A 50 lb. Hodgepodge

Here are the questions for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. 

Answer on your own blog, then hop back here tomorrow to add your link to the party. See you there! 

1. Besides Thanksgiving (in the USA) what's one thing you're looking forward to in November? 

My middle son's birthday is the 23rd so I always look forward to celebrating that with him. He will be 43. (Foodie) 

2. Do you like candles? What is your favorite scent? How often do you burn a candle in your home? 

My husband and I enjoy the ambiance of candlelight. In the last couple of years, we had to curb burning candles due to me. 5-6 years ago, I was having some issues breathing and a persistent cough - due to all the fires and the smoke in our area.  I was found to have significant scarring on my lungs. I have never smoked. 

The good news, it seems to have gone away (the breathing difficulties and coughing) the scarring will never go away but my blood oxygen levels are normal. At this time I am on no oxygen (don't need it) and my pulmonologist said there is really nothing they can do until something goes the other way.   

We have switched from toxic scented candles that tend to smoke to using only beeswax candles. The scent we smell is honey and it's 100%  natural. My husband did burn this last week some candles we had - that were not beeswax and I could feel the difference in my chest. So it's 100% beeswax or no candles at all. 

We burn candles every evening - I also use the battery ones as well. 

We order our candles from The Monastery of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco - in Manton, CA. Good price - we buy in bulk.  We get specialties as well as tapers in all sizes. 

https://stjohnsbookstore.com/about-our-monastery-candles/

3. What gadgets did you use today? 

• My phone
• The TV remote
• The garage door opener 
• Alexa 

4.  Okay, you can have fifty pounds of something (anything but money)...what will you choose? Also, since I mentioned it...what were you up to in November 2014? 

50 lbs of good quality meat and chicken would be nice if only I had the freezer space.

Nov 2014 -  Hard Times

Both sons boomeranged back home after 10+ years on their own. They were 31 and 33) and we also had my stepdaughter and her husband (33 and 40) living here - they had moved down from Seattle in Nov 2013, penniless. So we put them in our 34-foot motorhome to the side of our house. 

We thought we had set good boundaries - eventually it turned to where no one was doing their share  - except for my husband and I. Resentment and anger reared up. Stress was high. Money was tight. We were supporting everyone. My sons did pay me a "rent" so that helped with the food and both had low paying jobs.  There was hard feelings that the stepdaughter and her husband laid around and while they paid rent. That caused friction with my husband and I. The son-in-law was always sick with something which got him out of any chores. Plus he had no job, was picky over what jobs he would do or sabotaged the ones he did go out to. It did seem to my sons and I that my husband had a double standard. It was just a terrible time in our marriage. 

To add insult to injury, my FIL was living in Wisconsin with his wife of 10 years - the adult children did not like him, and plotted against him and their own mother who had dementia - they sent him to California - without telling us. He was in a wheelchair and had health issues - and when they finally called us, a couple of days later he had already arrived and we couldn't find him - he was found at the homeless shelter here in Redding after he roamed the streets for two nights in the cold. He had a mild stroke during this time. As it turned out, it was easier for us to get him into a residence, because of his stroke and he was considered, "homeless."  He stayed in the hospital till December of that year and was transferred to a fairly nice care facility. 

I terribly miss this old coot! 

Once again, God provided and 1 year later, God provided again - after his one year California residency he was accepted at the Northern California Veterans Home here in Redding. He thrived there - My husband worked there, I volunteered there and my youngest son worked there. He lived there till he passed in Dec. 2020. 

Fortunately, the rest of them found jobs and places and moved in March and April of 2015. We were thrilled and most importantly, we had our home back. We felt like newlyweds! 

After they all moved out, our good loving relationship was restored and for this, I am grateful. We also enjoyed a beautiful relationship with my father-in-law we lovingly referred to as Pops. 

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, who are called according to His purpose.

5. 'Tis the season...what's something you're feeling especially grateful for today? 

I just said it - I'm grateful for our Family and that even when things were hard, we all made it through - a real testament of the strength of our family. It really could have turned out so wrong. We all learned lessons, acknowledged mistakes and made amends and occasional we’ll even remember back and laugh about it. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I think I have said enough. 

Thanks for dropping in.