Valentine Hodgepodge

I'm getting this written a bit later than I normally do because I forgot it was Wed. My days are just flying by too fast. Anyways, this is going to be a quick post with not a whole lot of thought behind it. I hope you find my Hodgepodge answers a bit interesting this week.

1. Have you ever written a love letter? Have you written one recently? Had one written to you? Did you keep it?

Yes, I've written several love letters in the past, but not recently. I've also had my 'special someone' write ones to me. When Hubby and I were dating, and planning on getting married, we wrote love letters back and forth. Now after 49 yrs. of marriage, I regret I didn't keep any of them.

2. What's a movie that ends in a way you especially love?
One movie that came to mind is "The Notebook". It had one of those unforgettable endings. Even tho' it was so sad, I thought it was good.

3. Something that makes your heart sing? And for those of you who are parents, I mean something besides your children that makes your heart sing?

I'll admit I looked this up to see what it meant. In my search, I found a lady by the name of Judith Johnson, an author and minister, who describes it as "being in your fullness"... something that involves you completely, in body, soul, mind and spirit. Like an artist who has painted a picture just like what he had envisioned and it makes his heart sing. In that context, I can say I felt that was during a piano practice. I had worked hard to learn a particular song that was giving me troubles. When it finally clicked and I was able to play the song, it made my heart sing. I was totally involved, in body, mind and spirit.

4. What's the last event you had to attend, phone call you had to make, routine task you needed to complete, or meal you had to prepare, that you did do, but only half-heartedly?
I'm currently in one of those 'dinner slumps' where I don't feel like cooking, can't find anything to fix, nothing looks or sounds good, so my dinners have been put on the table only half-heartedly.

5. Tuna fish salad-yay or blech? If you said yay, how do you like your tuna salad prepared? Hey, this is the Hodgepodge, right?Yay. I do like tuna fish salads. I make them with mayo and pickle relish. I'll occasionally put hard-boiled egg in it too. Sometime I'll put it on a bed of lettuce and onion.

6. What's something you 'know by heart'?

Hubby's answer to my question... "what do you want for supper?" 

"I don't know."

7. In the spirit of Valentine's Day, what two or three word phrase would you write on a conversation heart for someone you love? That someone could be a spouse, child, parent, cousin, bestie...anyone at all whom you love.

First off... what's a conversation heart? I think I know, so my answer would have to be "Love You".

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Since this just now happened, it's on my mind. Every day at noon I turn over to a local TV channel to get the news, then watch The Young and the Restless after that. Today, that city's mayor had a live speech on the state of the state in which he talked about the homeless issue. They are implementing a pilot program to help these people. They showed video of places where they're sleeping at night. It's awful. Some of them are fortunate enough to have a pup-tent, others are under sheets of plastic or cardboard. Then they're under bridges, in alleyways, behind dumpsters. It's horrible. It's sad. And each one has a different story that put them there. My heart goes out to them. There, but by the grace of God, go I. 

Hodgepodge Wed. 2/4

It's time for another Hodgepodge Wednesday.

1. Do you wear your heart on your sleeve, or keep your emotions tucked in tight?

I try to keep my emotions in hiding.

2. How did you meet your closest friend?

Penny and I grew up together. Living next door for over 14 years, I don't actually remember the first time we met. We were very young.

3. Pink lemonade, grilled salmon, cotton candy, pink grapefruit, a strawberry milkshake, or raspberry sorbet... of the pink foods listed, which one is your favorite? Least favorite? Which one have you most recently consumed?

I like pink grapefruit and strawberry milkshakes. My favorite would have to be the milkshake, of course, even tho' I haven't had one in ages.  And I can't eat the grapefruit anymore because it hurts my stomach. My least favorite out of those listed would be the salmon.

4. When were you last 'tickled pink' over something? Explain.

When my #4 grandson was just learning to talk, I naturally kept trying to teach him to say "grandma" or any other form of the name, but all I could ever get from him was "Uh". Then I was babysitting one day for my daughter while she worked and all day I answered to his "Uh" like a good grandma. When my daughter got off work, she loaded him and his paraphernalia into the back seat and as she was backing out of the drive, I was waving at Ian and he yelled out "Grammy!" Daughter and I both got tears. It was so precious. I told I'd settle for that! I was tickled pink to finally have a name.

5. Are you a fan of television talk shows? Daytime, nighttime, or both? What's your favorite?

No, I am not a fan. There are a couple that drive me crazy. Too many times when you put actors, actresses, politicians, specialists, etc. on a talk show where they have no script to follow, everyone is trying to talk over each other. It's total chaos and I can't understand one word any of them said. It's even worse when you have a female with a high pitch voice. It's like fingernails on a chalk board.

6. When was the last time you wanted to ask a question, but felt too foolish to do so?

There is my biggest fault. I have this habit of opening my mouth before my brain gets in gear. 

7. My favorite __________________  right now is ________________  .

My favorite pastime right now is crocheting. 

Being cooped up inside, with all the snow and cold wind outside, I need to do something to keep from going crazy. Crocheting keeps my hands and mind busy so the day isn't a total waste. I'm making something useful. Facebook just might be missing me.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

We have another round of snow coming tonight and our temperature is going down below zero. They're predicting another 3½ inches on top of the 7½ inches we got this past weekend. I hate winter!!

Another stormy weekend

Life around here has been quiet, nothing happening. I'm finally over that horrible bug I had and my voice is back in full force. Just ask Bob. lol

Today is the last day of January already! It's hard to believe. I hope your fleeting month was a good one.

Again, the topic of conversation here is the approaching winter snow storm. The prediction for us is lots and lots of snow, possibly 12" or more. Today we have the calm before the storm, 36° and sunshine. It's suppose to start snowing around 6:00 and continue non-stop until Monday afternoon. Bob got out his list of guys with now plows to call to take care of getting us out of the driveway. He's definitely not able to do it himself. He's hurt his back again and not moving around very well.

Do you remember seeing these several years ago?

Back in 1970, these were advertised on TV and I ordered the complete set. Last night I found them in the bottom of a bag of yarn. They're called the K-Tell Knitter. Needless to say, they were hard to work with, for me anyways, and I never was able to make anything with them. Now, 45 years later, they are in demand again. The internet is full of requests, "where can I find one?" From what I've been reading, the company no longer exists, which is normal.

Our grandson Ian has made it to the bowling tournament which is tomorrow afternoon at our bowling alley. There's a lot of people coming from out of town. There's a good possibility they may have to postpone it. It depends on the storm.

Our great-grandson, Skye, continues to grow right before our eyes. He is such a joy, so precious. My heart melts just looking at him.

Until next time........... be safe and well.

Hodgepodge Wednesday

Our hostess, Joyce, on her blog HERE, is having a 'little' snow event on the east coast, hope everything is ok at her place, so she thinks the weather may have influenced this week's Hodgepodge questions. I think she's right.

1. When did someone last suggest you 'chill out'? Or, when did you last tell someone (or want to tell someone) to 'chill out'? Or, when did you last tell yourself to 'chill out'?

I wanted so bad to tell my Hubby that the last time he got on the subject of our President with our son-in-law. Needless to say, Hubby is not a fan and has some strong feelings about it.

2. What most recently caused your heart to melt? 

Last night my grand-daughter sent me a photo of my great-grandson the moment he first found his feet. I totally melted. He is such a doll baby.

3. "An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered." G.K. Chesterton Your thoughts? When did you last experience either an adventure or an inconvenience? How did you see it at first, as an adventure or an inconvenience? Does it feel the same in hindsight?

I hardly have any adventures anymore. Unexpected things will happen, but they're usually an inconvenience to me. Then in hindsight, they're never as bad as I thought at the time.

4. A Wendy's Frosty, root beer in a frosty mug, or a frosted chocolate cupcake... of these three, which one is your favorite 'frosty' treat?

The frosted chocolate cupcake.... any day, any time. However, if it was the middle of summer, hot outside, I'd go for the Frosty.

5. Would you say your life so far this year has been more like a circus or a symphony? Explain why.

So far this year, being just 3 weeks so far, I'm thankful it's been a mellow, soft symphony. I hope the rest of the year goes as smoothly.

6. Since it's a 'snow day' here, what's your favorite song containing the word 'white'?

Having grown up in the 60's, the first song that came to my mind was "Nights in White Satin" by The Moody Blues. I still love that song. 

7. If you had to leave the city you currently live in, what would you find the hardest to leave behind?

That's a hard one. I've lived in this little town my whole life and actually I can't think of anything in town, except the people, that I would miss if I had to leave. I went to school with so many of these people, worked with some of them, went to church with some, and I would definitely miss that. It's not necessarily the people, because I can go for weeks and not see someone I know. It's mainly that feeling of "being home".  

8. Insert your own random thought here.

In my last post I mentioned that I had dug my yarn and crochet hooks out of the closet and got back into doing something creative instead of always being on Facebook. In my inventory I found something I forgot I had.

They are called Tunisian crochet hooks or afghan hooks. They come in different sizes. Mine is 14" long. It's so different from what I'm used to doing, the last few days I've been trying to learn how to handle them and the different stitches. Not sure if I like it. It can be very difficult, but I'm having a good time learning something new.

Until next time............ be safe and well.

Sat. Jan. 24

Update: yesterday I contacted some prayer partners, asking for prayers for Chris Adams, worship leader at Lifehouse Church. Very early this morning, Chris lost his battle with the flu and is now singing with Jesus. He was a good man and he'll be missed by so many people.

This year's flu has been horrible. They've found out the vaccine everyone has gotten will not protect you from this strain that is killing people. And now it's touched home. We've never had a fatality in our county due to the flu, until this year.

I've been absent from blogland lately but busy with all sorts of little things. Life goes on. I tore into my closet the other day, I was bored, and dug out all my yarn, knitting needles and crochet hooks. It's been so long since I've done anything, I had to take a couple days to refresh my memory. But I managed to make a little hat for my great-grandson. Of course, I had to tear it out a couple times to correct mistakes I'd made, but it finally came out to my satisfaction. Now I'm looking for something else to make. Don't know what I'm going to try next. A friend of mine in Florida is always in need of little hats for 3 and 4 yr. olds for her daughter's preschool for underprivileged children. I may make a few and send to her. 

Our weather has been fairly mild lately, in the high 20's to mid 30's. That's not bad. I can tolerate that. However, they are now predicting a winter storm for us starting early tomorrow morning, with a possibility of 1-3 inches of snow. They're saying the worst of this storm is going north. 

That's all I have for today. Until next time........... 

Prayer request

Sorry for my absence lately. Today's blog is going to be very small. I've been busy with little things, nothing worth talking about.

Today I have a request for all my prayer warriors. A friend of mine has posted on Facebook asking for prayer for the worship leader, Chris Adams, at her church. He is in ICU with the flu and pneumonia.  He's in critical condition. Her post just now had an update on his condition. They have just called in his whole family to his bedside.

My heart is breaking for him and his young family. If you feel like it, would you pray for him?

God bless you

Wed. Hodgepodge for Jan. 14, 2015

We're back to our regular Hodgepodge schedule after our host had her time off. It's good to see her back in Blogland.

1. What's your best piece of advice for a newly married couple? I'm asking for a friend.

Keep the communication open and never forget those feelings you had for your spouse on your wedding day.

2. Before we're too far into the new year I wanted to post a question Teresa submitted during the December giveaway. Teresa blogs over at Being Refined As Silver, so everyone go say hi.

Teresa asks, "What were you doing on December 31st, 1999?"and "Did you or your family make preparations for Y2K?"

The only thing I can remember doing that day was finishing the job of backing up all the information I had on my computer at home and on the ones at work. The experts had predicted all computers would crash and since we weren't sure whether that would happen or not, we didn't want to take the chance of losing all that information. It took me weeks to get it done, but better to be safe than sorry. On Jan. first, even though nothing happened, it was still good to have everything safe.

3. According to Global Language Monitor, the most used word of 2014 isn't a word. It's the heart emoji. Huh? How can something that's not a word be the most used word, but I digress. What do you think was your most used word in 2014?

"What" --- What did you say? What was that? What did he say? etc. etc. My hearing is getting bad. But actually I think the word I used more was "love". I've made it a point to tell everyone in my family that I love them. Plus it's the last thing my Hubby hears from me before I go to sleep or leave the house. 

4. Speaking of words, it's that time again. Time for Lake Superior University to present a list of words they'd like to see banished (for over-use, mis-use, and general uselessness) in 2015. You can read more about the decision making process here, but this year's top vote getters are-

bae (before anyone else), polar vortex, hack, skill set, swag, foodie, curate/curated, friend-raising, enhanced interrogation, cra-cra (as in crazy), takeaway, and -nation (a suffering sports suffix).

Which of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word not on the list you'd like to add?

I have to agree on the word and usage of "hack". I see and hear it everywhere. Life Hacks, for instance. when they mean hints on everyday chores to make them easier. Our precious English language is being torn apart and forgotten. The word I'd like to add to the list (maybe it was on last year's list) and that is "twerking". I'm sick of hearing it. 

5. January is National Hot Tea month? Are you a fan? Do you like flavored teas? How do you take your tea? Have a favorite cup or teapot? How many cups of tea do you consume in a given day?

I do like tea. My favorites are orange pekoe, the green tea I get at the Chinese Restaurant and my chamomile that I drink in the evenings. I do have a favorite cup I drink it out of and in some I'll put in a little sugar, but mostly I drink it plain.

6. Whatever happened to  _________________? 
Oh, there it is ---------> 

7. What is one book on your must-read list this winter?

I read a lot and I have a couple hundred titles on my Kindle that I hope to read, but I don't have that one "must read" book, unless I count my Bible. That's a given.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Baby, it's COLD out! I know a great majority of the country is experiencing cold temperatures, but excuse me if I feel like whining a little. This is what the weather channel is saying for us right now. And the wind chill is currently at MINUS-12!!! 

Our streets have been either snow covered or icy the last couple weeks, so I don't get out of the house. I'm already dealing with the cabin fever. The walls are closing in. I'm starting to make plans for this coming summer. My app is telling me I have 65 days till the first day of spring. I don't think that made me feel any better. 

Until next time......