A Fresh Cup of Coffee

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Springing Into the 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. It's officially spring in the northern hemisphere. Does it feel like spring in your part of the world? If you're in the southern hemisphere it's officially autumn where you live. Does the weather say autumn? Which do you prefer - spring or autumn? Why?

It's certainly starting to feel like spring, at least during the day. We had some cold days recently, and frost on a couple of mornings. And the early spring flowers I had outside my door didn't make it through the recent cold snap and snow. But yeah, thankfully it's warming up and seems like it wants to stay warmer.

It's hard to say which I prefer, so I'll say spring since I'm enjoying it right now. If you ask me the same question in September or October, I'll say autumn! What I love about spring includes the new growth of greening up of trees and plants, the flowers (tulips and daffodils are a couple of my most favorite flowers, along with apple and cherry blossoms), and the feeling of hope and expectation for the even warmer days and the vacation possibilities on the horizon.

2. What's your favorite thing about spring?

I kind of just answered that, didn't I. That will teach me to read all the questions on the test before answering any. I'll elaborate a little on the last thing I said - spring is a time of newness and hope and possibilities, and that's what I like most. It encompasses the new leaves budding on trees and all the flowers beginning to bloom, because those are reminders of life and creativity and beauty. Passover and Resurrection Day are celebrations of hope and joy and all the good things still to come.

3. Spring into action, spring in your step, spring to life, spring to one's feet . . . which spring idiom currently applies to your life in some way? Explain.

"Spring into action" - the to-do list is long right now, and I need to spring into action to start checking things off the list! Especially when it comes to house-hunting. We're in a short waiting period right now but we'll be ready to put in offers soon, and then we'll really be springing into action in order to find and win the bid on the right house for us, and be ready to make the move.

4. Which spring food from this list is your favorite? What's a dish you like that includes your favorite spring ingredient?

asparagus, strawberries, salad greens like mesclun, artichokes, spinach, eggs, peas, spring onions

Eggs are my favorite from this list. I love egg salad and omelets and souffles, and eggs are necessary for cooking and baking! Right now, I'm thinking how good a cheese omelet would be. And also thinking that I should have boiled some eggs for egg salad, which I guess I'll have to do tonight.

5. What's one task on your spring cleaning list? Do you actually have a list?

Cleaning out and reorganizing the pantry. I should have done this when we put the Christmas tree box away way back in January, but I just "tidied" and called it good. I haven't made an actual list YET, but I will be. I'll have to because I'll be packing and getting ready for an upcoming move, so everything will need cleaned.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

This past weekend we went to Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve to do a little hiking. Had to make the most of a beautiful warm spring Saturday!

tossing rocks into the water below

We went to nearby Zanesville for dinner and made sure to also get a good look at the famous Y Bridge.

"Go to the middle of the bridge and turn left"

Is it feeling like spring where you are? 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 here: WQ - Perseverance. 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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Sunday, March 22, 2026

Scripture and a Snapshot - Reconciliation

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

~II Corinthians 5:17-21~

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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Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Luck o' The Hodgepodge

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

1. St. Patrick's Day lands on March 17th. Do you believe in luck? Are there things you do thinking they'll bring good luck or things you avoid because they're considered bad luck?

I guess I believe in luck to a certain extent, because sometimes things happen that seem so randomly fortuitous, like the chances of it just happening seem so unlikely. And yet it did. So yes, some things do just happen the way they do because of random chance. But we all experience that, and I think it's how we respond to those lucky (or unlucky) coincidences that determine real outcome. I'm not superstitious so I can't think of anything I do that is to try and bring good luck my way or avoid bad luck.

2. Forest - lime - sage - mint - olive - emerald . . . what's your favorite shade of green?

I'd say forest green, although I like sage and mint greens as well.

3. In Ireland the meal on this day is often a hearty beef or lamb stew served with colcannon (mashed potato mixed with cabbage and leeks). In the US corned beef and cabbage is the more typical St Patty's Day meal. Will you/did you mark the day with one of these dishes? Baked - fried - roasted - mashed . . . what's your favorite way to eat a potato?

I really like corned beef, but I loathe cabbage. I'd been so busy that I wasn't sure what we were going to have for dinner on St Paddys Day, but then we got LUCKY and a friend gave us club level tickets for the Blue Jackets game. Which includes the buffet, and the buffet included corned beef and cabbage, shepherds pie, and bangers and mash. I had the corned beef (and gave the cabbage to my hubby) and the bangers and mash, and it was all so good! Hubby said the shepherds pie was quite good also. Baked potatos are my favorite, but I don't have them very often.

4. What color of the rainbow best represents your personality/mood today? Tell us why.

I'm finally getting around to writing this late Wednesday so I'm going with mood indigo. I'm tired and kind of overwhelmed with the stuff on my to-do list, but I'm not sad or down. That deep blue is a pretty good representation of how I feel, and it's a color I love. And a song I love too, and now that it's on my mind, I have to share it. You're welcome.

5. Which 'lucky' quote resonates with you. Elaborate

'Luck is not something you can mention in the presence of self-made men.' ~E.B. White

'Diligence is the mother of good luck.' ~Benjamin Franklin

'Luck is where opportunity meets preparation.' ~Seneca

I like the Seneca quote best, because what good is your "lucky break" is you're not prepared to make the most of it, or willing to put in the hard work to capitalize on it. I think it might have been Mark Twain that said something about people missing opportunity because it's dressed or disguised as hard work. We do make our own "good luck" by working hard and taking advantage of opportunities, right?

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Once again, due to the lateness of the hour, I'll keep my random thought short. It's been another super busy week. We met with a realtor on Sunday to get our house hunting started in earnest so there are a lot of tasks to look after related to that. I had a doctor's appointment Tuesday morning, and very nearly passed out after my blood draw for lab work, so that put me behind the eight-ball for the rest of the day. I did manage to find the energy - just barely! - to get to the hockey game after we were given those tickets, and once I was there I had a great time and got a little more energized. And we have hockey tickets for Thursday's game as well, so that's another evening this week that I can't get much done with those house-hunting tasks. I'm doing my best to fit things in wherever I can. Wish us luck!! (And please be patient with me, as this looks like another week where it will take me a couple days to drop by and visit some of my fellow hodgepodgers!)

Have you experienced good luck lately? 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 - Perseverance

A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles. ~Christopher Reeve

Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity. ~Louis Pasteur

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won't. ~Henry Ward Beecher

There are but two roads that lead to an important goal and to the doing of great things: strength and perseverance. Strength is the lot of but a few privileged men: but austere perseverance, harsh and continuous, may be employed by the smallest of us and rarely fails of its purpose, for its silent power grows irrestistably greater with time. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did. ~Newt Gingrich

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

~James 1:2-4~

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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.

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 - Perseverance

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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Sunday, March 15, 2026

Scripture and a Snapshot - Everything We Need

Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perserverance; and to perserverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.

~II Peter 1:2-7~

May the strength of God pilot us, may the wisdom of God instruct us, may the hand of God protect us, may the word of God direct us. Be always ours this day and for evermore. ~Saint Patrick

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, March 12, 2026

Everyday Images #83

Welcome to my ongoing challenge and reminder to myself to take photos somewhat regularly. I'm not a photographer, but I enjoy taking everyday photos of things I find interesting or want to remember later, and I'm more likely to notice interesting things when I'm intentionally watching for them. Having some prompts that are open to interpretation has helped me pay a little more attention to what's around me. Here's how it works: Every two weeks I have a few words and phrases to focus on, and I try to find opportunities to take pictures of these things each week. The link-up post will be here every other Thursday, sharing my photos and offering a link-up for participants to share theirs. Right below the link-up is where you'll find the next set of prompts.

February/March Prompts - Everyday Images #83

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colorful

moon

from above

river

delicate

neighborhood spot (quarterly)

minimalist

~~~~~

colorful

moon

from above

river - does this count as a river? It's just a small branch at this point, but we enjoyed exploring this little bit of nature in a local park.

delicate - This necklace was a gift years ago, and I'm not even certain who gave it to me at the moment. I don't wear it very often because I'm worried that I'll snag the very fine chain.

neighborhood spot (quarterly)

minimalist - I have no idea what I was thinking when I included this prompt. It must have seemed like a good idea at the beginning of the year in my randomizer. Anyway, sorry if it stumped you like it did me! I think it's safe to describe my office as rather minimalist in design. I've added next to nothing on the walls to make it personalized. Not sure what that says about me?

And a few bonus photos:

We tried out a new to us restaurant recently - Filli Cafe - and it was so good! Elegant, almost exotic atmosphere, and delicious food. Their tagline is something like "from Dubai to the world" but I also saw some posts describing it as an Indian cafe so I'm not sure. I do know that their specialty drink is chai and the zafron chai I had was amazing. I also know that the menu featured quite a few shawarma and tikka dishes. Hubby had a shawarma wrap and I had their "columbus style flatbread" and both were delicious. Pretty sure we'll visit again!

From there we carried on to an area park that was new to us as well. Pretty nice for such an earliest of spring days.

The interesting geological feature here are these roundish rocks that are apparently naturally occurring. (Some 'millions of years' explanation was on the sign, I'm sure) They looked a little like big turtle shells.

In the evening we headed to the Blue Jackets game, and I pondered these 'naturally occurring' patterns in the clouds on the way. Haha.

There was a huge and enthusiastic welcome back for the players that had been at the Olympics, especially the Blue Jackets' own Zach Werenski who played for the gold medalist USA team.

March rolled in with snow! It wasn't a couple feet or anything, but it was enough to delay everything and really snarl up traffic on the first Monday of the month. That was pretty stressful for me, because I was supposed to be reporting for jury duty and the commute downtown took nearly triple the amount of time it should have taken, and I enjoyed absolutely nothing about driving to an unfamiliar downtown location under those conditions. Thankfully, I arrived still 'technically' on time, and since the entire system was running late, it was fine. I was there all week, through mostly gloomy weather. I did enjoy the fog, to be honest, and the views from the court building and the top floor of the parking garage. (See my 'from above' photo . . . above . . . see what I did there?)

Got to end off that week with another Blue Jackets game. The challenge for this one was finding parking and navigating the congestion downtown, as the Arnold tournament was going on, and the Columbus Crew were also playing.

I finally have a wallet that represents me pretty accurately.

I am sharing my photos every other Thursday, along with my prompts for the next two weeks. You can use all or some of the prompts for your own photo posts, or none of the prompts and just link up a post featuring your photos. Simple rules: Your posts must be family-friendly; the photos must be your own; and the post must be mostly photos. If you do share I'd appreciate a mention and link to A Fresh Cup of Coffee on your post.

The Everyday Images link-up is posted every other Thursday, and is open for two weeks.

March Prompts - Everyday Images #84

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scenery

on top of it

arched

fresh

Sunday Simplicity

at home (monthly)

spring

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