It's Hodgepodge Time

Welcome to this week's edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge, our final HP in the month of November. Not December. Next week we're in to December but let's not hurry, k? If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then hop over and leave a comment for your neighbor there. Here we go- 

1. Does anybody really know what day it is? Last week we skipped the Hodgepodge and I just assumed this week would find us in December, but nope. Still November. Do you wear a watch? Use a paper calendar or strictly electronic? What's your favorite hour of the day? Why? 

I'm really off track with what day it is because whenever we're traveling on a Monday it feels like I'm a day behind at home. Do I wear a watch? Not anymore. I had a watch for many years that I absolutely loved. It was a gift from hubs decades ago and I had it tuned up/repaired a couple of times through the maker (Raymond Weil), but there was no more fixing. I thought I'd get another watch, but haven't so far. I use my phone, but I do miss my watch. Hubs wants to get me an Apple Watch but I'm not sure. My watch was jewelry and I'm just not sure I want to 'wear' a device. 

I use a paper calendar, because I love paper. I love stationery and beautiful fonts and pretty papers and colorful pens, and while I do keep appointments on my phone calendar I operate mostly from my 'day timer'. It's not a Day-Timer product, the one I like best is put out by Our Daily Bread, but it's the size I like, it's spiral bound, and it has both week and month at a glance.

My favorite hour of the day is the first one. 

2. Tell us something about how you celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday. 

I'm planning to dedicate a whole post to recapping Thanksgiving, so for now I'll just share how the day began-

With these apple cider donuts my daughter made from scratch. Yum! 

3. What's a sound you hate to hear? 

Loud chewing.

4. Where do you not mind waiting? 

Honestly now that we all walk around with hand held computers waiting isn't quite the annoyance it once was. I don't mind waiting at home. If we're not ready to go I can find something to do. 

5. I really wish____________________________________. 

hmm...many things...do I go deep or stay on the surface....

I really wish I had a beach trip on my calendar. 

Surface it is. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We had friends over for dinner recently and I made an Angel Pie for dessert. I don't know if that's the official name, but that's what it's always been called in our house. It's been a long time since I've baked one of these and I'd forgotten how completely scrumptious the taste. Our version of Angel Pie has a meringue crust-

...filled with a delicate vanilla cream-

                     

...topped with fresh whipped cream and shaved German chocolate-

This pie doesn't travel well, so it's best to make and serve in your own home. It looks like it weighs a thousand pounds, but y'all it is so light and so delicious. 

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The random in which I mention angel pie...a little slice of heaven

The weekly random dozen lands a day early this week due to the holiday. If you'd like to join the fun just answer these questions on your own blog and link your answers here. Happy Thanksgiving!

1. Are you sticking to traditional Thanksgiving foods this year, or are you being culinarily adventurous?



Traditional…don’t want a revolt here now do we?

2. Tell me something concrete that you're thankful for. (Something you can literally touch, see, etc., not a concept like "hope.")



my home…we have been renters for the past six years while living overseas. We loved our house in the UK…it was completely charming but we couldn’t really put our own personal touch on the paint, window treatments, flooring. Plus the house had lots of wallpaper and we didn’t want to put any holes in the wall so all my pictures have been hung too high for the past six years…we just put them where there were already hooks in place. I’m not complaining because I truly did love that house like it was my own and the owners were wonderful people and did I mention the garden..sigh. Still it is fun to be in our new house this year and we’re really enjoying decorating and making it feel like home. I especially love my kitchen and am excited about all the cooking.

3. You knew the flip side was coming: Share about something intangible that you're thankful for.



I like your example-hope. Where would we be in this crazy mixed up world without it? Hope for a future and hope for eternity.

4. Share one vivid Thanksgiving memory. It doesn't have to be deep or meaningful, just something that remains etched in your memory.



Nothing specific springs to mind and in fact it is probably the 'sameness' from year to year that I love the most. I enjoy thinking back to Thanksgivings growing up...helping my mom in the kitchen, my dad carving the turkey, family all around the table, the smells...happy times. This is what I've tried to recreate in my own family. I love to have extended family and friends at the table too...it somehow makes the meal more special.

5. What is one thing you know without a shadow of a doubt is going to happen this Thanksgiving because it always does, year after year?

Well overeating comes to mind. I'm determined not to but I'm pretty sure I say that every year.

6. Do your pets get any left-overs?



Are you kidding me??? Of course.

7. Does your family pray before the big meal? If so, do you join hands while seated, stand, repeat a formal prayer or offer a spontaneous prayer? Who does the praying?



Well, we pray before every dinner and we always hold hands and we always stay seated. And it is the same on Thanksgiving. The 'who' will vary...probably my hubs but sometimes it is one of my daughters and sometimes me. And it is always spontaneous.

8. Will you be watching football in the afternoon? If not, what will you be doing?

definitely watching football unless of course I'm napping which is also a favorite Thanksgiving day activity

9. There are two distinct camps of people on the issue: How do you feel about oysters in the dressing/stuffing?

No oysters in the stuffing...I love oysters but no no no-not in the stuffing on Thanksgiving. Must not mess with perfection.

10. Do you consider yourself well informed about the first Thanksgiving?

yes

11. Which variety of pie will you be enjoying?



A tiny sliver of pumpkin with lots of whipped cream because I must save room for my very favorite-angel pie. If you are not familiar with this deliciousness you should be...it is a meringue crust with a custard filling, topped with whipped cream and shaved German chocolate. Oh my.

12. Do you feel for the turkey?? (This is a humorous throw back question related to the 12th question in another Random Dozen!)

nope

Hodgepdge Ala Mode

Welcome to this week's edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Here we go-

1. Do you have a word for the year (WOTY)? If so, and you'd like to share, please share. How do you decide on a word? If you don't have a word are you still on the hunt for one for 2024? 

I do not. Not yet anyway. I have a couple rolling around my brain and may land on one still. It's never too late. I prefer the word come to me as opposed to me choosing one at random. When I've had a WOTY that's how it was settled on. I don't put any pressure on myself to have a word, but when I do I enjoy the focus it gives me and especially the way I can look back at year's end and see all the ways the word was woven into my life. 

2. January 23rd is National Pie Day...will you celebrate? Do you like pie? What's your favorite? 

I love pie, but have no plans to eat a slice today. It's almost impossible to choose a favorite so how about (in no particular order) my top five-ish? -Angel pie (see the description in a post here), cherry pie, key lime, blueberry, and coconut cream. 

3. Tipping. What are your thoughts, expectations, as to who, when where? Do you appreciate a store/restaurant giving a 'suggested amount'? Have you ever left an extravagant tip? 

In terms of dining I always tip. I was in a deli recently and ordered one sandwich to go. When I paid I was offered the option to tip 25%-30%-35%. Really? Not sure how I feel about that. It seems this has become a thing though, with so many places you never used to tip now suggesting you should.

I rarely get coffee to go but if I do I'll leave something in the tip jar. We tip for bar beverages and I always give my hair stylist a very generous tip because she definitely earns it. If we have truly excellent service in a restaurant we will leave an over the top tip, but even with just so-so service we always tip at least the minimum. In the US in 2024 that's at least 20% of the tab. 

I love leaving a big tip for a server who does a good job and is not expecting more than the minimum. 

Hubs and I used to go to a diner in NJ where there was a particular server who obviously did not enjoy his job. He waited on us quite often and one day dropped an entire very full tray of food and drinks all over the floor beside our table. We decided we were going to give him a 100% tip and see if maybe that would help him enjoy his job more, but nope. Still surly lol. 

4. Share with us one 'household tip' that works for you. 

Not sure if this is considered a household tip but it's something I've found useful recently. If you're like me you have far too many photos on your phone, and the idea of deleting such a large number is daunting. My daughter suggested this and it makes the task manageable. 

Every morning enter the current month and day in your photo search bar. All the photos you've saved on your phone, taken on that day/month (all years) will come up. Go through those, then repeat the action daily. This way you deal with just a few at a time rather than your entire photo library. 

5. Influencers on social media are people who've built a reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a particular subject. Do you follow any influencers online? Have you made a purchase or tried something new because of that 'influence'? If there's one you particularly enjoy tell us who and why. 

I follow a few. Some live lives very different than mine and that's kind of fun to see. Some have a style I admire. Some are funny. Many cook, bake or create in some way. Some share news/politics. Some share books and book news. A few favorites are @cristincooper (I've purchased from her shop and a few things she's recommended too), @lifebyleanna, @halfbakedharvest, @cleerelystated. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

One of my favorite follows is an account called The Leighton Show. He reads actual texts teens have sent to their parents and they are the absolute best. He's on youtube I think too, but I follow him on Insta (click here)  Happy Wednesday everyone! 

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Home Is Where The Hodgepodge Is

Welcome to another edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for your neighbor there. Here we go- 

1. Thursday is National Pi Day...are you good at math? What was the last thing you had to calculate? Did you use your head or technology? Last slice of pie you ate? 

I'm not bad at math, but I'm much better with words than numbers. The last thing I had to calculate was probably related to our tax organizer. I used my head for some of it and a calculator for the rest. 

As far as the last slice of pie I ate? I made an angel pie to take to my neighbors when we had dinner there recently. It was heavenly. 

2. What makes a house a home? 

The people I love are in it. 

3. Your current favorite green thing? 

I'm going with spring, in spite of the pollen that blows in with it! The leaves beginning to turn, the grass starting to green up, lots of leafy green bulbs popping up out of the brown earth, these are all things that lift my spirits. February tends to be gray and rainy in our neck of the woods so signs of spring are very welcome. 

4. How do you define achievement? How does your personal definition look similar to, or different than, society's definition? What's something you think is worth achieving in life? 

I guess I would define achievement as doing something successfully, and I think the world's definition is probably similar. Where we differ is in what that 'something' is, in defining the value of 'something'.  

I think raising a family is a worthwhile achievement. 

5. What song is a good soundtrack for your life right now? 

This one-Blessed by Martina McBride 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

My mother-in-law celebrated her birthday on Monday, so hubs and I drove over to TN on Saturday to spend the weekend with her. We had a fun dinner out on Saturday night, then drove her to daughter2's house on Sunday to meet her newest great-granddaughter. 

These generational pictures are so very special. 

And this little punkin' grows more precious by the minute. Happy Wednesday everyone! 

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Turkey Talk ala Flashback Friday

Today's Flashback Friday prompt is all about Thanksgiving traditions and memories. Thanksgiving is my favorite of all the holidays and I love everything about the day...the family time, the foods, the season of autumn, and the feeling of thankfulness that this day stirs up inside of me.

My mother has always been an excellent cook and I remember Thanksgiving as a happy day filled with wonderful smells and a delicious meal. My grandparents and other extended family lived mostly on the other side of the country so we typically didn't have relatives sharing the meal with us. And I don't think we ever traveled anywhere for the holiday. Quite often though, we'd share the meal with another family, longtime friends who also had four children like my parents.

One of the things I remember especially looking forward to on Thanksgiving Day was the shrimp cocktail. As a family we did not have a lot of meals in fancy restaurants or even a lot of meals out so many things were considered a treat to us kids that may not be perceived as a treat by kids today. Shrimp cocktail was one of those things. My mother made spicy cocktail sauce and mixed it with the shrimp and then put it all into beautiful long stemmed crystal glasses lined with lettuce. She set each one on a plate on top of our dinner plates and this was our starter. I remember feeling very grown up eating shrimp cocktail this way.

This picture is in a scrapbook my mom made for me. I guess my dad was taking the photo which is why he's missing. You can see the shrimp cocktail on the plate in front of my mom. Fyi-I'm the one on the left with the long hair. Growing up we always dressed for Thanksgiving dinner (no sloppy jeans or t-shirts at the table) and I've carried that tradition on in my own family too. Usually my sisters and I put on dresses and my brother and dad put on collared shirts and dress slacks. My mom also has a knack with flowers and she'd make a pretty arrangement for the table and light candles. It made the day feel extra special.

I have vivid memories of my dad making a production out of carving the turkey. He liked to save the carcass and make something called carcass soup the next day. The name lacks appeal but essentially it was a turkey broth soup and it tasted good. And my sister and I always got to pull the wishbone apart which was a big deal to us as kids.

I prepare a very similar meal to the one my mom made throughout my childhood. I think Thanksgiving dinner is one of those meals nobody in the family wants messed with too much. My mother's cornbread dressing is my favorite thing about the meal and that's the recipe I use. My own family would rebel if I changed up the dressing in any way shape or form. Our favorite sides are corn pudding, creamed onions and in recent years I've added brussel sprouts cooked with pancetta which are totally yummy. Dessert is pumpkin pie and fruit salad and I've added hubs family's angel pie too which I could personally eat in its entirety.

My mom always had a fruit salad as a dessert option on Thanksgiving Day. It consisted of red grapes, diced oranges, diced apples and crushed pineapple and was topped with whipped cream. That may not sound like anything really special but there is something about the combination that is just right. This is another tradition I've continued in my own family because sometimes a bowl of fruit really is better than pie after a big meal. As kids, my sister and I were given the task of pitting the grapes for this salad and I remember so clearly sitting at the kitchen table pitting grapes while my mom got the turkey ready to go in the oven. Nowadays I just look for them already pitted which is kind of a shame.

As a kid I might have watched some of the parade in the morning and we usually had our big meal in the mid-late afternoon. I like to do this in my own house now too because I love to drag it all out for seconds later in the evening. My dad always said grace before we ate and we always took a family picture somehow around the table. In my own family we also like to say some of the things we're especially thankful for each year before we say grace.

Thanksgiving feels like the hush that falls before December barges in with all her lights and colors and sounds and most of all, her expectations. Perhaps that is what I love best about Thanksgiving...it's a day whose only expectations are good food, sweet family, and a heart filled with gratitude for blessings too numerous to count.

Milk And Cookies With The Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. So glad you're here! If you've answered this week's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Comments keep you on Santa's nice list. Here we go-

1. What's one task you'd like a little Christmas elf to sneak in and take care of tonite? 

Hmmm...there are many. I'm going with emptying my pantry, wiping down all the shelves, tossing what needs to be tossed, and then neatly and logically restocking. It's on my list to get done before Christmas, but if an elf wants to take it off my plate I'm happy to hand the job over. 

2. What's your biggest challenge during the holidays? 

Managing my expectations. 

3. Are you a cookie baker this time of year? If your year had to be summed up in the shape of a cookie cutter what shape would it be? 

I am most definitely a cookie baker. In fact, cookies are probably my favorite thing to bake, especially at Christmas time. Have I baked any yet this year? No. But I will. 

If my year had to be summed up in the shape of a cookie cutter I'm going with...

...a waterfall. The backyard project was a big part of our year, so that feels appropriate. Also you can barely see the waterfall in this photo, but I wanted the tree at the top all decked out in Christmas lights in my pictures. 

4. Santa likes milk with his cookies. Do you like milk? What kind of milk is on tap in your house? (whole, 2%, skim, almond, oat, etc). What's the last thing you made that called for milk? 

I like milk but it's not something I drink by the glass except on a very rare occasion. I do put milk on my cereal, I like milk on my oatmeal, and I put a small splash of milk in my hot tea. I buy skim, but when it comes to my coffee half and half only please. 

The last thing I made that called for milk would be this Angel Pie, which is a meringue crust with a custard filling, topped with whipped cream and shaved German chocolate-

This pie is every bit as delicious as it looks and I generally make one around the holidays every year. We had company for dinner on Monday night and I served this for dessert. It's a favorite here for sure. 

5. Share one favorite line from a Christmas carol or holiday tune? 

From the carol O Holy Night...

"Til He appeared, and the soul felt it's worth..." 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

A lot of life is lived in a decade and there's nothing like a Facebook memory to remind us that is so-

December 25, 2014

"Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still." Dorothea Lange 

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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.

It's Your Lucky Day-Wednesday Hodgepodge-Vol 18

Welcome to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge...if you're playing along be sure to add your blog link to the bottom of my post so lucky readers will know where to find you. I try my best to get to all the participating blogs but it usually takes me a couple of days....love to see all the different directions people run in answering the very same questions.

Here are my answers today...

1. What would you do if you found a pot of gold? Let's pretend that pot of gold is worth exactly $1500 (which would actually be more like a cup of gold at current values). Anyway, let's also pretend you have to spend it as opposed to making a donation somewhere. Now, tell me what you would do with that cup pot of gold?

We have so many projects going at the moment my head is spinning. I feel like every room in my house needs just a little tweaking before I call it done. Is a house ever done? We're getting new furniture in Daughter1's bedroom so most likely my cup of gold would go towards that purchase.

2. Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day in any way, shape, or form?

My Irish lad with the Irish name and the Irish charm and the red hair to go with (okay it's mostly gray now but he's still a red head at heart) is away on business this St. Patrick's Day. I fixed our traditional dinner on Saturday night because we love it...corned beef and cabbage with potatoes. So good but such a heavy meal. I did make a light dessert, green of course....sugar free lime jello whipped together with low fat lime yogurt. It was yummy and refreshing!

3. Have you been bitten by the Spring Cleaning bug? What spring cleaning job most needs doing at your house? What spring cleaning job are you most dreading?

Nipped but not actually bitten. Its hard to get motivated while the bathroom is mid-redo. That's creating a lot of dust so I'm inclined to wait until that's completed before I dig in to the actual scrubbing. We are doing several home decorating projects, primarily in the bedrooms so I'm cleaning out closets and organizing in there as we go. My most needed job this spring is probably to have my windows washed. It would also be the most dreaded. And you might as well toss in washing the window treatments too because that job also ranks right up there on the do-not-enjoy list!

4. lime-shamrock-sage-forest....your favorite shade of green?

Our bedroom is painted a lighter shade of sage green...it's restful and beautiful and I love it.

5. Thomas Jefferson once said, "I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it." So... do you believe in luck or do you believe we make our own luck?

I think there are people for whom some things in life seem to come more easily than they do for the rest of us. Of course we never really know what goes on behind the scenes in someone else's life, do we? Perhaps they are looking around thinking the same thing about someone else. I think hard work pays off and adds meaning to the end result. I'm not opposed to a little luck but I'm not relying on it either.

6. Monday (3/14) was Pi Day. Get it? 3/14 is Pi Day. Those math types are so clever, aren't they? Since I'm not one of them tell me what's your favorite piE (the edible kind)?

Angel Pie...followed closely by coconut cream.

7. That same date (3/14) was also the birth date of the late physicist, Albert Einstein. I bet he knew the value of pi. What do you think is more important and/or valuable in life...intelligence or common sense?

I think you need a bit of both in this world. Intelligence without common sense can land one in a heap '0 trouble. Can you have common sense without intelligence? I think if someone has a lot of common sense they've gotta have some brains in there somewhere!

8. Insert your own random thought here...

Like everyone, my heart just breaks for the people of Japan and all they have suffered and continue to face following the earthquake and tsunami there last week. Sometimes this world seems upside down. I heard this beautiful song by Selah sung in church on Sunday...a gentle reminder that there is absolutely nothing that cannot be redeemed...

(the lyrics aren't showing up but you can read them here)

Everything you wanted to know but were too busy to ask

I'm heading out in just a little while to a dinner party with the women in my neighborhood book club. We are having one of those gift exchanges where you can steal from each other and I'm a little bit afraid my inner competitor might come out in front of women I really don't know all that well. I bought a super cute bracelet from J Crew and I need to know if it's considered bad form to pick your own gift because I'm totally thinking about it. Check back tomorrow to see if I took anyone out in all my excitement.

Now how 'bout some fun? Missy at It’s Almost Naptime posted this on her blog today and since I’ve been at the MallPierOneTargetTheChristmasTreeShoppegrocerystore all day it seemed like a bit of fun might be in order. Feel free to copy and paste to your own blog too…with your own answers of course…I’m all about the giving this Christmas season but only to a point. And I know I answered questions on my blog yesterday but I have a party to attend that is going to require strategy so give me a break....

Everything you Always Wanted to Know About How We Celebrate Christmas but were too Busy to Ask

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

Egg nog for decorating the tree and then it's pretty much coffee or tea because does anyone else get a stomach ache when they drink egg nog or is that just me?

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?

Santa wraps. And not only does Santa wrap but Santa wraps in special Santa paper and only a few years did Santa's helper forget and wrap some of the non-Santa gifts in Santas special paper. And my kids might be in college now but Santa still wraps. And I’m ‘ahem’ older than college but Santa wraps something for me most years too. I am one big giant child when it comes to Christmas.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?

White on the trees inside and mostly white outside. We’re attempting to put colored lights on one Christmas tree in our yard but so far it has been a fail. And of course by we I mean hubs. I have absolutely nothing to do with lights of any shape size or color, indoors or out. Oh and absolutely definitely positively no flashing.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

Completely unneccessary : )

5. When do you put your decorations up

Trees the weekend after Thanksgiving. Mostly. I need another tree topper and had to add beads this week but they are mostly done now. Outdoor lights go up then too. And of course they are a work in progress because what in the world is it about the fuses in those things? We can send a man to the moon (supposedly) so you’d think we could get some outdoor lights that don’t blow every third time you hit the switch.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
Must I really answer this question? I’m still reeling from Thanksgiving. Christmas cookies. And don’t make me pick one because I can’t. Okay wait-buttercreams...they are a hand dipped chocolatey sugary buttery confection that will send you into a sugar high the likes of which you’ve not experienced before. I didn’t let my children have them until they were about 9 and even then I’d only give them ¼ of a piece. Except of course for the year daughter2 was 18 months old and strolled into the kitchen covered in chocolate. My sister (who btw did not yet have children) had given her 3. THREE! When I asked my sister why she said my daughter told her she liked them. Yeah. Her day is coming. Seriously my little munchkin did not shut her eyes the entire night. Instead she stood between my hubs and I who were sleeping in a sofa bed and bounced for four solid hours. Good times. Oh and that sister? Well, she has a 3 year old son now and guess who will be at my house for Christmas? And guess what his auntie will be feeding him?

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?

Santa used to drive around the neighborhood on a firetruck on Christmas Eve and pass out candy canes. And we maybe still stand outside when we're at my moms and wait for him to come by and get all excited like we’re 7 years old.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

What do you mean ‘the truth about Santa?’

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

Of course. It’s always jammies. Only the girls though. The boys get nothin'. That's just how we roll.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?

I'm not sure there is a name for my style so let's just go with 'free flowing'. In other words no style. Just pick an ornament and hang it on the tree.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?

Love it but like most things in my life I have rules for snow. I don’t want it before Christmas Eve because my family has to drive to my house up on the mountain. I don’t want it to last too many days past Christmas because that same family has to leave my house on the mountain. And I most definitely don’t want it hanging around until April!

12. Can you ice skate?

Yes. Can I ice skate well? No.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

My budding beauty vanity...don't you love the name? I got it in maybe first or second grade. It came with makeup and had the cutest little stool with a top that lifted up so you could store stuff in it.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?

I think you know the answer to this one. I’ll give you a hint….He’s the REASON for the season.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?

Excluding Christmas cookies I love homemade chocolate pound cake and of course angel pie which I actually blogged about here. Kinda sad to say that I blogged about a pie but tis true.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

We always had to sit on the steps on Christmas morning while my parents got the last minute stuff ready….it was pure torture for us kids and we couldn’t imagine what in the world they could possibly be doing. Now that I’m grown I’m sure they were chugging coffee probably straight out of the pot since they'd most likely gone to bed only an hour before. Of course I completely understand it now but back then…torture. My dad had to light the fire and get the camera ready and take a picture of the four of us on the steps waiting to burst into the living room. And naturally we’ve made our own kids do the same and they also consider it torture but that’s my tradition and you don’t mess with tradition.

17. What tops your tree?

Well, there’s an angel on one tree and I realized this weekend that having two trees means I need another topper. It may be a bow because I might not be able to face another trek to the decorating dept.

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving?

I’m supposed to say giving right?

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?

Again with the choices…O Holy Night, Silent Night, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Heirloom by Amy Grant, Ring The Bells by Travis Cottrell, Tender Tennessee Christmas also by Amy Grant….just to name a few.

20. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum?

Not for me but my oldest daughter will choose a candy cane over a bag of m & m’s…whose child is she anyway?

21 Favorite Christmas Show?

White Christmas…Sisters, sisters...gotta love it!

22. Saddest Christmas Song?

I don’t know …how about Elvis Presley's ‘I’ll have a blue Christmas without you’…a pastor at our church growing up told the story about how he asked a woman to sing a song one year on Christmas morning and she surprised him by singing this one which, as you might have guessed, wasn’t exactly what he had in mind when he asked her to sing.

I'd love to read your answers so leave me a comment if you play along. Or if you don't. : )

Wednesday Hodgpepodge Vol 3-Don't be a turkey...come play!

Were you around when that expression, 'Don't be a turkey' was popular? I think it was the late 70's. The 70's were their own special kind of wonderful and if you missed them I feel sorry for you.

On to this week's Hodgepodge...a few people said they thought the questions this time round were hard. I like to say they make you think. It makes for more interesting reading to have a few questions with substance as opposed to the yes/no variety, yes?

Okay, here we go...don't forget to link your post where it say's "You're Next" at the bottom of mine today...

1. If you had known what they knew then, would you have boarded the Mayflower?

My friend Deb came up with this question and the more I've thought about it the harder it is to answer. I think the most likely scenario in my case would be my hubs would nudge and cajole and encourage and finally talk me into getting on board. I think we can all agree he would have been first in line when they asked who wanted in. I don't think I'd have gotten on the ship without some friendly family pressure. And I'd have been green around the gills the whole way to America. They didn't have Dramamine back in the day, did they?

2. How far have you traveled on a boat and how do you feel about boats in general?

Ships, eh. I've never been on a cruise partly because traveling with thousands in a confined space is not my idea of a holiday, but mostly because I have serious motion sickness. I know, I know, people say you don't feel the motion on a great big cruise ship but these are the same people who tell me I'll love roller coasters.

Now boats are a different story. I love to be out on the water in a boat and I'm okay on a lake or river. We owned a power boat before we moved overseas and I absolutely loved it. I would wear the accupressure bands if we were going to be in the Bay but if we were just out on the river I was okay. I like the beauty of a sailboat but what I really love is speed so power boats are my preferred method of travel on water. Oh, and I also like canoes. They're boats, right?

3. What traditions have you kept, acquired thru marriage, and/or tossed? If you're single what are some of your family's favorite Thanksgiving traditions?

Thankfully hubs family and my family have always celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas in similar fashion. The very first year we were married we spent Thanksgiving with hubs family and it felt pretty much like home. Except for the dressing but over time I've successfully converted his family to my recipe so that's all good now. Hubs family makes a dessert called Angel Pie which I've mentioned a time or ten on my blog and that is one tradition acquired thru marriage that's a keeper. I also remember my mother in law asking me that first year if I wanted any particular dish that was traditional to my family Thanksgivings and I made my mom's fruit salad. I appreciated her asking and will file that away for my own future in-law children.

4. What time is your dinner and how many will be round your table? And what is the one side dish you cannot do without on Thanksgiving day?

It will just be our little family of four on the actual day but I'm still making my normal hundred and ten sides because leaving any of them out would surely make somebody unhappy. I'm planning to eat a little earlier than we normally do this year, somewhere between 2 and 3 PM, because I'm hoping we can all take a walk before dessert and also before it gets dark.

Friday my brother and his wife will drive up and spend the weekend with us which will be fun. I love the left over meal on Friday almost as much as I love the original meal. We will not be with my family for Christmas this year so I'm happy to have visitors over the Thanksgiving weekend.

The ONE dish I cannot be without at Thanksgiving is cornbread dressing. It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it and its my favorite part of the meal.

Go ahead and say it...you didn't think I could do just one did you?

5. Have you ever used a fire extinguisher? Do tell...

I guess all this talk about cooking brought the question to mind. I have never used a fire extinguisher although my sister and I did start a small fire in our kitchen when we were about 10 and 11 and a fire extinguisher would have been handy. My brother was supposed to be keeping an eye on us while my parents were out and he was on the phone when the 'incident' occurred. Since no real damage was done we put our collective heads together and decided it was best not to tell mom and dad. Hey kids! Parents know stuff! They just know. Especially when soot drops from the living room drapes and a certain pan mysteriously disappears. Tell the truth.

When we lived in the UK I was involved with Girl Scouts in our school and I had to be fire extinguisher trained. Sometimes we used candles and unless one of us went to the training we could not use candles. So I went to a half day workshop run by a company who dealt in fire extinguishers and I learned about all the different types and had to demo each kind.

In this house we have a fire extinguisher attached to the side of a kitchen cabinet. In our corner of NJ there must be smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and a fire extinguisher in the kitchen along with a certificate proving such before settlement on a house can move forward.

6. Tell about a situation that caused you dreadful trepidation and much feet dragging only to realize later it was a true blessing.

Did I ever tell you about the time I was going along happily thru life and my hubs came home and asked me how I'd feel about moving to England and a couple months later there we were? Living in England. I thought so.

7. Baked, sweet, mashed, hash browned, or french fried...which one's your favorite?

Mashed. But I rarely ever have mashed potatoes or potatoes of any type because they are not on my approved list of foods to eat when trying to look svelte. I actually love all of the above but mashed are my favorite.

8. Insert your own random thought here...

Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!