a retreat there.  It was so cool to stay on a coffee plantation and take a tour of how Colombian coffee is made from watching them actually pick the beans to tasting their coffee!

We went horseback riding and this area was known for their wax palm trees.  

We went to a restaurant that is known for their trout.  It was served on a patacones.  I specifically remember when I ordered this in Spanish to ask for the fish to be served without the head!

The girls also went zip lining.  It was quite the experience!

On another Back to the Future note, I went to see some of the cast last year on the 40th Anniversary of the original movie.  I went mainly to see Huey Lewis, who had a brief part in the movie and sang the theme song.  I was also a big fan of Michael J. Fox in the 80's because I loved the TV show, Family Ties.  Michael J. Fox was on a panel at this event, so I was able to see him, which was really cool.  This was a really fun day & another trip I did on my own in New Orleans.

2. Which -ber month is your favorite? (September, October, November, December). Explain why. 

November is my favorite month of the year.  Here are my top 5 reasons in no particular order:

The weather is cooler.

There is an emphasis on what we are thankful for in life.

People decorate for Christmas and begin the holiday spirit.

Black Friday/ week of sales!

It is my birthday month!

3. Red, yellow, orange, bronze...your favorite fall color to wear? To eat? To see in nature? 

I like to wear red or bronze color clothing.

I like to eat most foods these colors!

The red and yellow leaves really stick out to me as such beauty.

4. What do you miss most about being 20? 

I miss the easier schedule because I was in college then.  I miss having most of life in front of me.  I would probably do a few things different....study something else, eat healthier, wear sunscreen and spend more time with my grandparents.

5. We're roughly three quarters of the way through the year. What's one goal, habit, or mindset you want to purposely carry into the final weeks of the year? Elaborate. 

I want to carry the goal of keeping up walking most days and a mindset of being okay with being alone.  

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Happy Wednesday!

Fashion Files ~ October 20, 2026

 Good morning!  I am joining again with Fashion Files with a short post today.

I wore a new dress to church Sunday that I purchased from the most recent Amazon Prime Days.  It is comfy, lightweight and has pockets....a perfect transition dress for the season!

This is a lightweight long sleeve shirt that comes in so many colors and looks nice to dress up or down.

I went shopping with Brook Sunday afternoon for her birthday and it was fun to go into stores and see what the fall trends are.  It inspired me to look for some things online or see what a TJ Maxx/Marshalls has that is similar.  I did find these 2 sweaters on sale at Altar'd State that I bought.  I will style mine a little different though, ha!

Tie front sweater

Pullover Sweater

That's all for today!