Survived Sandy ~ Hodgepodge

1. What creeps you out?

Quite a lot of things, unfortunately. Besides the obvious mice, spiders, snakes, and bats there is also a list of other things that I find creepy and gives me the shivers.

Detailed medical talk gives me the shivers. My brothers used to love talking about kneecaps to send me running the other direction. In fact the talk they had with LV before we got married instead of a brotherly warning to be good to their sister they informed him to talk about kneecaps if he ever wants me to be quiet or needs some space. Ack!

2. What's your least favorite candy?

My least favorite is a homemade candy made with mashed potatoes mixed with powdered sugar until they were stiff and then rolled out and spread with some type of peanut butter concotion before being rolled up and sliced.

We made them every year for Christmas because they were my Aunt Vernie's favorites.

3. Are you a fan of scary movies? What's the scariest movie you've ever seen?

I'm far, far away from being a fan of scary movies. The scariest movie I have seen was Jeepers Creepers. I only watched a little bit and went to find something better to do.

4. What part of life confuses you the most?

I know that all things work together for good to them that love the Lord, but at the same time I sometimes wonder why 'good' people have so much pain and suffering in their life and some 'not good' people seem to have everything going their way.


5. Pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, poppy...what's your favorite seed?

I'm not sure I have a favorite. I really like sunflower seeds especially when seasoned and toasted like we used to do while I was growing up. We used to get them in twenty-five pound boxes and spend several days toasting them to perfection and kept a jar on the counter top where we helped ourselves when ever the munchies attacked between meals.

We used to keep seeds from our pumpkins and dried and toasted them as well. It was fun gathering at the table evenings after supper and work on shelling them while Mom read to us.

I love lemon poppy seed bread. And poppy seed chicken and dressing.

Sesame seeds are also used in our house. Last summer we spent some time in Charleston SC. While there we visited the straw market and someone was giving out samples of benne wafers. I loved them but thought they were a little pricey. after walking farther into the market we came to a booth where they were selling spices. Among their ware were packets of benne seeds. I got some with the intentions of going home and googling for a recipe to make my own benne wafers.

My search for the recipe revealed that benne seeds are also called sesame seeds.

6. Imagine your life ten years from today...what's changed?

The children will be trying out their wings. I will have learned some new cooking techniques. And there will be a generator in the garage waiting to be used during power outages.


7. What do you a) love the most and b) like the least about the Hodgepodge?

I enjoy answering all the questions. A fun blogging prompt for me and after posting I enjoy reading all the answers from the others who joined the hodgepodge. A fun way to learn more about our bloggy friends.

My least favorite part is .......... hmm I'm drawing a blank on that.


8. Insert your own random thought here.

After quite a lot of rain from Sandy it turned to a heavy wet snow which somehow managed to cling to absolutely everything inspite of the wind. That of-course resulted in downed trees and power lines.

Our power went off on Monday and finally came back sometime during the night last night. Thankfully we have a nice coal furnace in the basement that provided toasty heat. We had filled a lot of containers with water which we used at an alarming rate.

We filled bowls with snow and brought them indoors to melt and use to wash dishes. The contents of the refrigerator were nestled into the snow drifts outside the back door to stay cold.

While I was eagerly looking forward to having our power restored the children thought it was all a grand adventure

Fun Debates

After watching three presidential debates and hearing all the talk of elections where ever we go it shouldn't have come as much of a surprise when I overheard the children having their own debate.

Thankfully I had a notepad and pen nearby and I was able to record most of it and decided to share the highlights with you.

Sailor: When I'm elected president I promise to get the people of the United States to smile more. The way I will do that is:

 #1 There will be no more school books.

#2 Everyone can go camping when ever they want to.

#3 I'll teach every one how to sing.

#4 All roads will be paved.

Rosebud:  This is why you shouldn't be president. Why would you be so heartless and take away school books when a lot of children enjoy learning. If you take them away I won't be smiling.

# 2 I don't want to go camping and have to sleep outdoors when I have a perfectly comfortable bed in the house or cook over a campfire when I can use a stove.

#3 I'll help you teach people how to sing. That would be fun.

#4 Paved roads are a good thing but they need to remember to keep fixing the potholes.

99th Edition

Joyce, from This Side of the Pond has been faithfully preparing a list of questions every week where any one who wants to can join the fun and answer them on their own blog. Today is the 99th edition of what we know as the Wednesday Hodgepodge. The number 99 made her think of the song '99 bottles of beer' which led to the first question.

1. So, do you like beer?
No. I have never even had the tiniest sip of beer or the tiniest desire to have a sip but I can't imagine I would like it.

I was almost twenty five before I had my first taste of an alcoholic drink.

In Somerset County the Amish use grape juice at communion and when we moved I had not stopped to think how a lot of other Amish churches use real wine until my sip from the communion cup was burning a trail down my throat and I had the nasty taste of spoiled grapes in my mouth.

2. What's your least favorite repetitive task?
Folding laundry.

3. When was the last time you rode a bus? Where was it headed?
The last time I rode in a bus was seven years ago when we traveled to Pennsylvania by Greyhound. None of us enjoyed the experience. The bus was crowded and we had to hold the children the whole way even though we had bought tickets to make that we won't have to. It was hot and if the bus had air conditioning it wasn't working where we were sitting.

We love traveling but doing it by bus is not for us.

4. What song from your childhood or from your own children's childhood could make a parent's nerves stand on end?
Macaroni.  Ack! The children had a CD with funny little children's songs on it and they loved the Macaroni song and played it over and over until I conveniently lost the CD. Even so they still loved singing it for the longest time. I still hear them singing it occasionally.

5. The US Presidential election cycle is drawing to a close (can I get an AMEN??), and the third and final debate was held Monday night...what was the last thing you 'debated about'?
Amen!

Something I was debating was whether or not I want to go buy several yards of fabric to make a little Amish dress someone ordered or use what I have on hand. My sewing machine might make that decision for me since it hates sewing what I have and insists on skipping stitches.
6. Can a person make too much money? How much is too much?
No, you can't make too much money as long as it has been made honestly.
There are so many good things you can do for other people when there is plenty of money. I would love to be able to help people more!

7. Pop-soda-coke-something else...what's it called where you live?
We call it pop in our area. Not a huge fan though. About the only time I have one is on the rare occasion when we enjoy one of Auntie Anne's soft pretzels and have a Coke to go with it.


8. Insert your own random thought here.

The reviews for Life with Lily keep trickling in and I'm so happy and very honored how it reminds a lot of people of an Amish version of the Little House series.

Post-it Thoughts

Hodgepodge Time

1. Noah Webster was born this week back in 1758....besides the online version, do you own a dictionary? Do you ever use the hardback copy or is your hunt for a definition strictly online these days?

 

We still use our hardback dictionaries the most and they still maintain their same spot of  importance on top of our roll top desk as they have since the day we got them soon after we were married.

2. Should public schools ban Halloween celebrations? What about other holiday celebrations currently under fire?

I personally don't care if they ban it or not.

3. What's your favorite 'dog' movie?


Where the Red Fern Grows We also have Old Yeller waiting to be watched but unless the ending is different from the book I'm not sure I want to watch it.


4. When were you last somewhere you'd describe as 'too quiet'?


The last time something was 'too quiet' was when I went to the DMV. Not a fan of that place. Everyone seems too quiet and stern.

5. Are you a neat cook or a messy cook? In other words do you clean as you go or make a big mess and then deal with it later?


Most of the time I clean as I go unless I'm in a big hurry.

6. Did you hear about Felix Baumgartner, the skydiver who broke the sound barrier via parachute? Was your first thought COOL! or was your first thought CRAZY! Are you adventurous?


My first thought was crazy! I'm not all that adventurous even amusement park rides aren't my cup of tea, though I have thought regular skydiving could be fun. Two of my friends went skydiving recently and their description of the experience made me want to try it too someday. I really don't see that ever happening though.

7. What's not a word but should be?


Twangled, is a word Sunbeam invented several years ago to describe how she was feeling a mixture of happy, excited, and a little bit scared. Our family still uses the word.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I enjoyed the Life with Lily launch party Suzanne and I hosted last night on Facebook. I always enjoy making new friends and having lively discussions.