H is for Hodgepodge

Welcome to The Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions, add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for your neighbor there.  If you're visiting from the A-Z Blog Challenge, my letter of the day is part of question #6 today.  Here we go-

1. What's a lesson you've learned from a mistake? 

Listen to your 'gut', which I recognize most often as the Holy Spirit telling me to hit pause before I act. Several years ago I accepted a volunteer appointment, that I knew in my gut (my heart? my spirit?) wasn't right for me. I had already said no to the job once before, and my hubs again discouraged me from accepting this time around. 

And I did say no. But then I allowed myself to be talked into saying yes, and I definitely regretted it.  I learned from it too, so I guess that's something. 

2. Do you salt food while you're cooking or let diners add their own?  What's a food you think must be salted? Do you like pepper? 

Some things I salt while cooking, but others I leave unsalted and people can add to their own taste. Certain foods need to be salted as they're cooking. I made spaghetti sauce on Sunday and added salt and  that's something you can't really salt after the fact to the same effect. I don't salt eggs but I do salt vegetables before roasting. 

A food I think must be salted? Potatoes...baked potato, french fried, mashed, roasted...they all need salt. 

I love pepper. 

3. What was the last gathering you attended and what did you do there? 

We attended a wine dinner on Tuesday night, with about 50 in attendance. We're part of a local wine club so this sort of gathering happens on a monthly basis. What did we do? 

this lobster mac and cheese was scrumptious!! 

Dined on a delicious five course meal, each one paired with a specific wine. We learn about the wines, the area they're made, the winemakers. Always a really nice evening. 

4. Your favorite shade of purple? What's your favorite purple flower? 

I like the color purple, in nature more than in my home. In terms of my wardrobe I prefer the very dark shades, plum or eggplant. If we're talking flowers I love all the purples and don't think I can choose a favorite.  If pressed I'd say a lilac, but I also love lavender, pansies, iris, petunias, and wisteria. 

5. Share a favorite spring travel memory. 

Wow. Just one? We've had so many wonderful springtime trips, most of which I've covered on my blog somewhere along the way. Since I've been sharing Easter throwback pictures here in the weeks leading up to the day let's go with this one-

Belgian chocolate in Belgium

Hubs and I spent the last Easter weekend we lived across the pond in Brussels-Ghent-Brugges. Hubs went to Belgium at least once a month for work and we both loved it. Brussels is an easy train ride from London so we took the train over and revisited some of our favorite sites. 

This is outside the famous Gothic cathedral in Ghent called St. Baafskathedraal, built in the 1200’s-

And of course you can't visit Belgium without indulging in Moules-et-frites...

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I'm going to use this space for today's letter in the A-Z blog challenge. If you don't know what I'm talking about you can go to my intro post to get the 411 (The ABC's of April). Today is Day 8 and we've reached the letter H. 

H is for Hodgepodge

Of course it is

'a heterogeneous mixture; jumble'

November 10, 2010. My first Wednesday Hodgepodge. Prior to the HP a bunch of us bloggers participated in a weekly link up called The Random Dozen. It was hosted by a blogger named Linda, who I don't think blogs anymore, and it consisted of 12 questions every week. 12!!

When she gave up hosting several people who participated asked if I'd consider picking it up in her place, I said yes because I enjoyed it so much, and the rest is history. 

Well, not history exactly, but we carried on from there. I knew there was no way I could come up with 12 questions on the weekly, so I started out with 8 which was still three too many-ha! However, it wasn't until episode 308 (308!!) that I waved the white flag and went with the format we have today. Five questions from me, and then a spot to share some random thought of your own. Honestly that random thought is often the toughest to come up with week after week. 

The Hodgepodge button changed midstream when daughter1 reworked my blog a little. We changed the color scheme so she made a new button, which we're still using today. I looked back at some of the earliest Hodgepodges and there were anywhere between 35 and 60 bloggers linking up each week. 

Of course the blogging world has changed and 'home blogs' as I like to call them are not as popular as they once were. I still love them, both the reading and the writing, and enjoy seeing the old familiar and also some new faces here each week. 

I retired the Hodgepodge on September 5, 2018 after 360 episodes because quite frankly I needed the break. And it stayed retired until a little thing we won't mention but that starts with a C and made the world absolutely bonkers, came around and suddenly there wasn't as much happening in real life to write about. I revived the Hodgepodge at the end of March, 2020 and here we are still. I continue to enjoy this weekly mid-week brain strain and will likely keep it up until I won't.  

So what have I learned in this weekly exercise, and how does it fit with the season of life I'm currently living? 

I re-discovered my love of writing as a result of blogging. Writing is a creative outlet for me, and forces me to use my mental muscles in a way very few other things do. 

Coming up with questions on a weekly basis is good for the brain. I'm all about exercising my brain and writing helps. Or at least I think it does. If science is to be believed we need to work our brains to keep them sharp and coming up with these questions each week while a lot of fun, also takes some brain power. 

Answering the questions each week is also good for the brain. 

I love the mix of ages and stages in this weekly hop and I think we learn from each other.  I've gotten recipes, faith builders, craft ideas, book recommendations, travel tips, home decor inspiration, encouragement, and so much more from blogging, not to mention the friendships formed. 

The HP forces me to interact with technology, which is not my first love, but is part of the world in which we live so ya gotta deal. 

Thanks for joining in here each week. A few of you have been here since almost the beginning and I appreciate that more than I can say. Happy Wednesday everyone!