Spooky Season 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 most recently gave you goose bumps?

 

Goosebumps in a bad way - my husband had a show on a couple days ago and I was kind of watching. It was about a "lucky to be alive" story where this young lady slipped and fell about three stories off the top of a waterfall and somehow survived. She had a go-pro camera on so you can see her perspective looking down at her feet, and the fall and everything. It was horrifying.

But goosebumps in a good way . . . I'm really excited about our chorus competition this week and how we sound at rehearsals and everything. And sometimes the chords really do give me goosebumps! Also last night, some of us had dinner at the rooftop bar in our hotel and the view kind of gave me goosebumps!

 

2. What does Halloween look like in your home and/or neighborhood these days? Do you participate?

I really don't know! We moved into the neighborhood in the summer and have only briefly met a couple of neighbors. Plus I won't be home this week for Halloween or for Trick or Treat night. If I was home, we would have treats ready to hand out to trick or treaters, and it's possible our granddaughter would come trick or treat our neighborhood. Most years I don't really decorate for Halloween other than a few cute ghost or bat themed things or maybe a planter, and even those I tend to go for things that are more generally fall-theme with a nod to Halloween rather than being specifically Halloween.

I could go for a jack-o-lantern like
this one spotted at Franklin Park - the bottom
cut out and hung on a shepherds hook

 

3.  Pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, poppy, chia . . . your favorite seed on the list? What's something you like to make/eat that calls for one of these seeds in the recipe?

 Sesame seeds. My favorite bread to bake is challah, and I put sesame seeds on it. I don't bake it as often but I absolutely love Za'atar bread, and that za'atar spice mix on top contains sesame seeds. And my favorite Asian dish is crispy sesame beef. I like the other seeds on the list too, but sesame seeds are a staple in my pantry and what I eat most often.

challah

za'atar bread

4.  What's the most (or one of the most) 'fall photos' you've ever taken? Share it here. Just one.

 UGH, how do I choose just one?! I'm sure everyone else is saying the same. I think this one that I took at Rocky Fork Metro Park a couple years ago. I LOVE the way the path is completely covered with leaves, but there are still some on the trees so it's not bare and wintery looking yet. 

5.  Somehow we're rolling in to November next week. If your October were a chapter in a book, what would the title of this chapter be?

 I wish I'd time to look at actual chapter titles in classic books and choose one, but I didn't. So I'm keeping with that idea, I think I'll title my chapter "Not Enough Time".

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm at the Sing United International Convention and Competition this week (formerly Sweet Adelines - new name, same women's barbershop music!) so I'll pop in from time to time to see what's happening in blogworld and check in with you all. 

See anyone familiar in our rehearsal room
banner? At least I'm not dead center in the photo!

 

On Thursday evening we went to Franklin Park Conservatory with my sister to see the Pumpkins Aglow exhibit so my random thought will include a couple of random photos from that.

What fun things are happening in your world this week? Leave a comment and let me know!

I'm sharing in this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond.

I host the Wednesday Quotes link-up every other Wednesday. Stop by and share a few thoughts and quotes on the current topic here: WQ - Sweet Dreams. I host the Everyday Images photo link-up every other Thursday. And find the Scripture and a Snapshot link-up here every Sunday.

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to A Fresh Cup of Coffee by email. 

 ©2006-2026 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

 This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Wednesday Hodgepodge - Back to the Future

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.  This week's Hodgepodge lands on 'Back To The Future Day'. October 21, 2015 was the date the movie characters (Marty McFly, Doc, and Jennifer Parker) traveled to in the future in the 1989 film Back To The Future Part 2.

Did you see the movie? Tell us something about what was happening in your life in the fall of 2015.

 

I did see the movie, all three Back To The Future movies actually, and I've watched them several times. Loved them! In October 2015 my dear mother-in-law passed away. A little later that month, a happy event was that my parents and two aunts came for a visit. This was the second to last time my aunts, with whom I've always had a very close relationship, were able to visit us. One thing we did while they were with us was go on a steam train ride in Cumberland. 

My aunties

My mum

My dad and me

2. Which -ber month is your favorite? (September, October, November, December) Explain why.

I could make a great case for October, November, or December for various reasons. I guess I'd say December edges out the other two. At least as I think about it today! December has the Advent season, Christmas, and my birthday. There's Christmas music and lights and decorations to enjoy, and opportunities to indulge in holiday meals and especially in holiday baking and sweets that I love! So many fun outings to choose from. Maybe most importantly, time with family is part and parcel of Christmas celebrations, so I love that! And also, did I mention my birthday? 😁

3.  Red, yellow, orange, bronze . . . your favorite fall color to wear? To eat? To see in nature?

 Red would be my favorite to wear. I don't love oranges, yellows, or browns on me, and I think the only yellow and orange wearables I own are high visibility work shirts! To eat is a little harder to decide . . . maybe orange? I think of oranges and tangerines and apricots, and even orange bell peppers. I love seeing all the fall colors in nature, but red and orange probably get my vote there, being the boldest and most striking colors for fall leaves. 

 

4.  What do you miss most about being 20?

 Being at a healthy weight and having joints that worked smoothly and as intended, without hurting just because it was morning or it was a little colder outside!

5.  We're roughly three quarters of the way through the year. What's one goal, habit, or mindset you want to purposely carry into the final weeks of the year? Elaborate.

 Following through on a plan. This applies in a lot of areas. A menu planned for the week ahead makes it easier to grocery shop and to make good food choices. Having even a loose schedule and plan for getting stuff done around the house helps ensure that we actually do get the stuff done around the house. A plan for rehearsing and working on music means I know when I work on it and what I personally need to focus on. Of course, I need to make all these plans so that I have something to follow through on, and most of the time I'm way better at making a plan than on the follow-through, so that perseverance is what I need to purposefully work on. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

The SVC show on Monday night went really well and we were very happy with it as a dress rehearsal. We found out the few places where we needed to adjust our transition as an entire group, where we needed to tighten up a little bit, and most of us individually identified a few places where we need to review our breath plan or choreo or what-have-you to make sure we are the best we can be. We will be ready for International next week and we are so excited! 

We had a marvellous weekend with family here, and the Twenty One Pilots concert was amazing! One highlight was when they did Seven Nation Armies and had the Ohio State drumline join them on stage! Our seats were high in the bleachers but directly facing the stage so it was still a good view, and we could see the entire drone show which we found out later was not visible in some other spots. 

How would you answer these questions? Leave a comment and let me know!

I'm sharing in this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond.

I host the Wednesday Quotes link-up every other Wednesday. Stop by and share a few thoughts and quotes on the current topic here: WQ - Reaching Goals. I host the Everyday Images photo link-up every other Thursday. And find the Scripture and a Snapshot link-up here every Sunday.

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to A Fresh Cup of Coffee by email. 

 ©2006-2026 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

 This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

WQ - Reaching Goals

A great accomplishment shouldn't be the end of the road, just the starting point for the next leap forward. ~Harvey Mackay

Four steps to achievement: Plan purposefully. Prepare prayerfully. Proceed positively. Pursue persistently. ~William Arthur Ward

The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don't define them, learn about them, or even seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them. ~Denis Waitley

I hope to be able to report in a few weeks from now that my chorus reached the goal we set for ourselves on the international stage. That goal is well-defined, and we've been learning and working on it specifically all year. We know that winning is believable and achievable. We know where we're going, and how we're getting there, and we're all in the adventure together!

Now that we're in the final quarter of the calendar year, it may be a good time to assess how we're doing on reaching the goals we set for ourselves back in January, during New Year's Resolution season. Well, I've been doing that a little bit, and I know some others who have been as well. Personally, I've made pretty solid progress towards some of my goals, and not so much on others. I had goals in two main areas of my life - moving to a new home and everything that goes along with that was the first one, and losing weight and improving my health and fitness was the other. We bought a house in the summer and have been settling in, making some changes, and I feel like I will be able to put a nice big checkmark beside that goal at the end of the year. On the other hand, I'm not quite as happy with my progress in the personal health areas. The pounds aren't coming off, although I am seeing improvements in my strength and stamina. 

It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life that the most likely way to reach a goal is to be aiming not at that goal itself but at some more ambitious goal beyond it. ~Arnold J. Toynbee

In the long run men hit only what they aim at. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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Wednesday Quotes is a bi-weekly opportunity for bloggers to share their writing, poetry, photos, or stories inspired by our theme. We've chosen the themes as a starting point for your creativity, and the only requirement is that your post include at least one related quote. Feel free to combine or "double-dip" with other writing or photo challenges as well. Of course, we'd appreciate a link back to us, if you'd be so kind. Add your link and please visit others and leave a comment! The link is open for two weeks.

Thanks to Marsha at Always Write for introducing us to the Wednesday Quotes challenge, and for passing the hosting duties along so we can continue sharing great quotes! Wednesday Quotes is co-hosted by Kym at A Fresh Cup of Coffee and Sadje at Keep It Alive. 

Quoting reminds me there are other people in the world besides only me. 

And other thoughts besides mine, and other ways of thinking. 

~Gregory Maguire~

Wednesday Quotes 2026 Themes

January 7 - Resolutions

January 21 - Motivation

February 4 - Eating Out/Restaurants

February 18 - Being Responsible

March 4 - Libraries

March 18 - Perseverance

April 1 - Simplicity

April 15 - Conquering Fear

April 29 - Making a Difference

May 13 - Family Ties

May 27 - Courage

June 10 - Teachers/Mentors

June 24 - Connecting with Nature

July 8 - Milestones

July 22 - Sunrise

August 5 - Patience

August 19 - Taking a Break/Rest

September 2 - Learning from Mistakes

September 16 - Best Friends

September 30 - Elegance

October 14 - Reaching Goals

October 28 - Dreams/Nightmares

November 11 - Integrity

November 25 - Generosity

December 9 - Beauty in Nature

December 23 - True Love

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This post may also be shared at the current link party at Life Captured and at the Sweet Tea & Friends Monthly Link-up Party hosted by Grace-Filled Moments

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to A Fresh Cup of Coffee by email. 

 ©2006-2026 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation.