Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. When did you last 'swim against the tide'? Explain.

I don't know. Seems to me most of the time we're not swimming with the tide. We left the Amish nine years ago which was a huge swimming against the tide event. Basically everything after that pales in comparison.

2. What's the last self-help or self-improvement book you read?

I don't like calling the Bible a self-help book, because it is so much more. I don't read other self-help / self-improvement books though. We had been given one on marriage as a wedding gift and I think we may have read two chapters before calling it ridiculous and it's been banished to the attic ever since.

3. "Tolerance is a tremendous virtue, but the immediate neighbors of tolerance are apathy and weakness." (Sir James Goldsmith) 

Agree or disagree? Discuss. With civility please, because I think we have a good thing going in our very diverse (in geography, age, religion, political persuasion, ethnicity, marital status, upbringing, and cooking abilities) neighborhood here on This Side of the Pond.

I agree, and I'll leave it at that. I've seen too many Facebook conversations spiral out of control over the past few weeks to elaborate any further.

4. What is one of your most vivid memories of the kitchen from your childhood?

We spent the majority of our time in our kitchen when I was a child. It was large and the only room on our main floor that we were allowed to be in. The other three rooms, one was my parents bedroom which was strictly off limits, and the other two had been turned into a store/showroom for our furniture shop and quilts. We weren't allowed to play in there, but could walk through it to get upstairs to our bedrooms.

The kitchen was such a happy place though, it had a sofa, desk, china cupboard, and a table where we did puzzles, played games, or any projects we were working on. The other part of the kitchen had a nice woodstove, an oil stove we used during the summer, two treadle sewing machines, a rocking chair, and our dining table and chairs. There was a nice blackboard on the one wall where we had tons of fun writing, drawing, and playing games.

Our counter tops were bright orange, a color I always detested. It was in this kitchen where I got my love of cooking and baking, learned how to sew, did tons of canning during the summer. It was where we entertained our guests. It was also where I was proposed to.

I never once heard my Mom complain how we basically lived in one room, It was a cheerful, happy place, thanks to her.

5. How did/do your own children's summers compare with your summers as a child? If you're not a parent, answer as it relates to what you've observed about the current generation of children vs. your own childhood.

My summers were busy preserving food for winter, but on days where there wasn't any canning to do I loved roaming the countryside with my brother. We would traipse through the woods, along the creeks, and anywhere our hearts desired. That is something our children don't do. Would it still be safe to walk over anyone's land? Maybe, but maybe not. At any rate it's something they're not allowed to do, that we used to.

6. Tell us what body of water you would most like to be on or near today, and why?

I would love to be at the beach on Prince Edward Island.

7.  Share a favorite song about water, or a favorite song with the word water in it's title, or a favorite song to listen to as you sit beside the water.

As I Went Down to the River to Pray by Alison Krauss

8. Insert your own random thought here.

It's raining again, much like it has almost everyday this summer. Looks like another day of writing, cooking, and some type of crafty project will be enjoyed at our house.