Excited About The Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's 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 before you, because comments make the blog world go round.  Here we go...

1. What's worth standing in line for? 

Boarding an airplane for a trip somewhere fabulous, security for a college football game or live concert event, the restroom when you're in a public place. 

2. Tell us about a favorite food related memory. 

I have so many I don't even know where to begin. An anniversary dinner at Cliveden House? Our long leisurely lunch made by an adorable Italian chef overlooking Lago Maggiore? My 50th birthday dinner at Asiate high above Columbus Circle in NY City's Mandarin Hotel?  

Those are all favorites for sure, but something about this question made me think of childhood, and one of my favorite food memories from childhood would be Thanksgiving dinner. 

My mother would spend the whole day (or two) cooking and we kids would help. My little sister and I were usually in charge of setting the table and pitting the grapes for our traditional dessert fruit salad. There was pie too, but to this day we all make fruit salad with fresh whipped cream as another option. Purple grapes, chopped apples, sliced oranges, and a can of crushed pineapple stirred over all. 

My mother has an artist's eye and she made holidays and special dinners look and taste so lovely. She set a fancy table in the dining room with the good china, and we always had an appetizer of shrimp cocktail in crystal glasses which was such a treat. 

Sometimes another family would join us and we always got dressed for dinner. No jeans, no loungewear, no excuses for not being at the table on time. Our best manners, cloth napkins, family chatter. 

That's me front left, and my little sister looking like an absolute angel on the right. Those dresses! I wish I still had them and could pass them on to my granddaughters. My teenage sibs are standing in back, and my dad must have taken the picture. That perfectly roasted turkey is just waiting for his expertise with the carving knife, and there's the shrimp cocktail on my momma's plate. 

Sometimes someone will pose the question, 'if you could go back to just one day in your childhood which one would you choose?' I might pick this one. 

3. What are some things you find particularly peaceful or calming? 

The lake off season, reading on the porch, a walk in the woods, the sound of a waterfall, waves lapping the shore, and snow falling at dusk. 

4. Is there something you do now that gets you just as excited as it did when you were a child? 

A few things come to mind, but I'm going to say my birthday. Nobody's surprised are they? It's no secret I love my birthday and it's almost here. I mean it will be here in a month, but close enough. I love thinking about the year that's ending and the one I'm running in to. I love hearing from family and friends, love a card in the mailbox, love a new beginning and...

I love my super delicious chocolate cake with the raspberry filling and chocolate ganache overall that hubs gets me every single year. 

5. To what degree are you in touch with friends from grade school? high school? college if you attended college? 

I'm in touch with all of the above to some degree or other. I'm mostly in touch with grade school and high school friends through the miracle of the Internet, but there are some I see in person still from time to time. 

I'm in regular contact 'in real life' with a number of my college friends. We had college friends here last weekend and have more college friends coming to the lake this weekend. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Got a question for you...do you allow anonymous commenters on your blog? What about a commenter with a name and a profile and even a picture, but that's it. They've opted not to share their profile? What about a commenter with nothing more than a name in their profile? 

I've had a couple of these lately and I don't know if they're real bloggers who choose not to share their profile, if they're some sort of scammer, or if they're AI? I don't allow anonymous comments on my blog, but I'm also hesitant to post comments from people who technically have a profile, but I have no clue if they're genuine or it's something sketchy. Your thoughts? 

Waiting On The Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's edition of TheWednesday Hodgepodge. 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. Or all the bloggers before you if you've got the time. Here we go-

1. Something you've waited for recently? 

Our new granddaughter to arrive. She's not in a hurry. 

2. What's something you loved to do as a child? 

Ride my bike without holding on, run through the sprinkler on a hot summer day, jump rope, read...it's a long list...

3. Something you learned from a grandparent? 

From my maternal grandmother: the importance and power of prayer in daily living, how to make iced tea by the glass, and to know there is great beauty found in a gentle quiet spirit. 

4. The most visited cities in the world last year (according to this site) were-Bangkok, Paris, London, Dubai, and Singapore. Have you been to any of the cities mentioned? Which would you most like to see? How do you feel about international travel in general these days? 

Of the cities listed I've been to Paris, London, and Dubai. I don't feel the need to make another trip to Dubai, but would happily revisit London and Paris. Singapore would be a place I'd like to see, but not sure I'll have the opportunity. So much world, so little time. 

How do I feel about international travel these days? Well, travel in general in recent years has its challenges and the actual getting from one place to another (by air) requires an extra measure of patience. Still it's worth seeing the world I think. 

5. February is the perfect month to ______________________.

Cozy up beside the fire with a stack of books. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Been singing this one all week long lol...

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It's Hodgepodge Time

Welcome to this week's edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge, our final HP in the month of November. Not December. Next week we're in to December but let's not hurry, k? 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. Here we go- 

1. Does anybody really know what day it is? Last week we skipped the Hodgepodge and I just assumed this week would find us in December, but nope. Still November. Do you wear a watch? Use a paper calendar or strictly electronic? What's your favorite hour of the day? Why? 

I'm really off track with what day it is because whenever we're traveling on a Monday it feels like I'm a day behind at home. Do I wear a watch? Not anymore. I had a watch for many years that I absolutely loved. It was a gift from hubs decades ago and I had it tuned up/repaired a couple of times through the maker (Raymond Weil), but there was no more fixing. I thought I'd get another watch, but haven't so far. I use my phone, but I do miss my watch. Hubs wants to get me an Apple Watch but I'm not sure. My watch was jewelry and I'm just not sure I want to 'wear' a device. 

I use a paper calendar, because I love paper. I love stationery and beautiful fonts and pretty papers and colorful pens, and while I do keep appointments on my phone calendar I operate mostly from my 'day timer'. It's not a Day-Timer product, the one I like best is put out by Our Daily Bread, but it's the size I like, it's spiral bound, and it has both week and month at a glance.

My favorite hour of the day is the first one. 

2. Tell us something about how you celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday. 

I'm planning to dedicate a whole post to recapping Thanksgiving, so for now I'll just share how the day began-

With these apple cider donuts my daughter made from scratch. Yum! 

3. What's a sound you hate to hear? 

Loud chewing.

4. Where do you not mind waiting? 

Honestly now that we all walk around with hand held computers waiting isn't quite the annoyance it once was. I don't mind waiting at home. If we're not ready to go I can find something to do. 

5. I really wish____________________________________. 

hmm...many things...do I go deep or stay on the surface....

I really wish I had a beach trip on my calendar. 

Surface it is. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We had friends over for dinner recently and I made an Angel Pie for dessert. I don't know if that's the official name, but that's what it's always been called in our house. It's been a long time since I've baked one of these and I'd forgotten how completely scrumptious the taste. Our version of Angel Pie has a meringue crust-

...filled with a delicate vanilla cream-

                     

...topped with fresh whipped cream and shaved German chocolate-

This pie doesn't travel well, so it's best to make and serve in your own home. It looks like it weighs a thousand pounds, but y'all it is so light and so delicious. 

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Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 528

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog then hop back here tomorrow to share answers with the universe. Here we go-

1. Does anybody really know what day it is? Last week we skipped the Hodgepodge and I just assumed this week would find us in December, but nope. Still November. Do you wear a watch? Use a paper calendar or strictly electronic? What's your favorite hour of the day? Why? 

2. Tell us something about how you celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday. 

3. What's a sound you hate to hear? 

4. Where do you not mind waiting? 

5. I really wish____________________________________. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

G'Day Hodgepodgers

Welcome to another week in the Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post. Before you run off do the neighborly thing and leave a comment for the blogger linking before you. Here we go-

1. Have you done more binge watching this past year than in 'normal' years? Any plans to break that habit in 2021? Tell us one or two shows you binged last year that you really liked. 

We have definitely watched more television in the past year than any other year of our married life. In a 'regular' year we're not big bingers, but one does what one must in the age of Corona. If life resumes some normalcy we can easily break the tv habit. We live on a lake and enjoy being out of doors and on the water, hopefully with friends and/or family nearby. 

Shows we've binged and enjoyed?  The Americans, Yellowstone, Bosch, The Queen's Gambit, Outlander...probably more, but these are the shows that popped into my head first. The Americans was my favorite. 

2. January 26th is Australia Day. Have you ever visited or lived in Australia? Have you ever tasted Vegemite, and if so what did you think?  Is a trip down under on your bucket list? We answered a question about travel three months ago (the October 21st Hodgepodge), but let's revisit now...where are you when it comes to planning or even imagining travel this year? 

I've never been to Australia but it's definitely on my list, New Zealand too. I have friends from that part of the world and I'd love to see them in person. I've tasted vegemite and it's just eh for me. 

As far as travel goes...it's still really hard to imagine anything international, and we don't have anything outside of the US currently on the books. We were planning to attend a wedding in Mexico, but the bride and groom have changed plans and we'll now be celebrating stateside. That will be fun too but means no toes in the sand so we need to figure out how to remedy that somewhere this year. 

3. Something that zaps your energy? Something that energizes you? 

As far as what zaps my energy I think everyone knows what my answer will be...anything and everything relating to 'politics' via social media lately. 

Something that energizes me?  That first cup of coffee with the sunrise makes me feel anything is possible, a hike in the great wide somewhere, meaningful conversations with my daughters or close friends...lots of things. 

4. On a scale of 1-10 what are your eating habits like these days? (1=all junk food all the time and 10= juicing every green thing in the frig) Healthiest meal you've eaten in the last week or so? 

Well we're coming off a wedding which was highly motivating in terms of watching my diet. Plus, I thought we were going to Mexico which would have meant bathing suits, and that thought is also motivating. 

Overall we eat pretty healthy. I am not into juicing, but fruits and veg are my favorite so there's always lots of both in our daily diet. I do watch my carbs and admit I had too much sugar over the Christmas holidays, but have made an effort to get back on track there so I'm going with an 8. Not bad, but still room for improvement. 

5. What's your most often 'Back in my day....' thing to say? 

I feel like I use this expression more in my writing than in my speaking, but maybe something along the lines of ..."we learned how to wait for things." Waiting is something of a lost art. Everything is so instant these days which means we don't get a lot of practice. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I do plan to write more about the wedding weekend, but I would love to have some photos to go with all my many words and as a nod to question #5, we're still waiting for the professional pics. Until then, here's a little snapshot of the I Dos captured by one of our guests-

No Foolin'

In spite of being super slack in the blogging department lately I've managed to sign up for the tenth annual April A-Z blog challenge. I always enjoy this particular exercise and it usually gives my blog the little oomph it needs to keep sputtering on.

It's not necessary to have a theme, but I know me and know I need a jumping off point if I'm going to write 26 posts in 30 days (no Sunday blogging in the A-Z). I've participated in five of the ten A-Z challenges and every year I say I'm going to write a few posts ahead of the launch date and schedule them to publish. What actually happens is I blog on the fly, and that's likely how this year will play out too.

Let's get crackin', but first my theme. Keeping it short and sweet, and I'd like to think simple except I'm sure I'll manage to complicate it somehow.

Delight.

That's my theme. It's also my word for the year and I want to dig in a little. My plan is to write about things that delight. Also going to write about a few things that don't because I like to find the silver linings.

A is for Anticipation

I know it's the year 2019, but I'm still using a paper calendar. I'm a big fan of the week at a glance format, and love flipping the page to a new week or month to see what's waiting for me there. That app on my phone doesn't provide the same level of satisfaction as a planner whose pages I can turn, fill up, and re-visit does.

While I do love making plans and looking forward to seeing them materialize, I also take great delight in glancing at the week ahead and discovering a day with no plans on the calendar. It's possible the sense of anticipation I feel for a day on the horizon that's all my own ranks right up there with my birthday.

It seems we live in an age where we don't want to wait for things. We want what we want and we want it now. For me anticipating an event, special occasion, visit with a loved one, an extra special longed for gift, or a trip somewhere fabulous sometime in the future is a huge part of the pleasure those things bring.

I was always that mom who when their daughter said she wanted a new 'fill in the blank' told her to "put it on your birthday list" or "ask for that for Christmas".  Looking forward to new things and new experiences is for me, an integral part of the enjoyment of those longed-for things and experiences.

Hubs and I were talking recently about Saturday morning cartoons when we were kids. While I don't remember a lot of the specifics what I do remember is how much we looked forward to Saturday mornings. We didn't have our favorite programs available 24/7 and there was something about having to wait for your show from week to week that made watching in your pjs feel more like a deliberate experience and less like mindless viewing.

Anticipation brings delight. Not all the time of course (think anticipating a call from your doctor, your CPA at tax time, or a dental procedure scheduled in a few days time), but mostly when I hear the word I think happy thoughts. Good things. Something to look forward to in the near or distant future makes my heart zing a little.

Christmas. A holiday booked months in advance. A visit three months from now from a grown child living many states away. When my daughter leaves our home for a cross country flight back to her own it helps to know when that next visit will happen. Anticipation starts brewing almost as soon as she's out the door.

I like thinking about spring travel in the middle of a long winter, and while I think we've gone a bit overboard on all things Christmas, the month of December is filled with anticipation of the very best kind.

Don't even get me started on babies being born and babies getting married.

photo credit: Chris Isham Photography

I know there's a flip side to anticipation. I know sometimes we can build up an event or looked forward to moment to an unreasonable level, then spend the actual event feeling disappointed and melancholy it hasn't lived up to our mental hype. I think we have to learn to manage anticipation and expectation without becoming Debbie Downer. We all know a Debbie Downer, dont' we?

I like to look on the bright side. I want to wear the rose colored glasses, see the glass as something more than half full. I love having something to look forward to and savor the sense of anticipation that comes along with making plans and living life.

Less Eeyore.
More Winnie-the Pooh.

"Well", said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called." A. A. Milne

Birthing a House

As I was out power walking the other day I was thinking about how this whole home build process reminds me a little bit of pregnancy. I'm in no way implying the finished products are the same, but the processes in getting there definitely have a few things in common.

1. In those first few weeks of knowing you're all gaga over what's happening.

2. The first sign of 'movement' is exciting.

3. Also, you feel a little bit sick. It's the hormones in pregnancy and the realization of what you've signed on for in home building, but nausea all the same.

4. There's a lot to buy.

5. Those middle months are bliss, with lots of notable progress.

6. The last 'trimester' is when things get real.

7.  You pray a lot.

8. A month feels like a year and you answer endless questions about the 'project'.

9. You eat things you shouldn't.

10. As you near the end of the process you snap at your husband just because.

11. Well actually it's because it feels like your 'due date' will never ever get here.

12. And then your 'due date' passes and you try not to think about it 24/7.

13. Except you pretty much think about it 24/7.

14. You're ready for this part to be over.

15. Soooo ready.

16. You take a lot of power walks in the hopes of somehow speeding up the process or at least working off some of the stress you feel at this new wrinkle in your timetable.

17. And then you're told it's all going to happen in one week's time and there's a flurry of activity and feelings of excitement mixed with is this really finally happening???

18. But mostly excitement.

19.When it's over you'll say it was worth it.

20. A dream come true.

Wednesday Blogging AKA The Hodgepodge

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge! Can you believe this time next week we'll be in to the second month of the year? January did not linger. If you've answered the questions here today, add your link at the end of my post. Do your best to drop by and say hi to the blogger who linked before you, because comments make the world go round. The blog world anyway.

Also, I'm wordy today. Some days are like that on From This Side of the Pond.

 

1. Share a winter memory from your childhood.

I remember waking to the magical gift of an unexpected snow day. Of the urgency to hurry through breakfast and put on all those layers in order to get out in it. I remember neighbors up and down the street shoveling sidewalks and drives. I remember building forts made of snow, running from neighbor boys who threw wicked icy fastballs, and sledding with my sister. 

That's me in the blue and my sister in red, standing on a sled. We find something hilarious here, and I wish I knew now what it was. Maybe the notion we were preparing to sled on concrete? Our driveway must have been icy, because I'm not seeing any snow.  I do remember we loved sledding in that saucer.  It was fast and spun like crazy, and all you could do was hold on to the flimsy plastic handles and pray you didn't tip out. It dented easily but you could un-dent it pretty easily too. Do they still make those? 

Also, this picture. Sigh. This is one picture I have of us standing side by side that when I look at it I see my own girls. The unmistakable trace of family around the eyes and nose.  The giggles...the camaraderie...the give and take and push and pull, the deep deep love you feel for that person who grew up beside you.  I see it here. 

2. What was on your blog this time last year? (Besides the Hodgepodge of course!) If you weren't blogging, what in the world were you doing with all that free time?

As it happens I wrote a whole post about this very thing. It was seven years ago this month I started blogging, and I recapped my Januaries here in A Stroll Down Blog Memory Lane.  

Specifically last year though? The wedding of course. 

3.Ellen Goodman is quoted as saying, 'We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched.  Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives...not looking for flaws, but for potential.'

Do you see more flaws or potential in your life at the start of a new year? Have you done anything specific this month to address either one? Does the new year truly begin for you on January 1, or is there some other month of the year that feels like a fresh start and new beginning?

I think I see potential in my flaws? Does that make sense? I like the word picture she paints of walking through our lives room by room, and I would say this is something I do beginning in December. I see areas that need improvement and come up with a plan to improve. I'm not always successful at following through with the plan, but I get excited about making the next year better in some way. 

For me September has always felt like the fresh start, clean beginning. There's something about the end of summer, a new school year, the shorter days and cooler nights and the year-end within sight, that makes me feel hopeful. Like change is possible and inevitable and should be pondered and planned for so I'm ready come January. 

4.Who's an athlete you admire or respect and why?

I imagine some people will turn their noses up at this question, because honestly all we seem to hear about are the athletes who misbehave, and it might be hard to come up with one to admire. I think there are many, and I love when successful people use their money and their name and give their time for good. I especially love the stories of generosity and kindness, performed away from the camera, which isn't always easy to do. 

Tim Tebow, the Manning brothers, and Phil Mickleson are all on my list. 

5.Do you like cream in your coffee? Whipped cream on your pumpkin pie? Cream cheese on a bagel? Sour cream on a baked potato? Cream of wheat for breakfast? Have you ever had a scone with clotted cream? Of all the creamy foods mentioned, which one sounds most appealing to you right this very minute?

I love cream in my coffee, but just a splash and only the good stuff please. No flavored creams, no artificial creams, just the deliciousness that is half and half. Whipped cream on my pumpkin pie? Yes! In my case it might make more sense to ask if I like pie with my whipped cream.  No to the sour cream on a baked potato, yes to the cream of wheat, and a yes to the scone with clotted cream. While clotted cream doesn't sound all that appetizing, it is so yummy! 

Right this minute I'm sipping my Tuesday morning coffee with a splash of cream and all is right with the world. Morning coffee is one of life's small pleasures. 

6.Where were you last kept waiting for 'hours on end'? Or for what felt like hours on end? How well did you cope?

I can't think of anything recently, but one that used to get on my nerves was the veterinarian's office. I always, always had a ridiculous wait there, longer than at any 'human' doctor's office I visited. Yes, I know there are emergencies, but there's also overbooking and poor scheduling. 

7.Believe it or not, when next week's Hodgepodge rolls around it will be February. Huh?!? Bid adieu here to January in seven words or less.

One month closer to the lake house! 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm participating again this year, in the April A-Z blog challenge and wonder if anyone else here is doing the same? For those of you who aren't familiar with the challenge, it's a writing exercise where you blog every day in the month of April (except Sundays), using one letter of the alphabet as your daily prompt. April 1 is Letter A and April 30 Letter Z, which is perfect because when you remove Sundays in April you're left with 26 days and 26 letters. For more info or to sign up, click the link posted here. 

I will tell you up front, there is everything under the sun in terms of content in the blog world, and you figure that out pretty quickly in this challenge. In the past couple of years the organizers have very helpfully created categories, so when bloggers sign up they can select one to identity their blog genre...humor, photography, travel, book reviews, memoir, zombies... 

Okay I kid on that last one, but only sort of. Who knew there were so many sci fi/gaming/mythology fans out there in the blogosphere?  My blog defies description (ahem) so I opt not to choose a category. And you can write with a theme in mind, or you can fly by the seat of your pants. 

Guess which kind of blogger I am? 

Actually I always have a general theme, but it's not one thought out too deeply or too far in advance. I'm more of what you might call a free-flowing blogger-ha!, and believe it or not I do have an idea floating around in my head for this year. I just need to decide if I can fill 26 posts on this particular subject or if I'll run out of steam by letter G. We shall see. 

I enjoy this challenge a lot, mostly because it rolls around each year right about the time my blog needs an energy drink. It requires discipline and helps me remember why I like to write.  I've met some lovely folks via the hop each year, so I'm in. Let me know if you're participating and I'll look for you there. 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 253

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here tomorrow to share answers with all your friends and neighbors.  See you there!

1. Share a winter memory from your childhood. 

2. What was on your blog this time last year? (Besides the Hodgepodge of course!) If you weren't blogging, what in the world were you doing with all that free time?

3. Ellen Goodman is quoted as saying, 'We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives...not looking for flaws, but for potential.' 

Do you see more flaws or more potential in your life at the start of a new year? Have you done anything specific this month to address either one? Does the new year truly begin for you on January 1, or is there some other month of the year that feels like a fresh start and new beginning?

4. Who's an athlete you admire or respect and why?

5. Do you like cream in your coffee? Whipped cream on your pumpkin pie? Cream cheese on a bagel? Sour cream on a baked potato? Cream of wheat for breakfast? Have you ever had a scone with clotted cream? Of all the creamy foods mentioned, which one sounds most appealing to you right this very minute?

6. Where were you last kept waiting for 'hours on end'? Or for what felt like hours on end? How well did you cope?

7. Believe it or not, when next week's Hodgepodge rolls around it will be February. Huh?!? Bid adieu here to January in seven words or less.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Hodgepodge

Welcome to another week in the Wednesday Hodgepodge. If your week is like my week, you're busy, so thank you for taking the time to play along today. Here we go-

1. What is one new holiday tradition you'd like to establish, or one you've established recently, say in the last year or two?

Advent. I didn't grow up celebrating Advent in any sort of intentional way, but I try to do that now.  I did grow up 'unofficially' marking the season with church programs, special music, carol sings, watching my mother set out her beautiful nativity and hang her 3 Kings tapestry, and all of that was wonderful and meaningful, but I don't think we marked the days one by one. I really enjoy the early morning quiet in front of my Christmas tree, with my Bible and Advent devotional -The Greatest Gift. 

2. It's the second week of December. Have you sipped a cup of eggnog yet this month? Wrapped a gift? Opened a gift? Kissed someone under the mistletoe? Lit a candle? Eaten a Christmas cookie? Seen Santa in person? Watched a Christmas movie or special? Read scripture relating to the birth of Jesus?

I like eggnog okay, but I'd rather spend my holiday calories on a cookie, so no eggnog this year. I have wrapped a gift or two, but I'm a little behind on this one. I haven't opened any gifts yet. No to the mistletoe, but I'm not opposed to it-ha! I burn candles year round, and my home is full of them at Christmastime. It's 6:30 AM and I have one burning in my kitchen right now. As far as I'm concerned one can never have too many candles.  

I've sampled a Christmas cookie (possibly two), and have also seen Santa. He was at a fundraiser we attended this past Sunday. I have not watched a single Christmas movie or special yet this year. I'm stockpiling the movies for a pajama day once both my girls are home. I read scripture relating to the birth of Jesus every day during the month of December. He's the reason for the season! 

While I'm on the subject-what's the big deal about saying Merry Christmas? I don't get why that's offensive, and why in heaven's name we need to label something a 'holiday tree'? If you don't believe, then don't celebrate Christmas, but for those who do can't we just agree to call it what it is-Christmas?

3. Do you think it's better to be an adult or a child at Christmastime? Explain.

I think both are wonderful, but the best thing in my mind is to be an adult with small people living under your roof.

Small people enthralled with the magic of twinkle lights and Christmas trees and waiting for Santa. Small people who sing Hark the Herald Angels Sing slightly off key because they learned it from their momma. 

4. It's often said, 'Good things come to those who wait'...agree or disagree? Why?

Sometimes. And sometimes you snooze you lose.  It depends what we're talking about, but yes I think it can be true.  I think waiting is something of a lost art.  As it relates to Christmas, the waiting for it to get here is one of my favorite parts. 

5. What's the last sweet thing you baked? Did you keep it, take it to a party/event, or give it away?

I baked two batches of cookies yesterday (Monday)...Butterfingers cookies to send to my future son-in-law, and candy cane snowballs, which I have to say are both pretty and delicious. 

I posted this picture on Instagram and had a request for the recipe so am linking to it here.  I'm giving the Butterfingers cookies away, and will take some of the snowballs to a Christmas party this weekend. 

6.  This question comes to us courtesy of Jhona who blogs over at The Red House at the End of the Lane. Everyone hop over and say hi to Jhona this week!  Here is her question... "I heard an actor talk about how he makes a conscious choice to talk to people in elevators.  He chooses to connect, make eye contact, and converse. Do you talk to people/strangers when you're in an elevator or any other place where you might have to wait together? Why or why not?"

Sure I talk to strangers. I do think you need to test the waters though. Not everyone sitting in a doctor's office wants to gab. I think you know when it's okay to chat, and when that person waiting with you is distracted or doesn't want to be bothered.  I think it's awkward not to at least acknowledge that other person waiting with you, particularly if it's just the two of you. 

7. Are you on the naughty or nice list this year? What put you there?

I would like to think I'm on the nice list. Perhaps we should ask my family?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I hosted a little giveaway last week and had a great response. If you posted a comment you received one entry, if you added a question for a future Hodgepodge you received two entries. There were 48 comments, but some bloggers posted their question in a separate comment, so for the drawing we had-

• 38 bloggers entered 
• 26 of the 38 were entered twice because they asked a question

• for a grand total of 64 entries

I printed out all the names, twice where appropriate, and put them in a Christmas bowl.  Hubs did the honors and drew the winning name last night.  

Now time for the big reveal...the winner of the Wednesday Hodgepodge Volume 200 giveaway is...drum roll....

Michelle, who blogs over at New Horizon Reviews. Congratulations Michelle! Message me with your mailing address and I will send you a box of Hodgepodge. 

That is- seven random holiday items plus one to make an even eight. I'm not going to show everything in the box, but I will show you all the one little item I had personalized-

A first edition Wednesday Hodgepodge Christmas ornament. 
It's a desktop computer in case you can't tell from my stellar photography. 

Every tree should have one!  

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 201

A winter wedding + Christmas = not a lot of time to blog.  I do however always have time for the Hodgepodge. Almost always anyway. Here are this week's questions...hop back here tomorrow to share answers with the universe, and find out who won the giveaway.

Also, thank you for the wonderful questions submitted as part of the giveaway. I'll sprinkle them into the next several Hodgepodges, and will link back to the brilliant bloggers who came up with them when I do. Here we go-

1. What is one new holiday tradition you'd like to establish, or one you've established recently, say in the last year or two?

2. It's the second week of December. Have you sipped a cup of eggnog yet this month? Wrapped a gift? Opened a gift? Kissed someone under the mistletoe? Lit a candle? Eaten a Christmas cookie? Seen Santa in person? Watched a Christmas movie or special? Read scripture relating to the birth of Jesus?

3. Do you think it's better to be an adult or a child at Christmastime? Explain.

4. It's often said, 'Good things come to those who wait'...agree or disagree? Why?

5. What's the last sweet thing you baked? Did you keep it, take it to a party/event, or give it away?

6.  This question comes to us courtesy of Jhona who blogs over at The Red House at the End of the Lane. Everyone hop over and say hi to Jhona this week!  Here is her question... "I heard an actor talk about how he makes a conscious choice to talk to people in elevators.  He chooses to connect, make eye contact, and converse. Do you talk to people/strangers when you're in an elevator or any other place where you might have to wait together? Why or why not?"

7. Are you on the naughty or nice list this year? What put you there?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

The Random You've Been Waiting for

I love a clever title. I can spend a lot of time thinking up blog post titles. Can you get paid for that? The weekly random dozen over at 2nd cup of coffee has waiting as its theme this week. Everyone's invited to join in the fun...just post your answers on your own blog and go here to link up with lots of awesome bloggers-

1. How good are you at delaying gratification?

Are we talking chocolate or are we talking buying a new car? It matters.

2. Maybe a marshmallow wouldn't be too difficult a temptation for you. What food (or anything else) would be most tempting?

I think I may have mentioned I like chocolate. Shoes are also tempting. And pottery. I’m a broken record here….chocolate, shoes, and pottery…that’s me in a nutshell.

3. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being saintly) how patient are you?

I’m a very patient person. I have other issues but lack of patience isn’t one of them. And I'm not putting a number here. I was told there would be no math.

4. Have you ever waited for something in life only to be disappointed upon realization of the goal/object/etc.?

This question sounds deep and weighty and I feel like something should come to mind but I got nothin’.

5. Are you a person who takes shortcuts?

Driving-yes. Life in general-no. I think my compulsion to follow the rules has been discussed in an earlier random.

6. Which line is hardest to wait in?

The Department of Motor Vehicles, anytown USA. I speak from experience on this one folks.

7. Did you wait to discover the gender of your unborn child until its birth?

Yes…both times.

8. Are you more patient with children or the elderly?

I like to think I treat both groups with patience. If I have to choose I’ll say children since I’ve spent the bulk of my professional life working with children, often children with particular needs who do things slowly, differently, or not at all.

9. Did you ever sneak a peek at a present?

No…I would absolutely hate that. Who does that?

10. What is the longest you've ever waited for anything?

My dad to return from overseas duty...one whole year which felt like ten to a 7 year old child.

I also waited a good long time for my second child to make an appearance. She definitely took her sweet time getting here. Totally worth it though.

11. Who has more patience, you or your significant other?

Hooray for easy….that would be me. Husband would not disagree.

12. Which of the following songs about waiting is your pick for the best? (OK, you may substitute another, if you like.)

A) Anticipation by Carly Simon

B) The Waiting by Tom Petty

C) Right Here Waiting for You by Richard Marx

D) Wait for Me by Rebecca St. James

I’m a Tom Petty fan but I’m going out of the box on this one and will say, 'Wouldn’t it Be Nice' by The Beach Boys... Go ahead and sing along…you know you want to.

In the Still of the Night

It is very early morning and still dark outside. I think this is my favorite time of day...all the world feels still and quiet. We are covered in a blanket of snow and it is absolutely beautiful. My daughter managed to arrive home safely mid- blizzard...there were delays and an extremely treacherous ride home from the train station but many people were stranded last night so we are feeling very thankful.

If there's one thing that has struck me since I began blogging it is this...there are people in this world who carry such tremendously heavy burdens...failing marriages, lost jobs, sick children. And they are waiting...waiting for God to act...to restore, to rescue, to heal. I read a post this morning that is one of the best things I've read in a long time...you'll find it here. Click over...you'll be glad you did.