A Wintery 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.  At the end of every year (or at least since the mid-1970s) Lake Superior State University posts a list of words they think should be banished from the Queen's English for misuse, overuse, and/or general uselessness. You can read more about the decision making process here, but this year's list includes:

cringe, game changer, era, dropped, IFYKYK (if you know you know), sorry not sorry, skibidi, 100%, utilize, and period.

Which of these words/phrases do you use regularly or even just every now and then? How many did you have to look up? Which of these words would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word/phrase not on the list you'd like to add? If so do share, then tell us why.

 

The ones I use are cringe and 100%, and maybe period, but I wouldn't say I use those a lot. I also find myself saying or thinking sorry not sorry quite a bit. I think that's the phrase from the list that I'd like to see banished, because it's used as an excuse to say hurtful and unnecessary things, and used far too often that way. Honestly, that's how I use it! Not to give myself an excuse, but that's sort of my attitude: Hey I'm going to say exactly what I think and I'm going to say it in the most flippant and blunt way possible. It's probably going to hurt someone's feelings but I'm not in the least bit sorry. It doesn't bother me if it's used in light, humorous settings where no one is likely to be wounded, but a flippant sorry not sorry attitude is not the way to handle difficult and sensitive conversations.

 

2. Your favorite soup? Do you make this one yourself or is it from a can?

 

I really like soup, and other than seafood soups, I think I like almost all of them! Choosing a favorite anything is hard for me, but I think my favorite soup is a tomato bisque. Hearty and thick, with basil and just enough spice to give it a bit of heat. Even better if it's in a bread bowl! Perfect winter comfort food! I don't make tomato soups myself, but I like it from the grocery store deli, or from Panera in the bread bowl. 

 3. How do you feel about winter? What's one winter activity you look forward to?

 I don't love winter, but I like it. I prefer a white Christmas, and I love a fresh snow! But I don't like icy sidewalks and roads, and I don't deal well with temperatures any lower than about 25º. My favorite winter activities involve being inside watching the snow outside. That said, if it's not really cold or windy, I really do look forward to walks in a fresh snowfall. 

4. The Pantone color of the year for 2025 is mocha mousse (sample pictured here). What say you? The website describes it as 'a warming, brown hue imbued with richness. It nourishes us with its suggestion of the delectable qualities of chocolate and coffee, answering our desire for comfort'. Is this a color I might find in your home or wardrobe? Is it one you might add in some big or small way in the year ahead?

In a similar, but not really, vein . . . if I were to offer you a choice right now of either a cup of mocha or a cup of mousse which would you say yes to?

 I love this color! But at present you wouldn't find it in my home or my wardrobe. Well, I guess maybe my winter jacket is pretty close, but other than that I can't think of anywhere it's a featured color. I have some warm browns in the living room, and I have quite a few coffee-themed decor items so it may be found in some of the accents in small amounts. Would I add it? Absolutely, if I had the option! If I had my own place and could paint the walls, I would consider using mocha mousse in a living room or dining room.

I would probably choose the mocha over the mousse, but I would enjoy both or either.

  5.  Which of the following winter related idioms can best be applied to your life in some way right now? Choose one, then tell us why you chose it.

snowed under, on thin ice, tip of the iceberg, chill out, break the ice, snowball effect, not a snowball's chance in hell, get cold feet, the cold shoulder

 

 Hmmm . . I think I'll go with snowball effect. I feel like everything snowballed over the holidays - the distractions and busyness along with the way we rearranged in order to get a tree and decorations up so that getting my spare room and desk cleaned up and organized again will be like digging out of an avalanche. And of course the pile-up of stuff to "deal with later" started well before the holidays. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by it even as I know I need to get it looked after.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

The Wednesday Quotes link-up continues and today is the first one of 2025! The theme is Planning Ahead/Setting Goals, and we'd love to have you join us. The link party is every two weeks. Find it here: WQ - Planning Ahead and Setting Goals

And it's kind of related to my Word of the Year for 2025 which is Practice. I wrote about it here: Word of the Year - Practice

How do you feel about winter? Do you choose a Word of the Year? 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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