Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Airing Out the Hodgepodge

I'm happy to be joining Joyce for the Wednesday Hodgepodge today. As always, I'm grateful for her thoughtful questions, and I've tried my best to come up with fascinating answers. Ha! It's easy to participate, just answer the questions on your own blog, then link back to Joyce, at From This Side of the Pond.
Now, let's get started with her questions and my answers:

1. Is your home air conditioned? If it's not air conditioned, is that by choice? Did you grow up with air conditioning? If not how did you cope with the heat? Share about a time or place you remember as being too hot-the temperature kind of hot, lest anyone be confused.
Yes, our home is air conditioned. We didn't have air conditioning in the house I grew up in, and I remember summer nights with the attic fan running in the upstairs hallway to create a little breeze for our sleeping comfort. Emphasis on little. We moved, when I was in high school, to a house my parents built, that did have air conditioning. I like hot weather, and much prefer being hot to being cold. I do remember being 'too hot', recently on trips to Haiti, and not so recently when I was pregnant with David, living in the little house on Evergreen Street with no air conditioning.

2. What's something in your life right now that falls under the heading 'up in the air'?
I'm planning a quick trip to NYC with some friends, and since we are still working on nailing down the details, there are some things that feel up in the air to me. We'll get it figured out soon though. Hey hey hey hey!

3. Your favorite light and airy dessert?
Well, my favorite desserts are rich and creamy, as opposed to light and airy. I guess my best answer would be banana cream pie. Meringue is airy, right?

4. When did you last feel like you were 'floating on air'?
Dancing with my son, Adam, as we celebrated his marriage to Courtney in March.


5. Airport, airmail, airtight, airhead...which have you most recently encountered? Explain.
On Monday, my mom and I took Matthew and his friend Luke to the Newport Aquarium (see #8). On our way in, there were guys setting up Human Hamster Balls in the Riverwalk. When we came out, it was up and running, and just what two 11-year-old boys needed to make their day complete. :)

So to answer the question, the human hamster balls are inflatable vinyl balls that zip up airtight with a human inside, and are then rolled into the pool for some fun.
Matthew tried a few tricks while Luke was getting zipped in.
Then they went at it together.



When time is up, the attendant walks around the edge of the pool, grabs the handle, and drags the ball out of the pool.
He unzips it and lets the little hamster human out. Thankfully, while they are in the pool, the balls remain airtight. Or at least watertight. Lol.

6.  Have you ever been to the Alps? If so where did you go? If not, is this a destination on your must-see list? If you were headed that direction this summer, which of the following would be your preferred activity...a gentle walk, a serious walk, a bike ride, a boat ride around one of the lakes, or summer snow skiing?
When I was 20 (many, many years ago) I spent five weeks in the beautiful village of Kirchberg in Tirol in the Austrian alps.
I hiked in the mountains...
 all the way to the snow cap.
Jim and I were recently discussing the possibility of visiting the area together sometime, perhaps in celebration of an upcoming anniversary. It would be fun to go back to some of the places I visited, and to explore new places together. The hills are alive...

If I were to visit the alps this summer, my activity of choice would be a serious walk. Walking in the mountains is beautiful, and I don't really think it's possible to take a gentle walk in the mountains, because, well, mountains.

7. What is one saying or phrase that was considered 'cool' when you were growing up?
Neato.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
As I mentioned in my answer to #5, my mom and I took Matthew and his friend, Luke, to the Newport Aquarium. It was my first visit, and we had fun seeing sharks,
finding Nemo,
and weighing ourselves to discover to which variety of shark our weight would compare.
Well, the boys weighed themselves. Nana and I were not interested in sitting on the scale. Ahem.
A new addition to the Aquarium is the Shark Bridge, which allows visitors to walk right over the tank where the sharks live. It's neato. :)

Nana and the boys near a model of a humpback whale.
Hopefully, it's as much fun for Matthew to go on an outing with his grandma and great-grandma as it is for us to take him. :)
It was a beautiful day on the Ohio River, and a fun day for Nana and Granny with Matthew and Luke.

10 comments:

Theresa said...

Those hamster ball things look like fun but I think I'd feel like I couldn't breathe zipped up in one. I'm sure kids don't think that way though ;)
Enjoy your visit to NYC. I'm glad you prefer being hot over cold because it sure is hot in NYC in the summer! Now I have the song "Summer In The City" in my head ;)

Empty Nester said...

Your first answer is a lot like mine. I remember those attic fans! My grandparents had one. I loved the sound it made. My parents built a new house and we moved when I started high school and that house had AC. Now, about those hamster balls. I MUST have one! LOL Enjoyed your answers and your pictures!

Nonnie said...

We had an attic fan and thought it was wonderful, since before that we had a swamp cooler. Five weeks in the Alps? Jealous. We only spent a few days. Love your pics of dancing with your son. So sweet. And I am going to check and see if we have any hamster balls around this area for our kids.

Cathy said...

I love the Newport Aquarium and the Ohio River views from there. It looks like you all had a great time.

Cranberry Morning said...

Love that sweet pic of you and your son!! Precious. The hamster ball looks like fun, but how on earth do they breathe?

Anonymous said...

That looks like a great aquarium. We don't have one closer than 5 hours away here but took the kids to the Shedd aquarium in Chicago a few years ago and really enjoyed it.

Paige McDaniel said...

I totally forgot about attic fans! I had one in a duplex, but every time I turned it on the air pull was so strong it put the pilot lights out on the stove! Hope you have a great week!

Linda Kay said...

Looks like lots of fun, and great answers to the hodge podge. We had no air conditioning when I was a kid on the farm, and there were many days when it was sweltering.

A Joyful Chaos said...

Looks like a delightfully fun time was had!

Terri D said...

Another interesting Hodgepodge, but I enjoyed your photos most of all!!! Those hamster balls look like lots of fun!