Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Share a winter memory from your childhood.

I've probably shared this before, but it's a strong memory...

It was Christmas Eve, and it was a bitterly cold one.  I was four years old.  We were gathered around our new puppy when our older dog started going NUTS.  We went to the front window of the house, where he was, and saw the local firetrucks headed up the street across from our driveway.  There was a house up the way that was fully engulfed.  The hydrant was right in front of our house, and we watched as they hooked up the hoses and started to put out the fires--only to have the hoses shatter almost immediately due to the cold.

They couldn't do anything but watch that house burn down to the ground.

Some weeks later, I seem to remember the community coming together to help them rebuild, and my parents simply explaining that that's what neighbors are for.

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? 

Probably not much.  I don't think I was using this blog for much this time last year.

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?

I hope like anything I see more potential.  I plan on a lot of things this year, without all the "Well, here's what I need to fix this time..."

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

Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs.  Diagnosed with cancer, what, a year ago?  Played through this season with the "yes I will" attitude that I can't help but respect.  He said once that football sore is way better than chemotherapy sore, and I definitely believe him.

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?

Sometimes I do take cream in my coffee, but not all that often.  If I'm lucky enough to get a pumpkin pie, yes, I take whipped cream on that.  I do love cream cheese on a bagel, but going gluten free has made that not a thing anymore. (have you ever tried a gluten free bagel? they're underwhelming.)  I've never had cream of wheat or clotted cream, but of the above, I would definitely take a cup of coffee with cream at the moment.

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

Standing in line at the grocery store.  It was just ahead of the winter storm--usually I go on Saturday, but good sense made me go on Friday along with ALMOST EVERYONE ELSE IN PITTSBURGH so the lines were long.  But I understood, so I kept my mouth shut and read the covers of the magazines nearby (and nearly bought a few--for the recipes, of course).

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.

Thanks for a good start to 2016.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Scout is doing a solo in the spring orchestra concert.  So, of course, his violin is in need of repair.  Thankfully, the shop I bought it in is one of those small businesses that I can trust.  Small, locally owned businesses are pretty much one of my favorite things.

WOOF, what a weekend.

Well THAT was quite a weekend...

Friday afternoon, we got hit with the threatened snowstorm (I think they named it Jonas?) and we wound up with about eight inches of snow by the time it was over.  Sunshine's dance class was cancelled.  Scout's baseball camp was, too.

So, feeling grateful that I did my weekly trip to the store ahead of the storm, what was I to do but make chicken cordon bleu soup and enjoy being inside on Saturday?  I'm not a fan of snow and I didn't want to be out in it.  Really the only person who did was Sunshine--she spent the majority of the time throwing around handfuls of snow and screaming, "LET IT GO" at the top of her lungs.  Then she'd come inside, curl up under a blanket, and whimper that she was cold.

Today, the roads were clear and our spirits were high, so we went to the mall after church.  After lunch, we split up: Scout and I headed to the cinema to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens and he LOVED it.  Asked a lot of questions (mostly along the lines of, "Is that guy gonna be okay?"), decided he wants to be BB-8 for Halloween, understood a lot more of the plot than I expected him to for someone who's watched half of A New Hope.

Sunshine and my husband hung around the mall for a while.  Then Sunshine decided, she wanted to get her ears pierced.

Husband says she did really well: didn't scream, cry, fight, etc, and that's all good stuff to hear.  The place she went caters to kids, and they loosened the earrings for me (which is good, because that's tough to do without pulling them out accidentally), she got a stuffed kitty and a lollipop, they took a picture, gave her a certificate, it looks great.  She even got her nails painted and got her hair cupcake scented.

If there's a Sweet and Sassy in your area, apparently it's awesome for little girls.  Maybe she'll want to do her next birthday party there.

So the next two months are devoted to helping her with her earrings.  That's fine; I've got two holes in each ear myself, so this won't be my first rodeo.

Making a spherical Halloween costume, on the other hand, may well be out of my range.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

It's good to be back, at least somewhat?  You know the days when everything is flowing and you feel like you have all of your ducks in a row?  January is usually about balancing that out for me.

1.  Speaking of skating...when did you last 'skate on thin ice', 'skate over the details', 'encounter a cheapskate', or just plain skate?
I feel a little like I'm skating over the details of a few things here, mostly because I have a cold and the medicine makes me feel groggy, but also because there's a LOT of details for a LOT of things going through my head.

2. What would you say is the biggest problem of people your age?

I've been seeing a lot of my friends talking about their student loans these days.  So maybe that.

3. What's your favorite accessory? Is it something you wear every day, often, or only on special occasions?

My husband gave me a mother's ring for Christmas.  It's beautiful.

4. January 20th is National Cheese Lover's Day. Are you a lover of cheese? What's your favorite dish made with cheese? Last thing you ate that contained some kind of cheese? 

I don't think I'm friends with anyone who DOESN'T love cheese!  My favorite dish that includes cheese is probably a baked macaroni and cheese.  Homemade, because that's the easiest way to sneak samples of the cheese while you're making the sauce.  We had Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie last night for dinner.  Husband said it tasted good...I couldn't really taste anything because I was feeling so stuffy.

5. What's something guaranteed to make you roll your eyes? 

Hearing, "But MAMA..." when I say it's time to get up/time to go/time to do homework/time for bed.

6. Your favorite book series? 

I am a big Harry Potter fan.  I'm also a big Harry Dresden fan.

7. Why did you choose your profession? 

In my previous job?  I worked in IT.  I loved it because the problems were something different every day, and because people were genuinely grateful when I had a solution for them.  

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

The kids finally go back to school today after a four-day weekend.  I love them but I am SO glad they'll be with their friends.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

WHOO what a few weeks it's been.  Husband was traveling, then home again for just barely long enough, then we ALL hit the road for Christmas....and then there's Christmas.  I love the holidays but I am always so relieved when they're over.

My husband's birthday is a week and a half after Christmas, and it always made him a little sad because the Christmas tree always got taken down on his birthday.  My goal is to leave it up just a little longer, just for him.

To the Hodgepodge!

1. Share a favorite memory/moment from the week of Christmas.
Maybe my daughter, shrieking "It's just what I wanted!" every. time. she opened something new.  Or my son, whose new favorite thing is space, waking up to find a model of the Saturn V, and the Saturn V flight manual, from Santa.  Or my daughter, who picked up one of the books that Santa brought her, and read it through, without problems, by herself.  Or my son, who noticed his grandmother's tears, and curled up in her lap with the words, "You seem sad.  I don't want you to be."

2.  If someone wrote a book about your life based on the past year, what genre would it fall under? What would the title be?
Beats me.  Is BORING a genre?  Because nobody would want to read about the last year of my life.  Because it was totally non-fascinating.  As to the title, it's kind of funny.  The last time my husband was out of town, I found this list of 365 things to talk about as a married couple, so we answered one question a day.  One of the questions was, what would the title of your autobiography be?  I chose to call mine "The Horse I Rode In On (and Other Tall Tales)".

3. What made you feel patriotic this year?
Will it sound ridiculous if I say baseball games?  There's very few other events I attend in which we're invited to consider the sacrifices our military makes.  Every game, we start with the national anthem, and the seventh-inning stretch is devoted to honoring a service member and singing "God Bless America".  I have never left a baseball game without tears because of these two things.

4. What experience from this past year would you like to do all over again?
Well...I'm confident there's something.  But it's been a long year, and I'm lucky if I remember where I was two days ago.

5. What song lyric sums up or is a reflection of your 2015?
I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar.

6. On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate 2015?  (10=stellar) Why?
5.  Very meh.

7. What part of the upcoming year are you most excited about?
There's a rumor that my husband will be traveling less for work.  It'll be nice to have him not constantly leaving.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
Happy new year, everyone!

Wednesday Hodgedpodge

1. What's your biggest 'first world' problem?

I have too much junk in my house.  (Mamas, let me hear you say ROAR.)  Starting with the first Saturday in January, my weekend will not be complete without getting rid of one full bag of junk that we don't need.  (Part of it is my fault...how can I get rid of the Fisher-Price barn when my grandkids might want to play with it a million years from now?)

2.  Each year Time Magazine names a 'Person of the Year', someone who has 'for better or worse...done the most to influence the events of the year.' It was recently announced they've named Angela Merkel Person of the Year for 2015. You can read more about this year's selection here. Your thoughts? If you were in charge, who would you declare Person of the Year? 

I really don't feel educated enough to answer this.  Someone will, inevitably, come up with someone who earns it far more than I could ever say.  Angela Merkel has been through her fair share of trouble, but I'm not sure who I would declare Person Of The Year.  It's hard for me to pick a favorite anything.

3. Do you have a nativity set in your home? If so share it's history and how you display the pieces.
I do, and last year, we had the pieces in our window.  We don't have it up this year because we're travelling for Christmas, and it's hard for me to justify getting out the Christmas Tree and Advent wreath and Nativity scene if we won't be here for the big day.  The story behind how we got it...my F-I-L wanted (like, desperately wanted) to get us our first Nativity set not long after we first got married.  We wound up in this terrible mess, population-wise, as a result, and I chose, not only the first thing I could find, but for the first time, the least-expensive as well.  (shoes are a different story.)  He wanted to get us another set that I thought looked stretched-out and odd, but we wound up with the set I liked, in spite of his contempt for it.  Most of why he hated it so much?  It wasn't the "best".  But I like this one, even if it isn't on display at the moment.

4.  Do you make an extra effort to give back in some way during the holiday season? How do you encourage those who need encouragement this time of year?
I try to.  I'm not sure if it works or not.  I'm fortunate.

5. Who is your favorite person to shop for? Why?
Without question, my kids.  It is way, way more fun to be an adult at Christmas than it ever was to be a kid.

6. What's the last delicious thing you ate?

WELL I had taco soup for dinner last night, but I'll guess that doesn't cover it.  So I made a batch of toffee for one of my friends...My husband picked up the wrong almonds but it works VERY well anyway.  (I had to make sure her family would like it, sooo...)

7. The best way to spread Christmas cheer is________________.
"Love one another, as I have loved you."  I'm pretty sure that's the quote.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
Facebook is amazing for a lot of things.  Today it reminded me that, one year ago today, I had asked for prayers and good thoughts for my daughter, who we eventually found out, has an aneurysm and an occluded artery in her brain.  I  can't believe it was only a year ago, it seems like so much longer.  And yet, I know. I KNOW that we are blessed to be in a situation where the best possible doctors are a 20 minute drive away, not several hours; and I know I'm grateful to be able to have my daughter near me and not have to let her stay in the hospital for another night.

It's the time of year for miracles.  I hope you believe in them.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

AUGH these weeks keep sneaking by...I have barely started any Christmas shopping, like, at all, and it's almost here!!!

1.  Many families have a story they love to tell every year around a holiday. Does your family have one? Are you the star of that story, or does another family member take center stage? Share your story if you want.

Not particularly...though I do have a lingering Christmas memory from many years ago.  It was Christmas Eve, and my father had just come home from work.  He was in the process of setting his things down in the kitchen when his coat let out a tiny "yip!"

He reached into the inner pocket and took out a tiny black lab puppy.

That dog grew up to be one of the dumbest creatures I've ever seen, but she was sweet and she was our Christmas dog.

2. Are you afraid to speak your own opinion?

Not particularly in general.  It really depends on what the setting is.  

3. Pantone has announced the color of the year for 2016, and for the first time have chosen two shades-rose quartz and serenity. Hmmm...did you know serenity was a color? You can read the thought behind their selection here, but essentially it's blending the warmth of rose quartz with the tranquility of a very soft shade of blue. So what do you think? Are these colors I'd find in your home or wardrobe? Will you add something in these shades to either place in the new year?

Probably not.  I can't keep adding stuff while I'm trying to REMOVE stuff.  And who at Pantone keeps making these decisions for us?  And PINK? Perhaps no.

I tend toward darker colors in my wardrobe anyway--not necessarily because I feel suited to dark colors, but mostly because I don't like trying to remove stains.

4. If you could be in a Christmas carol, which one would you choose? Why?

I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day.  God is not dead, nor does He sleep.  I think it's a reminder we can all use once in a while.

5. December 9th is National Pastry Day. Will you celebrate? When did you last purchase something from a bakery? What's your favorite treat that falls under the heading of pastry? Do you make it yourself or buy from the professionals?

Probably not, but not because I don't love pastries!  Last time I purchased something from a bakery was Thanksgiving, when my sister left me in charge of bringing pies, so I went to a place that sells Kansas City's favorite pies and picked up a pumpkin pie and a French silk pie, because that's how we roll.  In a nutshell, I love pie.  I haven't made one in a long, long time--I REALLY need to get cracking on figuring out gluten-free pie crust!

6. When it comes to holiday decorating_____________________________.

I...got the Christmas tree out of the attic?  I'm not sure how time got away from us this year, but I don't think we're gonna be decorating much.  :(

7. When did you last laugh so much it hurt? Explain.

Last week.  I had told my kids the story of how, the day they went back to school after Thanksgiving break, I had heard a heavy footfall coming down the stairs, and without even thinking about it, I had responded by asking my son how he was that morning.

The cat responded, "meow?"

Scout was at school.  The heavy footfalls were the cat's.

My kids laughed, I laughed, we all laughed until we ached.  Then Sunshine, master of VERY DEEP quotes, commented that she loves it when laughter makes her eyes wet.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

God is not dead, nor does He sleep.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 

  

1. Did you watch The Charlie Brown Christmas special Monday night? Who's your favorite Peanuts character and why?

I did not.  I was traveling from Kansas City back to Pittsburgh for most of Monday, and missed it.

"Most psychiatrists agree that sitting in a pumpkin patch is excellent therapy for a troubled mind."~Linus  

Would you agree? 

Yes, but more as it applies to nature.  Pumpkin patch, mountaintop, in a boat on a lake, take your pick.  Somewhere away from the noise of the city.

2. Describe a sound from your childhood. What does this sound bring to mind? 

There was a set of railroad tracks that ran about a quarter mile away from the house I grew up in.  It saw a lot of traffic, and the nearest crossings were pretty close.  Every train that went by, we could hear the long-short-short-long signal of the train horn at least three times.  If we were outside, we could hear the rumble of full coal cars and the clatter of empty ones heading back the opposite direction.

3. You've won a trip to a winter wonderland...would that excite you? Which one of the following would you most want to experience (or which one would you dislike the least)-see the Aurora Borealis in Norway, stay in Sweden's Ice Hotel, go dogsledding in Lapland Finland, take a winter wildlife safari in Yellowstone or celebrate Winter Carnival in Quebec? 

Norway!  I have no desire to stay in an ice hotel, but I would love to see the Aurora Borealis.  (We were supposed to be able to see it here a few weeks ago, but surprise, it was cloudy.)

4. Who or what keeps you humble?

My kids.  If anyone can come up with a question I can't answer, it's always them.

5. What part of preparing for Christmas do you like the most? Explain.

Making toffee and distributing it.  I have a batch that I still need to break into pieces and take to some of my friends.  I made a ton of it last year before Sunshine's first hospital stay when a bunch of my friends came at me with a big basket of gifts for her (and for me--love those ladies).  We probably won't be decorating this year, because we won't be here, but we'll see what the kids want to do.  Right now, I have to leave the Christmas tree down until they measure my front window.

6. Gingerbread-yay or nay? Is making a gingerbread house part of your family holiday tradition?

I love gingerbread and my kids love making gingerbread houses.  This year I might see if their grandmother is cool with them making the houses at her place.

7. What's one thing you want to start, do, or complete before the calendar rolls into a new year? 

Declutter.  It's an ongoing wish.  Also need to complete the passport application process.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

As much fun as last week was, I'm glad we have our routine back.  I don't seem to do "unstructured time" very well.