10 on the 10th - March 2024

 

Thank you, Joanne, for the reminder that it's time for 10 on the 10th with Marsha over at Marsha in the Middle.  Here we go with 10 of my favorite green things.

1.  Any countryside scene in England.  This one is from Kettlewell in the Yorkshire Dales, my favorite place in the world.

2.  The beauty of our home state, Washington.  There's a reason it's called the Evergreen State.

3.  Our Christmas Tree - this one is from 2014, our first Christmas in Washington.

4.  Other touches of green at Christmas - my Christmas group did a green theme for Christmas in July one year and it was fun to see how many green things I found from a "green" and "Christmas" web search.  Here are just a few.

5.  Ireland - always associated with green and a place I would love to visit.

6.  Holly - more Christmas greenery - I took this photo through the fence at Chester Cathedral.

7.  4-H - Sophia was a member when we lived in Rhode Island.  She cared for several leased horses during our time there (not all at the same time, we had to make changes when one was sold) for her Horse Project, competed in the 4-H horse shows, and turned her passion into a lifelong learning experience.

8.  Whole Foods, my favorite grocery store - it's a bit of trek which is probably a good thing, it would break the bank to shop there every week!

9.  Starbucks - had to include my favorite coffee spot as well.

10.  It was really fun to go back through my photos to find green things and I loved Sophia in this outfit from Christmas 1998.

10 on the 10th - September 2023

 

Joining Marsha over at Marsha in the Middle for this month's 10 on the 10th - all things related to September or nine.

1.  Favorite nine-letter word - that's a tough one.  I had to Google nine-letter words to see if any looked like they could be a favorite.  I chose checkmark.  I know, lame, huh?  However, I love to organize and there is no better way to organize than to have lists.  What do you do with something on your list when it is complete?  Check it off.  I also love the expression "check, check, check" when something is accomplished or enjoyed or just ticked off your list.

2.  A song - I wanted to say September by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons but when I went to post the video, I realized it was DECEMBER, not September.  Oh, dear, don't they say the memory is the first to go!  So, I'll have to fall back on Earth, Wind, and Fire, it really is an awesome song.

3.  A celebration - this guy has a birthday!  He may not be famous to all of you but he's number one in my book.

4.  Favorite pirate - In my younger years, and even as a mom watching Disney with my daughter, Peter Ustinov's Blackbeard's Ghost has to be the favorite.

Of course, I'd be crazy if I didn't admit that Jack Sparrow ranks pretty high up on my list, too!

5.  Pet Peeve - I guess it would be that the stores skip right over the fall holidays and move onto Christmas.  Now, I'm a diehard Christmas lover but I love the leaves and pumpkins of fall and I hate to see them squashed into a corner while Christmas is all over the store.

6.  Stupid Question - I couldn't think of one so I turned to the Internet for help and came across this - https://icebreakerideas.com/stupid-questions-to-ask/ - oh my goodness, I am crying laughing at some of the crazy questions on the list!  Here's a sample - Why is drowsiness listed as a side-effect for sleeping pills?

7.  A memory - That would have to be the birthday trip we took for Vic's 50th to the Williamsburg Winery when we lived in Virginia.  The property is beautiful, the inn stunning, and it was just a delightful weekend.  We started off with lunch at the tavern, checked into our room "Gascony", had a tour and wine tasting, headed back to our room for a nap, and then a delicious dinner in the inn's restaurant.  The following morning, we had a continental breakfast and a drive through the vineyards on our way home.  It was really special.

8.  A celebrity born in September - Colin Firth, born on September 10.

9.  A memory with my grandparents - Both of my grandfathers were gone when I was growing up, so I had only Grandma Lillian on my Dad's side, and Ninny (her name was Elizabeth but we always called her Ninny) on my Mum's side.  Ninny lived in a small ground floor flat that was unbearably cold in every room except the lounge so that's where we spent our time when we visited her.  My most vivid memory is Sunday dinner (I would have been about five because it was before my sister was born) and Dad wasn't around (he traveled a lot for work so Mum and I would often head to England from wherever we were to spend time with her family there) so it was just Mum and me.

Ninny had one of those dining room tables that had leaves that folded down on each side, leaving just a narrow section and on either side was a dining room chair.  Ninny would have pulled up one of the leaves, and moved the armchair over so I could sit at the table on the arm of the chair while she and Mum sat in the dining chairs.  Sunday dinner was lamb with mint sauce, roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and gravy.  I can remember it like it was yesterday.  Thinking back on my grandmother makes me wish that I'd lived the kind of life where you grow up around your extended family but then, traveling around as we did with Dad's military career meant we had a lot of amazing experiences we would not have had if we'd stayed around extended family.

10.  Nine pieces - I was really stumped by this one but when I read Joanne's post over at Slices of Life, it came right to me.  A table and eight chairs = nine and we finally completed the kitchen and dining room model in our retirement home and moved the new dining room table and chairs to where they belong.  There are only seven pieces pictured below - we added two more chairs.

And that's a wrap for 10 on the 10th!

10 on the 10th May 2021

 

It's a two post day as it's not only Hello Monday but time for 10 on the 10th.

May's topic is 10 Things You Hate to Do and I think Leslie's graphic has most of mine.

1. Cleaning the Oven - ugh, even with the self-cleaning function, it's still a chore.

2.  Exercise - let's face it, I'm just lazy so spending 30 minutes getting all sweaty is high on my list of things I hate list.  

3.  Drinking Water - that ranks up there with exercise, and I've tried everything to make it more palatable.  Nothing helps.

4.  Ironing - don't get me started.  Mum was an amazing ironer and I think I have a complex that nothing I iron will ever look as good as she could make it.  That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

5.  Clean house in general - there are those who love to clean and those who would love to have a cleaning lady.  I'm definitely in the latter category.  Daisy, my iRobot vacuum, has made my life a lot easier and I'm going to add her cousin, the iMop or whatever it's called, soon.  Now if they would just invent an iDuster!

6.  Cooking for One - SO boring!  Soup, sandwiches, takeaways, and frozen dinners are my elements of meal planning right now - not healthy, mostly not satisfying, can't wait for Vic to be home so I can cook for two.

7.  Most Reality TV - just not my cup of tea at all, but I don't want to offend anyone so I'll leave it at that.

8.  Gardening - no interest, no talent, but I love to admire the work of others.

9.  Poor Customer Service - how difficult is it to be helpful and polite?  A lot of salespeople act like you're trying to take a dollar right out of THEIR pockets when little do they realize that by making the slightest extra effort, they will retain a customer who will come back again and again.

10.  And to end on a humorous note - LIVER!  Yeuch.

10 on the 10th April 2021

One day late but here we go...joining Leslie over at Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After for this month's Q &A all about money.

10 QUESTIONS ABOUT MONEY

first job

What was your first job?  How old were you when you started working?  I was seventeen when I first started working as a cashier at our local supermarket.  Mum and I were out shopping and she saw the Help Wanted sign and encouraged me to apply.  It was Friday night and all day Saturday which worked great with my college schedule, we were paid in cash (with an earnings slip) in an envelope, and I loved working there.  There was a group of us who were hired at the same time - one went to the meat counter, one to the cheese counter, one to fruit & veg, and I was a cashier.  I used to love my customers, they were so sweet, and I always had a cheery greeting for them.  One lady tried to tip me one day but I told her thank you but I wasn't allowed to accept.  We had a great canteen where we would eat our lunch on Saturdays; the canteen staff would shop in the supermarket in the morning for the food they were preparing, I remember the most amazing cheese and onion sandwiches.  When the store closed, we had an hour left to work, stocking shelves.  We sometimes ran the box cutter a little too forcefully along the seam of the box when we were opening potato chips and we had to take the damaged items to the warehouse.  The damaged package was always a little emptier than it was when we first broke into it!

BEST JOB/WORST JOB

Tell us about the best job you’ve ever had.  And the worst.  Best job is at my current workplace but it was in 2016 before I moved with Vic back to Virginia.  I worked for the Executive Director as his Executive Assistant and in five short months, we built an amazing working relationship.  He was the nicest man and so complimentary of the work I did for him.  I loved that I grew to anticipate what he needed for a meeting or an upcoming visit, he never had to ask, everything was always ready for him.  My worst job was as a cashier in a toy store at the mall.  It was the holiday season and I stood on my feet ALL DAY and then the store manager expected us to clean the store.  I walked out and never went back.

SAVING MONEY

Are you a saver or a spender?  What about your significant other?  I used to be a spender, a make a dollar and spend five spender which had disastrous results.  My husband is a saver, he was a cash-only man when I first him.  It has taken some work to get us on the same page.  How do you save money?  Do you save change?  Christmas Club or vacation accounts?  Time-share?  I use the "every dollar has a name" type of budget and I'm the Queen of Excel Spreadsheets.  Right now I have the family budget where every dollar is allocated to a variety of categories including Household (mortgage, utilities, maintenance, etc.), Insurance, Groceries, Entertainment, and a host of Savings accounts for things like Christmas, Travel, and Major Purchases.  I use our credit cards that give reward points - Amazon.com or airline miles - but pay them off each month.  I save the change that I pull out of pockets in the laundry room and I take it to a change machine to cash it in.

MAKIN’ DA MONEY

Have you ever played the stock market?  Do you play the lottery?  Ever gambled?  Ever won big?  No to the stock market.  We play the lottery at Christmas if you count a couple of scratch-off cards in everyone's stockings.  I went to Lake Tahoe and gambled once but there are so many other things I can do with my money that gambling it away was of no interest to me.  No, I've never won big.  Is there anything you collect or save thinking it might be valuable some day?  Not really, I have a few collectibles but only because I enjoy them, not because I think there might a return one day. 

SPENDIN’ dat money

What is your favorite way to splurge?  What do you dislike spending money on most?  A massage would be my favorite splurge, a weekend away at a spa would be even better.  I dislike spending money on things like insurance and the dentist.

Who pays the bills?  Who does the taxes?  Do you file early or last minute?  I'm the CFO of our family.  Vic has always been gone a lot - deployments, travel, now an unaccompanied assignment so for continuity, I started handling the finances and never stopped.  He's perfectly ok with that.

FRUGAL OR SPENDTHRIFT

Name brands or generic groceries?  Favorite stores to shop?  Have you used grocery pick up?  Delivery? Coupons?  Name brand for the most part, I'm a bit of a grocery store snob.  I love Whole Foods and our local gourmet grocery store.  I've never used delivery although I did do grocery store pick up at the height of the pandemic.  I coupon when I remember to take them but we don't buy a lot of processed food so most of them are useless.  Do you shop thrift stores and yard sales?  Ever used Poshmark or eBay?  I can't really say I shop at thrift stores, I've been in to a few for odd sort of things (looking for something to remake into a costume for a school event, for example).  I don't go to yard sales, just not my thing.  I haven't used Poshmark but I've bought and sold a few things on Ebay.

10 on the 10th March 2021

 

It's also the 10th and time for 10 on the 10th, this month 10 Things You Love About Spring.  There aren't any questions but Leslie did suggest that we could look back to last year's questions if we wanted some prompts.  I didn't participate last year so they are all new to me.

1.  How did you celebrate spring break/Easter as a child?

We always had a Cadbury's Easter egg, for years it was on top of a mug with an animal on the front so after a few years, my sister and I had quite a collection.  When we lived in Belgium, spring heralded the time to bring out our caravan from winter storage and move it up to the beach.  We have wonderful memories of the weekends we spent there.

2.  Do you spring clean?

Honestly, no.  I work full-time so I pick up and clean as I go.  One room a day when I'm really organized, more on the weekends if I get behind.  We don't have pets or children at home so mess is minimal.

3.  What's spring weather like where you live?

In the Pacific Northwest, it's a combination of sunny days and rainy days.  It's my kind of weather, tea-drinking weather, and the rain makes everything so green.  After all, we're the Evergreen State!

4.  How green is your thumb?

What's the farthest color away from green...that's me.  No gardening skill at all, don't really enjoy it although I love to admire the work of other gardeners.

5.  AC on or windows open?

AC on mostly but it's not really needed here apart from a few weeks in August.  The windows in the main part of the house are either large picture windows or French doors, not really conducive to leaving open.

6.  How do you decorate for spring/Easter/Passover?

I decorate for Easter and that post will be coming up soon.

7.  How do you get bathing suit/shorts/warm weather ready?

I try to lose a few pounds but I haven't been very successful lately.  It's been many years since I've worn a bathing suit - I'm not really a tropical or warm weather person so my warm weather garb usually consists of capris and a nice T-shirt.

8.  Is your closet arranged with just the current season's clothes?

No, although I tend to cycle things around on the rack, moving warm weather clothes to the end when spring comes.

9.  What's your go-to spring uniform?

Work wear is pretty standard - dress pants, top, cardigan although I lighten up the top and cardigan as the weather warms up.  At home, I swap my fleece robe for a cotton dress.

10.  What outdoor activities do you enjoy in the summer?

We're not hikers or campers or really outdoorsy people but we do enjoy going on a field trip to somewhere local.  We have several National Parks close to us as well as a lot of quaint little towns.  We love any kind of historic site.  Spring is also the start of tulip season here so a trip to the Tulip Festival with a stop for lunch is always fun.

Tulip Festival 2019 (sadly cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID but hopefully back on track in 2022)

We also enjoyed a weekend in the Bavarian town of Leavenworth for the annual Maifest.

How the dancers criss-crossed between each other to make this ribbon design on the maypole was just amazing!

 Folk dancing, banner waving, and a wonderful parade, a celebration of all things German.

Here's to the next COVID-free spring!

10 on the 10th February 2021

 

Here's a fun meme to put on your calendar for the 10th of each month, hosted by Leslie over at Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After.  I love that she has the whole year's prompts here.

Here we go with February.

How romantic are you?  Very.  I love everything about romance from love at first sight to happily ever afters.  I cry at weddings, births, special occasions, any occasion where I'm proud to know the person being honored or celebrated.  I just love love.  From red roses to diamonds to intimate dinners to just holding hands with the one I love, it's all about romance.

What's the best relationship advice?  Compromise.  If you can sort out your differences while you're developing a relationship with someone, that's wonderful but if you can't, and something causes an incident that you can see just has no positive outcome, compromise.  Agree to disagree and move on.

When did you give your first kiss?  How did you feel about it?  At what age did you begin dating?  Wow, this is going back a LONG time.  It was at a school Christmas party, held in the assembly hall.  It was pretty dark in there and there was a lot of snogging (is that still a term?) going on in corners.  I have no idea where the teachers/chaperones were!  Anyway, everyone was making the rounds, giving Christmas kisses, and I remember my first was with David B.  How did I feel about it?  It was nice.  I really liked him and surprisingly, just recently reconnected with him through another school friend.  My first boyfriend was someone I met at a party, Jimmy H.  His parents owned a fish and chip shop and I can remember going there to help get things set up before they opened up.  I can't remember if we ever really went anywhere, I think I was 15.  He did come over to our house once but since he ended up romancing my best friend, that was the end of that!

What makes a relationship healthy?  Trust, shared values, and laughter.  Vic and I laugh a lot.

This is a perfect example.  I wanted the perfect picture of the two of us with our Starbucks holiday cups.  The sleeves were covering the artwork so I asked Vic to slip them off and as I was lining up the shot, he started to complain that the hot beverage was burning his fingers and then he started to laugh and I started to laugh and it's such a fun memory!

What is your love language?  What is your partner's or best friend's?  I covered mine in this post.  I think Vic's is acts of service or quality time.  I thought I had it written down somewhere but I can't find it.  I'll have to ask him to take the quiz again.

Who is one couple you know that you admire in terms of love?  That would have to be my parents.  They were amazing role models for love.  In later life, my Mum was legally blind, my Dad had COPD, but they soldiered on together, always holding hands.  I don't ever remember my Mum doing things with the girls or Dad with the guys, they were each other's everything and my sister and I were their world.  They lived comfortably, not wealthy, but they were generous with their time and affection.  I miss them dreadfully but have such wonderful memories.

Mum and Dad holding hands at my sister's wedding.

Who is your favorite celebrity or fictional couple?

Anne Elliott and Captain Wentworth from Jane Austen's Persuasion, Marianne Dashwood and Colonel Brandon from Sense and Sensibility, and any of the couples from the movie Love Actually.

Name a flavor or food you love.  A scent you love.  An activity you love doing.  I love Chinese food especially things like Beef and Broccoli in the brown sauce that is a combination of soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, garlic, and whatever else makes it so delicious.  The Chinese restaurant that we frequented when we lived in Virginia made the BEST sauce and I have not been able to find or make anything close to it.  A scent would be my favorite perfume, Red Door by Elizabeth Arden or any of the scents associated with Christmas like pine, cinnamon, sugar cookies, gingerbread.  And an activity would be any family field trip.  Vic, Sophia, and I used to take off all the time for local fairs, festivals, and events.  We haven't done anything special like this for over a year (darn COVID) but I'm looking forward to it again.  Sophia won't always come along as she has her own life now but Vic and I have a lot of exploring still to do.

Do you believe in love at first sight?  Do you think people are made for each other as in soul mates?  Not having experiencing either, I'm not really sure.  I would imagine that such a thing is possible and that the two people are very fortunate to have found each other like this.

In a COVID-free world where money is no object, what would you like to do for Valentine's Day weekend?  Take a trip - a city break to San Francisco would be nice, lots to explore, restaurants to try, sightseeing.  We love to take off and see and do things and a three-day weekend is a great opportunity.

The 10th was also the second Wednesday of the month, the day for Let's Look but since I've already covered Love Languages twice, I'll just put up the graphic if you want to join in next month.

10 on the 10th - January

I'm linking up with Erin from Perfectly Port Family for 10 on the 10th.  This month's prompt is 10 Random Facts About Me.

1.  I am a memory-keeping-aholic.  I have been a scrapbooker for almost twenty years and have recently delved into the world of digital scrapbooking to use templates and overlays on my photos.  I loved Ali Edwards' December Daily project and look forward to One Little Word in 2018.

December Daily 2017 - an album full of fun and great memories

2.  I am also addicted to planners and planner stickers.  I love to be organized and my planner is such a creative outlet for that.  It's part calendar, part journal, and all fun!

Love my Erin Condren planner!

3.  I am a virtual traveler.  I have friends and family all over the world and I love to see the places they live and visit.  I am constantly Googling new destinations and saving details in my favorites for trips of a lifetime.

4.  I love England and all things English - cups of tea, afternoon tea, the Royal Family, the history, the countryside, the coastline, the mountains, the lakes and lochs, say or show me anything English and I am happy.

5.  I am longing for our forever home.  We have been a Navy family for almost 24 years with constant travel and I am so looking forward to the day when I can set up house and have it stay that way.  That being said, my parents were a military couple as well and they didn't stop moving even after their Army days were over.  We'll see what retirement brings for us.

6.  I also love Christmas and so happy to be a part of a group of fellow Christmas-lovers - Magical Holiday Home.  It's amazing how friendships are formed over the Internet.  I would love to meet up with some of the members of this group one day.

7.  I don't think I could live without Excel.  I love spreadsheets and use them for just about everything - budgeting, keeping lists, making timelines, you can do just about anything with Excel.

8.  A fellow blogger posted this quote "You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your handsome prince" and although I didn't kiss a LOT of frogs, I did wait until I was 32 to find my handsome prince.  Vic and I will celebrate our 25th anniversary this year - it's been an adventure from day one.  Take a loving-everything-about-Christmas woman and a man who had never had a Christmas tree before, a shopper and a saver, I could go on and on with the differences between us, two people who perfected the art of compromise to make an amazing marriage.  Our friends always remark that we have so much fun together.

I wanted the perfect shot of us with our holiday drink cups so I slipped off the sleeves.  Vic started to make a ruckus because the cups were really hot and he was burning his hand and I started to giggle and that was it, we both burst out laughing.  This is so much better than that perfect shot I'd envisioned.

9.  My favorite meal to prepare is afternoon tea.  I love to make or source the tiny sandwiches, scones, and miniature desserts.  We are on the hunt for the perfect tea room wherever we live or visit.

10.  I'm a city girl at heart.  Give me a loft in the middle of New York or San Francisco (or London or Paris) and the budget to live that lifestyle and I'd be in heaven.  However, I am a realist and I know that I am happiest with my family wherever we are.  I don't really consider myself a homemaker because there are lots of things about being at home that I don't really enjoy but making a home for my family wherever the Navy sends us is exactly what I want to do.

10 on the 10th

10 on the 10th with Perfectly Port

This looked like fun even if I am joining in month #4.  Click on the link above if you'd like to join in .  Here we go:

My current handbag is the Michael Kors Jet Set Large Travel Tote, a gift from Vic and Sophia for Mother's Day several years ago.  I love it - lots of pockets and a zippered compartment in the middle.  It holds everything!

1.  Matching wallet

2. Coupon wallet embroidered with "Dave (Ramsey) Says"

3.  Sunglasses with case - I used to carry cheap sunglasses but since Vic bought me this lovely pair for Christmas, I always make sure to put them back in the case

4.  Make-up case - I've had this little case for over twenty years and it's still going strong

5.  Notepad case with pen from USAA - this was a giveaway at an event and I love it - the original notepad is long gone but I can use the notepads from the $1 section at Michael's as refills

6.  Calling/business card case - I know the norm these days is to have someone plug your number into their phone but I still have occasions where a card is useful

7.  Poo~pourri spritzer - if you haven't heard of Poo~pourri, check it out here and the silver spritzer is here.  TMI?  Sorry!

8.  Purse-size current perfume, Red Door by Elizabeth Arden - I don't keep it in my make-up case in case it should leak, it sits upright in one of the pockets

9.  Tiny Creative Memories wallet-size case for all of these extra cards that I don't want in my wallet - medical insurance info, details about what ink we use in our printers, blood type card, reward cards, things like that.

10.  Extra pens - someone always needs a pen!

You may think my keys should be in my purse but I keep them stashed in a hanging basket at home.  I did this to make sure that Vic always keeps his keys in the same place so we don't go through a "where are my keys?" episode every morning!