Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Hodgepodge Flashback

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge. A couple of weeks ago Lea at Cici's Corner prompted me to look back at my first Hodgepodge post. Turns out it was November 10, 2010 which seems ridiculous and also impossible, but 'tis true. 

To mark that event we're turning back the clock here today and repeating a few of those very first questions. In the early days there were eight questions every week, but I downsized a few years in to keep my sanity. 

If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post then leave a comment for the blogger before you. While blogging has changed and of course social media too, the connections made here have been so sweet. Thank you for sticking with it, re-joining, or landing here for the first time ever. 

Here we go-

From this Side of the Pond

1. How did you name your blog and do you now wish you had thought about it maybe another five minutes before hitting publish? Would you change your blog title if it were not a huge pain in the derriere? 

I'm definitely looking back at my original answers so there might be a little cut and paste here today. How did I name my blog? 

"I was living in the UK when I started blogging. I had absolutely no idea what I was signing on for or that anyone would ever actually read what I wrote. I wanted to call my blog 'the other side of the pond' but that name was taken. I fiddled with the phrase a bit and came up with my current title which actually suits me better since we moved back to the states less than a year after my first post.' 

As titles go, it's kind of long but I wouldn't change it even if I could figure out how. 

2. What bill do you least like to pay? 

Some things never change. Taxes. 

3. What is your favorite word? Okay okay, calm down. How about one of your favorite words? 

My original answer was hodgepodge of course, and I still love that word. It's been used a whole lot here in the last ten years-ha. 

And my love for words spoken across the pond has not dimmed one iota either...gobsmacked, knackered, cheeky...

4. Is the glass half full or half empty? Elaborate. 

Always half full but in 2021 I have to work hard to keep it that way. People want to steal your joy...don't let them. 

5. Were you here for that very first Hodgepodge post? If so, were your answers then similar to what they are today? Tell us what was happening in your life in November of 2010? 

Obviously I was here for the first post and yes, my answers are very similar to what they were then. You can read the whole wordy thing in the link- Wednesday Hodgepodge-The Initiation. 

This is one of the things I love about having a blog. The walk down memory lane, the easy link to what we were doing when, how life was and is and how I felt and feel about it all. In November of 2010...

I had a college student and a recent grad. 


Be still my heart. 

We attended a wedding and that bride and groom have four kids now. Hubs celebrated 25 years with the same company and was traveling the globe for work. He was in Mexico in November of 2010 and I was at home in the frosty northeast. I had just gotten my Invisilgn and can say today it was worth it. 

I was struggling with technology and depending on my girls to 'fix' it. Like I said some things never change. 

We had a small Thanksgiving and I was trying to find my Christmas spirit. 

Politics were a bit of a mess, although not nearly the mess they are ten years on, but I shared this quote back then and it still feels apropos-

"Now, more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless and corrupt it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature...If the next centennial does not find us a great nation...it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces." President James Garfield, 1877

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Somehow 45 bloggers found their way to that very first Hodgepodge and it was a lot of fun. These days we average 15-20 and that's still fun. This has always been a friendly mid-week meet up that feels more like coffee with friends in my living room than strangers on the other side of a screen. 

While people don't blog like they did 'back in the day' I'm still happy with mine. It's a wonderful record of an ordinary life lived and of God's faithfulness throughout. 

I'm grateful for my little corner of the Internet. Grateful too for the people who read here, for those who comment, and for those who just quietly nod their head and say to themselves 'me too' when something I write strikes a chord. 

Keep calm and Hodgepodge on xo 


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21 comments:

  1. TAXES! Good one!
    I agree, don't let people steal your joy! And a big WOW on the James Garfield quote, could have been written recently.
    I appreciate you continuing with the Hodgepodge, I'm still a reader.

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  2. Thank you! Thank you for all of the hours of work that each hodgepodge takes!! I wasn't one of your original bloggers but I sure love this post every week now!

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  3. How could I forget TAXES!!! Thanks for continuing the Hodgepodge.

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  4. I love that idea - coffee with your friends on Hodgepodge day - so true!!!!
    It really is amazing to see how much life has changed over the years - SO QUICk too - but I love seeing all the blog ofriend kids grow up - I see so many in school & then, next thing, they're married & having babies. WHAT???
    I think Taxes is going to be the overwhelming answer on the bills today :)

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  5. I love the Hodgepodge! I don't always get over here, my blogging has been hit or miss lately but I really enjoy it when I do. I feel the same way about blogging, so great to go back and revisit three years ago, five years ago, ten years ago. I'm about to work on a look back at thankfulness posts but as a scrapbook project with my scrapbook group.

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  6. I sure enjoyed this Hodgepodge, Joyce. It is always fun to look back and then bring it all forward again. I too use my blog more as a journal of my life and times. I am not a wordsmith but do enjoy the memes and especially the friends I have met here. Have a blessed day!! xo

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  7. Interesting to see how things change even as they remain the same. Thank you for the Hodge Podge. It is a joy. Oh, and I appreciate fewer questions.

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  8. I'm so glad I found this Hodgepodge. I love finding bloggers who enjoy blogging for fun, meeting new people, etc. It's been such a great way for me to ease back into blogging.

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  9. Taxes is a great answer. Ours just went up! I'm working on getting my glass half full. That quote is excellent! Never in my life have I had so many conversations with Mark about our government. I love your random thought. I was here the second week. I'm happy with my blog too and pray that it will be read years after I am gone. Thank you for giving these Wednesday posts to me.

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  10. Enjoyed your history and how you came up with your name. Sweet girls. That quote is so good and so true. And there are so many times I have to come back to the blog to see when something happened or what happened. Great for my brain. Thank you for being such a great hostess of this weekly highlight!

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  11. I picked some of the same words :) Glad I got to be part of this hodgepodge, now maybe I'll still be in the blogosphere for the 2032 one in another 11 years.

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  12. Hello Joyce,
    I have enjoyed participating in the Hodgepodge. Thank you for taking the time to create this FUN spot!
    I liked what you shared in answering #4.
    Love, Carla

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  13. I enjoy the Hodgepodge every week. Thank you.

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  14. It's my first time here - I hopped over from Vee's place!
    My blog is Linda's Life Journal and, since it's my online diary, I still like the name.
    Regarding the glass.....mine is usually half full but we all have days when it's half empty......and then I remember it is refillable!!
    One of my favorite words is 'discombobulated.' But I love Vee's choice and agree with her.....Jesus....there's just something ablout that name.

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  15. Ugh; yes, I hate paying taxes! I actually did change my blog name and while it was a hassle I am so glad I did.

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  16. Yes, taxes stink!!! But, we just decided to "grin and bear it." As Hubby says, "if I didn't make it, we wouldn't have to pay any." So..........

    Time flies when you are having fun and I can't believe it's been 11 years. Its such a fun link.

    Thanks Joyce, it's been and I hope continues to be JOY!

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  17. I forgot to link my post! It has been a day...

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  18. I have always thought your blog was a wonderful family record. I hope some day you print it out and put it in a book for your kids and grandkids. It would be a real treat for them!

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  19. #441 is impressive.. I joined in a handful of times literally but hope I can pop in more often going forward... today's post for this flashback episode happened purely by chance (and my fav word makes perfect sense, well almost!)

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  20. I looked back and saw that I participated in that first Hodgepodge! Sometimes I miss blogging and have been wondering about dusting off the blog and going at it again....

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