Sifting through all my childhood winter memories I'm having a hard time to choose which one I want to focus on. As much as I loved playing in the snow and all the good times we used to have I think the thing I cherish the most from winter time as a child is how every evening once the dishes were done and the wood-box filled we would all gather in the kitchen and eat apples and popcorn while Mom read stories to us until it was time for bed. The hissing gas lamp, the heat from the cookstove, the sound of wind whistling through the pine trees and around the corners of the house, the sound of Mom's voice as she read several chapters from a book ...... happy sigh. If I close my eyes I can almost be transported back to one of those evenings.
2. What was on your blog this time last year? (Besides the Hodgepodge of course!) If you weren't blogging, what in the world were you doing with all that free time?
I didn't blog very often last January. I checked and it looks like the Hodgepodge was the main thing.
3. Ellen Goodman is quoted as saying, 'We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives...not looking for flaws, but for potential.'
Do you see more flaws or more potential in your life at the start of a new year? Have you done anything specific this month to address either one? Does the new year truly begin for you on January 1, or is there some other month of the year that feels like a fresh start and new beginning?
We focus more on the potential instead of the flaws. It's much more encouraging that way.
4. Who's an athlete you admire or respect and why?
I honestly don't know. I don't know any of them well enough for that.
5. Do you like cream in your coffee? Whipped cream on your pumpkin pie? Cream cheese on a bagel? Sour cream on a baked potato? Cream of wheat for breakfast? Have you ever had a scone with clotted cream? Of all the creamy foods mentioned, which one sounds most appealing to you right this very minute?
I don't drink coffee. I like my pumpkin pie free of any whipped cream. Cream cheese on a bagel sounds good, but I don't eat bagels. Sour cream on a baked potato, yes, yes, yes! I love sour cream and eat it on a lot of things. I prefer using it on salad instead of other dressings. I don't like cream of wheat unless it has been allowed to get cold and thoroughly set, then sliced and fried until a crispy golden brown.
6. Where were you last kept waiting for 'hours on end'? Or for what felt like hours on end? How well did you cope?
Nothing comes to mind right now.
7. Believe it or not, when next week's Hodgepodge rolls around it will be February. Huh?!? Bid adieu here to January in seven words or less.
A good start to a new year.
8. Insert your own random thought here.
We enjoyed our snow. Sadly it has warmed up a lot since then and it has been melting fast.
I love cream of wheat, but have never tried it your way. Sounds interesting...do you top it with milk or anything, or just eat it as is?
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of frying Cream of Wheat. My dad used to prepare it with lots of sugar, butter, and cinnamon and it was so good!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the Cream of Wheat! Maybe my mum made it too thin, but it never filled me up. I could eat it all day and still be hungry. Pour it into a greased bread pan, slice it and fry it and serve it with syrup. Ahh, bliss!
ReplyDeleteI once had a 3:30 doctor's appointment, and at 4:45 I asked the receptionist how much longer it would be. "Well, there's one other patient ahead of you", and pointed to a couple hiding behind a potted plant. I told her I had a 6:00 engagement in another town, and I'd have to leave. She asked if I wanted to put my co-pay toward s future appointment, and I told her that would NOT be necessary. I used to work in a doctor's office, so I know the receptionist can't control the doctor's behaviour, so there's no point in fussing with her, but enough is enough. I did tell my GP, and he said he would think twice about sending other patients to this man.
I love your winter childhood memory! The way you told it made me feel like I was sitting right there too! Have a great day!
ReplyDeletelove your winter memories
ReplyDeleteThose cold evenings at home as a child sitting snuggled up with either one of my parents or grandmother, drinking hot chocolate and listening to stories being read. Yes, those are precious memories. Thanks for reminding me.
ReplyDeleteI loved your winter memories. I remember walking to school in what seemed at the time to be mountains of snow. Mom would always have hot chocolate waiting for us.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Betsy
You had a LOT of snow!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSweet winter memories.
The cream of wheat fried is somewhat like what my mom would do with oatmeal. Thinking about how we were raised, my parents frugal but never making us feel poor, is so different than today's kids who often get anything they want and still feel deprived. I enjoyed your snow memory.
ReplyDeleteFried cream of wheat sounds interesting! And that's a very sweet winter memory.
ReplyDeleteYou're last photo of the tractor makes me miss winter in the country! Such pristine snow, it gets gritty immediately in the city :(
ReplyDeleteFarin
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