Questions for the Wednesday Hodgepodge-Vol 55

Here are the questions for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge...see you back here tomorrow to share answers.

1. Do you send Christmas cards? If so about how many will you send this year? How do you display the cards you receive? Or don't you? (gasp!)

2. When do kids become adults?

3. Does your 'beauty regimen' change with the seasons?

4. What's something you like to eat that might cause another person to turn up their nose?

5. Gloves or mittens?

6. What's the longest queue you've ever been in? Was it worth it? Queue=line but doesn't queue sound nicer?

7. Besides Christmas, what is one thing you are looking forward to in the month of December?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Happiness Is...

Years ago there was a cute little Peanuts cartoon that featured Snoopy hugging Lucy with a caption underneath that said-'happiness is a warm puppy'.

Do you know what else happiness is?

It's a day spent outdoors...

with little girls all grown up still walking arm in arm

on a beautiful blue sky day.

Happiness is sweethearts...

both the young and the 'not so young'.

It's an afternoon movie and a game of cards around the kitchen table.

It's bowling balls and laughter.

Happiness is daughters and a day set aside to give thanks.

It's a football game...

won in the literal last minute of play.

Happiness is a red velvet cupcake and a million dollar smile...

It's fathers...

and sisters...

and family...

and yes, happiness is most definitely a warm puppy too.

Full.

Thanksgiving might be my favorite day of the year. It definitely ranks right up there anyway. We had our usual feast with the addition of a wonderfully creamy and delicious mushroom soup the hubs added as a starter to this year's menu.

We woke up to beautiful sunny blue skies that stayed with us all day. Sunshine makes even the best days better.

So does pie. Daughter1 baked our traditional well-loved angel pie and Daughter2 made the pumpkin. She added a fancy crust this year.

Everyone hung out in the kitchen mixing and stirring and washing dishes...doesn't it seem like you wash the same mixing bowl ten times on Thanksgiving morn?

We watched bits and pieces of the parade and a lot of football. After dinner and dishes we dragged ourselves out to the firepit. Someone was in all their glory here...just sayin'.

When the fire burned down we moved from the outdoor couch to the one indoors for the traditional 'kick off to Christmas' showing of Home Alone. We've seen it at least 20 times but an iron in the forehead never gets old.

It was a day for full stomachs and full hearts. I hope yours was the same.

Thankful for all you Hodgepodgers-Vol 54

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge. I'm thankful you joined the party today and every Wednesday...you all help make blogging fun. Here are my answers to this week's questions-

1. Let's start with something controversial...dressing or stuffing? What's it called in your house and what's included in your recipe? cornbread? oysters? sausage? chestnuts?

In our house we use both terms but I guess if we're getting technical it's dressing. My mom used to 'stuff' some in the turkey and make a tray to go beside but I've never 'stuffed' a turkey. I make a cornbread dressing and if I were to tweak it even a little bit my family would rise up in revolt. It is my favorite part of the meal.

2. Who do you sometimes compare yourself to?

I try really hard not to compare. This has gotten easier with age although sometimes I have serious Martha Stewart envy. Not the person so much as the talent. She definitely has some serious skill. And a staff. Hmmm...maybe that's the part I really envy.

3. When was the last time you were in an airport?

Ha-if you read here regularly (and I'm sure you all do, ahem) then you know I kinda live at the airport. I was there last Sunday on a returning flight from my daughter's collegetown. I was back there again last night collecting daughter2 followed by a trip to the train station to collect daughter1 and her boyfriend. For all its many hassles transportation is still my friend.

4. What is the one dish that must absolutely be included in a turkey dinner?

See #1. That being said, if I make a turkey for a meal other than a holiday (which is pretty rare) then I might skip the dressing. In that case mashed potatoes would be my must have side with a roast turkey dinner.

5. What Christmas song do you dread hearing?

Santa Baby by Madonna or anyone else really...not a fan.

6. If someone approaches you and asks for money do you give it to them? Do you drop money in a 'tin cup' that belongs to a person on the street? Do you have a specific charity you support at the holidays and/or year round?

Yes. Just the other night a man asked me for money at the airport. We were on the tram together, headed to the parking lot, and there were five of us in the carraige. He was neatly dressed and politely explained that he needed $11 for a bus ticket to get to his daughter's home. She was supposed to pick him up at the airport but had vehicle issues. The woman beside me was nervous-her first time to the big city. The two gentlemen in the carraige with us remained frozen. I forked over $8 which was all I had. Was this a scam? Perhaps. Did he want the money to buy something besides a bus ticket? Perhaps. But I don't need to know that. I feel like I'm only responsible for how I give, not for what he does with it.

If I have it to drop in a hat/tin can I usually do. I don't pull out my wallet in a situation that feels like my personal safety might be at risk and hey, most of the time I don't carry cash so this particular gentleman was lucky I had a piddly $8.

We support World Vision, Samaritans Purse and Young Life on a regular basis...these organizations all work to bring hope to a hurting world.

7. Share a favorite Thanksgiving memory.

They're all favorites. The menu doesn't change much and we typically have some assortment of family members round the table so what's not to love? Some that stand out in particular are the Thanksgivings spent in England. As you know the Brits don't celebrate this holiday-ha-but one year I made Thanksgiving dinner for hubs whole office and that was alot of fun. They were most interested in the pumpkin pie and my sweet potato casserole. One dish was more savory than expected and one more sweet. This was discussed in great detail and with much enthusiasm.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Question #2 brought this song to mind-

'You are treasured, you are sacred, you are His'....don't forget it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pin.ter.vention

If you're looking for the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge you'll find them here.

A couple of bloggers are hosting a pin.ter.vention today. The idea behind the party is to post some of the things you've seen on Pinterest that you've actually made.

Some folks on Pinterest are what you might call serial pinners. That is, they pin for the sake of pinning, pretty much eveything they see. And that's okay but my pinning philosophy is a little bit different. I use Pinterest as a bulletin board/file cabinet for things I definitely want to try or that provide inspiration. You can follow me there by clicking here.

I've actually made quite a few things courtesy of Pinterest. I'm adding photos here but you'll need to visit my Pinerest site to get the actual links. That's one of the things I love most about Pinterest. You add the photo and the original website link just magically appears...no more wracking my brain to remember where I'd seen a decorating idea or recipe. Here are a few of my favorites-

This adorable cake I made for Daughter2's 21st birthday in September...I wrote about it here.

Super cute shark cupcakes, also for Daughter2's birthday celebration since she is a bit of shark expert.

My birthday is just a week after hers and my Daughter1 very cleverly looked at my style board on Pinterest and bought me a sweater and scarf I'd pinned there. She even included the picture from my board so I'd know where she got the idea. It was at that moment I decided I needed to start pinning great purses and jewelry in case hubs needs shopping inspiration.

I have three food boards-one for appetizers (Let's Get This Party Started), one for mains and sides (Cook's Corner) and one for sweet treats (My Sweet Tooth). I won't post pictures of everything I've made but here's a sampling-

Oven baked ham and cheese sliders for a book club party-definitely a keeper!

Banana cupcakes with peanut butter icing and butterfinger sprinkles-yes please.

A wonderful autumn-y apple cake with apples we'd picked from a local orchard-

Two appetizers for two different tailgates-both were well received-

Pretty champagne cupcakes with champagne icing for a sorority reunion weekend...our colors just happen to be pink and white and these were so light and delicious

I've also made homemade granola, a honey mustard dip, a coconut chicken main with apricot sauce, fabulous buttercream icing, and the veggie pinwheels. All were recipes I'd make again.

I especially loved these apple tea lights I used as part of a fall gathering and I've tweaked some of the centerpieces and front porch decorating ideas I've seen to fit my home and style. All this to say I think Pinterest is one of the more useful things on the internet. I find inspiration and motivation to try new things in so many areas of my life plus a way to organize a lot of what just floats around inside my head.

If you're not there yet and need an invite please don't hesitate to email me. I'm happy to share the pinning love.

Thankfully there are still questions for the Wednesday Hodgepodge-Vol 54

It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the Hodgepodge now, would it? Here are this week's questions...in between the supermarket run and the turkey prep be sure to hop back over here tomorrow to share answers.

1. Let's start with something controversial...dressing or stuffing? What's it called at your house and what's included in your recipe...cornbread? oysters? sausage? chestnuts?

2. Who do you sometimes compare yourself to?

3. When were you last inside an airport?

4. What is one side dish that absolutely must be included in a turkey dinner?

5. What Christmas song do you dread hearing?

6. If someone approaches you and asks for money do you give it to them? Do you drop money 'in a tin cup' that belongs to a person on the street? Do you have a specific charity you support during the holiday season and/or year round?

7. Share a favorite Thanksgiving memory. If you live in a country that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving share a favorite memory associated with food.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

To-do list? What to-do list?

Anybody else need to be doing something other than blogging this morning? I thought not. Go ahead and enjoy that cup of coffee before you take a deep breath and dive into your to-do's that should have been done. I'm not the only one am I?

I need to clean out my frig to make room for the various and hundred sides we prepare for our Thanksgiving meal.

I need to clean out my pantry to make room for the many ingredients needed to prepare those same sides.

I need to clean. Period. Or 'full stop' as they say in England. Sigh...they even make punctuation sound like something special.

I need to catch up on laundry that has accumulated due to our travels. What travels you ask? Well, I think I mentioned that my hubs was in China last week. He arrived home late Friday night to an empty house since I'd flown to South Carolina on Wednesday. Daughter2 had some minor surgery scheduled for Thursday and needed her mama close by. Or her mama needed to be close by...whatever. When daughters need me I scrap my to-do list and go, even if it is exactly seven days before a holiday that requires at least three days of cooking.

Her surgery went well and she is recovering nicely. We spent the weekend in R and R at my sister's house since she conveniently lives in collegetown. So thankful for my sister...she has a heart of gold.

I got home late last night. Okay, it was 9 pm but my kids can attest to the fact that 9 pm is late for me.

We seem to be on the go around here all.the.time. Full stop.

Today will be shopping and cleaning and a little bit of cooking in preparation for daughters arriving home tomorrow night, one with a boyfriend in tow. I am looking forward to the weekend which I'm gonna say officially begins around here tomorrow since hubs is taking the day and rest of the week off and my girls will be here.

Just writing that last sentence makes my heart happy.

Off to clean, cook, and count my blessings now...wishing you a week full of love and gratitude!