Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Hodgepodge, eh?

Welcome to a middle of the week, middle of the month, Wednesday Hodgepodge! Raise your hand if you 'get' my post title today. If you've answered the questions, add your link to the party, then go say hi to the neighbors. Here we go-


1. What's your favorite time of day? Why?

Early morning. I love the quiet, the color of the sky at sunrise, and most especially that first cup of coffee. I love the way the whole day lies ahead of me, filled with possibility. 

2. Waffle iron, toaster, coffee maker, mixer, blender...which small appliance most needs replacing at your house?

Can you tell I recently attended a bridal shower? I'm going with a blender because we are currently without one. 

3. It's National Grouch Day (October 15th)...what's something that makes you feel grouchy?

I'm kind of like a toddler, in that if I haven't had enough sleep I can get a little grouchy. Also, like a toddler my move is much improved with a nap. 

Do we actually need a day devoted to all things grouchy? Hoping there's a National Be Cheerful Day on the calendar somewhere too! 

4. Ever been to Canada? Is that a country you'd like to visit? According to Trip Advisor, the top ten best destinations in Canada are-Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Victoria, Calgary, Niagara on the Lake, Niagara Falls, Whistler, and Halifax.Which city would you most like to see?

I've been to Prince Edward Island which I absolutely loved (and wrote about here), and then en route home we drove down through New Brunswick into St. Andrew by the Sea, St. John, the Bay of Fundy, and the Reversing Falls, before heading into Maine. It was a wonderful trip. Our friends who live on PEI have a daughter getting married next summer, so we are making plans for a trip back that way in 2015.

I've never been to any other cities in Canada, but would happily see them all. Tops on my list at the moment are Vancouver and Whistler. 

5. What was your favorite food (or one of your favorites) when you were a child? Is that still a favorite?

Bologna, egg salad, and marshmallow fluff (not all together!).  

I could not begin to tell you when I last had bologna, but I'm pretty sure it's been decades. I don't eat marshmallow fluff these days either, unless it's in the form of Christmas fudge, and even that I haven't had in years. Egg salad is still one of my favorite foods. 

6. Do you cry easily?

Yes.  I sometimes wish I didn't, but tears form pretty easily for me, both the happy and the sad. 

7. Have you started your (gasp!) Christmas shopping? If so when, and how much? If not, when will you even begin thinking about it?

I've started, mostly just a few smaller stocking stuffer gifts, but they're our favorite anyway, so important. And it wasn't so much a deliberate decision to get started early, as it was happening upon items that made me think of a friend or family member and instead of doing what I normally do...say I'll come back later...I bought. We have a wedding happening right after Christmas this year, so I feel like it would be in everyone's best interests if I'm a little bit ahead of the game in holiday preparation. See question #3-ha! 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I'm going to recap the bridal shower in tomorrow's post. It was too much to squeeze into a random thought, even for me. ahem. So how about I post a fall foliage shot here instead, because we can never have too many of those, can we? 

It was a gray drizzly day here on Tuesday, but the colors are glorious all the same. Here's what I see outside my kitchen window-



...outside my family room window-


...when I pull up the driveway into the garage-


"Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn." ~Elizabeth Lawrence

33 comments:

  1. Hi Joyce,

    I enjoyed reading your answers and I look forward to Bridal Shower pictures.

    I am with you on #3. I must have plenty of sleep.
    Also on Vancouver, from the picture, at Trip Advisor, it looks so calming.

    These are great questions.
    Thank you for hosting another week of hodgepodge.

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  2. I TOTALLY get your title and they really do say that, a LOT!
    I love egg salad too, I had that in many school lunches.
    Your fall pictures are beautimous! Looks like you are peaking out your way too. We had rain yesterday as well and it brought a lot of leaves down :(

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  3. Grandson loves German bologna-me not so much a fan. Love the fall pic of the trees-with so much rain we haven't had the pretty colors this year.

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  4. Autumn is definitely beautiful in Sparta! Unfortunately that long, cold, snowy winter follows. I hope it's not a bad one for you this year! (Although I think the predictors are saying otherwise. But, really what do they know?) I am anxious to read all about the bridal shower!

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  5. I love your autumn foliage photos. We've had a few leaves change, but not too many yet (and it doesn't always look very pretty). Also that quote is perfect.

    I wish I'd thought of using "eh" in my title! Fun Questions this week.

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  6. That's an interesting variety of childhood favorite foods :)
    Your fall photographs are beautiful! How blessed you are to have so many fall colors to enjoy. It's pretty much green or brown here.
    I'm sure you are busy and tired, following the shower, so I appreciate the Hodgepodge even more today. Thanks for hosting!

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  7. Leaves are starting to turn here, slowly but surely. So in the meantime, I'll enjoy yours!

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  8. Great questions! I look forward to Wednesday and blogging with you. Love the pictures as well.

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  9. I've been wanting to visit Prince Edward Island for a long time already, but since it might still be a while before that happens I'll go read your post about your experience there and live victoriously through that. Arm chair travels are better than none at all, right?

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  10. I think I wouldn't want to leave my house if the scenery around it was as gorgeous as what you have! Bologna, egg salad and marshmallow fluff - definitely never on my list except as you mentioned - in the Christmas fudge!!
    I know your telling of the bridal shower will be an enjoyable read and am looking forward to seeing the pictures of you and your daughter and all your daughter was showered with.

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  11. Can't wait to read your bridal shower post. I have started some Christmas shopping also - mostly stocking stuffers! I was in your neck of the woods a few weeks ago. We went to Krogh's for lunch.

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  12. I forgot about PEI. Yes, I've wanted to visit there too after reading 'Anne..' Your fall colors look like ours, and I see we have the same attitude toward morning. :-) Taking another sip of my coffee.

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  13. Oh my goodness - your fall colors are gorgeous! As much as I do love living at the beach, I really do miss the distinctiveness of 4 seasons. Can't have it all, i guess! After a long day at the beach, there's nothing better than a bologna and mayo sandwich on white bread. Yum.

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  14. So funny to hear you mention bologna. My brothers and I used to fry it, then put it with a cheese sandwich. It's pretty yummy that way, but I never fix it.

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  15. I look forward to reading about the bridal shower and in a few months, the wedding!

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  16. Lack of sleepy always leaves me grouchy too.

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  17. Bologna, eh? (Yes, I "got" your clever title.:) ) I haven't had it in eons, and I don't miss it. Looking forward to seeing the shower pictures and all the creativity and love going on in your bridal-girl's world. PEI --I should have said that, darn it. It's somewhere I'd love to go after reading the Anne books. My baby sister went w/ my parents when she was 8 and had the parents all to herself (their time and money) so I think of it as a place I missed out on simply because I was...well, raising littles by then.

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  18. Bologna is an easy sell in our house. The boys like it. They also like Spam on occasion.
    Those colors are glorious!

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  19. Your time in Canada sounds lovely. Would love to do something like that when Mark retires. Bologna was pretty awesome but I too haven't had it in a long time. If I find something special during the year that I know someone in the family will like I always buy it and put it away for Christmas. Your trees look amazing. I do miss that! I hope to someday be in a room looking over Central Park when the leaves have changed their color.

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  20. I hope the bridal shower was fabulous. I remember many of the ladies at my showers (many many years ago) saying that after 25 or so years of marriage, we should get another shower to replace all the stuff that has worn out. Now we know what they meant, eh?

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  21. Your trees are so pretty. I love the view you have from your windows.
    Hubby was just hungry for a fried bologna sandwich the other day so I got him some. I'll warn you, the bologna we find in the stores today is not what we ate years ago. Yuk.

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  22. Enjoyed this as always...haven't had bologna in years, but like you as a kid ate it frequently, lol. Such beautiful pictures. Soo looking forward to hearing about the bridal shower. Enjoy your day!

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  23. I love your bit about grouchy. I am the same way...and actually hadn't really thought about it. =) A nap always makes things better. The questions were a lot of fun this week. Thank you as always for being such a fantastic host. Love your gray day pictures. Just gorgeous.
    Blessings,
    Valerie

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  24. Hi! Excuse my absence but my internet hadn't been working so i couldn't blog. I had been using my phone a lot and its not easy blogging from that.
    Its so pretty in the fall where you live! Have a great week!

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  25. Such beautiful fall photos. I'm with you, I gotta get my sleep or I can be a little bit unpleasant to be around. lol

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  26. Funny what we all think about of favorite food as a kid - my first thought was ice cream which is still a favorite but then I remembered fresh trout.

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  27. Oh, I slap forgot about bologna and the thought of it makes me gag now, but I ate my fair share of it growing up.

    Such beautiful fall pics, we're abit behind you but it's coming.

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  28. The fall colors in your pictures are gorgeous. I'm hoping to take some photos this weekend too.

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  29. I still have bologna, fried with eggs, and yes on the Fluff, because it's "Boo-Boo" medicine you know. Egg salad is something I've not had in a long time.

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  30. I had a friend who lived on PEI as well ... but she has now moved and I missed my chance to visit her!!! Maybe some day, I'll just take a trip for fun!! :)

    Lovely foliage in your parts ... it is here too -but I enjoy seeing it from around the country. :)

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  31. Raising my hand . . . eh. Bologna! Me too! No surprise there. Ha. I saw Shannon's post shower post but waiting for your take .... cuz I just know you'll use more words. :)

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  32. I wasn't quite up to par and ready to spend time on the computer in order to participate this week, but found your questions interesting as always. Does anyone remember SPAM? Yes, that was our go-to meat a lot of the time in our home. My mother enhanced it's debatable flavor with everything possible. Our favorite was brown sugar. Don't miss it a bit! I wrote recently about our trip into Canada and I do recommend Niagara on the Lake, but don't plan to spend too much time in Niagara Falls. We have visited and loved Vancouver and and Victoria Island. In my part of the south, we have more pine and oak trees so don't see the beautiful changing of colors as other parts of the country, but we will thoroughly enjoy what we will have later in the Fall.

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  33. Thank you for visiting my blog. Sorry about the confusion with question #3 I did correct a typo making it a little clearer now. Thank you for your continued prayers on SWMBO's behalf we do so appreciate them. The wedding shower looked like a lot of fun. I suspect that your daughters' mom and dad have a lot to do with why your daughters are so loved. The apple not falling too far from the tree sort of thing.

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