The Hodgepodge Remembers

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.  When the Hodgepodge lands on September 11th I want to acknowledge that. Will you purposely pause to remember, pray, or attend any sort of ceremony on 9/11? Share any thoughts or memories you'd like to share about this day.

 

I don't have any plans to attend a service or ceremony specifically for 9/11, but we have Dinner + Discipleship tonight and will remember and pray, I'm sure. I do plan to pause during my workday to remember as well. 

We lived in a sort of rural area in Maryland in 2001, and I was home with my infant daughter and three young boys. I just held my baby and cried, staring in disbelief at the TV, and I didn't know what to tell my boys. We lived very close to Camp David, and so we usually noticed when there was air traffic headed to and from there, as the jets went right over our house. I remember thinking later that day that it was eerie how quiet it was when the regular air traffic wasn't flying over. I'd always thought we lived in a really quiet spot, but when all flights were grounded it hit me that I was just so used to the planes that I hardly noticed. Everything was truly quiet out there for a couple days.

 

2. Growing up, did you spend a lot of time with your grandparents? What's something you learned from a grandparent?

 

Yes, with my maternal grandparents. We didn't live near them, but we visited each other often, and there were several summers when I was growing up that I spent several weeks with my grandparents and aunts.

I learned about cooking, baking, and sewing from my Grandma, and her kindness and generosity was something I've always wanted to emulate. She had a way of welcoming people and being interested in them and caring about them that was really special. I learned a little bit about gardening from my Grandpa, mostly involving harvesting from his huge garden, although none of that really stuck with me! My Grandpa kept track of the weather, including the rainfall, every day, and although it wasn't something he specifically taught me, that idea of paying attention and doing your own forecasting made an impression. I think my interest in birdwatching started with my Grandpa, even though his vision was failing. There was always music in my grandparents' home. Grandpa had a little organ, like the tiny church organ kind, and he played by ear. He also played the harmonica and the autoharp, and he loved to sing. I remember him singing hymns and gospel songs with his brothers - a capella, and in German! I think Grandpa and Grandma would be very proud of how much musical ability my family has, and that we use it in our churches. And I think they'd love that I sing barbershop!

3. What's your go-to breakfast?

 Honestly, I rarely eat breakfast, so the go-to is just coffee. My favorite when I do eat breakfast at home is cereal. Going out for breakfast is a special treat, and I have a hard time choosing between waffles and French toast. I will always order bacon too!

4. Tell us the story behind one of your favorite photos.

 I'm going to have to choose just one (or maybe two) to talk about - do you know how hard that is? 

My family now has a few of these re-created photos but this is the first one we did. I came across the original snapshot (in the collage) when I was looking for some childhood photos for my oldest son and it absolutely cracked me up. I couldn't remember who took it and it doesn't seem like it was posed - I suspect we had gathered on the front porch to wave good-bye to visiting family members and someone thought to take the photo. It's a mystery. But it had such a silly, hillbilly, Gretchen Wilson vibe that on Mother's Day in 2015 (right before my oldest son drove away on his move to Ohio) we did our best to recreate the pose. I use it as my Facebook cover photo every year for Mother's Day and it continues to make everyone laugh and generates great comments!

5.  This week Friday lands on the 13th. Are you superstitious in any way? Do you like scary movies, and if so what's your favorite?

 

I'm not really superstitious although I bet I have some little "good luck" habits I've developed without even thinking about it! I do not like scary movies and I think the closest to a horror film I've ever watched was Poltergeist, way back in the day. It scared the bejeebers out of me and my best friend! My favorite "scary movie" is either The Haunted Mansion (the Disney version with Eddie Murphy) or Ghostbusters (the original with Bill Murray). 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

My random thought will be ten brief random thoughts this week, in response to the 10 on the 10th questions. Even though today is the 11th. Bear with me.

On the 10th of each month, Marsha In the Middle asks ten questions for us to answer in as much or little detail as we wish. 

This: meaningful relationships are life-giving, and I've got experience with close family and friendship relationships where we see each other very infrequently, and wouldn't give those up for anything!

This: I love having fresh flowers!

This: I've wanted to go on an Alaska cruise for ages, so a luxury Antarctic cruise sounds fascinating!

That: Pumpkin spice could ruin too many things, so I'd rather not have it at all.

That: Not a fan of humidity, and I think I can deal with the cold.

Toss-up . . . This: I'll take the real fur, I guess.

This: provided the logo wrap isn't something I don't want to be associated with at all.

That: I can't imagine stilettos working for my feet any more, no matter how custom-fitted they may be, so I'll stick with comfy sneakers.

That: The cottage would probably be pretty close to my dream house anyway, especially once I'm finished painting!

This: I'm not adventurous enough to take a chance on trying something new every single day.

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This post will also be linked at Marsha In the Middle for the September Edition of 10 on the 10th. 

What are you remembering this week? 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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