5/21 Hodgepodge

Another Wednesday, another group of Hodgepodge. I don't know how Joyce can do it every week, but she always manages to give us a great bunch of questions that makes us think.

Thank you, Joyce, From This Side of the Pond

1. Under what circumstances do you do your best thinking?

When I feel calm and rested, the sun is shining, the house is quiet, the birds are singing and my little corner of the world seems at peace. And if all those things don't fall into place at once, I'll seek out that peace and quiet, usually here in my home office, and I'll try to put my many thoughts in order.

2. Are you a risk taker? What's one big risk you've taken?

I used to be, but I prefer to be called impulsive. I remember one very impulsive risk I took. It was back in 1967. I had only been a wife for one year and my husband was in the Army. He was stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina for several months. We wrote each other every day, but I missed him so much that when I got the letter where he said he was finishing a field bivouac and his unit was getting a weekend pass. I got to thinking about nothing else, so when I got off work Friday afternoon, I went home, packed a bag and took off. Back then, there was no Interstate 75, so the route took me through the mountains. It went up and down and around, but I made it. We had a good weekend together and I headed back home (in NW Ohio) Monday morning. Later, when I thought about the dangers of what I had done and what could have happened was when I got scared. 

3. Some of the most common phobias according to the National Institute for Mental Health are - fear of spiders (arachnaphobia), snakes (ophidiophobia), heights (acrophobia), fear of spaces from which escape is difficult (agoraphobia), fear of thunder and lightening (astrophobia), fear of dogs (cynophobia), injections (trypanophobia), social situations, flying (pteromerhanophobia) and fear of germs and dirt (mysophobia). True phobias affect only about 10% of adults, but of those listed which would you rate as your greatest fear

Well, it's a toss-up between the spiders, snakes and heights. I guess what I go through could be called a fear. When it comes to the snakes and spiders, I would call it a "healthy respect"...... a detriment to MY health. And I don't a fear of heights, either. It's a fear of "hitting the ground suddenly". hehehe

4. Are you settled or do you feel the need to move somewhere new?

I often think about moving into a new house and out of my old bungalow with all it's many problems. I'm not restless; I'm just upset that I can't do the things I used to do and take care of them myself.

5. What is something you find annoying when dining in a restaurant?

Screaming kids. I know, for the parents, it can't always be easy to remedy, especially if it's a young toddler. I've been there and done that, so I can't be angry or get upset over it. What does annoy me is the older kids who should know better. The parents should have taught them how to act in public. They're the worst. 

6. Daffodil yellow, sunset orange, spring green, or sky blue...your favorite color this time of year?

The sky blue. It's such a beautiful color. What is even prettier is when I look at that sky through the new green leaves on the trees. I love the shades of green and blue together. 

7. If you were going to take a holiday all by yourself, where would you go?

I don't think that I'd ever do that. I couldn't. I don't like to travel by myself. I can't even travel the 30 miles to the next town to go shopping at their big mall. There's strength in numbers.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the completely opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk. Just asking. :)