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 are your current priorities in this season of life? Elaborate as much or as little as you like.
I think just managing our time and plans so that we can do the things we want and like to do, and not just the things we have to do. The way I most want to spend my time is with my family and with my friends, which sometimes means saying no to other things, sometimes means rearranging other parts of my life so I can be available for something I want more.
2. What's one thing you wish you had more of?
Money, of course! That's the obvious answer! I tried to think of something else and the only other thing was time. Free time.
3. Do you celebrate Halloween? If so, what are your Halloween traditions? Any special plans for Halloween this year?
I have never been much of a fan of Halloween. Lots of mixed feelings about it. I think the costume parties can be fun, and I like the more whimsical and fanciful decorations. But I'd say we don't celebrate Halloween, and don't really have any traditions. We've usually participated in our church's Trunk or Treat but that's about it. No plans to do so this year, as we'll be travelling on Trunk or Treat evening. We'll be with our Maryland family on Halloween and I know our daughter has plans because she loves Halloween, but we don't have anything specific going on.
Daughter's "Hotel Transylvania" themed Trunk in 2021
I was Kym-ella DeVille in 2021
4. Last thing you ate that contained chocolate? Last thing you made that called for chocolate?
Last night I had a bit of buckeye fudge that had chocolate, and also ate a delicious Canadian Oreo cookie. Last time I made something with chocolate in it was banana bread with chocolate chips.
5. Do you prefer laid back weekends or do you like to have a lot of plans? Thinking back to this past weekend . . . which was it?
Talk about a wishy-washy answer but here goes - I like a bit of each! I like having plans to do fun things on the weekends, but I don't want the schedule of activities to be so full that I can't sleep late on Saturday or have a nap on Sunday afternoon, or just chill. Lots of plans is great but not so many plans that it's stressful and rushed. This past weekend was a good mix. We went out for dinner on Friday night but weren't out late. We slept in a bit on Saturday and ate breakfast at home, then walked the trail at a park and went for a drive to a town about an hour away and had dinner at a train car diner before driving back home to watch the hockey game and play games in the evening. A full day, but very leisurely. And on Sunday, we went to church, then spent the rest of the day at home, except that my husband played hockey.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
We're headed to Maryland this evening so I'll plan to visit and comment on the Hodgepodge posts tomorrow. I do hope that some of you will visit this week's Wednesday Quotes link-up and share a little something with us. Our theme is Superstitions. You can find my post here: WQ - Superstitious
Do you celebrate Halloween? Do you have any superstitions? Leave a comment and let me know!
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How fun that we get to hunt up quotes about superstitions during the days when black cats and trick or treating are all around us. It did make me wonder a little about superstitions and how they develop, and about how they're related to Halloween. I turned to my old homeschool blog for some history about Halloween to get started. I've never been a big fan of Halloween, personally, but I do think a lot of decorations are fun and creative, and the costumes are creative. As long as it's not gory or evil!
Superstitions are, for the most part, but the shadows of great truths. ~Tryon Edwards
Halloween gets a lot of mixed reviews, ranging from those who love it for the costume parties and themed decoration, to those who abhor it as a celebration of evil and the occult. For many folks, it's a day to dress up in costumes ranging from ridiculous to disturbing, and from cute to terrifying. Costume parties, candy, and fun! But of course we also acknowledge that the roots of our Trick or Treating are a little darker - a pagan Celtic sacrifice to appease evil spirits. It was believed that evil spirits were sent to attack humans, and the best chance of escape was to disguise yourself as a spirit, and so started the custom of dressing up. Sounds rather like superstition, doesn't it?
Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. ~Bertrand Russell
A superstition is a premature explanation that overstays its time. ~George Iles
The root of all superstition is that men observe when a thing hits, but not when it misses. ~Francis Bacon
The name Halloween that we're used to actually comes from All Hallows Eve, because medieval Christians celebrated All Hallows Day on November 1st. All Hallows or All Saints' Day was first celebrated in the spring of the year 509, but in 837, Pope Gregory III changed the date to November 1st.
November 2nd is All Souls' Day, and although it sounds like the same thing as All Saints' but with a slightly different name, it's not quite that simple. All Souls' is primarily celebrated by Roman Catholics, who dedicate the day to prayer and give alms in memory of their deceased loved ones. They may also pray for the souls of the dead, believing that this will shorten their stay in purgatory so they can transition to heaven. Those who don't believe in purgatory might argue that sounds rather like a superstition too.
When the human race has once acquired a superstition, nothing short of death is ever likely to remove it. ~Mark Twain
I've noticed that the sugar skulls of Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead have become popular for decorating and face painting. Dia de los Muertos is celebrated in parts of Mexico on November 1st and 2nd, coinciding with All Saints' and All Souls' Days. Indigenous peoples combined Christian celebrations with their ancient beliefs of honoring deceased loved ones. They use candles, flowers, food and drink, toys, and candies to decorate elaborate altars in their homes. They believe the spirits of the deceased are able to visit on those days. On the afternoon of November 2nd, they often take their celebrating to the cemeteries where they play games, enjoy music, and reminisce. Most of the Dia de los Muertos celebrations are very family-oriented and are festive rather than morbid or scary. Sugar skulls became part of these celebrations in Mexico during the 18th century.
As a Christian, I don't believe that spirits of the deceased can come visit with us, but I do like the idea of honoring the memories of our loved ones and remembering them with joy. And I definitely like that we can look forward to seeing them in heaven some day.
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature. ~Helen Keller
Superstition is foolish, childish, primitive and irrational - but how much does it cost you to knock on wood? ~Judith Viorst
I suspect that's where most of us are in terms of being superstitious! I don't really believe that it makes any difference what I wear to a hockey game, but it's also still really important to me to wear my team colors. I don't really believe that the turkey's wishbone has any power to grant my wish, but I sure wanted to have a pull at it anyway! Little things like not stepping on cracks in the sidewalk or tossing salt over your shoulder have dubious foundations but probably don't hurt anything. Walking under a ladder is probably not the safest idea, but it's become a superstition. No one wants to break a mirror, but it probably won't result in seven years of bad luck.
I had only one superstition. I made sure to touch all the bases when I hit a home run. ~Babe Ruth
Athletes have a lot of superstitions, but I think most of them are more like routines to prepare for the game!
I'm not superstitious, but I'm a little stitious. ~Steve Carell
Oh same here, Steve! Just a tiny bit stitious!
But seriously, we don't need to be superstitious if we know the truth. We don't need to do silly rituals in order to connect with God and we don't need to have a lucky rabbit's foot to give us hope. The apostle Paul warned the church not to waste time on those meaningless things:
Don't let them waste their time in endless discussion of myths and spiritual pedigrees. These things only lead to meaningless speculations, which don't help people live a life of faith in God.
~I Timothy 1:4~
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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 Sadje at Keep It Alive and Kym at A Fresh Cup of Coffee.
This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation.
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.
Welcome to Twenty-Six Lists! I hope you'll join me in this simple link-up, where I share a writing prompt for some kind of list, and invite you to share what's on your list. Your list can be very simple or include lots of explanation; short or long; a bullet point list or essay style. Interpret the list prompts however you like, depending on how much time you have to spend, and how much background you'd like to share.
What's on the menu for the autumn season? With some big holidays on the horizon, and with so many fall-themed activities, foods, and flavors all around us, I'm curious about which fall dishes and desserts are your favorites. And although my thoughts are headed in the direction of food, a menu wouldn't necessarily have to be just things to eat, would it? We did an Autumn To-Do List awhile ago, but feel free to come up with an Autumn Menu that includes activities if that's where your thoughts are headed!
Here are some of my favorite fall foods, with a couple recipes linked, and a few included at the end of the list.
On My Menu for Autumn
Although I make it throughout the year, autumn is the perfect season for chili. My recipe is a mix of ground beef and chorizo, with onions, red and yellow peppers, and NO kidney beans. Instead, I like a mix of black, red, and white beans. Chili is best topped with shredded cheese and sour cream, and cornbread is the preferred side.
Hearty soups are on the menu as well. I like most soups, but I don't very often make my own any more. Tomato bisque is my favorite, followed by beef barley. Following a turkey dinner, I do try to make a turkey stock and then I can make turkey noodle soup. Others that I have made from scratch and am thinking should be on my menu planner this fall are: corn chowder, cheeseburger soup, zuppa toscana, and Creamy Cubano soup. I got that recipe from Ellen at The Happy Wanderer, by the way, and her blog is a great source for good recipes. On the weekend, we ate at a little diner and had their cheesy potato soup and it was SO GOOD, which reminded me that I need to make my own potato soup again.
With soup, I need bread. Freshly baked homemade bread, of course. Challah, sourdough, rye, za'atar flatbread, or whatever. I wish I had more time to bake bread because it's my favorite. I have several favorite recipes, but I've chosen to share one that is my own adaptation. I once wondered what would happen if I replaced the sun-dried tomatos and parmesan filling in a favorite recipe with pesto, and it was a hit, so I kept making it that way!
We celebrate Thanksgiving on both the Canadian and American dates, although this year we did not have turkey on Canadian Thanksgiving. But usually we do, and our favorite way to do turkey is deep fried. The rest of our standard Thanksgiving dinner menu includes: mashed potatoes or roasted root vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots), Holiday Creamy Corn Pudding (my recipe is from This Old Gal), green bean casserole (for the others, not for me!), fresh bread, and cranberry sauce. If we have the mashed potatoes, there will also be sweet potato casserole, and one dish that sometimes makes an appearance is pineapple casserole.
Fall desserts? Yes, please! I love pumpkin pie and pecan pie, but especially for Thanksgiving dinners, we're most likely to have a homemade pumpkin roll. Right after Thanksgiving I always look forward to making Cranberry Crumble, which is a great way to use up the cranberry sauce that might be left over. Cheesecake is great any time of year, but we enjoy it in fall and winter for birthdays and special occasions.
Bonus List of Recipes:
Pesto Bread
one pound olive oil dough
olive oil
1/2 cup (or more) basil pesto
cornmeal
Shape the dough into a ball, then roll out to about a 1/4-inch thick rectangle. Use flour sparingly when rolling. If your pesto is the creamy kind or is more dry, you might want to brush the dough with olive oil, but I don't find it necessary. Spread the pesto on the dough, not quite to the edges. Starting at the short end, roll up the dough into a log and tuck the ends under. Let it rise on a pizza peel dusted with cornmeal for an hour. Just before baking, brush the top of the loaf with more olive oil and slash parallel cuts across the top. Preheat the oven with a baking stone to 450*, for twenty minutes. Also put a shallow pan in the bottom rack. Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone, and pour a cup of hot water into the shallow pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let it cool before slicing.
Olive Oil Dough
2-3/4 cups lukewarm water
1-1/2 tbsp yeast
1-1/2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
6-1/2 cups flour
Mix first five ingredients in a 5-quart bowl or large container. Mix in the flour without kneading (I do it with a bamboo spoon). Cover loosely and allow to rest at room temperature for about 2 hours. Use immediately or refrigerate in the covered container and use within 12 days. This recipe makes enough for four one-pound loaves.
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Pineapple Casserole
3 (20 oz) cans chunk pineapple
6 tbsp flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
6 tbsp pineapple juice
3 cups sharp cheddar, shredded
1-1/2 tubes ritz crackers, crushed
1/2 cup butter, melted
Drain the pineapple very well, reserving 6 tablespoons of the juice. Put drained pineapple in a 13x9 pan. Combine flour, sugar, and pineapple juice to form a paste; spread over pineapple chunks. Spread shredded cheese over that. Combine crushed crackers and butter to make crumb topping; spread over the cheese. Bake at 350* about 25 minutes.
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Cranberry Crumble
1-1/2 cups rolled oats 1-1/2 cups flour 1 cup brown sugar, packed 1/4 tsp baking soda 3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
whole cranberry sauce, about 14 oz or so
Mix together the oats, flour, sugar, and soda; mix in the butter until crumbly. Pack just over half of this mixture into a greased 9x9 pan. (Or use an 8x8 if you're short on cranberry sauce) Spread the cranberry sauce on top and sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture. Press the crumb topping down just slightly, using your hand. Back at 350*F for 35-40 minutes. Best eaten while warm, with a bit of vanilla ice cream or cream.
What's on your menu this autumn? Please share.
The link-up is open for two weeks, with a new prompt every other Tuesday.
This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation.
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It's time once again to share Something Loved, Something Accomplished, Something Improved Upon, and Something Noticed from the past month or so. As always, I'll include my Something Read and a little of What's Coming Up Soon.
Something Loved
October always seems to offer a lot to love! We've been really lucky to have gorgeous warm weather the last couple of weeks, so even if the fall colors seemed a bit late or less spectacular than I was hoping for, the sunny days were good compensation.
Right now, the trees are beautiful! Lots of gold and orange-y hues, and some reds too.
Hockey season has started! And we are sharing season tickets with friends, so we'll be going to quite a few games this year!
We visited my husband's sister and some friends in Ontario last weekend.
And my parents are here visiting for another whole week!
Something Accomplished
There have been a few minor glitches, but the Wednesday Quotes link-up was relaunched at the beginning of October, co-hosted by ME and Sadje at Keep It Alive. The link-up is open every other week and started on Wednesday, October 2nd. See more about the link-up here: Wednesday Quotes Returns! The first two link-ups were on the themes Kindness and Harvest, and actually the Harvest link-up is open for a day or two more. I would love to have you join in there or in the new link-up which opens on Wednesday, October 30th, looking at the theme Superstitions.
Something That Needs Improvement
My voice! Last Sunday I lost my voice somewhere on the road from Ontario to Ohio. I think somewhere in Michigan. Oddly, I'd had no sore throat, no cough, no other symptoms at all. My voice was just getting really scratchy and kind of "cutting out" and by evening was gone altogether. I had no voice on Monday but still felt fine, although it felt like I was always needing to clear my throat. Tuesday was the same so I went to the Urgent Care after work since I thought maybe it was strepthroat. The swab was negative and the doctor said my lungs and everything seemed clear, and there were no signs of infection. My voice has come back a little bit in the days since, but very unreliable and scratchy, and my throat is dry but needs clearng at the same time. Needless to say, I cannot sing! I've been following the doctor's suggestions, and will be seeing my own doctor if it doesn't resolve within the next week.
Something Noticed (In our Lives or Around Town)
We walked in Rocky Fork Metro Park yesterday and were interested in how many different kinds of berries were on the trees. We saw at least five different kinds, some that we could not identify. The wasps that live in this nest have three varieties right outside their front door!
This tangle was right above the wasp nest - the orange berries seen in the closeup, some very dark berries, and some yellow ones. We saw one or two other types of red berry, and juniper berries as well.
All of my reading news is at Just A Second if you're interested.
What's Coming Up Soon?
Later in the week we're heading to Maryland for a few days. Taking Mom and Dad to spend some time with their Maryland grandchildren, and then we'll go up to Ontario so Mom and Dad can head home. Boy, these visits go by quickly!
Share something in the comments, or share four somethings with the rest of us in the link party!
This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation.
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.
