A Nutty Wednesday Hodgepodge

 

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.  How did you meet your significant other? If you don't have a significant other, tell us how you met your best friend.

 

My hubby and I met at college in Manitoba. He was a second year student from Ontario and I was a first year student from Alberta. It was a small Bible college so after the first couple weeks you knew almost everyone by name. We had some mutual friends, and we started going out for coffee with a few other people, and it soon was just four of us, and then it was just the two of us . . .

 

2. It's Department Store Day (October 16) . . . do you still shop in department stores? If not do you miss that kind of shopping experience? Do you have a favorite department store? Any fun memories of department store shopping when you were a child?

 

I rarely shop in department stores any more. I feel like there's not many around, and those I can think of have greatly reduced the number of 'departments' they have and are primarily clothing OR home goods stores. Macy's, Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor - mostly clothing, right? Is Kohl's a department store? I do shop there on occasion. There's a regional department store called Boscov's in Maryland and Pennsylvania and that one is my favorite. I usually shop there when we're in Maryland for a visit. I can't say that I greatly miss the department store experience, except when Christmas shopping. That was when the department stores pulled out all the stops with decorating and you could shop your whole list at one store. Or at least a good portion of it!

The two big department store chains in Canada when I was growing up were The Bay (Hudson's Bay Company) and Eaton's and by the time I was a teen I loved both of them. There was a smaller department store called Woodward's and it had a restaurant inside it. It seemed like a really large restaurant to me. I remember it being a real treat to go shopping with Mom at the Woodward's and get lunch or coffee at the restaurant. I have no idea what we even shopped for! But I can still picture that restaurant in all its mid-70s glamour! 

3. Something you're currently nuts about?

 Coffee, which isn't unusual. But my current favorites are flavored coffees that are a store brand, and that is a little unusual. Frederik's is the Meijer store brand, and we really like their Mackinac Island Fudge coffee and the Michigan Cherry coffee. It came to mind because the Michigan Cherry one smells and tastes like almonds or amaretto. It's really good. 

4. What's your favorite nut and is there a favorite recipe where this nut is used? 

 Cashews are a clear favorite although maybe they aren't technically a nut. They're with the peanuts (which are also not technically nuts) in the "Mixed Nuts" so I say they count. I also like macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, and almonds. I can't really think of a recipe that uses cashews, - maybe the chewy granola type bars that feature cashews? I love those. 

5.  On Wednesday we officially reach the '70 days until Christmas' mark. Have you purchased any gifts? If you don't celebrate Christmas then how about Hanukkah presents?

 

Oh no, I haven't purchased any gifts at all! I'm no good at planning ahead for Christmas gifts any more. At least I have a few ideas but that's about as far as I've gone with gifts for the upcoming season. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

This is a busy week and I'm headed into a busy weekend too.Yesterday we went to the home opener for the Blue Jackets, and they did a special tribute to one of their star players, Johnny Gaudreau, who was killed in a tragic accident in the summer. (He and his brother were struck by an allegedly drunk driver, on the day before their sister's wedding. In addition to the great tributes paid to Johnny Hockey, there were several reminders to fans to always drive responsibly and to never drink and drive.) It was a really good hockey game too, but unfortunately we didn't get the win.

So that was yesterday. Monday was full, as usual, between work and chorus. Tonight we have our usual church activity. Tomorrow we are headed out of town as soon after work as possible - going to visit my husband's sister and attend a high school reunion type event on the weekend. And we will also meet up with my Mom and Dad who are coming back with us for a couple weeks! So with all of that going on, I'll probably have a bigger challenge than usual in visiting and commenting on other blogs, but I'll do my best!

Speaking of commenting, I'd love to stop by and comment on your contribution to this week's Wednesday Quotes link-up. You can find my post here: WQ - Celebrating the Harvest 

What are you busy with this week? Did you answer the Hodgepodge questions? 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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