Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What's something you're dealing with that might be described as tricky?

One of the trickiest things I have to deal with is successfully transferring Buddy to his crib after rocking him to sleep without having him wake up. It's next to impossible and there are many days when his naps occur on my lap only.

2.  What's your treat of choice?

Chocolate if we're talking food.  Reading an entire book without interruptions is always a treat for me since it happens so very rarely. I'm still in the "Mommy come! Mommy see! A wiggly worm. A red scraped knee. Painted pictures. Blocks piled high"  .......... stage in my life so reading uninterrupted seldom happens.

3. Did you/will you carve a jack-o-lantern this month? Which real (living or dead) or fictional 'Jack' would you most like to meet in person? Why?

We don't carve jack-o-lanterns.

I can't think of a single real or fictional Jack I would like to meet. The only Jack that comes to mind is a "jack-in-the-box" I met him often when we visited my grandparents. I had a love / hate relationship with him. I loved cranking the handle, but hated how he always jumped out of the box at me.

4.  In your opinion, what's the grossest sounding word in the English language?

Don't laugh at me, but the word sirloin makes me want to gag.

5. When did your heart last skip a beat?

When I accidently sent an email to the wrong person. It had been intended for LV.  I think my heart skipped more than a single beat as I realized what had just happened.

6. Monster Mash by Bobby 'Boris' Picket, Michael Jackson's Thriller, Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon, or Ray Parker Jr.'s Ghostbusters...your favorite 'scary' tune?

I don't know any of those, and I really don't listen to scary music.

7.   It was a dark and stormy night when______________________________.

I was nineteen, the youth were all at my Uncle Eli's house for our Sunday evening hymn sing when a tornado ripped through the area. Passing behind their house and totally destroying LV's brother's house.

It was dark and stormy for a while after that as we tried to pick our way home safely. Blocked roads, downed power lines, and constant lightning all added to the challenge and made it a night we will never forget.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

There are still a few days left to enter my giveaway.

Language of my Heart

Diaries and journals have always interested me. As much as I journaled while growing up I was always curious what other people wrote in their diaries.  There were several different times when there were some journals among the things Daddy brought home from estate auctions and we always enjoyed reading them. I still remember the day I discovered my Mom's diary's in the attic. And how disappointed I was when she went and destroyed them. I have always wondered what all she had written and wished that there would have been a way to read them and learn to know the teen that grew up to be my mother.

Another box I discovered several months later contained hundreds of letters from her sister that she wrote to her while she had been a teacher in Gorrie, Ontario, far from home. I read those letters and enjoyed them immensely. A whole series of books could be written simply from the contents of those letters. The peek into the life of a young Amish school teacher's life was delightfully entertaining. I laughed and cried my way through the entire box of letters. Later I was really glad I did when my Mom returned the letters to her sister.

One of my favorite books from when I was a teen was called The Language of my Heart it was the real journal an Amish girl wrote during her teen years. I read and reread my copy more times than I can count, it was out of print for quite a while but last year the publishers decided to do a reprint and today I'm offering you the chance to have your own copy by having a giveaway.

To enter the giveaway all you have to do is leave a comment telling me if you ever tried journaling.

For a second entry post a link to this giveaway on your blog or Facebook and come back and leave another comment telling me you did.

I will be choosing the winner on Friday, November 1st.

 

Giveaway is now closed and a winner has been chosen.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. When it comes to good manners, what two top your list of most important?

Saying please and thank you. And simply obeying the golden rule.

2. Let's open a proverbial can of worms...Common Core.  Are you familiar with the term (talking education reform in the USA)?  If so, care to share your thoughts? In your opinion, what is one of the biggest issues schools (in your home country) face today?

Common Core? My parents tried to teach me, if I don't have something good to say, to say nothing at all. I'm choosing to follow that advice here.

3. Name a celebrity whose fashion sense you admire and share why.

I have so much going on in my life that I pay next to zero attention to fashion. I don't care what anyone chooses to wear. I don't have any celebrities that I can think of that have a fashion sense I admire. I couldn't care less what they wear.

4. How are you affected by the changing seasons?

I love all season changes except when spring turns to summer. I'm loving this season change. More time to enjoy working on indoor projects. It's that time of year when crafts get pulled out and worked on, many new recipes are tried, and we begin making plans for the holidays.

5. Scariest book you've ever read?

The scariest book I have ever read has to be a tie between The Neighbor and The Haunted Mesa. Both of them had me looking over my shoulders days after I finished reading them.

6. What time of day are you most hungry? What's your go-to snack?

I'm most hungry late afternoons. I don't really have a go to snack. Most of the time it is what ever we have on hand, it might be anything from baby carrots to chocolate chip cookies.

7. Do you lean more towards being too needy or too independent? Which do you find harder to deal with in others?

Probably too independent. I don't care what others think of me and following the crowd and keeping up with the Joneses is something that I never have to worry about trying to do. I'm happiest doing my own thing.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

It's snowing!!!

Bits and Pieces

Outside my window instead of a clear blue October skies it appears as if November would have already arrived. Bleak, gray, and drab.

It makes me feel like doing some sewing and trying my hand at some Pinterest-y crafts.

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I'm making our favorite fruitcakes. It takes quite a while to make it. A full 45 days. But the end results always make me say it was worth all the aggravation, so I'm doing it again this year.

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October is fire safety month and Buddy seems to be playing the part. He loves Sailor's old fireman hat.

 

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I have been enjoying some good books lately and when digging through our big book cupboard I found some books I had bought in hopes to share them with you. Stay tuned for some fun giveaways in the near future.

Speedy Brownies

One of our favorite sweet treats happens to be brownies. They get made quite often because we really like them, an added bonus is that they are one of the easiest things to make.

 

Speedy Brownies

2 cups sugar
1¾ cup flour
½ cup cocoa
1 tsp salt
5 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla

In a large mixing bowl measure all ingredients in order given. Mix well. Pour into a greased 9"x13" pan. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes.

Rosebud likes sprinkling candy coated chips on top before baking, but that is totally optional.

Simple, easy, and yet so delicious!