Hello Friends. Here are the questions to this week's Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here on Wednesday (2/18) to share your answers. See you there!
1. The Hodgepodge lands on Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent. Do you mark this season in some way? Will you be giving something up or adding something to your life in this Lenten season?
2. Pancakes...are you a fan? Syrup or no syrup? Plain, blueberries, chocolate chips, bananas, or some other add in? Are pancakes on your menu this week?
3. Tell us about a time recently when you felt 'spread too thin'.
4. What's your favorite jewel or gemstone? In terms of your wardrobe would we find more gem tones, pastels, black and white, or primary colors?
5. What responsibility do you think is hardest about being in charge?
Hello Hodgepodgers and hello March! If you've answered today's questions, add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for your neighbor there. Here we go-
1. What do you love most about March?
Probably the longer daylight.
Honestly March is not my favorite month. It might even be my least favorite. The weather has trouble deciding if it's still winter or truly spring, pollen here starts to fall in earnest, and the month feels so long.
2. Hey! Did you know March is National Celery Month? Do you like celery? What's something you make (or like to order out) that calls for celery?
I do like celery and mostly have it chopped in various dishes as opposed to just grabbing a stalk to eat. I love celery in chicken salad and tuna salad both, probably my favorites in terms of recipes that call for celery.
My hubs does not like the smell of celery. He'll eat it no problem, but he doesn't want to smell a big bunch of celery when he opens the frig.
3. _______________ is the soundtrack to my life right now.
Little people chatter, the Yoto player, giggling, the dishwasher running, the washing machine running, the dryer running, 'Nana I'm hungry...what can I have?'...you get the idea
4. Share a favorite motivational quote for overcoming challenges.
"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." Corrie ten Boom
5. The Hodgepodge lands on Ash Wednesday this year. Do you participate in Lent in some way? If so tell us more.
I grew up in a denomination that focused more on Easter than specifically marking the season of Lent, but as I've gotten older I've grown to appreciate the act of really focusing on the weeks leading up to the Holy day itself.
I typically opt for a daily reading, something specifically written for the season of Lent, but haven't managed to get my act together to do that this year. Hubs and I are doing The Bible Recap together all year and that's been a commitment I've enjoyed and am learning from.
If you're not familiar with The Bible Recap I highly recommend. You read through the Bible (chronologically) in a year's time, a couple of chapters or sometimes more each day, followed by a very brief recap hosted by Tara-Leigh Cobble. The podcast portion is ten minutes or less but so informative.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
'Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10
Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog then hop back here on Wednesday (March 5th) to share answers with the internets. See you there!
1. What do you love most about March?
2. Hey! Did you know March is National Celery Month? Do you like celery? What's something you make (or like to order out) that calls for celery?
3. _______________ is the soundtrack to my life right now.
4. Share a favorite motivational quote for overcoming challenges.
5. The Hodgepodge lands on Ash Wednesday this year. Do you participate in Lent in some way? If so tell us more.
Welcome back to another week in the Wednesday Hodgepodge! If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then go say howdy to your neighbor there. Here we go-
1. This week's Hodgepodge lands on Ash Wednesday which signals the beginning of Lent. Do you mark this season in some way? If so tell us more. Did you grow up 'celebrating' Lent? Is attending church part of your weekly routine? Are churches open for in-person worship where you live?
I didn't grow up in a denomination that put a great deal of emphasis on the season of Lent, but Easter was most definitely a very special day. As an adult I've grown to appreciate this idea of intentional focus on the days leading up to the crucifixion and the great sacrifice made at the cross. I don't give anything up, but I do try to read something that sets my mind on that sacrifice and what it means to me and for me as we head into Easter.
I love church and one of the biggest negatives to all this virus mess has been the disruption to our weekly routine of 'going to church'. Some churches are open, others closed, others open but with limited access. Ours was open for a brief period then returned to virtual. We've been attending our Sunday School class via Zoom for almost a year now, and that's worked surprisingly well.
I'm ready to be back in the building, which I know is just a building, but again I think worship feels more like worship when we're physically in the same space. Far fewer distractions too.
2. When is the last time you sat beside a 'real' fire? Do you have a fireplace in your home? Wood or gas logs? Favorite thing cooked over a fire?
A real fire as in a wood fire? Yes I think that's what I meant when I asked-ha!
We have an outdoor fire pit that uses 'real' wood and I think the last time we had a fire there was sometime in the fall. It's been a while. I love a wood fire, but gas is so much more practical and for sure less messy. I always feel like I need a shower after we've had an outdoor fire.
We sit beside a gas fire most days in the winter months. We have a two sided-fireplace with one side facing the keeping room section of our kitchen and the other facing the family room. We also have a gas fireplace on our screened in porch, which is where we live about 3/4 of the year.
And finally, we have a 'fire table' on our covered deck which I absolutely love! If you're thinking of getting one I highly recommend. It runs on a propane tank hidden on the under side of the table.
Favorite thing cooked over a fire? Hubs makes a cobbler in the dutch oven and it's scrumptious.
3. Something that's currently got you fired up?
I'm trying hard not to let things fire me up these days. All it takes is for hubs to read me a sentence or two of what's going on in our country on so many levels and I feel my blood begin to boil. So I shut it down.
I am not a hide your head in the sand kind of girl, but most of what is out there is not helpful, often not accurate or even true, and it's definitely not in line with my current way of thinking which is ...'whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable...think about these things..."
I think it's okay to take a break from the bickering, the 'but I must make my point' way of thinking and try being still for a while. Where have all the opinions stated as fact gotten us? Nowhere we want to be that's for sure. At least nowhere I want to be.
4. February also happens to be National Cabbage Day. Who knew? Do you like cabbage? Is cabbage on your menu Wednesday? Of the following cabbage dishes which is your favorite-coleslaw (mayo or vinegar?), sauerkraut, cabbage rolls, cabbage soup, kielbasa and cabbage, grilled cabbage, bubble and squeak, kimchi, or haluski?
I do like cabbage. I mean I don't want it on the menu every night, but I like most things on that list. It would be hard to pick a favorite but my top three would be coleslaw of any kind, kimchi, and bubbles and squeak, mostly because I like saying it, and also because it wings me back to the days of dinner in the local pub in our little English village.
5. Do you hang on to pennies? What do you do with them? Last thing you purchased for $1.00? Last thing you purchased for $5.00?
I make hubs crazy digging for change when change is called for. We rarely use cash these days so it doesn't happen often, but if you tell me I owe x dollars and .62 cents I'm going to dig up 2 quarters, a dime, and two pennies from the bottom of my purse. Is that a woman thing? I feel like it might be.
Last thing I purchased for a dollar? I paid a library fine that was considerably less than one dollar and told them not to bother with the change. Five dollars it's harder to remember....maybe the donuts we bought from the Donut Wagon a couple of weeks ago?
6. Insert your own random thought here.
A friend shared this with me and I thought it was lovely...a little snapshot of heaven perhaps? It came out quite a while back, but somehow I missed it. Still timely though-
Here we are again. Still? You know the drill...answer on your own blog then hop back here tomorrow to add your link to the party. See you there-
1. This week's Hodgepodge lands on Ash Wednesday which signals the beginning of Lent. Do you mark this season in some way? If so tell us more. Did you grow up 'celebrating' Lent? Is attending church part of your weekly routine? Are churches open for in-person worship where you live?
2. When is the last time you sat beside a 'real' fire? Do you have a fireplace in your home? Wood or gas logs? Favorite thing cooked over a fire?
3. Something that's currently got you fired up?
4. February also happens to be National Cabbage Day. Who knew? Do you like cabbage? Is cabbage on your menu Wednesday? Of the following cabbage dishes which is your favorite-coleslaw (mayo or vinegar?), sauerkraut, cabbage rolls, cabbage soup, kielbasa and cabbage, grilled cabbage, bubble and squeak, kimchi, or haluski?
5. Do you hang on to pennies? What do you do with them? Last thing you purchased for $1.00? Last thing you purchased for $5.00?
Last weekend? This weekend? The snow? Valentine's Day? Assorted random 'stuff' I've thought about mentioning here when I had a minute? None of it? All of it?
Okay.
Remember a while back when I said I'd been to a glass studio and I'd made a set of coasters? We had to leave our projects in the studio for firing, and we got them back this week-
I used Christmas colors in mine, and am happy with the end result. Now if I can just remember to pull them out in December, which is always the tricky part for me.
Last year Daughter1 gave me a really special Lenten calendar she'd ordered from Naptime Diaries-
I loved it so much I ordered their Advent calendar back in December too. This year Naptime Diaries is offering a journal for Lent, and I ordered mine last week. If you're interested you'll need to order by Feb 26th if you want to have it in hand from Day 1, but really it's something you could use anytime of year. I'll post a picture once mine arrives, or you can visit Naptime Diaries and see it now. Her graphics are always beautiful so I'm looking forward to seeing what she's done with the journal.
About last weekend....hmmm...it's so last weekend. That's how it goes with blogging, always best to seize the moment, and if you miss it just carry on. I will say we saw Monuments Men at the theatre last Saturday, and enjoyed it very much. While the loss of great art and literature doesn't compare to the devastating loss of life that occurred, it's still incredible to think of all the paintings the world will never know, the sculptures never to be admired, the books never read, as a result of Hitler's rampage.
We also watched the opening ceremony for the Olympics, and since then have watched a fair amount of the event coverage. One thing I love about the games is that while we always root for our home country to do well, it seems we can also all get behind that athlete from anywhere who wins unexpectedly or performs in some amazing way.
My favorite so far is the Canadian freestyle skier named Alex Bilodeau, who says he's inspired every day by his brother Frederic. Frederic has Cerebral Palsy, and after winning gold Alex went straightaway to his brother to share the medal. Even though Canada's Prime Minister was standing beside him waiting to shake his hand, it was his brother who got the first hug.
What else? I should mention the snow. I mean SNOW! It's pretty y'all. I know some people hate me for saying that, and our gutters are scary full to overflowing with ridiculous ice that appears to be three feet thick, and my patio and the top of the driveway are still a skating rink, but y'all...it's pretty.
We got over a foot last week, and it's been snowing all day today with the forecast saying it will continue overnight. We're reaching that point in winter where we'll have to figure out with our snow plow guy where in the world he's going to put it all. We'll likely have to block the garage bay that houses hubs little red car. Can't imagine we'll be out in that anytime soon (ha!), but even so those snow plowed mountains take forever and a day to melt.
Our mailbox is in a game of chicken with the county snow plow...
She hasn't thrown in the towel yet!
I think the firepit is still around too, but we may have to wait until Spring to confirm that one.
Yes I resorted to wearing my ski goggles...it's a blizzard out there!
Except I heard technically it's not because we don't have the required wind gusts to be considered a true blizzard. Oh we have wind, just not gusting through at blizzard speeds I guess. When you're getting hammered with more than two feet of snow, and trees are bending to near breaking, and you're forced to wear unattractive ski goggles just to check out the status of your own front yard, I'd say that qualifies as a blizzard.
Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and given the weather it looks like there will be plenty of time to spend with the one I love. I was also supposed to meet my gourmet group for lunch tomorrow, but that will likely be cancelled, which is why I am right now congratulating myself for signing up to bring the chocolate glazed chocolate tart. Can't let that go to waste now, can we?
