Category: Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. It’s still May, right? When were you last in the middle of something that might be described as mayhem?

You mean before the madness and mayhem of a new puppy? lol! Actually this is a little bit of a challenge, but puppy-hood lasts such a short time.

2. When did you last feel dismayed?

When I woke up with a sore throat yesterday. I am totally angry about this. Time for Halls Cough drops and lots of fluids!

3. What’s a food combination you like, but other people may find strange?

Liver, onions, mashed potato, peas but no gravy.

4. “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” Do you think that’s true? Why or why not?

Sometimes things do pass you by. I wanted to be the best mother ever, but when Katie passed, I’m afraid I was not the best mother to Mandy. I just lost my mind for a long time. I’m 55 years old now, and that part of my life is over. Now I am focusing on being the best Oma ever!

5. US News and World Report listed the best historic destinations in the US as follows-Washington D.C, Philadelphia PA, Williamsburg VA, Charleston SC, Boston MA, Richmond VA, Savannah, GA, Santa Fe NM, Yellowstone, San Antonio TX, San Francisco CA, New Orleans LA, and Charlottesville VA.

Of those listed how many have you seen in person? Which two sites on the list would you most like to see in person?

I have not been to New Orleans or San Antonio, Texas. I would love to go back to Santa Fe and Savannah. They are wonderful cities.

6. May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. If you had to participate in a single fitness activity for the next half hour, which activity would you choose?

Right now it is walking Lili. About a gazillion times a day! (lol) This is how I house train. As soon as she wakes up. After breakfast. After a good play time. And then about every hour on the hour.

7. What did you like best about the city, town, or neighborhood where you grew up?

Back in the day, Falmouth, Massachusetts was a small seaside town. Everyone knew everyone  else and neighbors could be counted on to help out in an emergency. Sadly, Falmouth is really built up now and not a place that feels like home. I love my hometown now, Meredith, NH, as it is small and has all the same qualities that Falmouth had.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

1. Share something you appreciate (or something you appreciated as you were growing up) about your mother.

That Mom wasn’t perfect, but I think she did the best she could. Not much was known about depression back in the 50’s and 60’s and Mom really suffered. Still, she made birthdays, holidays, and family parties the best ever.

2. A quote most commonly ascribed to Plato reads “Necessity is the mother of invention.” When did this last play out in your own experience?

During a long car trip with Hubby. The GPS was not acting friendly, and I had to reprogram it several times. I even had to fake program it, in order to get it to do what I wanted it to do. We made it to our destination, but I think it’s time for a new machine!

3. Share one of the earliest memories you have from childhood.

I’m honestly not sure. I have vivid memories of my grandparents house in Brighton, Massachusetts, but I’m not sure when they are from. I do know I was not quite four when my appendix ruptured and I remember that very vividly!

4. When did you last ‘hit the mother lode’? What was it?

Just last week. We went to a rally and they were handing out free three season jackets, umbrellas, tote bags, hot dogs and hamburgers, and bug spray and hand sanitizer! It was all  logo-ed, but who cares!

5. What is/was your favorite dish mom made? Do you make that dish for your family/friends now that you’re all grown up?

My mom was a great cook, so it is hard to pick out just one thing. She made a wonderful Sauerbraten (German Pot Roast) which was a family recipe, literally from the old country and brought here by our family when they came in the early 1900’s.

6. Mother May I? was at one time a popular children’s game. It required no equipment or parts to play. What was your favorite childhood game where you could just turn up and play-no gear needed?

I was a tree climber and a bike rider. I climbed many a tree in my day, pretending to live in them, and I would tie a rope on my handlebars and pretend my bike was a horse.

7. Which TV mom (past or present) is your favorite, and why?

Mary Cooper is Sheldon Cooper’s mother, (On the Big Bang Theory) a devout born-again Christian from East Texas. She has two other children, Sheldon’s fraternal twin sister, Missy, as well as an older son named George Jr.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Surprises coming soon!

1. April showers bring May flowers or so the saying goes. Are you blooming where you’re planted as we begin the month of May?

Hardly. We are nearly a full month behind. Yes, a very late spring. I can hardly wait to get to our real spring.

2. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being no big deal, and 10 being full scale panic, rank your fear of spiders.

No big deal at all, so give me a one. I do, however, have a cousin and her dog that are terrified of spiders and bugs! Good thing they have me.

3. May is National Salad Month (who knew???)…besides lettuce, what are two must-have ingredients in your favorite salad?

Tomatoes and blue cheese. I also like chopped up bacon and this makes a great lettuce wedge salad.

4. I mentioned on my blog last week that my Daughter1 will be moving to Washington State after she is married. Of the following sites in the Northwest, which would you most like to see in person-Crater Lake (Oregon), Seattle (Washington), Vancouver (British Columbia), San Juan Islands (Washington), Mt. Rainer (Washington) Oregon Coast (Oregon), Mt. St. Helens (Washington), or Olympic National Park (Washington)

Lucky for me, I have seen most of these places. We even hiked on Mount Rainer. It was beautiful there.

5. This coming weekend marks the 140th running of the Kentucky Derby…when did you last race (literally or figuratively) to cross a finish line?

I think it was my last reconstructive surgery. It really felt like crossing the finish line for me.

6. What is something little you love?

My three little dackels!

But most of all, my beautiful little granddaughter, Savannah Rose!

7. Would you say you are more of a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner? Elaborate.

Visual. I keep instruction booklets on everything. Pictures are my friend!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

In a month Savannah will be turning two! I cannot believe it. It’s gone by so fast. I can also not believe how much I love that baby girl! I am just crazy for her. The last time we got together I was waiting for her and when she arrived I stooped down and called her name and she ran full speed into my arms. It just doesn’t get any better than that!

1. April 22nd is Earth Day. Are you inspired by nature? In what way?

I am. After a long, cold, and snowy winter, to see the grass greening, and the trees budding, it’s really a renewal. Mother Nature’s way of reminding us all of the goodness of nature.

2. Down to earth, four corners of the earth, move heaven and earth, not have an earthly chance, or salt of the earth…which earthly idiom have you most recently encountered? Explain.

Well, I would move Heaven and Earth for Savannah and a chance to spend time with her. But I think salt of the earth is what I have heard most in my life. I grew up on Cape Cod and this was an often used saying.

3. Share one piece of advice you might give a newly engaged couple.

Remember. Marry your best friend. The first flush of passion, will become mellow with age. Unless you are truly the best of friends, the married won’t last too long. So work now to develop a true friendship with your fiancee.

4. When did you last engage someone to perform a job, task, service, home repair, or improvement? On a scale of 1-10 (ten being the best) how would you rate their work and/or your satisfaction with the job or service provided?

We had to repair our oil burner. A small repair actually, but the serviceman didn’t know about our furnace and it took him three visits to get it right. Fortunately I complained about the bill and they lowered it. Was I satisfied? Eventually.

5. When did you last find yourself engaged in small talk? Are you awkward or an expert or somewhere in between?

I go out every few weeks with my girlfriend for lunch. That is sort of the extent of my small talk. Although, Savannah sent me a movie message on my phone and it was so adorable, I sent her one back!

6. What was the last historic place you visited?

Honestly, it’s been so long, I can’t remember.

7. The world would be a better place if we just could love one another and be tolerant of each other’s ways and beliefs.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Well, I’m having a tough time with Weight Watchers. I try so hard and then don’t do too well. Last week was okay, but then this week I’ve really struggled. I hope this summer I can get out and perhaps do some walking. One thing is for sure, I need to get a handle on my eating and exercising.

1. Since these questions are posting on the first day of April it seems only right to ask-when was the last time you did something foolish? If you can’t answer that one, try this one-when was the last time someone fooled you?

I often open my mouth and insert my foot. It’s not that I mean to say the wrong thing, it’s perhaps that I empathize too much.

2. What’s the last biography or non-fiction book you’ve read? Was it any good?

I just finished reading “The Ghost of Flight 401”. True story of Eastern Airlines L1011 flight that crashed in the everglades in Florida. Good book!

3. Garlic-friend or foe? What’s your favorite dish made with garlic?

I love garlic and I use it all the time in soups and stews.

4. Several Spring flower festivals happen in the US during the month of April. Of those listed, which would you most like to see in person…The Skagit Tulip Festival in Skagit Washington, The Dogwood Arts Festival in Knoxville Tennessee, The North Carolina Azalea Festival in Wilmington North Carolina or the Daffodil Festival Weekend on Nantucket Island, Massachussets?

This year none. But I would really love to see the Chery Blossoms in Washington, DC.

5. How do you choose which blogs to read? What is something that will make you stop and read every time? Something that makes you say, ‘eh, think I’ll skip this one and move on to the next’?

I have blogs I’ve been reading for years. One blog I read for a long time suddenly became a fitness blog, and well, frankly, I’m guiltily not in to fitness right now.

6. April is National Mathematics Education Month so tell us, when did you last use math?

Although I don’t like math, I do use it all the time. I think I use it in recipes most of all.

7. In honor of the A-Z challenge kicking off on April 1…choose one word beginning with the letter A to describe your yesterday.

affectionate

8. Insert your own random thought here.

1. March is known as the windy month. Which of the following phrases best fits your March so far…’throw caution to the wind’, ‘three sheets to the wind’, ‘run like the wind’, or ‘see which way the wind blows’?

Throw caution to the wind. I can’t explain now but will soon enough!

2. Your favorite green food? Your favorite dish made with your favorite green food?

Asparagus! Any way at all! I love it!!!

3. Ever been locked out of your home-car-office-anywhere? Do tell!

Actually, no. I have a secret to share. I can pick many locks. Or at least many of the old fashioned ones.

4. Yoda, Kermit, Shrek, The Wicked Witch of the West, Oscar the Grouch, The Grinch, or Mike Wasowski (Monsters Inc.)…of the green characters listed, which one’s your favorite and why?

Kermit. The sweet gentle dreamer.

5. “The first task of a leader is to keep hope alive.”~Joe Batten Do you agree? Why or why not?

Yes, hope is so . Without hope, one is lost.

6. Share a favorite song with an emotion in it’s title.

“Happy” by Pharrell Williams! Love that song!

7. What’s a road trip you’d like to take?

I have a road trip Hubby and I will be taking in May. Details to come.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Finding being without the use of my right hand is very tricky. I am really not a lefty.

1. Thursday marks the first day of spring…to celebrate would you rather plant a garden or go for a walk in the woods? Would either of those activities be possible on Thursday where you live?

Plant a garden, but no. With four feet of snow in our back yard it would be impossible!

2. When did someone last spring something on you? (or when did you last spring something on someone?)

No surprises lately. Thank goodness!

3. We often think of spring as a time for new beginnings. What’s something you’d like to start doing this spring?

Seeing Savannah again, more often. Last year due to surgeries I didn’t see her as much as I’d have liked.

4. Where do you like to sit in a movie theater? When did you last sit there, and what were you watching?

Towards the back, and in the middle on the isle.

5. When you meet someone for the very first time, what do you want them to think about you?

That I am nice.

6. March is frozen food month (yes, really!). Besides ice cream (gotta make you think a little) what’s your most often purchased frozen food item?

Pizza.

7. What’s something you avoid?

Pineapple.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Greta is having a little problem with a disc in her neck. The medication is helping. One things for sure, she is being extra cuddly.

1. Do you have an interest in learning about your family’s heritage? Why or why not? If you know a little bit about your roots, share an interesting piece of trivia or a fun fact about someone who goes way back on your family tree.

My grandfather, Papa Fred, came to the USA when he was 9 years old. My Uncle Albert picked Papa and his father up after they had cleared Ellis Island and they went for lunch in a Pub. The ordered hotdogs and beer. The waiter said “But we don’t serve children beer!” They brought Papa milk and from that day on Papa loved his milk. Not too much, after all it was a special drink.

Love and miss you Papa!

2. Branch Rickey, the baseball exec credited with signing Jackie Robinson, is quoted as saying-

“Luck is the residue of design.”
Agree or disagree? Why?

Sometimes you make your own luck. Luck isn’t always an accident. There’s a reason some people seem luckier than others.

3. In the town where you currently reside, what’s your favorite green space?

Lake Winnipesaukee.

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4. Who is your favorite comedian?

Carol Burnett and Tim Conway. Oh my goodness, they sure made me laugh!

5. March is National Nutrition Month, and almost everyone needs to improve their diet in some way. What about you? How can you improve your nutrition on a daily basis? Will you try?

By cutting carbs. I really need to get my eating under control. Right now I feel like it is getting away from me.

6. Which of these green expressions have you ‘experienced’ in recent weeks -green with envy, green thumb, green around the gills, or give the green light? Explain.

Green around the gills. Only because so much has been going on.

7. Where is one place you don’t mind waiting?

In a lovely German Restaurant while with my girlfriend Uschi!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Not much luck finding what I want dog wise. Ultimately getting a pup this summer would be the very best. Currently, we have 4 feet of snow in the back yard, and another foot of snow expected tonight.

1. The expression ‘mad as a March hare’ originated with a fictional character who is distracted and frantic. When were you last ‘mad as a March hare’ and what was it that made you that way?

It was probably during the Olympics. I got very angry at the poor coverage. You know, they could have shown so many things live, but chose not to. It really made me mad!

2. Mardi Gras this year falls on Tuesday, March 4th. Have you ever been to Mardi Gras, and if so what did you think? If not, do you have any interest in going? Purple, green, and gold are the colors of Mardi Gras. Which one is most prevalent in your wardrobe? How about in your home?

Never been to Mardi Gras. Probably not, as being in large crowds makes me very nervous. None of the colors mentioned figure in my home or wardrobe.

3. Are you old fashioned?

Very.

4. Do you carefully plan your vacations, or do you prefer the days to be more spontaneous?

Carefully plan them now. I think with the pack of dogs we have, you really have to.

5. March is National Sauce Month…what’s your favorite sauce, and what do you most often top with this sauce?

I love Alfredo Sauce. And put some Fettuccine noodles under it, and I am in Heaven!

6. What’s something that easily brings a tear to your eye?

Katie, Fritz and other losses in my life.

7. If you could own any sports team, which one would it be and why?

The Red Sox. What can I say? I am a hopeless fan.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Still feel sad and lost. I keep looking for my darling Fritz, as do the dackels.

1. What is something you’ll never forget about the age you are right now?

The search for answers as to why I have been so sick, and actually having been the sickest ever in my life.

2. What’s a household chore you’ve never done? How have you managed that???

I can’t think of anything, short of plumbing. Hubby’s Dad was a plumber, so Hubby handles everything under the sinks. Aside from this I have done everything, including taking care of Hubby’s fruit trees.

3. Does nature shape our personalities more than nurture? Explain?

I have watched puppies grow. Pups that are not nurtured by their mother’s will fade and die. If their mother nurtures them, in loving supportive ways, that pup will thrive and grow and become a wonderful dog. I have also witnessed when a pup is taken from the mother too soon, and then raised by people who think a dog is a dog and not their baby. Our Shubi (my first wire-haired dackel) was treated like a baby. She was warm and friendly and the sweetest thing. The people who had her brother lamented that he was not as nice or sweet like Shubi. I noticed that where Shubi slept with us and always sat in my lap, her brother Toni was put in a basket in the breezeway at night. He wasn’t allowed in laps, and he was treated like a dog. Yes. In Shubi’s case it was nurture over nature.

4. Friday (February 28th) is ‘Something on a Stick Day’…funny because Zoanna over at A Penchant for Pens recently sent me an idea for a question relating to this topic. What’s your favorite food eaten on a stick?

My Weight Watcher frozen cookies and cream bar dipped in dark chocolate! Oh I just love that!!!

5. Which of your five senses do you treasure most, and why?

My vision. Probably because I have nearly lost it a few times. I’ve had the retinas in both eyes detach, and you are literally left in the dark. The last time it happened I was about to become a grandmother. I was afraid I would not see my grand-baby. Now, I look at my beautiful daughter and granddaughter and feel so so blessed to have my vision.

6. What’s the best music, theater, or sporting venue you’ve been to? What made it great?

We went to the Opera in Budapest. I’d never been to the Opera and this was the most wonderful experience of my life (musically). We saw Tosca! I shall never forget it.

7. It’s the last week of the month…in five words or less bid adieu to your February.

Learn, Assert, Seek, Health, Care.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Tuesday I am cooking Pork Fried Rice and Moo Goo Gai Pan. Should these two recipes prove to be good ones, I will share. I love Chinese food, and I would love to learn how to cook this food at home.