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?  

The Golden State

I've posted a few pics on my Facebook page this week, but you know I need all the words too, so here we go. First things first-I spent the morning at the orthopedist and am happy to report my fractured elbow will not require surgery. Whoohoo! If you don't know what I'm talking about I mentioned it to Hodgepodgers in a quick post yesterday (linked here) and will likely mention it again when I get to the end of my trip recap. 

If you're new here you should know I can make blogging about a trip longer than the trip itself, but I'm still a little wonky with the typing so maybe my injury will inspire me to be less wordy. 

Maybe. 

See, here we are three paragraphs in and I haven't even gotten started on the actual travel. California. It seems a little bit crazy to make a road trip in California just now, given the price of gas there (7$!!) and really just the price of everything (how do people live here???), but we had friends hosting a wedding and we were not going to miss that. 

These are special friends. Friends who go all the way back and have known my girls since they were babies. We both started moving here-there-everywhere, always keeping in touch and seeing one another in person from time to time, until one day, in an absolutely wonderful display of God's amazing goodness, we ended up living in England at the very same time. 

Our babies who were born just a few weeks apart (her first, my second), and who moved three or four times in the middle years, ended up graduating from high school together while living in the same small village across the pond. This friendship has been such a gift and no matter the miles we always pick up right where we left off. 

When we received the invitation to their youngest daughter's wedding on the California coast we decided to make it a holiday. When in Rome and all that, right? 

Hubs and I have driven the northern California coast all the way from San Francisco to Tacoma Washington (recap link starts here), but I had never seen any of the southern coast. We added a few days to the front end of the wedding date so we could take our time meandering through some of the loveliest little seaside spots in America. 

We went total cliche and rented a convertible because why not? The weather was absolute perfection (is this why people live here???) and we rode with the top down most of the way, hence baseball caps and crazy haired pics. C'est la vie. 

This was our first flight since pre-Covid days and we had a connection both ways so opted not to check bags. We've heard too many nightmare stories of lost luggage and since we were hopping from one spot to the next we worried delayed bags might never reach us. The travel itself went so smoothly in both directions, something of a rarity these days and we were grateful. 

We arrived in San Diego on a Friday afternoon and by the time we rented the car, got out of the airport, and checked in to our hotel it was time for dinner. An early dinner as we were definitely still on East Coast time lol. We stayed at The Westin in the Gaslight District because we wanted to be in that part of town, but also because we had hotel points. Gotta make up for that 7$ gas somewhere now, don't we? 

We spent part of the day in San Diego before driving to our next locale and chose a couple of things to see that would give us a feel for the city. 

We started in Balboa Park and really enjoyed that. It was a gorgeous day (probably going to be saying that a lot) and we walked around soaking up all the beautiful scenery and sunshine. 

After seeing as much of Balboa Park as we could we headed next to the Embarcadero for a tour of The USS Midway museum. 

It is absolutely something to see and as you read the placards and hear the stories of so many brave, mostly young, servicemen you remember what you love about America. 

There was a quote beside one of the placards that really touched me. Rear Admiral Timothy Ziemer is cited as the speaker who said this, " What we share...is a pride for having sacrificed together for a cause greater than our individual pursuits. A pride for having our courage and honor affirmed and tested in one moment in history. Pride for having replaced comfort and security with the inconvenience of the unknown and not being broken by the experience." 

Our friends own a condo in San Clemente and we planned to spend the next two nights there. We stopped en route for an ocean view late lunch in La Jolla. Hubs likes this town a lot and wanted me to see it. Parking was a bit challenging on a sunny Saturday but we found a spot and had a wonderful relaxed meal at George's at the Cove. 

Rose all day. 

I mean I could have but there were places to go and people to see. 

Next stop...sea lions, surfers and San Clemente. 

And sunshine of course because it's the California coast. 

Once Upon A Time

I'm playing a little bit of catch up today since I was without power earlier in the week and missed a letter.

Today's letters come from my sister and also from a long time dear friend who worked with hubs for many many years. Both made trips to our home in England way back when and the words they chose go together, so it's a combo post today. 

Day 12-L is for London

Day 15-O is for Once

Once upon a time we lived in England. Not London, but nearby in a small village about 15 miles west of the city. A dot on the map where we walked our pup through the commons, met friends for dinner in the local pub, and hopped a train to London any time we pleased. Which was often. 

Where we mastered the art of parallel parking in minuscule spaces, puzzled over the rules of Cricket, and learned a whole new vocabulary.

Where we fell in love with Indian curries, iced buns, and Sunday roasts with a side of yorkshire pudding. 

Where we indulged daily in the pure pleasure of a cuppa with a friend. 

Where we raised teenagers...

Drove left while seated right...

And spent hours in a garden where poppies and foxglove and people grew. 

Where we donned wellies to hike past ancient trees and fields of rapeseed...

Across moors and bridges and old stone walls in the middle of nowhere.

Around bluebell blankets and fields of sheep. 

Through kissing gates that led to wide open spaces and beauty as far as the eye could see. 

Where history was at every turn...

And when the sun shone it was your favorite day of all the days. 

This picture popped up on my Facebook page last week, our first tagged photo on the site some 11 years ago-

We're in front of Buckingham Palace here and asked a stranger to take our picture. Selfies weren't a thing yet, or at least they weren't for us. I think the trend was just getting started back in 2009 but 11 years later we still haven't mastered it, so yeah. We asked a stranger to take a picture and they obliged. 

A moment marked with the click of a camera.
There were a thousand more. 

Once upon a time we fell in love with a place and words and people. 

We are in love with them still. 

Heart and Seoul

Still here in South Korea, and still enjoying time with our newest grandson and big brother. Everyone is doing great and I'll have more to say about our little men another day, but today I want to talk about Seoul. 

Hubs and I spent three nights in the city last week to give the family of four a little time on their own and also give me a chance to see the sights. I absolutely loved Seoul! The city is clean, modern but still old world in places, friendly and so interesting. Also, the women here are beautiful, and oh so chic! I wish I could pull off trendy the way some of the Korean women do. 

My daughter lives less than an hour's train ride from Seoul Station and we booked tickets ahead of 

time online so easy peasy.  More or less. Once we got the hang of the system it was easy peasy. Bonus they assign you a seat which I appreciate. 

Once we arrived in Seoul Station we hopped the metro in the direction of our hotel, got a little turned around and ended up taking a cab a short distance. People like to say English is everywhere, but not true. Yes there is some English here but there's also a fair amount of pantomime and finger pointing at menu pictures or your neighbor's plate to get what you want. 

We stayed in Aloft Seoul Myeondong and I would highly recommend. The location was perfect, and the staff was wonderfully helpful and kind. Probably the best front desk experience I've had in a hotel in a long while. From our hotel we could walk to several nearby metro lines and to many of the city's best known sites. And walk we did. According to my phone app we walked 20 miles in three days which was probably a good thing because see below-

Once we were settled into the hotel we made a bee line for one of our favorite foods-Mandu aka Korean dumplings aka pure deliciousness. After lunch we ventured into the subway and more or less figured out which line to take (with a bit of help) to get us to our destination-Gyeonbokgung Palace. 

The original 'Palace of Shining Happiness' was completed in 1394 and was the main royal residence of the Joseon Dynasty.   

Side note-traveling somewhere new always reminds me how much I don't know about so many things particularly in this part of the world.  

In the early 20th century much of the palace was destroyed, but since that time the original palace continues to be gradually restored. 

The complex also contains the National Palace Museum of Korea and the National Folk Museum, the latter of which we visited and really enjoyed. 

On the down side, we've all been fighting colds and in my case the cold is winning so by late afternoon I was running out of steam. We went back to the hotel to rest before walking to dinner at a nearby spot the hotel staff recommended, then called it a night soon after. The end of a fun full day in this fabulous city. 

Tomorrow Seoul Tower (or how I always end up riding a cable car in a foreign city) the lantern festival and more...

...because there always is on From This Side of the Pond. 

That Girl

I'm spending a few days with Daughter1 who happens to live in our nation's capital. You didn't think I just pulled the Hodgepodge questions out of thin air did you? When daughter1 was a little girl her Christmas list was full of pinks and purples and baby dolls and 'spinning' dresses. This year she asked for a new mattress and an external hard drive. Who is this child?

Because she has a full time job and I don't we decided I'd come down and be available for the mattress delivery and then we'd have some fun girl time too. Earlier in the day I'd taken the Metro into downtown so we could meet for lunch. I got to see Daughter1's work space and meet her boss and a couple of her co-workers. I looked at her desk, so organized and professional...I watched her swipe her ID badge to open doors and I listened as she gave me directions for walking around this huge city. I looked at my daughter and registered the white blouse tucked into dressy trousers and the four inch heels on her teeny tiny toes. For a minute I flashed back to her clomping around the house in my old highheels and her favorite dress up item which was a slip that belonged to my mom. Sometimes practice does make perfect.

I had my camera with me and after lunch I was hoping to play tourist but the weather did not cooperate. Instead I wandered into the most fabulous little bookstore in Dupont Circle that daughter1 had recommended. It's called Kramers and I could easily have pulled a mattress in there and spent the night. I love little bookshops. I bought a travel book or three and, as a little gift for my daughter, a collection of short stories written in French. Because when you live and work in a city you need to make sure you still have beauty in your life.

We rode the train home together and went out for a lovely grown up dinner where we solved most of the world's problems. We came home and put on our pjs and laid on her brand new plush mattress and watched all the Miss America contestant videos. We laughed ourselves silly.

She's in there still, my little girl with the golden blonde curls and the gentle spirit. The girl who makes the breeze feel warmer and the sun shine brighter even on a gray wet January day.

The Rockettes Can Eat All The Christmas Cookies They Want

We spent the past day and a half in NYC looking at the lights...

admiring the store window decorations

and taking in all the sights and sounds of the city at Christmas

We ate lunch in Grand Central Station which had a little Christmas market happening along with a laser light show

We went up to the Top of the Rock as it is known...this is the 67th floor of the GE Building in Rockefeller Plaza where you get fantastic views of the city...

Can you tell it was cold up there?

And then last night we had tickets to The Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall...may I just say it is appropriately named...

It's spectacular! My daughter and I decided that the muscles in the Rockettes legs must be like rubber bands. They probably don't even have to work to kick their foot up to their eyebrow anymore...we think it just pops up there on its own. The precision of these dancers is positively amazing. I love the soldier dance the best...they all fall like dominoes and it is truly something to see

My favorite part of the show is the live nativity. When they burst into Hark the Herald Angels Sing I want to cry...'Hail the Heaven Born Prince of Peace, Hail the Son of Righteousness'...that bit gives me goosebumps it is so beautifully done.

After the show we took a carriage ride around and thru the park...

did I mention it was cold?

Here's something fun...today we popped into the Hilton for breakfast and on the way out we happened to see this...

It is a real live Christmas tree dipped in chocolate. Amazing! All the presents and nutcrackers and Santas under the tree are also made of chocolate. And speaking of chocolate...this was my daughter's dessert last night.

What was I saying? Oh yeah...after breakfast we walked down 5th Avenue and my girls and I all picked out jewelry in Tiffanys. We didn't actually buy any...just picked some out that we liked in case hubs needs to do anymore shopping . Then we popped into FAO Swartz kinda for old times sake. The store is still alot of fun...

In fact few things are more festive or more fun than NYC in December...

especially when shared with your favorite people in the whole wide world.