It's a Loverly Day in the Hodgepodge!

Good morning friends!  I hope this Hodgepodge finds you all doing well!  Out here, the sun is shining, it's getting warmer (supposed to be 75 on Friday!) and I've got a cup of yummy Golden French Toast coffee in hand... let's Hodgepodge!


1.  This week marks the beginning of Lent...will you be giving something up or adding anything to your life during this season of the year? 

I was not raised in a church that stressed giving up things for Lent, per say... but I will be adding this:  Every morning I will not allow myself to get on to the computer until I have had a Bible study/prayer time.

2. The day before Lent is Shrove Tuesday... tradition states you eat pancakes on this day. In some parts of the world Shrove Tuesday is actually known as 'pancake day'. How do you like your pancakes? Or don't you? 

The best pancakes are the ones at Cracker Barrel!  I don't know what they cook those lovely cakes of deliciousness in - probably lard laced with more lard - but oh my, they are SO good!  Oddly, at IHOP I prefer the crepes or the Garden Omelette, not their pancakes.

My little guy's birthday is on Friday, so per Henry tradition, he will have pancakes on his birthday morning in the shape of his name.  I'm very glad I did not name him Hezekiah.

3.  I'm sure there are many, but what's one love song you really love? 

This one, from the movie Notting Hill, a very very cute and sweet movie!  (And my apologies, I have no idea why the subtitles are in Spanish... I couldn't find a good one in English... call it your cultural education for the day!)

4.  What are some things you do to let others know you love them? 

Little things - I pick up something I know they will like at the store, I put notes in their bags for them to find when they go on a trip, if a friend is having a rough day I will stop by with their favorite coffee or ice cream or flowers, etc.

5.  Roses...red, pink, or do you prefer another color? Can you recall the last time someone gave you flowers? Given your choice would you like to open the door and see a dozen red roses, a dozen purple tulips, or a dozen pink peonies?

I love roses in all colors - my favorites are the ones that are one color, but then are rimmed in another - like these:  

Given the choice, I have no preference as to which flowers I would love to receive, I love them all!  Bring them on!

I do not care for these, just in case my DH is reading this:  

6.  President's Day will be celebrated in America next Monday. Does US Presidential history and trivia interest you?  Many Presidential homes are open to the public and offer guided tours...Monticello (Jefferson's home), Mount Vernon (Washington's home), Montpelier (James Madison's home), Hyde Park (FD Roosevelt's home) andThe White House (home to the sitting President) to name just a few. Of those listed which would you be most interested in touring?  Why?

I do like presidential trivia, if only to remind us that presidents are people, just like us!  But they also have the power to do many great things, but also destroy a lot of things.  They should not take that lightly, and should look not to just what will make them popular at the time, but look to the long term effects of their decisions after they are no longer in office.  

Not sure which of the houses I would prefer to visit - can I say all of them?  (It's a cop-out, I know - the caffeine has not hit my system yet!)

7.  Are you good at keeping secrets? 

Yes I am.  However, there was one time I was asked to keep a secret until this individual had told their parents, and then they waited for over two weeks, during which time the stress and worry over keeping this secret actually put me in the hospital.  Suffice it to say - if you are going to ask someone to hold a very serious thing "secret" until you take further action, please take that action as soon as possible.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Last weekend we had my parents and my 95-year-old grandmother over for a birthday dinner for my Little C.  My grandmother has a touch of dementia, and we're never really sure how much she will be "with it" or be able to follow conversations.  On this night, though, she was fantastic, and  at one point I assisted her to the bathroom.  As she sat down, she automatically reached for the bars that they have on all of the toilets at her nursing home, which obviously, I do not have!  As she fumbled around, she looked up at me, laughed, and said "Now don't you go telling people that your 95-year-old Granny came here looking for a bar!"

I just about died laughing!

Here is a picture of her reading Little C's dinosaur books to him... so precious!