The Hodgepodge. Not Taxing At All.

Welcome to this week's edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions, add your link at the end of my post, then hop over and leave a comment for the blogger before you. Or all the peeps there if you have the time. Here we go- 

1. Do you complete your own taxes? Besides actual taxes, what's something you've found taxing lately?

We don't complete our own taxes. We pay the professionals and in my opinion it's worth it. Fun fact...in the state of SC you have until May 1 to file this year. 

Something I've found taxing lately? 

When we got our new patio furniture they took the cushions from the furniture on our upper deck to refurbish. I mentioned to the decorator I was going to buy new and he said they could make them look as good as new and the price was reasonable. Far less than new cushions would be. So off they went. 

Getting them back has been a bit of a headache though. The shop is about an hour from me, but I'm over that way now and then so wanted to get them on one of those treks as opposed to making a whole 'nother trip for pick up. Plus we're having a party early May and we need those cushions. Plus they've had them since February so it's past time to have them returned. I was going to be nearby on Monday, and when hubs called the left hand hadn't talked to the right hand and we thought it wasn't going to happen. He persevered though, and did that squeaky wheel thing he's so good at and yay! I got the cushions. 

Gosh that was a lot of explaining. Maybe my answer to this question will be what you find taxing today-ha! 

2.  What are three values you treasure most in a friendship? 

A friend who is trustworthy, vulnerable, and selfless 

3. Do you meal plan or do you mostly wing it? Share your dinner menus for this week. 

I meal plan. Mostly. I always have a general dinner plan for the week, but I'm flexible if there's a last minute change of plans, an invitation to dine out, or we ate a big lunch and don't need an actual dinner. I have never been someone who decided last minute what we were having for dinner. That sounds super stressful to me, unnecessarily so. 

What's on tap this week..

Monday-wings on the grill, baked sweet potato, green beans 

Tuesday-homemade vegetable beef soup, salad, bread...I made this meal for a neighbor I'm taking dinner to, but my soup recipe makes a lot. I normally freeze half, but instead this was our dinner too. I play Mah Jong on Tuesdays so I don't always eat dinner on those nights. 

Wednesday-grilled Asian (flavorings) salmon, steamed spinach, roasted cauliflower

Thursday- butter chicken over rice, roasted veggies 

Friday-crock pot stroganoff, salad 

4. Thomas Sowell is credited as saying, ''There are no solutions, only trade-offs.' Agree or disagree? Discuss.

Well I mostly agree. I do think there's always a  solution, but not always the one we want. And solutions come with trade offs. If you say yes to one thing you're saying no to something else, right? I think what you're saying no to needs to be considered just as much as what you're saying yes to. 

For instance if I say yes to a full time job, that means I cannot participate in daytime activities I might enjoy like a book club or women's bible study. If I say yes to watching my grandchildren while their parents are away I'm saying no to my usual weekday activities. 

5. What's the best perk you've enjoyed at a job?

Most of my working life has been spent in classrooms and school buildings and there's not a lot of perks there. Unless you count the satisfaction of helping a child in some way a perk. Which I do. In most of my jobs I've really enjoyed the people I worked with too, so friendship might also be counted as a perk. 

6.  Insert your own random thought here. 

Using this space for my April A-Z Blog Challenge letter of the day today-

N is for Nostalgia

'a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations'

Consider this a p.s. to yesterday's post. If you missed it you'll find it here-(Pressed Between The Pages Of My Mind)

I've been sharing Easter throwbacks in my random thought on Wednesdays for the past several weeks so I'm incorporating today's letter into the picture. I've shared this snap on my blog before, but it's a favorite so I'm sharing it again.  

Easter, 1991...

Be still my heart. 

I see so much of my youngest granddaughter in the face of her momma there...her momma is the laughing baby girl my dad is holding. They grow up y'all but sometimes they birth one so much like themselves you get to relive the sweetness all over again.  

There's my niece with her darling smile wearing an old t-shirt over her clothes so she wouldn't make a mess. And my first born beside her with her favorite color egg cup-pink. She has a daughter of her own now, and guess what her favorite color is? 

I like the word wistful in defining nostalgia. That's exactly how this photo makes me feel. A great big sigh...happy, weepy, a longing for just a minute to be back in my momma's kitchen. 

Wishing you all a heart full of hope this Easter.