A Fresh Cup of Coffee

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

A Nutty Wednesday Hodgepodge

A hodgepodge is a jumble or assortment of things that might not appear to belong together. Joyce at From This Side of the Pond hosts a weekly link-up called Wednesday Hodgepodge that is a little collection of questions for bloggers to answer just for fun and to get to know each other. I always look forward to chatting with friends over coffee, so pour a cup of your favorite and let's visit for a few minutes!

Here are this week's questions - and my answers - for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. How did you meet your significant other? If you don't have a significant other, tell us how you met your best friend.

My hubby and I met at college in Manitoba. He was a second year student from Ontario and I was a first year student from Alberta. It was a small Bible college so after the first couple weeks you knew almost everyone by name. We had some mutual friends, and we started going out for coffee with a few other people, and it soon was just four of us, and then it was just the two of us . . .

2. It's Department Store Day (October 16) . . . do you still shop in department stores? If not do you miss that kind of shopping experience? Do you have a favorite department store? Any fun memories of department store shopping when you were a child?

I rarely shop in department stores any more. I feel like there's not many around, and those I can think of have greatly reduced the number of 'departments' they have and are primarily clothing OR home goods stores. Macy's, Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor - mostly clothing, right? Is Kohl's a department store? I do shop there on occasion. There's a regional department store called Boscov's in Maryland and Pennsylvania and that one is my favorite. I usually shop there when we're in Maryland for a visit. I can't say that I greatly miss the department store experience, except when Christmas shopping. That was when the department stores pulled out all the stops with decorating and you could shop your whole list at one store. Or at least a good portion of it!

The two big department store chains in Canada when I was growing up were The Bay (Hudson's Bay Company) and Eaton's and by the time I was a teen I loved both of them. There was a smaller department store called Woodward's and it had a restaurant inside it. It seemed like a really large restaurant to me. I remember it being a real treat to go shopping with Mom at the Woodward's and get lunch or coffee at the restaurant. I have no idea what we even shopped for! But I can still picture that restaurant in all its mid-70s glamour!

3. Something you're currently nuts about?

Coffee, which isn't unusual. But my current favorites are flavored coffees that are a store brand, and that is a little unusual. Frederik's is the Meijer store brand, and we really like their Mackinac Island Fudge coffee and the Michigan Cherry coffee. It came to mind because the Michigan Cherry one smells and tastes like almonds or amaretto. It's really good.

4. What's your favorite nut and is there a favorite recipe where this nut is used?

Cashews are a clear favorite although maybe they aren't technically a nut. They're with the peanuts (which are also not technically nuts) in the "Mixed Nuts" so I say they count. I also like macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, and almonds. I can't really think of a recipe that uses cashews, - maybe the chewy granola type bars that feature cashews? I love those.

5. On Wednesday we officially reach the '70 days until Christmas' mark. Have you purchased any gifts? If you don't celebrate Christmas then how about Hanukkah presents?

Oh no, I haven't purchased any gifts at all! I'm no good at planning ahead for Christmas gifts any more. At least I have a few ideas but that's about as far as I've gone with gifts for the upcoming season.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

This is a busy week and I'm headed into a busy weekend too.Yesterday we went to the home opener for the Blue Jackets, and they did a special tribute to one of their star players, Johnny Gaudreau, who was killed in a tragic accident in the summer. (He and his brother were struck by an allegedly drunk driver, on the day before their sister's wedding. In addition to the great tributes paid to Johnny Hockey, there were several reminders to fans to always drive responsibly and to never drink and drive.) It was a really good hockey game too, but unfortunately we didn't get the win.

So that was yesterday. Monday was full, as usual, between work and chorus. Tonight we have our usual church activity. Tomorrow we are headed out of town as soon after work as possible - going to visit my husband's sister and attend a high school reunion type event on the weekend. And we will also meet up with my Mom and Dad who are coming back with us for a couple weeks! So with all of that going on, I'll probably have a bigger challenge than usual in visiting and commenting on other blogs, but I'll do my best!

Speaking of commenting, I'd love to stop by and comment on your contribution to this week's Wednesday Quotes link-up. You can find my post here: WQ - Celebrating the Harvest

What are you busy with this week? Did you answer the Hodgepodge questions? Leave a comment and let me know!

I'm sharing in this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond.

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WQ - Celebrating the Harvest

Earlier this week, my family celebrated Thanksgiving. The Canadian timeline of Thanksgiving! The season of Thanksgiving and autumn coziness highlights the concept of having an abundant harvest to see us through the winter, and for most of us I suspect it's more of a concept than a necessity for our survival. Unless we are relying heavily on our own garden and fields, or are career farmers, our to the land and to bringing in the harvest may seem distant or old-fashioned, but I think that this rhythm of life is something deep in our souls. Maybe our tendency to embrace the cozy aspect of the autumn season is a way we recognize that God created us to experience a regular time of bringing in a harvest and enjoying the reward of our work and the blessings we have.

As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.

~Genesis 8:22~

For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad. ~Edwin Way Teale

May the peoples praise you, God;

may all the peoples praise you.

The land yields its harvest;

God, our God, blesses us.

May God bless us still,

so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.

~Psalm 67:5-7~

It seems that, no matter how we look at it, there is no harvest without the work. The ground must be prepared, the seeds must be sown, the young plants tended, and the weather conditions must be right. Then there's a reward, and often it involves more work to gather the harvest. But what a great reward when everyone and everything has done their part!

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

~Hebrews 12:11~

Your character is the harvest of your habits. ~Adrian Rogers

Do not measure success by today's harvest. Measure success by the seeds you plant today. ~Robert Louis Stevenson

In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy. ~William Blake

It only makes sense that we would celebrate all the work and waiting, and that we'll have what we need for today and for the season ahead, and so it also makes sense that our celebration of the harvest should center around our gratitude to our God who makes it all possible.

For seven days celebrate the festival to the LORD your God at the place the LORD will choose. For the LORD your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.

~Deuteronomy 16:15~

Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,

and righteousness looks down from heaven.

The LORD will indeed give what is good,

and our land will yield its harvest.

~Psalms 85:11-12~

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It is the Harvest Moon!

On gilded vanes and roofs of villages,

on woodland crests and their aerial neighborhoods of nests deserted,

on the curtained window-panes of rooms where children sleep,

on country lanes and harvest-fields,

its mystic splendor rests.

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Under the harvest moon,

When the soft silver

Drips shimmering

Over the garden nights,

Death, the gray mocker,

Comes and whispers to you

As a beautiful friend

Who remembers.

~Carl Sandburg

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Wednesday Quotes is a bi-weekly opportunity for bloggers to share their writing, poetry, photos, or stories inspired by our theme. We've chosen the themes as a starting point for your creativity, and the only requirement is that your post include at least one related quote. Feel free to combine or "double-dip" with other writing or photo challenges as well. Of course, we'd appreciate a link back to us, if you'd be so kind. Add your link and please visit others and leave a comment! The link is open for two weeks.

Wednesday Quotes 2024 Themes

October 2nd - Kindness

October 16 - Harvest

October 30 - Superstitions

November 13 - Confidence

November 27 - Helping Hands

December 11 - Natural Beauty

December 25 - Traditions

Thanks to Marsha at Always Write for introducing us to the Wednesday Quotes challenge, and for passing the hosting duties along so we can continue sharing great quotes! Wednesday Quotes is co-hosted by Sadje at Keep It Alive and Kym at A Fresh Cup of Coffee.

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Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Twenty-Six Lists: I'm Thankful For . . .

Welcome to Twenty-Six Lists! I hope you'll join me in this simple link-up, where I share a writing prompt for some kind of list, and invite you to share what's on your list. Your list can be very simple or include lots of explanation; short or long; a bullet point list or essay style. Interpret the list prompts however you like, depending on how much time you have to spend, and how much background you'd like to share.

I think most of my readers are Americans, and Thanksgiving is still over a month away. But you probably know that in Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October, so just a couple days ago. No matter when our holiday designated for being thankful is celebrated, we seem to emphasize gratitude a bit more during the fall months, don't you think? Whether you celebrated on Monday, will celebrate at the end of November, or (like me!) you celebrate at both times, it's always good to reflect on how blessed we are and to express gratitude for it.

Every day is a day to be thankful. Life's abundance has no limit, and gratitude is what keeps that abundance flowing. In every circumstance there is something for which to be thankful. Even when there seems to be nothing else, there is hope. ~Ralph Marston

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

~Colossians 3:17~

I'm thankful for . . .

Life and good health! I think this comes first on pretty much every list of what I'm thankful for in this moment. Because if I'm writing this - I'm alive and capable of writing it! Even though there are the aches and pains of getting older to deal with, and the occasional sick days and not feeling quite right, overall we are in very good health and grateful for it!

A roof over our heads. The last time I did a Twenty-Six Lists "thankful list" it included my 'dream home' which was my house in Maryland. It was the place I had dreamt of and hoped for around twenty years earlier when we first moved from Canada to the USA and had only a truckload of stuff to our name. (To be fair, I did not ever have a starry-eyed dream of living in Maryland in particular!) Well, fast forward a couple of years from that list and we still own that house but don't live there. I'm often tempted to be discontented or impatient because we now live in an apartment and it doesn't have many of my 'dream home' features, but we are safe and comfortable here and our home and possessions haven't been destroyed by hurricanes or floods or any other natural disaster. I'm also very thankful that we've been able to hold on to that Maryland property and that it's still a home for our kids.

Always, always thankful for my family! My amazing parents and grandparents set a wonderful example of marriage and parenting. I had a good relationship with my in-laws over the years. Our four children are all wonderful people that love the Lord, and they all get along with each other and as far as I can tell, genuinely enjoy spending time together with each other and with us! We have two wonderful daughters-in-law that we love like our own, and we have two precious granddaughters. The only thing I could ask for is that we didn't live quite so far apart, honestly!

Good friends - or kindred spirits as Anne of Green Gables says. I've been blessed with many generous, loyal, steadfast friends over the years. Friends that are there to laugh with or cry with, to encourage and to challenge. It takes time to build friendships like that, and I'm grateful that those relationships have stood the test of time and even distance, and I'm thankful for the friendships we're starting to build here.

That reminds me, I'm grateful for the technologies that make it possible for friends and family to stay in touch across miles and time zones! Who remembers when a long distance phone call was a significant expense and had to be planned and timed in order to get our money's worth? And back further in history, a handwritten letter was the only option for communicating, and depending on the circumstances, it could takes weeks or months to send. And now we have multiple options for instant messages, or we can email, or FaceTime, or video call if a simple phone call isn't good enough. No long distance charges! We can even call from our car! That's something to be thankful for!

Music and sunsets and flowers and nature . . . all the beautiful things that speak to my heart and remind me that God is good and provides so much beauty and wonder in our world. And gives us the ability to create and enjoy those good things.

Good jobs. Oh sure, sometimes we complain about annoyances at work - everyone does! - but we like our jobs and we have good co-workers, and it's through our jobs that God provides for so many of our needs.

Fun things to do! Even when we have quiet weeks, we have parks to walk in, interesting shows to watch and music to listen to and books to read. It's enjoyable to attend church and a highlight of my week is chorus rehearsal! There are interesting restaurants to try. This week we are going to a hockey game, and will visit friends and family in Ontario (so we get to travel!) and will welcome my parents for a visit. Staying busy with interesting and rewarding things is something to be grateful for!

Praise the LORD! Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, and his loyal love endures! Who can adequately recount the LORD's mighty acts, or relate all his praiseworthy deeds?
~Psalm 106:1-2~

What are you especially thankful for these days? Please share.

The link-up is open for two weeks, with a new prompt every other Tuesday.

If you'd like to think further ahead, you can find the list of all prompts for the 2024 Edition of Twenty-Six Lists on A Fresh Cup of Coffee here: Twenty-Six Lists - Accomplishments and Goals

Bonus List: The next few list prompts so you can think ahead!

October 29 - Autumn Menu

November 12 - Blog Reading List

November 26 - Holiday Menu

December 10 - Holiday Ornaments and Memories

December 24 - Holiday Movies and Music

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Sunday, October 13, 2024

Scripture and a Snapshot - Patiently Waiting

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.

~James 5:7-8~

Thank you for joining Scripture & A Snapshot. Leave a link to your own post sharing a Scripture and a Snapshot. Take time to visit some of the other links and bless each other with comments.

I also link up at the Sweet Tea & Friends Monthly Link-up Party hosted by Grace-Filled Moments

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Thursday, October 10, 2024

10 on the 10th - Celebrating Birthdays

On the 10th of each month, Marsha In the Middle asks ten questions for us to answer in as much or little detail as we wish. This time around there's just one question, but I have to come up with ten answers. Here goes!

Two of my sons have October birthdays, which are coming up soon! We need to make some plans!

1. I love that family birthdays are a chance to connect and celebrate. Making or receiving birthday phone calls, sending or receiving cards, maybe a party . . . it's the togetherness aspect that's the best for me. I'm a quality time gal.

2. Birthday dinners. When my kids were young I started the tradition of letting the birthday kid request what they wanted me to make for their birthday dinner. When it was my birthday, the family took me out for dinner. We still do birthday dinners, when we're together to celebrate the birthday, although it's more often dinner at a restaurant than at home. Now that everyone is grown up and we can all pitch in to pay for dinner, it's a bit more doable. And for ME, any good excuse to eat out is something I enjoy!

3. Birthday cake! I hardly ever bake a cake, and I hardly ever eat cake, so birthday cake is a huge treat!

4. Birthday cheesecake. My husband always requests my chocolate cheesecake for his birthday, and it's so good, it gets its own number on my list.

5. My family's version of the Happy Birthday song. I honestly don't know exactly how this started, but my family has a tradition going back to when I was a teen . . . of singing the birthday song as badly as possible. So somehow this hilarious tradition has lived on, and since we live all spread out, the birthday song has become the highlight of the birthday phone call. As many of the family as possible gathers round and we make a group call and "sing" the birthday song. In weird voices, at odd tempos, in differing keys and times, with purposely horrific "harmonies", with strange sound effects, bungling the words . . . the goal is to make each birthday song more hilariously horrible than the last.

6. Birthday parties. If I don't have to plan them. My birthday is right after Christmas so I was out of luck when it came to birthday parties when I was growing up. And I'm not good at planning parties, so I was super low key about planning birthday parties for my kids. They could have friends over and we'd have cake and ice cream and presents, but I didn't plan party games and favors and all of that. My style is basically an open house. That said, I always enjoyed having people over, and loved attending parties, and birthdays are a pretty good excuse for having a party!

7. Memories. Especially when my kids have birthdays, I tend to remember previous birthdays and to remember when they were born. Obviously there are a lot of good memories to look back on when I have a birthday, or when my husband does, and that's a special part of a birthday celebration.

8. Presents. No kidding, I didn't think of this until this far down the list. Obviously not a super high priority for me, although I really like getting gifts for people I love, and I like receiving gifts too.

9. Birthday cards and Facebook greetings. Isn't it nice to get fun mail instead of just junk mail and bills? I try to mail birthday cars to my family members that live far away, even though I'm often late. I am super hit and miss about wishing my Facebook friends a happy birthday, so it always surprises me when I get loads of birthday greetings on my day. I do my best to respond to each one.

10. Whenever someone marks another birthday, it's another reminder that we're still on this earth for a purpose and it's a chance to look back and see what we've accomplished, and look forward to set some goals.

As you may know, this is our hostess Marsha's birthday month, so please join me in wishing her a very happy birthday!

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Thanks for thinking birthdays with me! What are your favorite things about birthdays? Leave a comment and let me know!

This post will be linked at Marsha In the Middle for the October Edition of 10 on the 10th.

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Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Wednesday Hodgepodge at the Park

Here are this week's questions - and my answers - for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. Thursday is National Walk To A Park Day. I know these celebratory days are mostly made up, but some are fun to think about. Do you live close enough to a park to walk to one on Thursday? Will you? The most famous park in the world is Central Park located in NYC. Have you ever been to Central Park? What did you think? If you haven't been is this a place you'd like to see?

We do have a very nice walking trail around our apartment community, and some of it is park-like. There is a really nice park we can walk to, if we go about halfway around the walking path and scoot through a treeline. It's called Taylor Farm Park and it has a large circuit of paved paths and nice boardwalks that go around some wetlands. It's a pretty good birdwatching area, especially for waterfowl and wading birds. There's also a very fun playground there. I'm not sure we'll walk over on Thursday . . . it depends how late it is when I get home from work, I suppose.

Yes, I've been to Central Park, one time. My husband and I went on a day trip to NYC to hear our daughter's chorus sing at Carnegie Hall, so we spent the daytime exploring a bit, and did walk around Central Park. I knew it was big, but I didn't really understand the scale until we were in it. I would have liked to take a closer look at the statues, and maybe spend more time around that fountain (which I recognized from Enchanted) but the negative was that it was so crowded. Also, fun fact - there was a lumberjack competition of some sort happening in the park the day we were there! Anyway, I've seen it and I'm glad but I don't ever need to go back, to be honest.

2. Something you've done recently that turned out to be a 'walk in the park'?

There's got to be something, but I can't think what it would be. So I guess I'll have to leave this unanswered unless I get hit with some inspiration before I hit publish.

3. Can you parallel park? Do you have to do this often where you live?

I CAN parallel park, and can do a pretty good job of it, but I avoid it as much as possible. Thankfully it's pretty rare that we have to parallel park around here, and I would rather drive around the block a few times or park an extra couple blocks away than parallel park!

4. The colors of fall . . . red, brown, russet, golden bronze, golden yellow, purplish red, light tan, crimson, orange red, and scarlet. Are these colors you like to wear? Is this your season in terms of color? What about your home? Would we see these tones in your home decorating?

Red is the only fall color I wear, and I don't wear ir all that often. I used to have a lot of russets and bronzes in my wardrobe years ago, when I kept my hair colored! Once I let my hair go gray, I also switched my wardrobe colors to mostly blues. And black. Black goes with everything. The warm colors were just not right at all with my very fair complexion and pewter or silver hair. In our home, I have browns and warm tans in my living room and some browns and burgundies as accents in the spare bedroom.

5. What part of history do you find most interesting? Elaborate.

What era of history? Probably ancient and Biblical historical periods are most interesting to me, because it's the setting and context of the Bible, so understanding that adds extra insight to the stories and teachings. A majority of the fiction I read is historical setting, and I tend to choose novels set in the Regency or Victorian eras most often.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

We went to the Twenty One Pilots concert on the weekend and it was awesome! Pretty sure we were the oldest people there who were not chaperoning anyone. Haha. I guess that could be a pretty good argument for us being the coolest old people ever!

On Sunday evening I was finally able to meet in person with a dear friend I've known for around twenty years online!

And finally, I need to apologize for being so tardy in visiting and commenting. I've been slower than usual to read other blogs and I'm embarrassed about it. If there was a way I could have another hour each day, that would be great. Or if I could do bloggy things during my lunch break.

How would you answer the Hodgepodge questions this week? Leave a comment and let me know!

I'm sharing in this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond.

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This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation.

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