Wednesday Hodgepodge - Presidents, Puzzles, and Pansies

 

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.  Many of our earliest presidents created words or expressions widely used today. Teddy Roosevelt is credited with mollycoddle, pack rat, frazzle, and loose cannon . . . which of those words/phrases currently relates to your life in some way?

 

I did not know Teddy Roosevelt invented those words! I think pack rat is the most relatable right now. We recently pulled a lot of things out of the spare room closet so we could organize and put Christmas back into the closet, and although we've cleared out most of the resulting clutter, I still have a bunch of stuff to get rid of. Especially on and around my desk. And it needs to get done this week. Seriously. 

 

2. Have you visited many (or any) of the US Presidents homes, monuments, libraries or related sites? If so what's been your favorite? Are there any you particularly want to see? Here's a link to presidential sites listed by state which is kind of fun to read - Presidential Places by State. And since several bloggers who participate in the HP each week live outside the US, here's a link to Presidential Places Outside the US. Have you seen any of those?

 

The only Presidents home I've visited is Mount Vernon (George Washington), and it was so interesting! We went to Monticello (Thomas Jefferson) once, but only visited the grounds, since we'd arrived too late in the day to make it worthwhile to pay admission to go inside. I've been to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, though I don't remember it clearly. I do remember visiting Mount Rushmore several times and it might be my favorite of the sites I've been to. We lived very close to Gettysburg and a bit more than an hour from Washington DC so I've been the Eisenhower National Historic Site and to quite a few sites in the DC area. Washington Monument, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the National Museum of American History . . . Oh, and I've been to Independence Hall in Philadelphia so I've seen the George Washington Statue there. And many of the statues in various places. There are some Presidents homes in Ohio that I'd like to visit when we get the chance, and I'd be interested to visit some of the Presidential libraries.

This statue of shirtless George is in the National Museum of American History, and I've always thought that George and Martha would probably not have approved. George would likely have thought it too "kingly" which he was very careful to avoid, and Martha would have been scandalized by her husband flaunting a bare chest. Clearly the statue made an impression though, since I still remember it so clearly from about fifteen years ago!

 3. February 20th is National Cherry Pie Day . . . will you celebrate? Given your choice of cherry pie, cherry cobbler, cheesecake with cherry topping, or black forest cake which would you choose?

 I don't have any plans to celebrate but I do love cherry desserts! I'd happily eat any of those, but cherry cobbler would be my top choice.

4. Last time you worked a puzzle of some kind? Something that had you puzzled recently?    

 I don't do jigsaw puzzles, but I do word puzzles almost every day. I'm often puzzled by people's reactions that don't seem to make sense, like what their logic might be or if they are just reacting emotionally. 

5.  Of the early blooming flowers (January-early March depending on your zone) which one's your favorite? snowdrops, lenten roses, pansies, violets, snapdragons, reticulated iris, crocus, winter jasmine Do you have any of these in your own yard/garden?

 

 Pansies are my favorite from this list. I don't have a yard or garden so I don't have any of them. At our house in Maryland, we had irises and some crocuses. 

 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Arthritis has been kicking my butt lately. Probably the very cold weather is a contributing factor!

The current Wednesday Quotes theme is Staying Balanced. Join us at WQ - In Balance. 

What has you puzzled lately? 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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