Welcome to this week's edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. Better late than never, right? Thanks for your patience and for playing along today. If you've answered this week's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger there before you. Here we go-
1. Let's embrace it shall we? What's something you recently forgot to do? Is your memory these days more like a sieve or an elephant?
The obvious answer is this week's Hodgepodge questions. And when I say I forgot I mean I totally completely 100% forgot. I didn't think about it for one single second until Myra sent the first message sometime Monday morning asking if she'd missed me cancelling this week.
I wouldn't say my memory is a sieve, but it's no longer an elephant either.
2. Share a trick/strategy you have to help you remember things you need to remember.
I play a lot of word games, work crossword puzzles, play mah jong, and read hard books, all of which are supposed to be good for keeping your brain active, engaged, and working.
I also write everything down. If it's not written down it might. not happen. I use Notes on my phone and sometimes send myself a message or screenshot.
A long time ago I read a book about memory and the author shared one trick I still use. If you're a person who leaves the house and can't remember if you unplugged the iron/curling iron/coffeepot, etc here's what you do-as you unplug the item you picture your face in the outlet. Then when you later find yourself trying to remember whether or not you unplugged said appliance the picture of your face in the outlet comes to mind. It sounds a little crazy but I've found it to be effective.
3. What's your favorite fall vegetable to cook with? Do you prefer your fall veggies roasted, blended into a warm soup, or fresh in a crisp autumn salad?
I love all fall vegetables so it would be hard to choose a favorite. If pressed I'll say sweet potatoes. I like my fall vegetables in all the forms listed. I most often have them roasted.
4. October 5th is/was National Do Something Nice Day. Did you? If so tell us about it. Or maybe someone did something nice for you, and if that's the case please share.
I was at Costco on Monday trying to free a cart from a mess of carts and a man walked over and managed to separate them for me. I was grateful. It was a small act of kindness but little things mean a lot.
5. Nathaniel Hawthorne is credited with the quote "I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house."
Do you tend to spend more time outside this time of year?
We pretty much live on our porches year round, but autumn is my absolute favorite time to be outdoors.
Do you actively pause to soak in fleeting moments of beauty in your daily routine? Elaborate.
Do I actively pause. Yes I think so, and I think blogging helps with this. You begin to notice ordinary moments, conversations, and what's happening around you, and consider how you would frame those things if you were writing abut them.

You know something funny is that I completely forgot about checking the Hodgepodge questions until WAY later in the day than I normally do. I'm grateful that you write them as I'm sure everyone who participates and/or reads blogs is grateful. I like how you turned that situation into questions. Ok, the picturing my face in the outlet sounds odd but I will give it a try- it's worth it to try. I do worry about whether I've left things plugged in or not. I've never done a guest post; how cool that you were selected!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree on the fact that the blog forces you to stop and admire, think about, take pictures of - things that you might have missed. I feel that blogging has really enriched my simple life. Love that answer. Your hodgepodge helps us to think deeply and embrace, too!
ReplyDeleteI kept checking and checking for the Hodgepodge questions but didn't want to bother you and thought I had just missed you cancelling. Don't worry, life gets busy!
ReplyDeleteYes to writing everything down! I have heard that about taking a photo of things you want to remember but always forget to do it. lol
I probably wouldn't have missed the questions post until today as I'm usually last minute with my post. I did a guest post for the A-Z challenge back in 2019. It was nice to be asked to do one. I'm fairly good at turning off appliances before leaving the house but I'm often checking if windows are closed - our alarm system won't turn on if some of them are open. And yes, writing things down definitely helps me remember things.
ReplyDeleteHow cool you were chosen Joyce! You deserve it! You are very committed to that every April- so fun :) I like all veggies in all of those forms too. I would live on your porch too if I could!
ReplyDeleteI've always been fascinated by memory and actively seek out ways to improve mine. Some tricks work better for me than others. In fact I just read a nonfiction book written by a neuroscientist who is currently studying the effects of exercise on the brain as well as other things. it was pretty neat, if not totally ground breaking, to listen to. I like just about all fall vegetables too and prefer mine roasted most of the time as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you were able to post some questions for us, and haven't retired the HP! I will read your guest post - congratulations on being asked to write one. It's certainly a feather in your cap!
ReplyDeleteAs you know, I was concerned too. I always look forward to getting this done on Sunday. However, you live a very busy life. Good for you on all those mind games you do. Mark's mom had done puzzles forever and she is now 98. That is an interesting trick you shared. Yes, I love sweet potatoes but haven't had any in awhile. Mark doesn't like them. No, I didn't do anything except hang with Amber and Dylan on the 5th, the day before they had to leave to head back to Montana and that was very nice. That was a nice act of kindness you were given at Costco. Enjoy your autumn outside. Congratulations on your random thought. I will check that out. Have a wonderful day.
ReplyDeleteJust FYI, I can't get access to the A-Z link. My antivirus is blocking it and I can't even bypass it... Only mentioning it in case I'm not alone. I will try again later in any case.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the A to Z. I was a guest poster this year too. I went first, which was quite worrisome, since I'd never done it, and didn't know what to do or expect! I think we both did a great job with it! You had a very good topic.
ReplyDeleteI can laugh about your forgetfulness but only because I've been there, done that and own the t-shirt! Oh well, it only shows we're human. Thanks once again for the Hodgepodge!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this memory trick! I, too, love doing my NYT word games every morning. I'm not counting on them warding off cobwebs but figure it won't hurt. Now, I'm off to the ABC's!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the memory trick. I have a bad habit of worrying I forgot to turn the kettle off. Thank you! I am going to try it out.
ReplyDeleteI liked the random act of kindness that happened to you. :-)
xo
Thanks for another fun Hodgepodge, Joyce! I hadn't noticed it was missing on Sunday, since I never open it until Tuesday night! I will head over to ABCs and check out your post!! Congrats on being chosen!! Hugs!
ReplyDeleteI play a lot of word games too, and I hope it helps keep my mind active; and I write everything down. Even if I don't read the list or note, the act of putting pen to paper helps me remember. Picturing your face in the outlet is a weird sounding memory trick, but hey if it works!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the guest spot on the A-Z blog! I used to write guest posts quite often when I was active on my homeschool blog, but I think the blogging world has changed somewhat since then. (I've twice decided to pass on the A-Z challnge in April, because it's so hard to find the time, but I have a whole theme ready to work with whenever I decide to do it!) I'm headed over to check out your post!
Have a great week!
When I had my cardiac arrest 25 years ago (on my kitchen floor), one of the things that was impacted was my short term memory, something that had always come so easily to me. Having a few memory struggles was difficult but ultimately a small price to pay as they had told my husband and parents while I was in a coma for a few days that there was over a 60% chance that I wouldn't be able to live independently and that was if I ever woke up! There isn't a day that goes by that I don't give thanks to God for the many ways He's blessed me since that day. The memory loss though really messed with my confidence for awhile but I developed strategies that proved successful for me. Those close to me learned that they might need to repeat info, especially if it was important but said in passing. I repeated things to myself multiple times (usually in a whisper or in my head), I wrote down one word clues and would refer back regularly and, of course, I kept daily "to-do" lists and used lots of post-it notes. I learned to adapt. As the years have gone by my friends and I now laugh that many of them have now joined me in the "forgetful" club.
ReplyDelete"Hopping over there" right now to see what you said as a guest blogger!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the guest post. I'll hop over to read it next. I also like word games to keep my brain (somewhat) sharp.
ReplyDeleteI love that you were a guest blogger! I will go read now too. Such an interesting memory tip you shared. Thanks for hosting us Joyce!
ReplyDelete