Wednesday Hodgepodge - Thoughts and Reactions

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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. What surprises you the most about people?

Lately I've been saying that I don't think anything surprises me any more. But it does surprise me that so many people accept things that defy logic and don't seem to do a lot of critical thinking. It also surprises me that people don't react or seem to recognize the dangers of the godless groupthink ideologies so prevalent today. Especially when it comes to keeping women and children safe.

 

2. Would you rather have a chauffeur, nanny, gardener, maid, personal shopper or cook? Tell us why that one.

 

Well, I don't really need a chauffeur or a nanny these days. I don't know how much value I'd get from a personal shopper. I've often wanted a maid or a cook and I could really use the help! But I think at this point I would want a gardener. Assuming I had a piece of land for a gardener to work with, of course. I'd want a gardener because I'd love to have a pretty outdoor space where I could sit with friends and enjoy a cup of coffee or iced tea, and have birds and butterflies and honeybees to watch, maybe even a sunset view. But I really need someone with the time and expertise to look after the plants because I have no idea what to do and I have no desire at all to dig in the dirt either. I've got lots of dreams and ideas in my head of what I want when we look for a house, and wouldn't it be wonderful to have someone who could make these ideas come to life for me, in my own yard?!

3. May 18th is National Notebook Day. No idea what that means but let's run with it anyway. What's something you currently keep in a notebook? Have you seen the movie The Notebook? On a scale of 1-5 how does it rate? (5=a favorite, can watch and re-watch and re-watch again)

 I keep all kinds of plans in spiral bound notebooks. Bible verses and thoughts from my devotions go in one notebook from time to time. (I'm not in the habit of journaling, but there are some things I want to write down.) I have another notebook that is for keeping track of meal ideas. I have one for my proofreading course, one for my music 'homework' notes, and one that is just my Everything Notebook. Blog post ideas and schedules, things to remember to do, lists . . . anything I need to remember but want to get out of my head.

 

I have not seen the movie but I have read the book. It was only just okay, in my opinion, maybe rated a 3. It was a book club pick years ago, otherwise I probably wouldn't have picked it myself, and I've not felt any interest in re-reading it. 

4. Do you like mushrooms? Last dish you made or ate that had mushrooms on the ingredient list? Your favorite dish that calls for mushrooms?

 I do not like mushrooms. I cannot even understand why people would eat them willingly or think them a delicacy. (Maybe that is something that surprises me about people - that they eat mushrooms!) They are a fungus. Yuck. 

My husband like mushrooms, so despite how disgusting I find them, I occasionally saute some for him, but I NEVER add mushrooms to anything I cook. A few months ago we were visiting friends and they'd ordered pizza for dinner. Pepperoni and mushrooms. I discreetly picked as many mushrooms off my pizza as I could and somehow managed to eat the pieces I couldn't pick off. So I can bring myself to eat them if they are in something I'm offered when I'm a guest and it would just be rude to not. It's not like I'm allergic to them. 

But I'm pretty sure it was more recent than the pizza that I made a slow cooker pot roast using a sauce mix. By the time I realized there were mushrooms in the sauce, I'd already put it all in the slow cooker and that was my plan for dinner. The mushrooms were pretty small and the gravy was rich and dark so I forced myself to not think about it and enjoy my dinner, and it was very good. Good enough that I bought another pouch of the mix, so I guess that's my favorite dish with mushrooms! It's a very rare exception to my anti-fungus stance! Haha 

 

5. What would you say is the most annoying thing people do in public?

 

Just one thing? I could come up with a long list! Disrespectful behavior. That annoys me the most and it's broad enough to cover a LOT of annoying things people do. On the weekend we were at my daughter's university commencement, and I was disgusted and dismayed at the shockingly rude and disrespectful behavior of many of the guests. Yes, it was a long ceremony and the seats were not that comfortable, but how many times do you need to get up and squeeze past everyone else in those narrow bleachers? And yes, I understand that you are there to see your special person walk the stage and receive their diploma, but all the other seven hundred people have a special person they want to see too, so you standing up in front of others and blocking aisles and views for long minutes, or having a conversation out loud while something is happening on the platform is incredibly selfish and rude. And then, after you applauded the achievements of all those students, then you completely ignore their procession out afterwards by milling about, blocking exits, talking loudly and over the choir and band? What is wrong with people? It was sad to see that so many people either had no clue how to behave respectfully or just didn't care about anyone else in the least. Sorry. Rant over.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Having mentioned my daughter's graduation, I will brag on her a little! She graduated from Mount St. Mary's University with a Bachelor of Arts in Music, and we are so proud of her and her achievement and how hard she's worked to learn all the things and develop her talents!

And I just did a thing too . . . I had my official audition on Monday night and I am now the newest member of the Scioto Valley Chorus, and I'm really excited!

Do you have any thoughts or reactions to share? 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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