Wednesday Hodgepodge - Thoughts on the Start of Spring: Currently . . . March 1, 2023

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

At the beginning of each month I've been participating in the "Currently" link-up hosted at Overflowing With Thankfulness. Our hostess Jennifer posts a set of action verb prompts for the month and writers respond. So, without further ado, here are this month's prompts and what's happening currently . . .

***********

Loving - Some warm weather days and the signs of spring! Looks like we're getting the lamblike start to March. Oh, I know we'll still have more rain and wind and cold days ahead, but hopefully no more snow. We've had a mix of chilly and warm spring days lately, but it worked out so well that it was nice on Sunday so we could enjoy a day at the Arboretum. There's so much to see that we could go back every weekend this year - and maybe we will, because we bought a membership! Which is another thing I'm loving. I've also tried to pop out each clear night this past week or so to take a look at Venus and Jupiter (and the moon) heading towards a planetary alignment. Tonight is the closest they'll be.

Starting - Just started reading a couple of new books - In The Shelter Of Hollythorne House by Sarah E. Ladd and If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't) by Betty White

    

Also started making some vacation type plans for the spring. Some of the kids are hoping to come here for Easter weekend, and I'm planning to return to Maryland sometime during the week following Easter so I can be there for Kennady's senior recital. Not sure on the dates or details for that trip yet, but once I've got it figured out, I may need to adjust the date for my visit to the oral surgeon to start the process of getting an implant to replace a tooth that's broken and needs to be dealt with. Plans to spend time with kids and grandkids is way more fun than plans for dental work.

Finishing - Just yesterday, I finished the Write 28 Days Blogging Challenge! I'm so happy that I met my goal of posting an article every day in February, and with only a couple of exceptions, I used the prompt words too. Something I did differently this year was not stick to a "28 Days of ----" theme. Instead, I just endeavored to write every day, and publish something every day on one of my three blogs. I actually published more than one article on a couple of days! But I cannot keep up that kind of pace all year so I'm relieved and ready to relax my posting schedule! You can see all my posts that were part of the challenge here: Write Something Somewhere. 

Trying - Some new recipes with pretty good results! I'm a couple weeks in to using Plan to Eat, and I like how easy it is to save the recipes I want to try and follow them right from there. I tried a couple of easy chicken recipes this past week and we loved both of them. Crispy Cheddar Chicken and Easy Chicken Parm were both winners, and the Plan to Eat website and app have been winners too! (Using my link will get you 20% off your first annual subscription! And of course, full disclosure - the referral link will earn me a commission on your subscription as well.)

Going - Looking forward to going to our first hockey game of the year this Friday! Not the first game of the season, but of 2023. We've got cheap seats for games this weekend and next weekend. It's kind of nice to be a short drive from the arena and to be able to get seats at a reasonable price. Makes for a fun date night! (Photos from the game we attended in November)

***********

As if that wasn't enough of a hodgepodge, here the actual weekly hodgepodge as a bonus! 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. Hello March! Is it coming in like a lion where you live? How do you feel when it rains?

March has chosen to come in like a lamb here. We've had rain and high winds over the past couple of days, but yesterday it calmed down a bit and this morning it's clear and sunny, and the forecast is for a high of about 70! Guess that means I'd better go for a long walk today!

I don't mind rain, but I do tend to feel sleepy and kind of down when it rains, so days on end of gloomy and overcast weather gets me into a gloomy mood as well.   

 

2. What's something you'd like to do differently this week than the last? Explain.

 

Probably do a better job of meal planning and checking things off the to-do list. I slacked off on meal planning last week for various reasons, but I think I'm back on track this week. I kept myself more focused on Write 28 Days blogging over the entire month of February and so this week I need to tackle some of the household tasks that I put off last week. 

 

3. March 1st is National Sunkist Citrus Day . . . do you drink orange juice? Orange, lemon, lime, tangerine, grapefruit . . . what's your favorite citrus fruit? A dish you love with a citrus fruit as one of its key ingredients?

 I drink orange juice and love it, but I don't drink it every day. It can trigger my heartburn so I'm careful how often and how much. I like all the citrus fruits, and I don't know if I could pick a favorite! Hmmm . . . key lime pie and lemon meringue pie are the first citrus fruit based dishes I thought of and I love both.

4. What do you consider to be your culture. Elaborate.

 This is another of those "harder than I expected" questions. Especially since I don't want to elaborate TOO much! I consider "Canadian" to be a culture and we are Canadian in quite a few of the stereotypical ways - I love hockey and maple syrup and poutine; I do say "sorry" an awful lot (and pronounce it with a Canadian accent, apparently); and I almost always cheer for the Canadians at the Olympics. I also think I could consider "Dutch Mennonite" to be my cultural background as well. My parents both come from Manitoba Mennonite families so that's a big enough part of my heritage that I consider it a culture. The food and the language and family values. Plus I came up with a theory a few years ago that there's a "Mennonite Grandma" gene that kicked in when I reached a certain age, and it compels me to feed everyone that I love and spend entire days preparing a meal for a family occasion like Canadian Thanksgiving. 

5. Sum up your February in fifteen words or less.

In no particular order:  Writing - Proofreading - Walks - Books - Phone - Documents - Church - Health - Time - Flowers - Acceptance - Optimism - Lonesome - Home - Planning 

 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

It's occurred to me that living in an empty nest is bringing out fussbudget and OCD tendencies I didn't realize I had. Suddenly it's super important to me to have placemats and the table just so, and although I'm still not obsessive about doing dishes, it chaps my hide when they are put on the counter haphazardly. Those kinds of things. Maybe it's because there are only two people living here, and no small children or pets, so I feel like I should be able to put something the way I want it and it should stay there. Or maybe it's the next stage in the Mennonite Grandma thing. 

 

How is March coming in where you are? What's something fun or interesting that happening for you currently? Leave a comment and let me know!

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

This post will be linked at this month's "Currently" link-up hosted by Overflowing With Thankfulness. Shout out to Anne in Residence who originated the link-up and is taking a break from hosting for now.

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

 ©2006-2023 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. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

 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.