Duke's Mixture 06.2026: Writer's Workshop & Hodgepodge

Welcome, friends!!  I am home from a 24-hour getaway to the mountains of New Mexico with my Prince Charming.  The weekend was PC's Father's Day treat so I planned everything from our accommodations to where we would eat.  Paul enjoyed fishing 2 different lakes, Grindstone and Bonito, both near the village of Ruidoso which is about 130 miles from home.  It was delightful.  Will write up a quick post to share the magic.  And have hopes of finishing up the chronicles of our London and Edinburgh trip in the very near future.  Can you believe this month is almost behind us?  And summer, or winter in the southern hemisphere, is in full swing?

On to the business of the day.  My mother used the phrase 'Duke's mixture' to describe anything that was a mish-mash of lots of little things.  Especially in describing leftover night when we would have a smidgen of green beans, a little pot pie, a dab of mashed potatoes leftover from earlier meals in the week.  And that would be dinner for the night.

Writer's Workshop

I discovered John Holton's blog The Sound of One Hand Typing through Paula at Light Motifs whose blog I discovered through the A - Z Blogging Challenge this spring.  Apparently, John hosts a Writer's Workshop for which he provides 6 prompts and invites bloggers and readers to respond to one of their choosing.  

Thought I would play along since I like to write and enjoy practicing by writing to prompts.  

I chose Prompt #4:  what is your favorite day of the week?

My Favorite Day of the Week

This has changed over the years.  As a child, I feel certain my favorite day like most kids was Friday...the end of the school week with the weekend ahead.  

As a school librarian, my favorite day of the week was Thursday.  The weekend was in sight.  So close I could see the light at the end of the long tunnel of teaching Monday-Thursday.  My class load was often lighter on Friday so I could address other aspects of my job - ordering books, shelving books, preparing for the next week's classes, putting together resources for teachers, bringing classes in for individual projects.  

Now that I am a retiree, Monday is my favorite day of the week.  Which might seem kind of strange.  But here's why.  Most days in retirement feel something like my Saturdays and Sundays did when I was working.  Not terribly structured.  However, I like routine and structure.  Mondays usually start the week with some semblance of structure.  Mondays are for laundry, for figuring out what the rest of the week looks like.  I usually exercise well on Mondays, catch up with my daughters, brother and sister on Mondays.  And the first day of the week always feel shiny and new like a clean slate.  

On Mondays I make my weekly to-do list.  And that makes me happy.  It helps me figure out what I want to do, what I need to do, what I have to do when.  Mondays feel hopeful and energetic.  

I like Mondays.

Hodgepodge

1. Summer's here!  In the northern hemisphere anyway. If you're in the southern hemisphere substitute winter for the word summer. What do you love most about summer? What's your biggest summer pet peeve? 

I like having more hours of sunshine.  Waking up to warm mornings where I can enjoy being on my patio for breakfast and quiet time.  We love to float in our pool during the summer months and doing that in the heat of the afternoon cools us off for the rest of the evening.  

My biggest summer pet peeve is probably the heat in El Paso.  It can be unbearable once we go north of 100*.  I am writing this at 7:45 pm on Tuesday, 06.23.2026, and it is 103*.  Poor Purrcival wants to go outside but it is just waaaaay too hot.  Here are our forecasted highs for the remainder of the week.

2. What song always reminds you of summer? 

One of my all-time faves has to be Don Henley's "Boys of Summer."  I really like the Eagles and Don Henley.  I like the nod to baseball players - the boys of summer - as PC is a baseball player with our 50+ Over Men's Baseball League.  So, that song reminds me of my very own boy of summer.

Also love Seals and Croft's "Summer Breeze."  It was one of my favorites as a young teen.  I liked having the windows open to my bedroom and watching my curtains dance in the breeze.  Would daydream about growing up and having some kind of old farmhouse with kitchen windows that overlooked the fields.  I imagined myself standing at a big porcelain sink, washing dishes and looking out over my world from the window.

 

3. What's something you remember about your childhood summers? Do you think kids today get to enjoy summer the way you did as a child? Elaborate. 

Oh, so many wonderful memories.  Playing kick the can until dark, roller skating with those metal skates that clipped onto your shoes and required a skate key to adjust.  Sitting in the backyard with my parents, sister and brother while my dad cranked the homemade ice cream freezer.  Laying out.  Laying out slathered in baby oil on a beach towel and reading "Seventeen" magazine from cover to cover.  Chasing lightning bugs.  Riding bikes to buy Slurpees or walking with my parents, and later with my parents and my young daughters, for ice cream.

I don't think children nowadays enjoy summer the way I did as a child.  So many children spend much of their free time indoors, and often in front of some kind of electronic device.  In many cases, I don't think children even know the others in their neighborhood.  And in most families, both parents work.  The children are often home alone during the summer or sent off to daycare or a babysitter.  Makes me sad for them.  

4. We celebrate Fathers Day on June 21st. Do you favor your dad in looks or temperament? Tell us something about your dad. Or your husband as a dad. Or a son/son-in-law as a dad. Or your grandpa. 

I think I am probably a combination of my mom and dad.  Would like to think I have my mom's warm smile maybe mixed with my dad's other facial features.  You tell me...here are my parents...who do I look most like?

My dad was about as honest a person as there ever was.  Extremely hardworking.  He was a pharmacologist in cancer research at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital when he retired.

my dad in college?

Paul retired with 23+ years in the U.S. Army.  He then worked for the Department of Defense for 17 additional years.  PC loves America.  Like my dad, he is a good man.  He was a single parent for his 2 children for about 6 years.

My grandbabies are truly blessed in the dad department.  Francisco is Lucia and Cami's father.  He is an anesthesiologist. Spanish was his first language as he was born in Mexico City, Mexico.  Mustafa is Declan's father and Cadence's stepfather.  He is an MRI and X-ray technician.  Dari was his first language as he was born in Kabul, Afghanistan.  Both of my son-in-laws are hardworking, loving, family men.  And both have become American citizens.

Paul with his son Matthew in 2008

Francisco with Lauren, Lucia and Cami, 2026

Mustafa with Brennyn, Declan and Cadence, 2026

5. Let's wrap up with a summer this or that-

• flip flops or sandals:  probably sandals if I am wearing them for any length of time
• beach or pool:  both!!  We have a pool so I am blessed to be able to swim and float all summer.  But I love the beach and try to go most summers.

• watermelon or peaches:  probably peaches.  Although, we had a delicious little round watermelon from Costco last week.  Sweet and refreshing.  Lauren carved these watermelons for Lucia's end of school party one year.

• shorts or sundress:  day-to-day, shorts but I don't like wearing them out anywhere more than the gym.  So, a sundress if I am going anywhere.
• iced coffee or ice cold lemonade:  sugar-free ice cold lemonade or unsweetened tea sweetened with Sweet-n-Lo.  But iced coffee reminds me of my parents who enjoyed drinking that in the summer.
• amusement park or water park:  water park, hands down.

6. Insert your own random thought here.  Going to try to whip up a quick post about our magical escape to the New Mexico mountains.  Hope you will keep an eye peeled for that.  And the final installment posts about our trip to London and Edinburgh.  I am about half way through sharing that trip in this post and that one.  Have created my summer bucket list and you can find it, here.  What plans do you have for this season?

Your Turn

What would your favorite day of the week be?  And how would you answer this week's Hodgepodge questions?  Peaches or watermelon, my dear?

Lots of things on the old to-do list.  Will have to shake a leg since we played on Monday and Tuesday!!  Happy Hump Day, friends.  🐪 Thanks for spending a few minutes here with me.

Hugs and kisses,