More Than Words

Good Monday morning friends. I'm not going to do a weekend recap because ours was spent mostly de-Christmas-ing the house which is such a chore and not that interesting to read about.  Hubs remarked that we put out fewer decorations this year but it seemed like it took us longer to get everything taken down. I tried to be more intentional in how I stored things for next year, which contributed to the process moving at a snail's pace. 

Anyway it's done, or at least it's mostly done. Always a few stray bits and bobs that turn up once we've lugged everything to the attic. 

Let's talk words. 

Do you have a word of the year (WOTY)? Is this something you always do, sometimes do, have never done? I've had words from time time, but only when I truly felt there was a word I couldn't escape. That's how God speaks to me. He has to flash something in great BIG BOLD letters everywhere I look, and then I pay attention.

I know some people just pick a word they like and call it their own, but that's not how my words have happened. My experience with a word of the year has gone something like this-I go into it in January thinking my word is going to make the coming year look one way and then my year ends up looking a whole 'nother way. 

I haven't had a WOTY since 2019 when I chose the word 'delight'.  Sounds pretty doesn't it? Sounds like you're in for a year full of awe and wonder, right? 

If you've been around here for a while you might remember 2019 was the year one daughter had a cancelled wedding, and then right about that same time my other daughter and her husband told us they were expecting baby boy2 and would be transferred to South Korea three months before his birth, so yeah. 

It's a little scary choosing a word.

You know what though? 2019 actually did turn out to be a year of awe and wonder, just not in any of the ways I'd envisioned. Sometimes hindsight is a gift, and I can look back at that year and see how I learned to delight in Him, even as life presented some most un-delightful moments. 

So I've landed on a word for 2025 and it's this-anchored. 

Anchored means, "to make something or someone stay in one position by fastening him, her, or it firmly." In the Bible the word anchor is an emblem of hope, and a definition I read in a Bible dictionary added this, which I love, 'held by an anchor, moored, fixed in safety'. That feels like a good way to go in to a brand new year. 

I always like to have a verse to memorize and mull over that relates to my word, and while there are several that apply I picked this one-

I expect come December I will once again look back, and stand amazed at all the many ways God does exceedingly more than I can ask or imagine. 

If you have a word, I'd love to hear it. 

And I always feel like the new year should officially begin around the 6th, so happy new year everyone! 

Happy New Hodgepodge

Happy New Year Hodgepodgers, and welcome to 2025! If you've answered today's questions add your link to the end of my post then leave a comment for the blogger before you. 

I'm going to try a little something new in the HP this year, nothing earth shattering but a change nonetheless. I'm going to start posting questions the Sunday before instead of the Tuesday before like I've always done. The linkup itself will still go live on Wednesdays, hence the title-The WEDNESDAY Hodgepodge. We'll see how it goes, but this will hopefully give folks a bit more flexibility in writing their answers. 

Now back to today and the first Hodgepodge of 2025...

1. Oxford's Word of the year for 2024 is 'brain rot'. Are you familiar with this term? Do you suffer from the condition? Ha! This is a term used to 'capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media'. If you were choosing a word to capture 2024 (for the nation/world, not your own life personally) what word would you choose? 

I'm familiar with the term and I'm not suffering. I've become fairly ruthless in what I click these days and avoid anything that feels ad-full, sketchy, spammy, scammy, mean, lecture-like, or just plain ick. 

Oxford's word is brain rot, but Merriam Webster chose polarization. My thoughts ran in that direction as well, and sadly I'm going to say 'divided'. It's not an upbeat word, but honestly I've struggled to find patches of common ground this year with people who see our country through a whole 'nother lens than I do. I keep trying though! 

2. It's National Polar Bear Plunge Day (January 1)...will you be participating in one of these events (or even your own)? How will you spend the first day of this brand new year? Do you have a traditional New Year's Day menu? 

I've never done a Polar Bear Plunge but we live on a lake so the possibility is there. Hubs says he's in if I'm in so I guess it's all up to me. I'll let you know. 

A few years ago hubs sister and her family were here for the holidays and Daughter2, one cousin, hubs, and his sister all took the plunge. I volunteered to photograph the event because somebody had to do it. 

As far as the meal goes, we do have a fairly traditional menu every January 1st that includes all the 'must-eat' foods...pork (the movement of pigs when they root for food is supposed to represent moving forward), cornbread (representing gold), spinach (green is for dollars), and black-eyed peas (for luck). These foods relate to luck and good fortune, which may or may not be true, but we like them so we play along. 

As far as how we'll spend the day...I love to watch The Rose Parade and if it's not raining hard hubs and I will get out for a walk/hike, then spend the rest of the day relaxing and watching football.  

3. What's something that brings you joy and how will you do more of it in this new year? 

Writing. In the words of Nike-Just Do It. I'm also trying to pencil in some time blocks on the calendar in order to be more intentional about it. We'll see if that helps.  

4. Do you struggle with the January blues? What's one thing you can/will do to keep them at bay? 

I don't really struggle with the blues in January. Usually come January I'm feeling ready for a bit of down time. A quieter month after the frenzy of the previous year's 4th quarter, which is always jam packed with activity, is appealing to me. 

Course this year I'll have grandkids in the house, so not sure how the quiet part is going to work. Stay tuned. 

5. Will you choose your own personal word of the year for 2025? What about a goal, resolution, or maybe even a bucket list? Elaborate as much or as little as you like. 

I'd like to have a word but haven't settled on one yet. 

I'm working on a winter bucket list and will share it once I get it together. My bucket lists are always part fun, part growth, part stuff I need to do and if I put it on a list is more likely to get done. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm writing my answers on New Year's Eve, and have spent the entire day (so far) in my pajamas. I cannot remember the last time I did this and let me just say it felt glorious. I worked on my blog, did some laundry, made a pot of bean soup using the ham bone leftover from Christmas dinner, and prepped two appetizers to bring to a get together we'll be attending tonite. I won't wear my pjs there, but I might be tempted. 

We're ringing in 2025 with some neighbors and this is my favorite way to greet a new year...sticking close to home, no driving, snacks, friends and fun. Wishing you all a bright, happy, and healthy new year! 

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Days Gone By

It was sixty degrees here yesterday so hubs and I (and the little brown dog of course) took advantage of the warm weather and hiked out to a nearby waterfall. We hadn't been on this particular path since Hurricane Helene hit, but she definitely left her mark. 

The rangers and crew have done a good job clearing the trail of most of the enormous fallen trees and they've made work arounds where needed.  

I do some of my best thinking while on a walk in the woods. I don't know if it's the quiet or the beauty or the freedom from distraction but I feel God especially near when I'm out in nature.  

As we walked yesterday I found myself thinking about this next new year getting ready to roll in...what I'm hoping for...what I need to do-untangle-notice-cherish. 

What will this new year bring? 

No clue, right? I mean we all hope for lots of goodness, but know most years are a mixture of both sorrow and joy. Every year is filled with the comfort of familiar, yet the unexpected will be woven in there too. 

There will likely be some muck along the way.

So much beauty too. 

There will be things to work out and things to enjoy. 

Time to play. 

And time to pray. 

A walk in the woods reminds me I don't have to think too deeply about the year I'm leaving behind. That it's okay to just let it quietly roll away and instead turn my gaze forward. 

To let my heart fill with gratitude for the way God goes before me into each new year. Each new day in fact. 

To rest in His unfailing love, knowing He'll show me the path I should walk. 

Creation reminds me to keep looking up. 

'The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him." Psalm 28:7

In the words of my grandson, 'Happy new you!'

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 583

Happy almost new year Hodgepodgers! When the link goes live it will be 2025~whoohoo! Here are this week's questions, which you should answer on your own blog and then pop back here Wednesday to add your link to the party. 

I know many bloggers who participate here regularly would prefer for me to always post the questions earlier than I do, and maybe I'll manage that this year. Questions on a Sunday with the link up still going live on Wednesday. Otherwise we'd have to change the name and that's all too much. We'll see how it goes. 

See you back here Wednesday, January 1 to share answers in a brand new year...

1. Oxford's Word of the year for 2024 is 'brain rot'. Are you familiar with this term? Do you suffer from the condition? Ha! This is a term used to 'capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media'. If you were choosing a word to capture 2024 (for the nation/world, not your own life personally) what word would you choose? 

2. It's National Polar Bear Plunge Day (January 1)...will you be participating in one of these events (or even your own)? How will you spend the first day of this brand new year? Do you have a traditional New Year's Day menu? 

3. What's something that brings you joy and how will you do more of it in this new year? 

4. Do you struggle with the January blues? What's one thing you can/will do to keep them at bay? 

5. Will you choose your own personal word of the year for 2025? What about a goal, resolution, or maybe even a bucket list? Elaborate as much or as little as you like. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 582

Hello Hodgepdogers! I hope you're enjoying this most wonderful time of the year. 

Please note: There will not be a Hodgepodge next week (December 25th) since Christmas lands on a Wednesday this year. 

There will be a Hodgepodge link up on January 1st BUT!! I'll post the questions on Sunday (December 29th) to give everyone a couple of extra days to get their answers written.  

December 25-NO Hodgepodge

December 29-questions posted for the first HP of the new year (Volume 583)

January 1-the link goes live

Now back to today and this week's questions. Answer on your own blog then hop back here tomorrow to share answers with all of Santa's elves. See you there! 

1. What's one thing you want to get done before the calendar flips to a new year?

2. What's something that brought a smile to your face this year?

3. What do you like on a cracker? Do you have a favorite cracker variety? 

4. Do you have plans for ringing in the new year in a fun or special way? Are you typically awake at midnight on the last day of the year? 

5. What are three words that describe your 2024? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

An Ice Cold Hodgepodge

Welcome to another week in The Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered this week's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Here we go-

1. What's a change you'd like or need to make this year? 

I want to make some small changes to my morning routine, and have been giving some thought as to what that would look like.  

2. Break the ice, on thin ice, ice skating, tip of the iceberg, ice cold...which icy idiom applies to your life right now? Explain. 

Ice cold. The weather was abysmal today, pouring rain, blowing wind, gray foggy skies, and cold temps. Cold for South Carolina anyway. 

3. What's a project you've been putting off? Will you get to it this month? This year?

I need to tackle some of the boxes in my attic and will get to at least some of them this month. Definitely this year. 

4. Of the fruits that grow well in winter which ones have you tried? Which is your favorite? 

pomegranates, clementines, persimmons, passion fruit, pears, grapefruit, lemons, pomelos, kumquats

I don't think I've ever tried a pomelo, but the rest I've tasted and enjoyed. I like all fruit so it's hard to choose a favorite. Of the fruits listed we probably consume more clementines than any of the others, and they're definitely one of my favorites. I also love anything lemon so that one ranks right up there too. 

5. What do you think it means to be courageous? 

My book club just finished reading and discussing The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah, and there was a quote in there about courage I liked...

'Courage is fear you ignore. It wasn't the fear that mattered in life. It was the choices you made when you were afraid. You were brave because of your fear, not in spite of it." 

I think courage is doing what's right in spite of the threat of danger, difficulty or, in 2024, cancellation. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

What day is it? I feel like I'm still in 2023, my Christmas decorations are still mostly up (coming down this week though!), and I'm not mentally organized for a new year. We had a fabulous new years weekend with a houseful of friends here, then we had three of our grandchildren in the house for a fun few days, the tile replaced in our master shower, a car repair to organize, and whew! I think I'm almost ready to call it January 1st. Happy new year!

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Obsessed With The Hodgepodge

Happy new year Hodgepodgers and welcome to the first link up of 2024! If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Here we go-

1. Every January 1st since 1976 Lake Superior University has published a list of words they'd like to see banished from the Queen's English. Words may be banished due to misuse, overuse or just general uselessness (go here to read more about how the words were chosen). Here are the words/phrases they'd like to see banished in 2024-

hack, impact, at the end of the day, rizz, slay, iconic, cringe worthy, obsessed, side hustle, wait for it

Which of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Are any of these a regular part of your speech? Is there a word not on the list that you'd like to add? 

I've asked this question several years in a row now, and most years I haven't heard of more than half on the list. This year's list feels a bit more familiar, although I've still never heard anyone utter the word rizz. If I have to choose one from the list to banish I guess I'll go with side hustle. I'm not opposed to people having a 'side hustle' but for some reason the phrase itself grates. 

Perhaps if so much of what goes on in the world today weren't legitimately 'cringe worthy' we could quit saying it. 

I don't know that I use any of these words/phrases very often, but I think obsessed is probably sprinkled into my speech here and there. 

2. What do you wish you'd done more of last year? Less of? 

more of-writing

less of-overthinking 

3. A place you'd like to visit in this new year? Do you think you will? 

England. Do I think we will? Absolutely. 

4.What are three words to sum up or describe your 2023? 

busy, joyful, 'grand' 

5. What advice would you like to give yourself as we begin a new year? 

"...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things." (Philippians 4:8)

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Nine years ago today my first born baby girl married her sweetheart...

...what a lovely life they've made.  

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Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 532

Happy new year! And welcome to the first Hodgepodge of 2024! Answer on your own blog, then jump back here tomorrow to add your link to the party. See you there! 

1. Every January 1st since 1976 Lake Superior University has published a list of words they'd like to see banished from the Queen's English. Words may be banished due to misuse, overuse or just general uselessness (go here to read more about how the words were chosen). Here are the words/phrases they'd like to see banished in 2024-

hack, impact, at the end of the day, rizz, slay, iconic, cringe worthy, obsessed, side hustle, wait for it

Which of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Are any of these a regular part of your speech? Is there a word not on the list that you'd like to add? 

2. What do you wish you'd done more of last year? Less of? 

3. A place you'd like to visit in this new year? Do you think you will? 

4.What are three words to sum up or describe your 2023? 

5. What advice would you like to give yourself as we begin a new year? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Tea And Hodgepodge

Welcome to the final Wednesday Hodgepodge in 2023. There won't be a Hodgepodge next Wednesday (December 27), but we'll be back with brand new questions in a brand new year on January 3rd. Thanks for playing along today and every Wednesday. Here we go-

1. Did you do more talking or more listening yesterday? Was it by choice or by necessity? 

Probably talking because I talk a lot. I was at home all day Tuesday, finishing up the last bits of Christmas preparation. We had people working in our yard and hubs was in and out, so maybe not as much talking as I might normally do lol. 

2. Are you a tea drinker? Hot, cold, or both? Flavored? What do you like in your tea? Do you make Christmas tea this time of year? What time of day do you like to sip your tea? 

I love tea, hot and cold both, but hot is my favorite this time of year. I have a cup most afternoons around 3 PM. I like just a splash of milk in mine, but if I'm not feeling well will drink it with honey and lemon instead. Not a big fan of flavored tea. I used to make Christmas tea (the recipe that calls for Tang), but haven't made that in years. I remember liking it a lot, but can you even find Tang in the stores anymore? 

3. What's an activity you won't try, an event you won't attend, or an athletic challenge you won't take part in not even for 'all the tea in China'? 

bungee jumping 

4. What's something most people seem to love but is not 'your cup of tea'? 

Starbucks drinks and movies based on the Marvel comics 

5. How does your family celebrate New Year's Eve?  

We're normally at home on New Year's Eve. Too many crazies on the road and I think it's been established here on the blog that I am not a night owl. We love to have friends over and this year a group of our college besties will be here to spend the weekend. We will have some nice meals, play games, lounge in our pjs and laugh til our sides hurt. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

It wouldn't be Christmas here without me sharing my favorite carol. It never gets old and the lyrics seem to pack a bigger punch with every passing year.  May the peace of Christ fill your heart and your home this holiday season. 

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Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 531

Hi Hodgepodgers! Here are the questions to this week's random. But first a quick note-there will not be a Hodgepodge next Wednesday (December 27). We'll be back with brand new questions in a brand new year (January 3rd). Now here we go-

1. Did you do more talking or more listening yesterday? Was it by choice or by necessity? 

2. Are you a tea drinker? Hot, cold, or both? Flavored? What do you like in your tea? Do you make Christmas tea this time of year? What time of day do you like to sip your tea? 

3. What's an activity you won't try, an event you won't attend, or an athletic challenge you won't take part in not even for 'all the tea in China'? 

4. What's something most people seem to love but is not 'your cup of tea'? 

5. How does your family celebrate New Year's Eve? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Picking Up Where We Left Off

Sort of. 

When last we spoke on the blog it was the second day of a brand new year, and now here we are rolling in to February. I might need to jump in somewhere in the middle.  

I know many people dislike January, and there are all sorts of memes about how January is 85 days long, but around here we need a January. We need time to catch our breath, rest, walk, think, figure out our calendars, and come up with a plan to organize this new year. 

We have mostly succeeded. 

I mean we definitely rocked the resting part and honestly that was the main thing. 
We were tired. 

"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home."-Edith Sitwell

January here means reading books and watching HGTV curled up under a blanket. It's calling a friend I hadn't spoken to in a long while and taking care of a significant car repair. It's scheduling a couple of (hopefully) minor home repairs that need doing and it's dealing with the small mountain of paperwork that accumulated while we were holiday-ing and not January-ing.

It's spending a low key weekend out of town, saying cheers to a new year with old friends, and then everyone taking a mid-day siesta because they can. 

It's a walk in the woods on a crisp blue sky day and a swim in the lake right after...

That last bit is maybe not for everyone but some of us live for a swim in the lake. 

Mostly January says it's okay to be a little bit lazy after months of non-stop doing and I'm here to tell you it felt good. Better than good actually because we are not meant to go and do without adding a little slow and easy into the mix too. 

Last week hubs went with some buds on their annual duck hunt so daughter2 and her little guy drove over to spend the week with Nana. Her hubs was traveling for work so the timing was perfect and I absolutely loved having my girl in the house. We might have gone to bed at a ridiculously early hour every single night, but we still enjoyed chatting about all manner of things throughout the day, sipping tea by the fire, and playing cards. 

Speaking of perfect...

Be still my heart. 

This little man is just so precious. He literally lights up a room, a day, your whole entire life, with his bright blue eyes and his gentle disposition. Wednesday we drove over to my sister and brother-in-law's house because my sister is also over the moon for this little cutie and needed to see him. 

Who can blame her? 

I was reminded this week how long the days can feel when you are momma to tiny humans. Life revolves around their waking and sleeping and you learn to let go of your own agenda and needs in order to first meet theirs. 

What a special joy it is to watch my grown up girls be mommas to their littles. To realize we're not just mother and daughter any more...

...we're mother and mother too. 

Hoping your January brought peace and rest, order and energy, stillness and warmth, to the beginning of this brand new year. 

So What's New?

Besides the year I mean? Are you like me where it takes you about ten days in to find your rhythm post-holidays? I made peace with that years ago and honestly don't feel any pressure to have a long list of resolutions ready to go on Day 1. Nor do I feel any urgency to jump back into all the things or even to put up/clean up Christmas. 

Although as it happens, today I did do a bit of de-Christmasing. My plan was just to get all the ornaments off the inside tree, but one thing led to another and both trees are now un-decorated, the main tree is out of the house, Christmas dishes have been swapped out for the everyday ordinary (mostly...there's always a stray or two that hang out in the dishwasher), many many many towels have been washed, dried, and folded, and the furniture we rearranged to make room for our big Christmas crew is back where it resides the other eleven months of the year. 

Hubs and I had a mostly quiet New Year's Eve. We spent a couple of hours catching up with our neighbors, watched a lot of exciting college football, took some walks and some naps and did the tag-team thing we've almost perfected after nearly 40 years of marriage where he vacuums and I strip the beds and then I make him a BLT and he makes me popcorn and we talk about how cute our grandchildren are and how busy and how much we love having everyone here and how we also love just us. 

Yesterday I cleaned out my pantry which had gone totally rogue over the holidays and it makes me so happy to open the doors and see it all nicely organized. I was going to clean out my frig today, but I didn't have the energy for a full 'take it all apart' kind of clean. I settled for emptying all the bits of left overs and running the dishwasher. 

Tomorrow is another day filled with new mercies and enough grace to carry us through. 

I know some people like to charge into a new year as if it's something to be conquered, but I prefer a gentler approach. No big leaps, just do the next thing that needs doing while I contemplate what exactly I want this year to be and how I want to fill my days. 

I need to take some deep breaths at the start of a new year. Carve out time to pray and regroup here at home. I'll likely make a few plans and then remind myself not to hold them too tightly, and I'll let a few or maybe a hundred ideas bounce around my brain to see what sticks. 

Some people declare the first month of the year no-wine January. I'm declaring it no Hodgepodge January. I need some space right now to do all of the above so I'm taking a mini-break from the regularly scheduled random to make room for other kinds of random. The Hodgepodge will be back February 1st, which conveniently lands on a Wednesday. 

Wishing you a new year filled with lots of peace and joy...

 With pinky pink sunrise skies reminding us He's got the whole world in His hands. 

Cheers To The Hodgepodge

Here we are with a new year on the horizon and one more Hodgepodge to close out the year that was. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Here we go-

1. Did you set any goals for the new year this time last year? Did you meet them or miss the mark? Tell us more if you're comfortable sharing. 

I didn't have a long list of things to accomplish/change/improve in 2022, other than write more. Honestly life came at us full throttle this year and I spent a lot more time living it than writing about it. That's okay too. 

Maybe 2023 will be my year. 

2. What are three words that might describe the kind of person you were this past year or describe in some way how your life looked? 

Nana~road tripper~shotgun rider

3. What's something new you ate, saw, heard, or experienced in 2022? What did you think? 

A granddaughter joined our family in 2022-

What did I think? I thought she was perfectly precious.

She still is! 

In a different vein, hubs and I traveled up the coast of California in late September, driving from San Diego to Half Moon Bay just outside of San Francisco. 

Lots of new-to-me sights were seen there, which I wrote about it in excessive great detail beginning with this post-The Golden State. 

4.  Oxford Dictionary has announced it's word of the year for 2022, and it's this-goblin mode. Huh? Have you ever heard this phrase? Used this phrase? 

I hadn't heard the phrase until I read about the choice online and can't imagine I'll ever use it. Still kind of scratching my head, but I'm not trendy in so many ways and I guess this is one I've missed. Most people I asked hadn't heard of it either so I have to wonder how it can possibly be the word of the year? 

It's defined as "a type of behavior which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations." 

This year they allowed the public to choose amongst three finalists. You can read more about that here. 

Who is the public I wonder?

If you were in charge, what word would you declare word of the year for 2022? 

Wordle. Thanks hubs! I surveyed my family because I've had a houseful and still have a houseful and my brain is currently a bit mush. The Wordle trend is definitely more me than goblin mode. 

5. Any special plans for an end of year celebration in your house or town? The travel channel says the world's best New Year's Eve celebrations will happen in Copacabana Beach-Rio de Janerio, the Orlando theme parks in Florida,  London, Sydney, New York's Time Square, Edinburgh Scotland, and Paris. If you could attend any one of these which would you choose? Tell us why? 

No special plans this year, but if I could transport myself to one of the cities listed it would most definitely be London. 

Here's me with my girls in a London black cab, New Years Eve 2008. We were on our way to dinner and then to meet up with friends after. 

Auld lang syne man. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Sometimes I post things here around the holidays so I can look back the next year and recreate a decoration, recipe, craft or in this case...charcuterie tray. 

I made this for a neighborhood get together earlier this month and loved the way it turned out. I got the idea from one of my favorite Insta accounts, Ain't Too Proud To Meg. She does all sorts of beautiful and creative boards.  

Happy new year everyone! Cheers to more kindness, more grace, and more Hodgepodging in 2023!

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Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 489

Welcome to the final Hodgepodge in 2022. Let's wrap up the year with a bit of random. Answer on your own blog then hop back here tomorrow to add your link to the party. See you there! 

1. Did you set any goals for the new year this time last year? Did you meet them or miss the mark? Tell us more if you're comfortable sharing. 

2. What are three words that might describe the kind of person you were this past year or describe in some way how your life looked? 

3. What's something new you ate, saw, heard, or experienced in 2022? What did you think? 

4.  Oxford Dictionary has announced it's word of the year for 2022, and it's this-goblin mode. Huh? Have you ever heard this phrase? Used this phrase? It's defined as "a type of behavior which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations." 

This year they allowed the public to choose amongst three finalists. You can read more about that here. 

If you were in charge, what word would you declare word of the year for 2022? 

5. Any special plans for an end of year celebration in your house or town? The travel channel says the world's best New Year's Eve celebrations will happen in Copacabana Beach-Rio de Janerio, the Orlando theme parks in Florida,  London, Sydney, New York's Time Square, Edinburgh Scotland, and Paris. If you could attend any one of these which would you choose? Tell us why? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Chill Out

January is a funny month, it's long but it's not my least favorite month in the year. The month of March often feels like ten Januarys and consequently is the month I most want a little getaway. Back to January... I think there's pressure to be productive this month. To look at the blank page before us and feel a surge of enthusiasm for cleaning, organizing, and embracing that out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new mentality in every area of one's life.  

Impossible to maintain for the next eleven months, but in January we are ever hopeful. 

Since I'm mid-office redo I've been forced to go through all my files and accumulated stacks and do some shredding and re-organizing. It feels good to thin the paper piles and start fresh. Hubs doesn't understand why there are still so many piles (there aren't!) but everything has to be looked at before it can be discarded. 

Because our project here required carpentry, painting, construction, and sanding there is mucho dust on every wall and surface. What better time for a whole house vacuum than January? Hubs likes to vacuum so even better. 

Painters left yesterday and their piece of the project is done. Next up is the electrician who will install lights in the stairs. Hopefully. We finally have the lights in hand and now just need to know where we land on his calendar. 

The lights probably should have gone in first,  but we weren’t sure we were ever going to get them so plan B. He thinks we can make it work this way too, 'since there's access'. 

Whatever that means? I'm more of a call me when it's all done kind of home improvement person, which works for us because hubs is the opposite and likes to drill down to the nth detail. Somebody needs to, right? 

Let's talk books.

I read more in January. Well in regular-ordinary years I read more in January. I don't know about you but I feel like my sense of concentration suffered during the 'Covid years' and it's just now getting back to what it was last century. 

My neighborhood book club just finished this month's selection-The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan. A mostly pleasant read in spite of its WW2 setting. The plot centers around a cooking show that taught British homemakers how to make the most of their rations.That part of the storyline is true, but the contest added to the novel is complete fiction. 

There were lots of recipes sprinkled throughout the book and I made two of them for our get together on Tuesday-fruit scones and an apple honey cake. I did not make the sheep's head pie or the sardine rolls mentioned, and I also skipped the spam and game pie for reasons I don't need to explain. 

A friend loaned me my current read, The Winemaker's Wife, a novel by Kristen Harmel, plus I've started next month's book club book- Becoming Mrs. Lewis, a fictional account of the relationship between  C. S. Lewis and Joy Davidman.

Lots of books to make January feel less January. 

I've also signed up for the Lifetime of Reading Challenge on Facebook (you'll find it on the Book Girl's Guide page), with a theme this year of different decades. This means we'll read a wide range of books featuring main characters of different age ranges. Sounds interesting and you can choose your own book or read one of their suggestions. 

I've chosen one of theirs for January, A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith, which is actually a re-read for me. This was one of my favorite books as a young girl and I've wanted to re-read it for ages. January seems like a good time. 

If books aren't your thing, how about puzzles? I was given three puzzles for Christmas and hubs is helping with the first one. It's the University of Tennessee stadium on football Saturday, and you know what that means? It means the whole puzzle is orange and white. Yikes! I told hubs he has to help because his sister gave it to us. We're making progress and if we ever get it together we might frame this one to hang in the pool room. 

If books aren't your thing and puzzles aren't your thing how about TV? We might be the last people to the party, but we're finally watching The Sopranos. We're only in to Season 2, and it's definitely gritty so not for everyone, but we're hooked. I grew up in NJ and hubs and I lived there twice during our married life so we're loving the backdrop. 

Books, puzzles, TV binging, home improvement and icy temps. That about sums up January. We have snow in the weekend forecast which seems ridiculous because we rarely get snow, but apparently we are getting a little snow. Hubs would be happy to never see another flake, but I miss an occasional snowfall so hoping the weather forecaster is correct. They're wrong sometimes ya know-ha! 

Happy Januarying to you all! 

Got Hodgepodge?

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. Be sure to leave a comment for the blogger linking before you because we all know comments make the blog world go 'round. Here we go- 

 

1. What do you wish you'd done more of last year? Less of?

More travel, less careless eating. 

2. What's the tallest building you've ever been in? Do you have a fear of heights? 

Hmmm... I've been in my share of tall buildings around the world. I think the tallest I've been in is Taipei 101 located in Taiwan. I wrote about our visit in a post linked here-Look It's A Bird, It's A Plane...' 

Taipei 101 was at one time the tallest in the world, but when the Burj Khalifa was completed in Dubai it dropped a notch. And now it's down several notches but is still in the top 20 (currently #11). 

Am I afraid of heights? Not really. I'm not however, a fan of small enclosed spaces, and that's often how you have to travel to reach a height. Cable cars and teeny tiny too crowded elevators. Shudder. That hasn't kept me from mountaintops and buildings 101 stories up in the sky though. I think happy thoughts and grab the family member closest to me, or sometimes even perfect strangers, and I go. 

3. Do you have a word for the year? Elaborate if you'd like to elaborate. 

Not so far, but I don't think it's too late to claim one. 

4. January 11th is National Milk Day...are you a milk drinker? What kind? Your favorite recipe that calls for milk (cereal doesn't count)? 

I rarely drink a glass of milk, but I do like it. As a child I drank a lot of milk, that was the 'kids beverage' served at every meal. As an adult it's pretty much limited to my cereal if I'm having cereal, and I also add a splash of milk to my tea. I buy non-fat milk, but often when I'm cooking I'll use 2% or sometimes even whole milk if the dish I'm preparing calls for it. My favorite recipe that calls for milk? Mashed potatoes. 

5. What excites you most about the future? What do you miss about the past? 

This feels like it could be a whole big blog post, but for today I'll keep it simple. What excites me most? Watching my daughters parent their own children, and watching those children, my grandchildren, grow and become the people God created them to be. 

What do I miss...I don't know why, but a picture of my family sitting at the kitchen table having dinner is the first thing that popped into my head. My seat was on the side of the table beside my brother. He was always on that corner because he's a lefty. My dad at one end, my mom at the other, and my two sisters on the side next to the windows. Something about that memory makes me feel all cozy inside. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I'm still a little discombobulated here in terms of 2022 organization. That's what happens when you have home improvement happening at the start of a new year. Painters have been here all week painting the shiplap we added to my office wall and staining the wood we added to the stairwell. It's icy cold outside but we have all the windows open because it smells a little bit like a factory in here. Looks beautiful though, and I will show pictures when everything is done. The mattress for the Murphy bed arrived today so we're getting close.  Have a great week everyone!

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Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 446

Hello and happy new year Hodgepodgers! After a brief holiday pause we're back with our regularly scheduled random. Here are the questions to the first hodgepodge of 2022. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here tomorrow to share answers with the universe. See you there!

1. Share one happy moment/memory from the holiday season. 

2. Let's be reasonable with our expectations going into this new year, k? What is one thing you'd like to accomplish/improve/complete/do in 2022? 

3. Every January 1st (since 1976) Lake Superior University has published a list of words they'd like to see banished from the Queen's English. Words may be banished due to misuse, overuse or just general uselessness (go here to read more about how the words are chosen). Here are the words/phrases they'd like to see banished in 2022-

wait, what?-no worries-at the end of the day-that being said-asking for a friend-circle back-deep dive-a new normal-you're on mute-supply chain

Which of these words/phrases do you use regularly? Which of these words would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word/phrase not on the list you'd like to add? 

4. Best thing you ate in the month of December? 

5. January 5th is National Bird Day. Are you a bird lover? What's your favorite bird to see in the wild? Choose a phrase from the list that follows and tell us how it relates to your life currently...eat like a bird, bird's eye view, early bird, bird-brained, free as a bird, a little bird told me, or kill two birds with one stone.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Square One

I didn't mean to take a three week hiatus here but that's what happened and I'm not mad about it. Course we can't move forward without looking back so let's talk December. 

Christmas came. It always does thankfully. This year's holiday looked a lot different than the one I'd been imagining in my head all year long, but we are nothing if not resilient here so we adjust and adapt and carry on. The weather was fabulous so hubs and I started the day with coffee on the porch. Eventually he made us yummy bacon egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches and we opened gifts, took the pup for a nice long walk, then got the house ready for company coming later in the day. 

We were so glad to have friends also on their own this year, and together we did the traditional ham dinner with all the trimmings served on the Christmas china kind of meal. A really nice afternoon and evening spent with some of the nicest people we know. 

We missed in person time with the cutest little men on the planet, but we did FaceTime and loved hearing about all their favorite moments of the day. Little ones are extra precious this time of year, don't you think? 

We did manage an early somewhat traditional Christmas celebration with Daughter2 and her hubs a few days prior to Christmas and that was loads of fun. They arrived the Sunday before Christmas and left for the in-laws on Thursday morning. 

We declared Wednesday our Christmas with them, and woke up to stockings, breakfast casserole, gifts, and a prime rib meal which the men loved planning for, talking about, cooking and eating. Emphasis on the talking about-ha! Men and their bbq! 

We took them into tiny town one night to see the lights, played darts at the local beer station, played mini golf in a light rain, and just enjoyed being together. 

Backing up to the week before their arrival when we spent a really fun Saturday night with a big gang of friends and strangers-now-friends at a Santa pub crawl in town. We all agreed we have not laughed that much in a long time and it felt great! 

So many Santas, but 'Santa Baby' was my favorite costume.

What else? Oh yeah...construction. Can't forget that. I mean we've only had this project on the books since May so of course the install is going to happen the week before Christmas. Still not done but well on it's way. The wood that's been in our garage for the past three months is now on the wall, waiting on the painter (mid-January), the electrician (sometime), the Murphy bed install (happening this week!) and just a few other small loose ends to tie up before we call it a day. We are loving the look of what's been done and think we might actually wrap this thing up before too long. 

'Too long' being a relative term, ahem. 

Neighbors invited hubs and I for an oyster roast one night about a week before Christmas and it was so much fun. And because there were so many oysters they invited us back two nights later for a repeat and we were happy to oblige. Another neighbor provided the oysters, fresh from their trek to the coast, and we had them raw, steamed, and Rockefeller style. 

Hubs and I had a night on the town in the nearby big city one evening, with dinner and a holiday show courtesy of the local symphony. It was fabulous and I'd definitely like to make this a regular thing going forward. 

My sister lives about an hour from us and since her birthday is the day after Christmas we made plans to celebrate both occasions at my niece's new home on the 26th. We had too many wonderful hors d'oeuvres and loved spending time with family. 

What else? Hubs gave me a new computer for Christmas (whoohoo!) so he and I trekked to the mall last Thursday to do some sort of transfer blah blah blah at the Apple Store. If anyone is wondering what everyone is doing, I can tell you...they're at the mall. Have mercy it was a zoo! I haven't been in a mall since before Covid and I guess I thought that wasn't a thing anymore (the mall, not Covid-ugh!) but it is most definitely a thing. 

We hung out at home on New Year's Eve which is our favorite place to be at year's end. It was absurdly warm and we grilled scallops and were asleep before the clock chimed 12, which is pretty much how our end of year always goes. I'm more about a champagne toast on Day 1 anyway. 

How many times can I mention the weather? My daffodils think it's time to pop up and it is definitely not time.

On the bright side, since the new year rolled in with 70-something degree temps and crazy humidity we made the little brown dog's day and let him swim. Nothing makes him happier than dock diving and we aim to please. 

Our neighbors joined us for dinner New Year's Day and we played some pool after dining on the traditional 'lucky meal' like all good citizens should. Pork tenderloin, cornbread, collard greens, and black eyed peas. I hope everyone reading here also did their part-ha! 

And I guess that catches us all the way up. 

Wait....did I tell you I'm going to be a Nana again?!?!? This is what happens when you neglect your blog. I'm going to be a Nana again!! Here's sweet daughter2, the momma-to-be, with the nightgown I gave her this year. Hedgehogs of course, because it's not Christmas in my house without a hedgehog wrapped up somewhere.

Never have the words happy new year been more appropriate. 

Happy new year!!