Grab Your Mug...It's The Hodgepodge

Welcome to our mid-July random aka 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 your neighbor there. Or all your neighbors if you've got the time. Here we go-

1. What's a characteristic you admire in others? Elaborate. 

There are many, but one of the biggest is selflessness. I so admire people who think of others first. Humility and integrity are other traits I greatly admire and they often go hand in hand with selflessness.

2. Do you have a favorite mug? Let's see it. Why is this one your favorite? 

This is my favorite-

And it has somehow disappeared. It may have broken and no one told me because they knew it was my favorite? It's also possible I set it down somewhere and it's still sitting there waiting for me to re-discover it's whereabouts. Too bad it's not linked to my watch the way my phone is. Bother. 

Daughter1 gave it to me because she knows how much I love the verse in my blog header and the mug design reminded her of that verse. Now I'm going on the hunt for it, because I'm wondering if I stashed it somewhere when I made room for the Christmas mugs. Do you need to know this? Carry on. 

I have other favorite mugs in terms of size, both the width and the depth and especially the handle. I'm particular about the handle. I have a couple of others that are favorites in terms of the giver and the meaning behind them. You know I have a hedgehog mug because of course I do. 

3. July 15th is/was National Give Something Away Day...will you (or did you, depending on what day you answer these questions) give something away? If so what? Do you regularly give away or do you 'accumulate'? 

I didn't give anything away on the 15th, but I keep a bag in my closet that once filled will be donated. We pretty regularly get rid of clothing we no longer wear. Hubs thinks our attic is full of things we could give away, but I disagree. We'll see once we get up there for the great clean out, which will not happen until the temperature drops about twenty degrees and I can walk without a boot. 

4. You're planning a trip. Do you prefer exploring big cities or smaller, more off the grid towns? World Atlas lists these 12 'off the grid' towns to see in 2025. How many on the list have you seen? Of those listed which one would you most like to visit? Tell us why? 

Boothbay Harbor Maine, Middlebury Vermont, New Hope Pennsylvania, Rehoboth Beach Delaware, Brevard North Carolina, Saugatuck Michigan, Medora North Dakota, Ouray Colorado, Lamoille Nevada, Neah Bay Washington, Hood River Oregon, or Cambria California

*You can read more about each destination by clicking the link above. 

I can get on board with a trip to a big city or a small town, as both appeal to me in different ways. I live in a small town, and I've been to a few of the small towns that made this list-New Hope PA (really cute!), Rehoboth Beach Delaware (we vacationed in neighboring Bethany Beach several summers) Brevard NC (not far from where I live so an easy day trip for us), and Cambria California-

California is such a beautiful state, one of the prettiest I think, but between the cost of living and the crazy politics there I would never want to call it home. 

It's hard to choose just one, but if I must I'm going with Medora North Dakota. Why? Because I've never been to that particular state and it's in a part of the country I'd like to explore.  Also my hubs has read several books about Theodore Roosevelt who is a really interesting man, so I know he would enjoy making the trip with me. 

5. Have you ever...ridden a motorcycle? been to a Disney park? met a celebrity? won a contest? Tell us something about whatever you answered yes to on this list. 

I had a brief ride on a motorcycle when I was young, about ten I think. My cousin gave my sister and I both, plus another cousin, a short ride around the neighborhood on his bike, and he went super slow. Still it was exciting to my ten year old self. That being said, my son-in-law is an orthopedic surgeon and not a fan of motorcycles. He's worked in ER Trauma and has seen too much, which kind of puts me off motorcycles. 

I've been to Disney World in Orlando three different times, and Disneyland Paris once. 

I've never been to the California Disney park. And I've never won a contest, but I have met a handful of celebrities. Here are two that stand out-

When we lived in the UK I was invited to a small luncheon in The House of Lords with David Cameron. I think there were about a dozen guests at the table.  He wasn't Prime Minister at the time, but became Prime Minister a couple of years later.  The club I was president of did a lot of fundraising for a charity very close to his heart and I was invited to the luncheon as a representative of our group. I sat next to Felicity Dahl who was Roald Dahl's second wife. It was a completely surreal experience for me. 

Closer to home-I met George Clooney in a NYC hotel when hubs and I were there with a group of his co-workers for an event. Meeting George now wouldn't be as exciting as it was then because I'm completely over celebrity culture in general, but especially celebs who bring politics into every situation. Still it was a fun night. 

The blogger  who hosted the random dozen which was the precursor to the Wednesday Hodgepodge sometimes mentioned George on her blog in a humorous way, and when I told her I'd met him once she demanded an explanation lol. I've linked the post with all the details here for anyone who's curious- George Clooney...here's the 411. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

So who here has joined the Mah Jong craze? I learned to play towards the end of the Covid 'era', and I still play almost every week in my neighborhood. When I was growing up Mah Jong was a game Jewish grandmas played and that's kind of what I associated it with. That and China which is where the game originated. Who knew it was so much fun? It's surging in popularity now with lots of young moms playing too. So who here plays?