Nurturing the Hodgepodge

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge Hodgepodgers!  If you've answered this week's questions add your link to the end of my post. Then go say hi to some of the others who also joined the party today. Here are my answers-

1.What is something you'll never forget about the age you are right now?

Relating to my daughters as young adults. I love their wit, their sense of independence, their huge hearts, and their confidence. There's something completely amazing about watching those tiny creatures you've raised take on the grown up world.  

2. What's a household chore you've never done? How have you managed that???

Changed the filter in the furnace.  
Is it the furnace that has a filter?  
I think so.

I haven't consciously avoided this job, it's just not one that ever crosses my radar.  

I don't wash the cars either (unless we're talking drive it through a professional car wash). This is a job hubs prefers to do himself because apparently my idea of a perfectly clean car doesn't match his idea of a perfectly clean car. 

I'm okay with that. 

3. Does nature shape our personalities more than nurture? Explain.

Ah, the age old question of nature vs. nurture. Here's what I think-

I think its sometimes one, sometimes the other, but most of the time its a combination of the two. I'm sure we all know of children who've gone off the rails in spite of their loving parents and a warm nurturing home life. We can also find plenty of children who've thrived in spite of horrendous circumstances and a significant lack of nurturing. 

I think most children can be trained and nurtured into well adjusted adults, and its a parent's job to do the best they can to make that happen. I've never read any studies on this, but I'd imagine that most (not all, but most) seriously troubled adults were not born that way, nor can they blame their troubles entirely on a lack of nurturing.  

I'll leave it at that, because this answer could quickly become an essay.  

4. Friday (February 28th) is 'Something on a Stick Day'...funny because Zoanna at A Penchant for Pens recently sent me a question for the Hodgepodge relating to this topic.  What's your favorite food eaten on a stick?

A perfectly toasted marshmallow, preferably eaten beside the campfire upon which it was roasted.  A starry sky overhead only makes it better. 

5. Which of your five senses do you treasure most, and why?

It's hard to imagine being without any of the five, but I'll say the one I treasure most is sight. I'm a very visual person, and the idea of never seeing my children's faces, the ocean, the view from a mountaintop...I think that would be so hard.  

6. What's the best music, theatre, or sporting venue you've been to? What made it great?

I've been in a lot of wonderful venues but probably the best would be The Coliseum in Verona. What made it great? 

Uh, Italy.  
Also friends-

Italian opera

and the intoxicating magic of Italian night air.  

7. It's the last week of the month...in five words or less bid adieu to your February.

Loved your big beautiful snowfalls!

p.s.-Note to self, next time I ask something like this make it 10 words or less. Five is not nearly enough!

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I received a really nice surprise in the mail last week. Susan, who blogs over at Stew Mama Says, had emailed asking for my address. She said she'd seen something she had to buy for me...that when she saw it she thought of me, my brand, my blog, and my word for this year. That's a lot to squeeze into a gift, so I was really curious.  

The big box arrived on Friday and here's what was inside-

Another big box.  Fun!!
Inside that box was this-

A small globe. 

In my blog colors. 

With my verse written around it.

And a word closely linked to my word for this year on the other side of the world.  

Well, yes I guess she did have to buy it! 

You know, when I started my blog back in 2009 I never imagined that one day someone I'd never met in person would see something that so perfectly fits where I am right now, that they would somehow recognize that, and then would go to the trouble of buying, packing and mailing it to me. As a bonus, the box arrived on a day when I needed a little help remembering these words, so thank you for that Susan! 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 164

Another weekend has come and gone, and here it is now late Monday afternoon. I still have too many undone must-dos calling my name, so if anything remarkable happened over the last couple of days, you'll have to hear about that another time. It's Hodgepodge question time and the Hodgepodge, like time itself, waits for no over-committed blogger man.

Answer on your own blog, then jump back here on Wednesday to share answers with friends old and new-

1. What is something you'll never forget about the age you are right now?

2. What's a household chore you've never done? How have you managed that???

3. Does nature shape our personalities more than nurture? Explain? 

4. Friday (February 28th) is 'Something on a Stick Day'...funny because Zoanna over at A Penchant for Pens recently sent me an idea for a question relating to this topic. What's your favorite food eaten on a stick?

5. Which of your five senses do you treasure most, and why?

6. What's the best music, theatre, or sporting venue you've been to? What made it great?

7. It's the last week of the month...in five words or less bid adieu to your February.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Five Minute Friday

Linking up with Five Minute Friday today, and here's the deal-

Tell your inner critic to hush, then write for 5 minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word. Then hop over to the party hosted by Lisa Jo Baker, and add your link to the list. Be sure and leave a comment for the writer who linked before you, because that's the neighborly thing to do.

Today's prompt-small 

Sometimes being an adult is not all it's cracked up to be. Sometimes the world beats you down in the form of mean. Sometimes a co-worker rails on you because they can. They know that you, the fair haired woman-child with the soft sweet voice, and the tender heart, and the quiet strength...they know that you can take it. They need someone to take it. You carry on. You wobble only a little.

It's the key in the ignition that does it.

Your car is dead in a cold dark February parking lot at the end of a too long day. It's the proverbial straw. That one more thing on top of too many things, and suddenly the way your grown up life rises up, and smacks you in the face makes you want to collapse into a puddle on the slushy gray pavement.

You are struck with a longing for the familiar place called home.

I hear them. The tears at the edge of your words. They reach out across the miles and phone lines. It's the catch in your throat, the pitch in your voice, that takes me back to when you were small and your hand held mine. When I could sit on the edge of your bed and be the fixer of problems, the soother of hurts, the cheerleader reminding you tomorrow is a brand new day. When my lips kissed your sweat stained forehead. When a cup of water and my off key lullaby were enough. When we told God together all the weary worries on a small child's heart, and you slept secure in the knowledge that every little thing was gonna be okay.

The calendar does not lie and more than two decades have been marked and lived and loved. We're states and miles apart, and somehow you're no longer small.

We've got this though, you and me. You talk and I listen. I talk and you listen. I find words to soothe, to remind you tomorrow is still a brand new day. You're good now, just needed a place to set down all the balls for a minute while you exhaled. You get over all the many things this day has wrought because you're a grown up now.

What about me?
I'm still a mother.

So I  sit on the edge of my bed and tell God all the weary worries on my grown up child's heart.

Like two decades ago.
Like yesterday.

And I sleep sure in the knowledge that every little thing is gonna be okay.

Cruising Through the Hodgepodge

Welcome to another edition of the Wednesday Hodgepodge...add a link to your own answers (Hodgepodge posts only please!), and then be all neighborly-like, and visit the bloggers who linked up before you. Here we go-

1. What's the biggest change since your childhood in the way people think or act?

There is in general less respect, not only for those in authority such as teachers, police officers, etc, but also for the average person we encounter as we go about our day. I think we've become quite rude as a society. 

We don't know how to deal with someone who holds a viewpoint counter to our own, so that person must be eviscerated. They must be judged and judged harshly, labeled with the most derogatory terms we can find, and then verbally beaten to a pulp. It does seem to me the more we have talked about 'tolerance' the less 'tolerant' we've become. I feel like there is now much more emphasis on our differences, less celebrating what we as humans share.  

There's no shame. 
In anything.  

Technology is amazing, but has definitely re-shaped the way we interact with one another, not always for the better. There are new ways to communicate, but also new dark anonymous alleys for bullies and pedophiles and other creepy crawlies. I think there's more fear in the world today, which leads to less trust, and consequently planet earth feels a little less friendly than it did when I was young.  

Wow that got heavy.  

On the bright side I'm not wearing polyester or blouses tucked into high waisted jeans anymore either.  

2. The Olympic Biathlon involves cross country skiing broken up with two or four rounds of target shooting. Which part of that would stress you out more? Or would you love them both equally?

I'd like to try the shooting portion of this event, just not in combination with the pressure of a cross country ski race. I've never actually been on cross country skis, but those athletes all seem to fling themselves to the ground once they cross the finish line, so I'm thinking its way harder than it looks!  

3. February is National Canned Food Month...what is your most purchased canned food item? What was in the last can you opened?

I use very little in the way of canned foods. My most purchased item would probably be tuna fish, although I will admit to a love of canned whole green beans. I love fresh green beans too, but I really do like the taste of whole green beans, eaten right out of the can. There are worse things to snack on, right? 

4. What river (anywhere in the world) would you most like to cruise?

I'm not a 'cruiser', but I can handle rivers, so this would likely be the only way I'd ever agree to that sort of holiday.

The Rhine...castles, vineyards, and fairy tale towns in The Netherlands, France, Germany and Switzerland. What's not to love?

5. It's the middle of the night and you can't sleep...what do you do?  Count sheep? Toss and turn? Watch television? Or do you get up and do something productive?

This question reminds me of an e-card I saw the other day-

Well I don't count sheep. If I wake up in the middle of the night I'll start by ripping off the covers, since heat is normally to blame. I'll probably toss and turn a little, and oftentimes  I pray. Prayer has a way of settling me down on the inside so I can sleep. I don't turn on the television in the middle of the night, and I try not to get up and disturb my hubs. Apparently I'm not that great at being quiet-ha! 

6. How important is keeping your cool?

Keeping my cool is really important to me. I'm a pretty even tempered person, and find anger in others very difficult to handle. I think a viewpoint or opinion is heard, and more willingly considered, when it's made in a reasonable tone. Anger wounds. 

7. I've got white stuff on the brain so why not run with it? White lie, wave the white flag, white knuckle it, white wash a situation, or white as a sheet...which phrase could most recently apply to your own life in some way?

Hmmm...none of these really apply to me at the moment, although some of the Olympic events make me think of white knuckling it. I'm so nervous for the athletes, especially those doing the super scary stunts.  Aerial skiing anyone? Or how about the skeleton sled where they hurtle down an icy route head first going 80 mph? 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Speaking of the Olympics and treating others with kindness today...did you see where the Russian cross country skier fell in the middle of the race, and broke a ski? He thought he wouldn't be able to finish, but a coach for the Canadian team ran in from the sidelines with an extra ski he'd carried up in case his own skier needed it. The Canadian coach helped the Russian skier put the ski on, and the Russian was able to finish the race. He came in 12th, but was greeted by the Russians as if he'd won.  

How about US hockey star, T.J. Oshie, who when labeled a hero for essentially winning the match against Russia said, "The real heroes wear camo. I'm not one of them." 

Humility from someone in the spotlight is refreshing, isn't it? 
And another person's spontaneous act of kindness makes the whole world smile.   

"How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world." ~William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 163

Guess what's in our forecast today? Ka-razy!  Here are the questions for our Hodgepodge...answer on your own blog, then slide back over here tomorrow to link answers with all your friends and neighbors.  The more the merrier, so come join the party!

1. What's the biggest change since your childhood in the way people think or act?

2. The Olympic Biathlon involves cross country skiing broken up with either two or four rounds of target shooting. Which part of that would stress you out more? Or would you love them both equally?

3. February is National Canned Food Month...what is your most often purchased canned food item?  What was in the last can you opened?

4. What river (anywhere in the world) would you most like to cruise?

5. It's the middle of the night and you can't sleep...what do you do? Count sheep? Toss and turn? Watch television? Or do you get up and do something productive?

6. How important is keeping your cool?

7. I've got white stuff on the brain so why not run with it? White lie, wave the white flag, white knuckle it, white wash a situation, or white as a sheet...which phrase could most recently apply to your own life in some way?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

That Four Letter Word

I guess everyone is sick of all the snow talk, and the snow pictures, and the actual snow, right? No?  Great, because life around here has been all about snow, predicting snow, prepping for snow, removing snow, figuring out where to put snow on top of snow, gutters overflowing with snow, cars covered in salt and snow, and most of all, relishing the snow. Because above all the back breaking, pocketbook emptying, are-those -gutters-gonna-hold worry, a great big snowfall really is beautiful.

A couple of inches of snow is aggravating, not enough to stay cocooned indoors, but so sloppy to navigate when you're out and about. Two or three feet on the other hand, and there's no question you're not going anywhere. You settle in and enjoy, or at least we did.

We had a lovely Valentine's Day dinner at home on Friday, cooked by moi, four new and untested recipes, all keepers. Especially this one-

Chocolate glazed chocolate tart. So rich, a tiny sliver is all you need. Not necessarily all you eat, but it is all you need. Definitely a special occasion dessert.

Saturday it snowed.

Let's recap...we had fourteen inches of snow topped with a thick coating of ice on the ground already. Wednesday into Thursday we got another sixteen inches of very wet, very heavy snow. Saturday another six or eight inches fell. No point in measuring, suffice it to say there's a whole lotta snow out there, and the way it's been pushed and plowed and mounded I'll likely still be posting photos of the white stuff in July.

I wonder if the gutters will have melted by then?

Probably, but will they still be attached to the house? That's the million dollar question. Did I mention it's pretty?

Today the sun shone so hubs and I got out for a walk. Our pup loves the snow and cold weather so we maneuvered her paws into her boots and she joined us.

She sounds like a Clydesdale as she clop-clop-clops across the iced over pavement. Every now and then she shoves her whole face into the nearby snowbank for a snack.

Our dog is ever on the lookout for that elusive blade of grass. Hubs has been forced to lug the snow blower around back to make a path into the yard for her.

Course, first he has to move the mountain our plow guys have pushed in front of the fence gate, but he's nothing if not determined so, voila-

...'la toilette du chien'.  Everything sounds better in French, don't you think? How do you say dangerously large icicle on the corner of the house?

I'm happy to report our mailbox is still standing. We have a Dunkin Donuts gift card for our mail lady in the hopes she won't give up on us.  I've doled out freshly brewed coffee and hot chocolate to our snow plow guys every time they appear too, which has been a.lot. Kudos to the road crews as well, because they are relentless.

Hubs has also moved a mountain of snow this winter. He clears the sidewalks, patio, porch, and steps which is no small feat.

In fact it might even be considered somewhat hazardous.

But y'all...

...it's awfully pretty. 

Variety is the Spice of Life

So what to blog about today....

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?