A Super Sporting 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!

mug from the Calgary Olympics

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

1.  The Winter Olympics kick off on Friday, February 6th . . . on a scale of 1-10 how excited are you? (1 = eh and 10 = watching every event all day every day) What's your favorite Winter Olympic sporting event?

 

I love the Winter Olympics and do plan to watch - I'm just not entirely sure how to watch, or how to find time to watch! I'll put myself at a 7.5 on the Excitement Scale. My favorite Winter Olympic sporting event is the figure skating. I used to always watch with my daughter and we would discuss our impressions and their costumes, and how we would score each competitor. This time around we obviously can't watch together so maybe we'll have to do a few video calls to dicuss. I bet y'all thought I was going to say hockey is my favorite, didn't you? It's a very, very close second, but I decided that figure skating would get the edge (🠈 "edge" - see what I did there?) today because I watch lots of hockey throughout every winter, but don't watch much figure skating except during the Olympics. I also enjoy watching curling (I'm a fan of the Norwegian Curling Team Pants - if you know you know), some downhill skiing events, moguls and freestyle skiing, bobsled, and speed skating. 

 

2. In other sporting news, the Superbowl (American football's championship game) will be played on Sunday, February 8th. So tell us . . . what's your superpower?

It's much harder to think of my superpower than it would be to list my toxic traits. Haha. It used to be teaching or homeschooling, but I'm not teaching any more . . . I'm mostly an optimist and find things to laugh about, and I rarely freak out so I guess that's sort of a superpower. My superpower is the ability to see the humor and hope in situations, and to mostly remain calm.

 

3. Are you a romantic?

 Yes and no. I love a good romantic story for sure. I like novels and movies with a good romantic storyline that tugs my heartstrings. I love good romantic stories that are real life too, and am always rooting for the people I love to be in strong loving relationships. But I'm not someone who is emotionally intense, or overly focused on feelings. I'm passionate about the things I enjoy and believe in and feel strongly about, but not in a super-emotional way. 

4. Blue cheese - yay or nay? How about feta? If you said yes to one or both, what's a dish you like that calls for one of these?

 Blue cheese - nay! Feta - yay! But in small doses. I do like feta, but because of its saltiness I like it in moderation. One of my favorite things at the Greek festival or Greek restaurants is spanakopita (spinach and feta in phyllo pastry)

5.  What's more important - doing what you love or loving what you do?

 As a life skill, I think it's more important to love what you do. If you can learn to love at least some aspect of your job or things that you must do regardless of how much you like it, you will always be able to be doing something you love. Doing the things we naturally love doesn't always pay the bills, frankly, so not everyone gets to "do what they love" as their lucrative career choice. My advice to young people used to be that they should find a job they are good at and learn to love it in some way, and use it to finance their ability to do things they love. I wouldn't say my job is necessarily doing what I love, but I like it and find it pretty satisfying, and it helps me bankroll doing things that I do love, like chorus and eating out and having a few nice things.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Inspired by the Olympics question . . . forgive me if I've told this story before! We still lived in Calgary in 1988, the year Calgary hosted the Winter Olympics. We got tickets to a few hockey games, and we visited the Olympic Plaza downtown where they had some of the medal ceremonies. We had been married less than a year, and had to plan ahead and order those event tickets at least a year in advance.  We were able to snag tickets to several of the hockey games, and it turned out that we had tickets to see Canada play twice! Of course, this was before the NHL players participated so it was a little different.  

Also! I sang in a choir that was part of the mass choir that sang in the Opening Ceremonies and performed during the Olympic Arts Festival. Our choir also recorded the Olympic anthem and Canadian anthem in advance. For the Opening Ceremonies, the choir members were dressed in these druid-like robes in the colors of the five Olympic rings. It was just luck of the draw which color robe you received, and mine was black. I was quite disappointed. The other colors might have got more use for costumes, I thought, but I've gotten pretty good mileage out of my black robe over the years anyway. It's been a Jedi robe, and a wizard's robe, and I always thought it would work well for a Ghost of Christmas Future costume too. Also, it is very warm, and I used to wear it football games when we lived in Calgary! In the picture below, the choir is the mass of colors just below the Olympic rings. When we first entered the stadium, we had to stand in formation there to start with, but then we moved up onto the stands in the formation of the rings.

I stood somewhere about where the arrow is pointing

Fun fact: It was COLD the day of the Opening Ceremonies! And when I say "cold" I mean something like 30 below. Brutally cold. But we were toasty inside those floor length wool druid robes. Then later in the day, one of the more dramatic chinooks I remember blew into Calgary, and we could literally stand out on the balcony of our apartment and watch the snow melt. The very next day we had tickets to a hockey game and we went in t-shirts with only light jackets. My hubby and I always said that we could have made our fortune and retired early if we'd thought to make up t-shirts to sell that said "I wore shorts at the Winter Olympics in Calgary" 

 

What are your favorite sports at the Olympics? Do you have a fun superpower? Leave a comment and let me know!

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

I host the Wednesday Quotes link-up every other Wednesday. Stop by and share a few thoughts and quotes on the current topic of Eating Out/Restaurants here: WQ - Let's Eat Out! I host the Everyday Images photo link-up every other Thursday. And find the Scripture and a Snapshot link-up here every Sunday.

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 ©2006-2026 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

 This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

WQ - Let's Eat Out!

A good restaurant just makes me giddy. I can go all day with anticipation just knowing where I'm going to eat. ~Gayle King

I do have a thing for eating out; that's one of life's great middle-age pleasures. ~Rick Astley

I have a thing for eating out too. It's one of my favorite things. Unfortunately I don't have the budget to eat out as often as I'd like. Eating at a restaurant is like a brief vacation, and when you think about it, it is rather a luxury - someone else prepares the food, brings it to you, and cleans up afterwards. Restaurants that focus on an ethnic cuisine have that vacation feel as well. I can't travel to Greece or Italy every month, but it's only a short drive to some really good Greek and Italian restaurants. I'm a picky eater, so I know I'd struggle to find foods I'd be willing to eat if I was visiting anywhere in Asia, but good Asian restaurants offer me menus I can understand and sample.

fish n chips at a Gaelic-theme pub

shawarma platter at a Greek cafe

Korean barbecue

For me to go to a restaurant and eat something that is not only good, but totally new, is a double thrill. Double the enjoyment. ~Ferran Adria

While there are quite a few chain restaurants I like, we tend to prefer locally owned restaurants rather than franchises. We especially like barbecue, and when we travel we always look for local barbecue joints. We like "sit-down" places, counter order places, and food trucks, and everything from coffee shops to pizzarias, burger joints to buffets, and diners to fine dining.

A Kentucky Hot Brown at the Brown
Hotel in Louisville

I judge a restaurant by the bread & the coffee. ~Burt Lancaster

Food trucks give creative entrepreneurs the ability to cook with freedom and make what they love, meaning that they can create highly specialized meals without having the high overhead costs of running a restaurant. ~Homaro Cantu

food truck festival in Newark

frybread pizza

shawarma

That's what it all comes down to. Good food. And good service is important too. 

I totally did not plan this but this is Restaurant Week in Columbus! Technically, it was last week, but due to the extreme cold and the snow, many of the restaurants extended their Restaurant Week offers an extra week. We've gone out with friends to try something new during Restaurant Week a couple times before, and we have plans to go to a burger place on Thursday night. Does your area have an event like this? Or a food truck festival? We've gone to the food truck festival in Newark and it was really good. 

What kind of restaurant is your favorite? Leave a comment and let me know!

If I could have dinner with anyone who lived in history, it would depend on the restaurant. ~Rodney Dangerfield

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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.

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Click here to enter

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 Kym at A Fresh Cup of Coffee and Sadje at Keep It Alive. 

Quoting reminds me there are other people in the world besides only me. 

And other thoughts besides mine, and other ways of thinking. 

~Gregory Maguire~

Wednesday Quotes 2026 Themes

January 7 - Resolutions

January 21 - Motivation

February 4 - Eating Out/Restaurants

February 18 - Being Responsible

March 4 - Libraries

March 18 - Perserverance

April 1 - Simplicity

April 15 - Conquering Fear

April 29 - Making a Difference

May 13 - Family Ties

May 27 - Courage

June 10 - Teachers/Mentors

June 24 - Connecting with Nature

July 8 - Milestones

July 22 - Sunrise

August 5 - Patience

August 19 - Taking a Break/Rest

September 2 - Learning from Mistakes

September 16 - Best Friends

September 30 - Elegance

October 14 - Reaching Goals

October 28 - Dreams/Nightmares

November 11 - Integrity

November 25 - Generosity

December 9 - Beauty in Nature

December 23 - True Love

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 ©2006-2026 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

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

Share Four Somethings - January 2026

Each month we're each invited to share things in these categories: something we loved, something that sustained us, something we're carrying forward from this month to the next, and something we're making space for. I usually like to include a little bit of a bonus: Some Things I  Read and a little of What's Coming Up Soon. 

Some Things I Loved:

We kicked off the month and the New Year with some of our Maryland family visiting us here. We loved having "second Christmas" at New Years and extending the holidays and having fun with them here.

 Loved going to a few hockey games this month. A couple of related bonuses - a friend gave us his club level tickets to one of the games; I got myself a Blue Jackets jersey with their cannon logo; and the team managed to get themselves on a winning streak after the coaching change so the excitement for playoff possibilities is building!

I absolutely did NOT love the bitter cold, but did love how pretty the snow was, and still is, surprisingly. And I kinda loved having a snow day!

Something That Sustained Me:

During all the cold and cancellations, focusing on the positives and the blessings kept me feeling optimistic and cheerful. I had some stressful times during the month thinking about all the vehicle cost and headaches we're dealing with (background: the engine on my car blew in December and we decided to buy a new car, but we still have the disabled one and its payments and we're trying to figure out the best way to repair it and then what we'll do with it), and what sustains me when I'm tempted to worry is knowing that I don't have to figure the whole thing out at once, and remembering that God promises to meet all our *needs* and he's never failed yet.

Something I'm Carrying Forward:

I made big progress cleaning up the spare room/office and everything around my desk, purging files and organizing. But I didn't quite finish the job, so that project is being carried forward to February. In my defense, I needed to order some hanging folders so I could actually make proper use of the file storage bins, and those only arrived yesterday. I'm hoping to make time this week to finish the job, but it's looking like that might not be until the weekend.

Something I'm Making Space For:

Well, I guess I'm making space in the spare room and at the desk by getting rid of the clutter! I am trying to make more space on my weekly agenda to stay on top of organization and household tasks. I just started exploring a possible continuing education thing related to chorus, and I'm not sure how that will pan out, but I've started by making space to at least learn more and assess how much time and commitment it will require, and if I believe its something I can do right now. You never know unless you try, right? We'll see what happens!

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Some Things I Read:

Finished and reviewed these since my last SFS:

No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister (I finished this in December but hadn't posted the review)

Secrets of the Maison Fournier by Amelia Pine (just finished - review coming!)

 

Here are the books I'm currently reading:

A Certain Darkness by Anna Lee Huber

The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews

 

All of my reading news is at Just A Second if you're interested.

What's Coming Up Soon?

I've started working on our tax return - how's that for exciting?! Fingers crossed that we come out ahead this year!

The SuperBowl is just a week away! This is the one NFL game I sort of watch each year, and it's pretty rare that I care much about the actual outcome of the game. I like watching football but don't follow a team or care about the NFL. I'm there for the party, the commercials, and the drama around the show. This year I have zero interest in the half-time show. I think it's shameful that the league continues to ignore its actual fanbase and get halftime acts that I don't think have appeal to the vast majority of football fans, and this year the league has outdone itself in choosing blatantly anti-American crap. So we will be watching the game and the commercials, but fully plan on changing the channel during half-time. I'm interested in watching the show Turning Point has planned, so we'll see if we can do that. But what I really need to plan is what we're going to EAT at our family SuperBowl party!

Share something in the comments, or share four somethings with the rest of us in the link party!

This post will be linked at My Joyful Life in the Share Four Somethings link party.

  Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to A Fresh Cup of Coffee by email. 

 ©2006-2026 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.