Wednesday Hodgepodge

 1. At the end of every year (or at least since the mid-1970's) Lake Superior State University posts a list of words they think should be banished from the Queen's English for misuse, overuse, and/or general uselessness. You can read more about the decision making process here, but this year's list includes-

cringe, game changer, era, dropped, IFKYK (If you know you know), sorry not sorry, skibidi, 100%, utilize, and period. 

Which of these words/phrases do you use regularly or even just every now and then? How many did you have to look up? Which of these words would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word/phrase not on the list you'd like to add? If so do share, then tell us why. 

I don't think I use any of those words regularly, but I have used cringe, game changer, era, 100%, utilize, and period. 

I had to look up skibidi, and now that I know the definition I still don't see me using the word. 

A word that I think deserves to be on the list is unpack. I find it grating, annoying, and something inside me seems to shrivel every time I hear it.

2. Your favorite soup? Do you make this one yourself or is it from a can? 

I actually don't care for any soup from a can. I love the idea, such a simple meal! But every time I try I find them lacking. It's been a number of years now since the last attempt.

I do love soup though and find it hard to choose only one as a favorite. One of them is a Creamy Ravioli Soup

I found the recipe here. I tweaked it a bit though to suit our family. Instead of using ground turkey I use the meat from an entire rotisserie chicken, I omit the spinach, and use four roma tomatoes instead of the canned diced tomatoes.  

We like it so well that it keeps making an appearance on my weekly menus every couple weeks during colder weather.

3. How do you feel about winter? What's one winter activity you look forward to? 

I still love the feeling of leisurely winter evenings filled with books, games, puzzles, and various hobbies. The comforting food, and baking. The preparing of hot chocolate to welcome in those who were braving the snow weather by shoveling it or going sledding. 

But the roads ... having family members who have no choice but being out there on them. It kind of steals the joy of winter away.

I'm looking forward to spring and warmer weather.

4. The Pantone color of the year for 2025 is mocha mousse (sample pictured here). What say you? The website describes it as 'a warming, brown hue imbued with richness. It nourishes us with its suggestion of the delectable qualities of chocolate and coffee, answering our desire for comfort'. Is this a color I might find in your home or wardrobe? Is it one you might add in some big or small way in the year ahead? 

I love browns and happily skipped over to the website to check it out, only to be disappointed. I didn't think there's a shade of brown I don't like, but this one isn't doing it for me. Maybe it's my laptop and it would look better in person, but I didn't care for the almost pinkish hue.

In a similar, but not really vein...if I were to offer you a choice right now of either a cup of mocha or a cup of mousse which would you say yes to? 

I think I'd have to go with the cup of mocha.

5. Which of the following winter related idioms can best be applied to your life in some way right now? Choose one, then tell us why you chose it.  

snowed under, on thin ice, tip of the iceberg, chill out, break the ice, snowball effect, get cold feet, the cold shoulder 

I'm going with snowed under. In the literal sense though. We've been getting snow daily which has been making things challenging. It's still snowing this morning. Sharon is in nursing school and it's on a two hour delay this morning. If they don't end up canceling it will be her first day back since Christmas break.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

On Steven's and my latest grocery run we got everything we could at Aldi before heading over to Walmart for the remainder. Somewhere between the two stores I managed to lose my grocery list. We were in one of the aisles talking about what we need, trying not to forget anything. 

"You might want to get a bag of onions," Steven said chuckling a bit. "I think we're down to only one and a half bags."

I had to laugh at his gentle sarcasm.

An old lady was walking past us. "Shhhh!!!! she said shaking her head vigorously. 

We had not been speaking or laughing loudly, and we certainly weren't in a library, so I simply smiled at her and we continued on our way still discussing the things we need to remember to buy.

Currently

Reading ...  In the Bible this morning I read a few chapters in Jeremiah before reading my favorite Psalm.

In other books, yesterday I finished Will the Circle be Unbroken by Sean Dietrich. It's his memoir. I laughed and cried my way through it. Memoirs aren't my top genre of choice, but I enjoyed it quite a lot.

I started A Girl of the Limberlost last evening. It's been close to twenty years since the last time I read it, and as I'm becoming immersed in the story I'm wondering why I waited so long to do a reread.

Writing ... the only writing that has happened recently has been in my journals, planners, and text messages.

Watching ... the squirrels at their feeder. 

Listening ... to the birds at the birdfeeder. The feeder only has room for six, and there are dozens of them trying to have their turn. The finches especially, are being quite vocal about it. 

Then there's the comforting hum of the refrigerator, the wind whistling through the tree branches and around the corners of the house, and Sharon tapping away at her laptop. The weather is bad and her school has been canceled again, so she's doing it online today.

Baking ... I have some butter softening on the kitchen counter for a new recipe I'll be trying later this morning. Hatch Chile Chocolate Chip Cookies.

We love Hatch Chile but living where we do they're impossible to find in local stores. Instead, we order them from a farm in New Mexico. They always arrive frozen, packed in dry ice, but unfortunately each pack contains multiple peppers. So once I thaw a pack I have to make multiple things with them. 

I have four different recipes I'm using with this pack. One of them happens to be the cookies. I've never done a sweet or dessert recipe with them before and I'm eager to see how they'll turn out.

Cooking ... on the menu tonight I'll be doing a Spicy Chicken Risotto, Salad Cups, and biscuits and then the cookies for dessert. If Steven continues with his plan he will be making a fluffy fruit tapioca which will work nicely for those of us who enjoy fruit with cookies. 

Feeling ... happy and hopeful.

Disliking ... I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but here we go. The snow. I still like how it looks. I still enjoy the wintery projects etc. But I don't like that the roads aren't safe and what that means for us. And as a mother having your oldest child out there doing rescue, recovery, and repairs along the interstate it adds another layer or two of dislike to the snow and winter in general.

Loving ... grandbabies! We very happily welcomed another grandson last month.

Playing ... Steven received UNO No Mercy for Christmas from one of his siblings. We've been playing it daily. Multiple times daily. There's something about how merciless the game is that he finds hilarious, and for now it's his go to game.

We also played FickleFish, Stratego, and Dragonwood so far this week.

Cleaning ... I'm hoping to tackle the lazy susans in the kitchen this afternoon. I didn't take care of them in December and it's time. Somehow lazy susans are incredibly hard to keep organized at our house.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 1. What's one thing you want to get done before the calendar flips to a new year?

I'm a jot things down, planner type of girl. I have eight three ring binders, filled with ideas, plans, plots for books, menus, and a whole lot more. I've had some of them for over a decade already. For those older ones the paper is already starting to show age.

I decided it's time to get everything properly organized. Some things I am copying over into a new binder, other things I don't need I'm tucking into several of the older binders and tucking away into the storage room, because I don't have the heart to toss them yet. Seeing the goals the girls and I had set for 2016, the to-dos as we were preparing for our last baby. Yeah, I'm not ready to simply throw them in the trash.

So that's my major project I'm hoping to have complete before the calendar flips.  I've already taken care of well over a thousand pages, and still have several hundred to go.

2. What's something that brought a smile to your face this year?

The news of another grandbaby on the way. (Kenneth and Paige) 

Rosie Mae's wedding, though that was mixed with tears. So very happy for them, but it's an emotional time none-the-less.

And many many little things throughout the year that kept us smiling.

3. What do you like on a cracker? Do you have a favorite cracker variety? 

My favorite crackers are butter crackers. I like a variety of things on them. It all depends what we have on hand. Hummus, cheese, or some kind of dip from a new recipe I found on Pinterest.

4. Do you have plans for ringing in the new year in a fun or special way? Are you typically awake at midnight on the last day of the year? 

We are basically boring people and staying up until midnight to welcome in the new year is something we have never done. We seem to like our sleep way too much for that.

5. What are three words that describe your 2024? 

Busy. Change. Emotional.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We have had our Christmas tree up for a while already, but it has been a challenge feeling Christmas-y this year. I have yet to wrap a single gift, have yet to make any festive snacks or treats.

I'm going to buckle down today and get to it.

On the list for today

Make popcorn balls
Make krispie treats
Make Cranberry Orange Cookies
Make Espresso Caramels
Make party mix

We also love Rolo pretzels but I don't have what I need to make them on hand so those will have to wait until after my next run to town.

Currently

Reading ...  in the Bible, I read Philippians this morning and several Psalms.

In other books, this has been the year of rereading a lot of my favorite books. The Anne of Green Gables series still ranks as my all time favorite, and I enjoyed my reread immensely.

I'm reading The Hobbit for the first time. It's okay. I don't think it will land on my favorite books list. I'm doubtful it merits a reread, but it's okay.

The Incredible Winston Browne by Sean Dietrich though, worth every reread! Think Anne of Green Gables meets Andy Griffith and viola you have this keeper of a book.

Writing ... I'm trying to wrap up a Christmas letter to send out with the handful of cards I'll be mailing this year.

Watching ... some Home Improvement episodes. I'm oddly entertained by them.

Listening ... to an audio book. The Incredible Winston Browne  I have the book, I've read it, but listening to Sean Dietrich read it is perfection. I've laughed, I've cried, and I'm bracing myself for the ending, because even though I know how it ends, it still gets me every time.

Baking ... I'm not keeping desserts on hand, so my most recent baking was a batch of dinner rolls earlier this week.

Cooking ...  for tonight's dinner I'll be making lamb chops, baked potatoes, and a quick salad.

Feeling ... happy and hopeful

Disliking ... being cold. We switched from our coal furnace this winter to heating oil. 

Pros of a coal furnace ... it kept the house toasty warm with a cozy kind of heat.
It was fairly affordable.

Cons of a coal furnace ... it created a lot of dirt, and no part of the house was spared dust from its use.
It needed a lot of care, including getting up in the middle of the night to tend to it.

Pros of a heating oil furnace ... it's basically carefree.
The house does not get dusty or dirty from using it.

Cons of a heating oil furnace ... the house is never ever toasty warm.
It's more expensive.

And so I'm cold a lot, and am actually looking forward to summer.

Loving ... the little pops of Christmas we have in the house. We don't do much, but the tree in the living room and the handrails of the stairs wrapped in greenery and lights make me happy.

Playing ... I dug out our Christmas and winter themed games. Steven and I have played Snowman Dice and Keys to the Ice Castle multiple times and enjoyed it a lot, but the game we have been playing the most is Stratego even though it doesn't have a hint of winter or Christmas.

Cleaning ... I cleaned out and organized the desk as well as the cupboard where I keep some craft supplies. Going through the stickers I used to use when the children were still much younger I decided it's time to pass them on. Our daughter-in-law was happy to take them for their busy three year old.

The Wedding Cake

Every evening as we get prepare to wind down and get ready for bed we each take a turn sharing three things we enjoyed about our day. 
Steven's turn came and he said:
Finally getting to be able to actually call Tim my brother
The wedding
He paused a moment, chuckled a bit, and said. "And the whole cake episode."

The long anticipated wait of Timothy and Rosie Mae's wedding is now behind us. The wedding was lovely and there is a lot I could talk about the day, but for now I will talk about the cake.

It was a beautiful creation Rosie had envisioned and produced herself. It had served its purpose for the cake cutting, and having the bride and groom give each other their first bite of it. 

It still stood tall and beautiful as all the guests left after the celebration and we tackled the cleanup. 

Leaving the reception with our vehicles loaded we opted to have Steven ride in the Explorer with me, holding the cake while I drive home slowly. We had covered him in one of the tablecloths just incase the cake tips before we get home, got the cake situated, and we were on our way.

I only made it out to the end of the driveway when Steven announced the cake is already moving. He asked if he can hold the top tier to keep it from falling. I agreed since Rosie had given me instructions how she wants me to cut the middle tier and freeze it for them.

We made it halfway up the road when Steven was saying how his fingers are sinking into the cake and it's not working at all.

I told him I'd stop at the gas station and we'd reassess, and figure something out.

I turned into Exxon with a steady stream of commentary from Steven on the cake situation.

I parked, got out, and restacked things in the back to make room in front of the middle seat for this misbehaving cake, and then went to rescue the deconstructed mess from Steven's lap. The tiers had slid into what seemed like six different directions even though there were only three of them.

I was trying to figure out how to move it when I noticed a guy walking into the store. I approached him, "Excuse me, would you mind giving us a hand? We are transporting a wedding cake and it's going all kinds of wrong."

He came over and surveyed the cake. "Oh my!" he said. He assessed it some more while repeatedly saying "Oh my." Finally he reached in, wrapped the tablecloth around it, lifted it out, and plopped it back in the space I had cleared for it. 

I thanked him. He laughed and said it's been the most interesting part of his day. He went inside and I unbuckled Steven so he could go inside to wash his frosting covered hands.

I led the way opening the door for him. The restroom unfortunately also had a handle that needed to be turned so I turned my head and reached back to open the men's room door for Steven to get inside to clean up.

Leaving the store the helpful guy was on his way out as well. He once again laughed wished us a better evening and went his way.

We got home, hoisted the cake filled tablecloth out and set it into a box.

The middle tier mostly survived the ordeal and I was able to pack up some nice slices for them. 

I'll post a before picture, but leave the after picture to your imagination.