A is For Hodgepodge

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge and Day 1 in the April A-Z Blog Challenge. Some Wednesdays I'll probably use the random thought space here to post my A-Z, but not today. My letter A post started running a little long (shocking I know!) so I've decided to give it a place of it''s own. You'll find Letter A posted here. 

And if you're visiting from the A-Z welcome. The Hodgepodge happens here every Wednesday and you're invited to play along. Hodgepodge links only please on this post. 

And if you're here every week I'm glad you're back. Now here we go-

1. March is rolling on out of here. Sum up your March in ten words or less. 

March was a whirlwind of activities, events, and family fun. Whew! 

I know that's eleven words, but adding that Whew! at the end felt essential. 

2. Are you afraid of heights? When was the last time you found yourself dealing with a height, and did it make you nervous?

Heights don't bother me so much as what is often required to reach the height. I love a big, wide, expansive view from up above, but greatly dislike a sky tram, gondola, cars hanging from a string high above the earth, which is so often how you get from low to high. 

I've ridden many of these contraptions, and have to give myself a talking to the entire time we're moving. Or swaying! which is really not my favorite. 

Yes I rode a gondola above the clouds near Mt. Blanc. A crowded one too, where I wondered about the weight limit the entire ride up. It was a long, long, long way. 

I haven't dealt with any scary heights recently. I can handle tall buildings with the top floor reached by elevator. We spend a lot of time in the mountains and I love those sorts of heights/views. Driving high coastal cliff roads with no guard rail is unnerving, but also a little bit thrilling. 

Big Sur 

No post of mine regarding heights would be complete without another mention of the gondola that dangled by a thread I rode on to get up to the tea plantations in Taiwan. (I wrote a post about it here-Quake, Rattle, and Roll) The wind was whistling through the open windows and the car swayed in a way that was slightly terrifying. See those specks in the sky? 

That's me. The gondola made a stop halfway up and not gonna lie, the height and angle on these temple steps was a little nerve wracking too. 

3. What's a word you struggle to spell on a regular basis, and sometimes need to double check before writing it down? Use the word in a sentence that tells us something about your April calendar. 

necessary

Rain will be necessary here this month, if we want to get out of the current drought conditions we're experiencing. 

4. Love 'em or hate 'em, with Easter comes the sweet treat known as Peeps. So... do you love 'em or hate 'em? Speaking of peeps, what's your favorite way to have chicken? 

I like Peeps okay, but wouldn't say I love them. They're a fun, festive treat this time of year, but I don't seek them out. I'm sure I put a package in my girl's baskets when they were young, because more than the taste I love the look of them.  

When my daughter2 was first married and living in Pennsylvania we went to a peep and wine pairing at one of their local vineyards and that was kind of fun. 

My favorite way to have chicken? As an ingredient in a Thai green curry.  I prefer chicken baked and with a lot of flavor added, teryiaki, BBQ sauce, that sort of thing. I don't eat a lot of fried food anymore. 

5. This week's Hodgepodge lands on the first day of April, which happens to be National Poetry Month. Do you like poetry?  Share a favorite line or two from one of your favorite poems. What makes this one a favorite? 

I started thinking about copyright infringement after posting this question and here's what I found on line-

'You can safely use short excerpts from poems published before 1925, as they are in the public domain. Generally, using 1-2 lines (especially if they are not the heart of the poem) is often considered fair use, though not guaranteed, while quoting 3+ lines or more of a recent work usually requires permission.'

I do like poetry, and I wish I'd memorized more when I was young and my brain wasn't as crowded as it is today. I have several favorites, but one I love is The Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe (c. 1849). The main reason I love this poem is because my dad knew it by heart and would randomly recite it from time to time. His grandgirls absolutely loved that, and this poem always makes me think of him. 

"It was many and many a year ago, 

In a kingdom by the sea, 

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

By the name of Annabel Lee;

And this maiden she lived with no other thought, 

Than to love and be loved by me..." 

by Edgar Allan Poe

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

It's Day 1 in the April A-Z blog challenge, and if you don't know what I'm talking about go to this post (The ABC's of April) to get the 411. Essentially you blog one letter of the alphabet every day but Sundays in the month of April. My theme this year is The Things We Keep: An A-Z Of Ordinary Objects. You'll find Day1 in the challenge posted here. I hope you'll follow along! 

Also, I cannot let this week pass without wishing you the peace and blessings of Easter. 

May you know the hope and joy that is ours because of the great gift of God's only Son, who died in our place and rose from the grave. Happy Easter!