Wednesday Hodgepodge

March 26, 2025

Hey, hey, hey! It's my first Wednesday Hodgepodge since returning to blogging! Yay!

You can join in by visiting Joyce's blog for the weekly questions. It's loads of fun!

1. Spring has officially sprung (in the northern hemisphere anyway)...did she roll in more like a lion or more like a lamb in your neck of the woods? What needs more of your attention in terms of a good spring clean this year-your house or your garden/yard?

Well, March came in a bit on the windy side, and Spring has been slow... but here in Kansas we actually don't do the bulk of our planting until mid-April because the last frost is usually April 20. However, I do put the onions in the ground, and start the ginger sometimes... all depends on what the weather has been like as to what I go ahead and plant.

Since I live in an apartment, I drive a mile over to my son John and daughter-in-law Katelyn's to do gardening. They just got married last October 2023, so Katelyn is all in to learn about gardening -- and I'm so excited!  (My son is a great gardener already 😁). I taught both my boys how to handle a garden, and I was taught by my parents from the age of six. I just spent today over at their house undoing and cleaning up last year's garden area because we're going to do it different this year. I'm 68 and I feel my years now, so I told my son the garden set up needs to meet my needs for comfort and space.

As for Spring cleaning, wellllll... let's just say the apartment building is one block from the Arkansas River, and the past couple years being so dry, the dirt is kicked up a lot by our Kansas winds, so I do vacuum as needed. Other than that, the apartment is so small that it takes me almost no time to clean, which is not often necessary.

2. What's put a spring in your step lately?

That warmer temperatures have been so much more enjoyable to me after the awful cold of our winter. I don't do winter well at all. It used to not bother me, but as I said above, I'm 68. My bones sure do feel the frigid cold nowadays. Bleah.

3. When you were a kid, what was the best snack to find in your lunchbox? If you didn't do the lunchbox thing, tell us what was your favorite after school snack.

As a child in the 1960s, my mama made my brother and I come home for lunch. She said she could feed us on less money than paying for school lunches or sending a lunchbox. I think we were only two of three kids in the whole elementary school who didn't eat lunch AT school. We ate a normal small lunch at home, I don't really remember what exactly. We didn't normally get after school snacks. But on occasion mama would make us each one piece of cinnamon-sugar toast. Best after school snack ever!

4. In what area of your life are you planting seeds? I'm a Christian, so I'm always planting "seeds." I have an unsaved child, and four unsaved grandchildren (grandson almost 24, granddaughter almost 21, granddaughter 16, and grandson almost 7). The three oldest grandkids used to go to church with me and their mom before their dad died at age 34 in 2013. I led their mom to Christ just six month before my son (her husband) was killed in the industrial accident (my other son also worked there and was feet away when it happened). After that, I could not get any of them to go to church with me. But just this past Christmas, the two girls asked their mom for Bibles, so God is indeed working on them. The 7 year old (he is the son of my other son) is getting *some* Bible teaching at his elementary school and has asked to go to church with me. Allelujah! I just continue to pray for the seeds of salvation to be planted in the hearts of all of my family.

As for other seeds, our church is a church-planting church, so we are all planting seeds in other cities of our state... so far we've planted in thirteen cities. We have a vision and we are continually working for God's Kingdom. Our original church saying is "Love God, Grow Up, Serve All." And now we've added "Live Sent," because:

"The purpose of every local church is to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus. This call extends to all believers in all the earth for all time until Jesus returns. ... The desire of every Christian should be to spread the good news of Jesus to the ends of the earth."

5. Why do you live where you do? Would you consider living somewhere else? Why or why not? I live in the same city where I was born and raised. I have never lived anywhere other than Kansas. I have, however, had short stints in other cities in Kansas. Jerry and I got married and lived for a few years in Dodge City (I had moved there to start a new life after my divorce from my first husband). Our jobs both ended within the same month, so we then lived in Wichita for a couple years, mostly so I could help my stepmom with my dad when he had his first stroke. We hated it there. When my dad was better, we moved to Newton and lived there for 15 years. After my dad and stepmom both died 6 months apart in 2012, we decided there was nothing to keep us there, so we moved back to Hutchinson in 2013, about seven months before my eldest son died. Jerry is now in a nursing home (permanently) and I'm still in the apartment. As my blog says, I'm "always a Kansas girl." I truly love it here. Jerry and I thought at one time early in our marriage we might move to Montana, but for several reasons, we're both glad we didn't.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

How about I give you a random photo with some background? I asked for family portraits in 2006 and got my wish. I won't post the full photo set, just me and Jerry. The heart neacklace I'm wearing was a gift from my two sons when they were in elementary school.

We're 19 years older now, my hair is shorter, his hair is the same. Haha! Our 30th anniversary is coming up this next Sunday, March 30. It took him two years to talk me into going out with him; I didn't know if I wanted anything to do with a man after my divorce in 1990. Eventually I overcame my doubts and here we are in this life together. We were married by Judge Daniel Love in Dodge City. Jerry has always treated me like a queen. We were best-friends before we married and still are to this day.

Well, that's it for now. I enjoyed doing this... I hope you enjoyed learning a few things about me. May you all be blessed with God's goodness and care.

Til next time,

Diana 🌻