Wednesday Hodgepodge - Blue Christmas Edition

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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's one fun thing on your December calendar?

Monday evening will be the Scioto Valley Chorus holiday party. It will be a potluck dinner and if the fare at the summer party was any indication, there will be lots of delicious food! It was also suggested that we wear our Christmas pajamas! Since I don't have pajamas that are specifically Christmas-y, I will probably wear cozy winter PJs and my Christmas sweater.

 

2. Sherwin William's Color of the Year for 2024 is Upward, described as 'a hint of silver lining', 'a breezy blissful blue' (see sample here). Benjamin Moore's Color of the Year for 2024 is Blue Nova, where 'violet and blue come together in a sumptuous hue' (see sample here). Valspar's Color of the Year for 2024 is Renew Blue, 'a balanced blue with a touch of grayed sea-green' (see sample here).

Seems like the design world is keen on the color blue for the new year. Do you have a lot of blue in your home decor currently? What shade? Of the three colors listed which one's your favorite? Do you need to paint? How likely is it you'd select one of these shades for your home? Which one?

 

Blue might be my favorite color. I don't currently have a lot of it in my home, and as much as I'd love to paint, we're renting so that won't happen! My china is blue (see my coffee cup photo!) and my bedroom decor is also blue. I like all three Colors of the Year, but my favorite is Blue Nova. If I had the choice to do so, I would definitely paint my bedroom that color! 

Bedroom blues

Blue stoneware china set

3. Do you struggle with 'the seasonal blues'? What are some things you do to try to beat the blues?

 I guess I do . . . a little. I sometimes get a little down when the weather is gloomy, cold, and wet. Snow is fine with me, but cold rain and drizzle are not! But it's more than the weather. It's hard to get jolly and motivated during the holiday season when we're not with our loved ones and we still aren't quite "at home". I guess the nostalgia of remembering Christmas past and missing people and home can bring on some blues. This year is obviously a lot better (so far anyway!) than last year. 

I like to listen to music, and make an effort to do things that get me out of the house and out of my own head. I'm glad that we don't have a long list of obligatory things to do, and we can really enjoy the parties and activities that we choose to do. So I guess I am trying to look at the positive aspects of the holiday season being so different from those of the past. 

4. Blue jeans . . . love 'em or no?  How many pair do you own? Are you married to a particular brand? 

 I love jeans! Not all my jeans are blue, but I think I have about a dozen pair. My favorites are the Gloria Vanderbilt Amanda jeans. I found them pretty cheap at BJs a few years ago and they were really comfortable, so at that price I started buying them in different colors and they make up about half of my jeans collection.

 

5. In terms of holiday preparation (baking, shopping, wrapping, mailing, meal planning, etc) how far along are you? 1=haven't given it a second thought, 10=nothing left to do but wait.

 

I'm probably at 2.5, maybe a 3 if I'm lucky. I've decorated the house, but I'm not even finished doing that. I've got some Christmas lists to shop from, but have barely started. Obviously nothing is wrapped. I've attended a couple of holiday events. I've thought about sending Christmas cards but have done exactly nothing about it. The only thing I'm doing really good with is listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies!

 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I finally wrote something for my homeschool blog again: Waiting For Saint Nicholas in 2023. To be accurate, I updated an old post, so I didn't really write much that was new. I feel bad about neglecting that blog now since I spent so my time and energy building it up in years past. 

How are your holiday preparations going? 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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