SWEATING MY "DONKEY" OFF HODGEPODGE!

     The "Hot & Muggies" are the order of the day this week in the beautiful Granite State. High heat and humidity have moved in for awhile. That's okay though, SWMBO loves it and is very comfortable. She has become very good at walking around the puddles of sweat that used to be me and should she miss one, thankfully she is a very good swimmer. (I know, EWWW! Right?)
     Well, hot and humid or not, today is Wednesday and our friend Joyce Daley has seen fit to publish another Wednesday Hodgepodge. Here we go...

1. Growing up, were you close to your grandparents? Tell us one or two specific things you remember about them.
     Growing up, I never knew my paternal grandparents. They passed away before I was born. I did however live with my maternal grandparents. I was very close to both of them. My grandmother was French Canadian an didn't speak much English so I grew up speaking French. My grandfather was a devoted Red Sox fan and he slept in the front, downstairs room of our house. I often snuck downstairs after bedtime and watched a Red Sox game with him. That was kind of our special thing. 

2. What's an item you were attached to as a child? What happened to it?
      As a child I was attached to my tonsils. Then one day, at the promise of endless ice cream and ginger ale, they were ripped out of my throat. It was a cruel hoax to play on a child. Who could eat or drink when your throat was in such pain? It was pure evil!

3. When you look out your window, do you see the forest or the trees (literally and figuratively)? Explain.
     My beloved SWMBO and I are blessed to live in the idyllic setting of the foothills of the Uncanoonuc Mountains. They are a pair of mountains. Not as grand as the Grand Tetons out west but their name means the same in the language of the indigenous peoples who lived in this area hundred of years ago. Indigenous men seemed to be fixated on women's breasts because there are so many mountains named after them. But I digress...There are plenty of trees on, and around, our not so palatial estate. It makes for some real fine country living.

4. Do you like sour candies? Which of the 'sour' foods listed below would you say is your favorite?
grapefruit, Greek yogurt, tart cherries, lemons, limes, sauerkraut, buttermilk, or kumquats 
Have you ever eaten a kumquat? What's your favorite dish containing one of the sour foods on the list?
     I am not a fan of sour candies. I would say that lime is my favorite of the listed foods. I like key lime pie and I'll occasionally drink lime in an ice cold lager beer on a very hot day on rare occasions. In place of beer I'll drink club soda with a lime wedge instead.
     I have never eaten a kumquat to my knowledge and I would not know a kumquat if I was hit by one.

5. July 1st marked the mid point of 2017. In fifteen words or less, tell us how it's going so far.
     July 1st also marked the 45th trip around the Sun as man and wife for my beloved SWMBO and me. 
     So far this has been a difficult year. SWMBO's recovery from the stem cell transplant is ongoing but at a snails pace. SWMBO, being a type A+ person tries to do more than her body will allow and she pays the price for it and needs a day or two to recover. 
     On a good note, we have been cleared by SWMBO's oncologist to attend church again as long as we avoid people who have colds and other ailments. It does us both a lot of good to be with our church family again.
     So in summary, we are doing okay and making the best of life and handling what comes our way as we always have,...together and in faithful trust in the loving providence of God!

6. Insert your own random thought here.
     This weekend the dreaded Evil Empire (Yankees) visited Fenway Park for a four-game series with my beloved Red Sox. The Yankees have a rookie right fielder named Aaron Judge. He stands 6'7" tall and weighs 270 lbs. He looks like a NFL linebacker! He's a big boy! He has some real skills and he seems to be a good man. His only negative from what I saw this weekend is that he is a Yankee. 
     The series was split at two games each. One of the games is under protest and may have to be played again but it was a good weekend all the same.