Another 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.  What's a winter memory you treasure (can be from any winter in your lifetime)?

 

Seeing Niagara Falls right after Christmas. It was very cold, especially right near the falls, with that icy spray! But it is so pretty, with all the icicles and everything covered with ice and frost.

Another one (because I found it really hard to choose between these two, and I could probably list four or five others too) is the winter our family went to a cabin in Deep Creek for a few days. We didn't ski or do any winter sports, just holed up in our friend's cozy cabin and played games, did puzzles, read our books, and relaxed. We ventured into town for a couple of restaurant meals but for the most part it was just a cozy winter retreat. 

2. Tell us about the last time or a recent time you were caught up in red tape. Does it send your frustration level off the charts or is it something you've come to expect when dealing with any sort of bureaucracy?

 

I know I've been tangled in red tape since this, but one of the absolutely worst experiences I had with it was a couple of years ago when our health insurance company completely screwed up our coverage. I found out about two months after a visit to the dentist that the insurance company had processed the claim through an old policy that was with my husband's previous employer and the policy should have been terminated over a year before. I won't bore you with the story, but it was nightmarish to say the least. Hours and hours of phone calls and being transferred from one place to another, promises that it was fixed but of course it wasn't, the previous employer AND the current employer office people having to be in on the phone calls and it just went on and on. For months before it was fixed. To a certain extent I expect the runaround when dealing with government, insurance, or banking, and I prepare myself for the process, but that was just beyond all reason. One trick I've learned is that if it doesn't appear to be a quick and easy answer is that I don't mess around - I ask to speak to the person at the top of that food chain who has the ability and authority to solve the issue. 

 3. Do you eat/like fish? Do you cook fish at home? What's your favorite fish dish? Ever been ice fishing?

 I like some fish, but I'm fussy. No tilapia, and no fish that is served with head or fins or anything still attached. I cook fish at home occasionally, every couple of weeks or so. My favorite is a good Irish pub style beer batter fish and chips, or fried Lake Erie perch. I've never been ice fishing, or any kind of fishing, and have no interest. My brother loves to fish and regularly goes ice fishing though.

4. Did you watch any of the US President's Inauguration coverage on Monday, Jan 20? On a scale of 1-10 (with 1 being not at all and 10 being very very) how interested are you in politics in general? Do you follow/keep up with/get involved with local politics?

 I did! I watched all of the inauguration ceremony and a little bit of the rally. I am a 10 on that scale, because I am one of those rare people that are politics junkies. I have loved following politics for most of my adult life. I consider it almost like a sport. Although the workings of government and the political machinery can have very serious ramifications to our lives, I find it entertaining to follow closely and to be able to analyze and predict outcomes. The trick, I think, is to be able to treat it like following the sports teams you like or maybe a reality TV show you like. You can be very passionate and involved in it, but can turn off the TV when the game is over and think about something else. As closely as I follow it, I almost never think about it or pay attention to it in the evenings or on weekends, and except for the few people that I know enjoy talking politics, I almost never bring it up in conversation. At this point I'm not involved or following the really local political scene much, because I just haven't figured it out. I was more involved when we lived in Maryland, even volunteering in school board and gubernatorial campaigns in the last election cycle that we were there.

5.  What's the coziest thing you own and what makes it so?

 

 I have a couple of heavy comforters that I'd consider the coziest. One is actually still in the Maryland house though. That one has a soft fake fur on one side and thick fleece on the other side. The one I have here has thick fleece on one side and a lodge theme print on the other side. The lodge print adds to the cozy aesthetic. Ironically, these blankets have both been for the guest rooms, and not for my own bed!

 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

It is so very cold here today! And I know I shouldn't complain because there are other places where this is normal through the winter . . . I've LIVED in places where this is normal! As I write it's hovering around -5º F and it's just not okay. Our current Wednesday Quotes theme is Winter Sleep, and I dearly wish I could crawl back in bed and do just that until it warms up some! Visit and join the WQ link-up any time in the next couple of weeks: WQ - Winter Sleep

 

What's the weather like where you are? 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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