Wednesday Hodgepodge - Words and Wishes for New Years

 

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.  Oxford's Word of the Year for 2024 is 'brain rot'. Are you familiar with this term? Do you suffer from the condition? Ha! This is a term used to 'capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media'. If you were choosing a word to capture 2024 (for the nation/world, not your own life personally) what word would you choose?

 

What an odd choice for Word of the Year! I guess brain rot has become more prevalent but I wouldn't have thought of it as a word to sum up 2024 or that was used all the time throughout the year. I do my share of doom-scrolling (usually on Instagram) but I don't think I spend my social media time drowning in stupid stuff. I think a word like 'polarized' or 'politicized' might describe 2024 well. It seemed like every issue had a political angle inserted into it and the news media seemed determined to make it divisive even if it was an issue where there was a lot of common ground.

 

2. It's National Polar Bear Plunge Day (January 1) . . . will you be participating in one of these events (or even your own)? How will you spend the first day of this brand new year? Do you have a traditional New Year's Day menu?

 

I have never done a polar bear plunge, nor do I plan to! I think the closest I've come would be hot tubbing (or being at Banff Hot Springs) outside during extremely cold weather. We didn't make any big plans for today since it's just the two of us and hubby went into work this morning to check on things. We have a bunch of cleaning and organizing to get started on, and a day off is a good chance to work on that, and we're considering going for a hike later, although it's chilly enough to make that uncomfortable. We don't have a traditional New Year's Day menu, but I usually make 'Niejoashe Koake' (Low German for 'New Years Cookies'). 

 

 3. What's something that brings you joy and how will you do more of it in this new year?

 Making music is one thing, and I've been working on a more consistent personal rehearsal schedule for my chorus music. I've also floated a plan to hubby of moving my keyboard down to the living room to make it more accessible (and as a bonus, it would free up a bit of space in the spare room) so we'll probably try that after we get all the holiday decorating put away. 

Being with people and entertaining also brings me joy and I'm looking forward to doing more with church friends this year. I use the word 'entertaining' rather loosely because I don't do elaborate parties or dinners, but I do like having people over for a casual get-together. I asked for - and received - a charcuterie board for Christmas, thinking that since we have limited space it might be more doable for me to invite people over for small plates rather than for dinner. Hopefully I'm brave enough to extend some invitations! 

 

4. Do you struggle with the January blues? What's one thing you can/will do to keep them at bay?

 I guess I don't? At least not in a serious way. But yes, there's kind of a let down feeling after all the excitement and togetherness of the holidays is over and we're back to the regular routines without much going on until spring. I think I'll use the downtime to do cozy things at home and for preparation and planning.

5.  Will you choose your own personal word of the year for 2025? What about a goal, resolution, or maybe even a bucket list? Elaborate as much or as little as you like.

 

 I am working on my personal Word of the Year, which I think will be "Practice", and will have some goals for the year. I've sometimes made a bucket list for a year, but I think this year I'm going to do more of a "25 in '25" list or two. It just sounds like it should be a thing! Like reading 25 books, visiting 25 local or state parks, trying 25 new recipes, and so on. That's just been rolling around in my head the last few days so I haven't made the list(s) yet.

My WOTY for 2024 was Rhythm and I used that to try and establish balanced and helpful routines and rhythms for my days and weeks and seasons. I kept a sort of "sentence per day" journal which I shared at the end of each month so I could see those rhythms developing. My December Rhythm wrap-up post will be up soon and I'll also share a 2025 WOTY post.

 

WOTY 2024: WQ - Rhythm Inspires

 

 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

We were able to spend five days in Maryland celebrating Christmas and my birthday with the whole family! Gifts, games, and a lot of good food. We were also able to get together with a few friends. We got back home on Sunday night and yesterday, for New Year's Eve, we went to the Blue Jackets game, which included some indoor fireworks after the game.

 

Happy New Year!

Wishing you all the best for 2025! Do you have a Word of the Year or other wishes and plans for the year ahead? 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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