Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Spring hodgepodge


My kitchen island decorated for maple season
It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for the  Hodgepodge with Joyce and the gang at From This Side of the Pond.  Head on over to Joyce's and get this week's questions, answer them on your own blog, and then link up.  The Hodgepodge is a great solution to writer's block, and it's also a fine way to get to know other bloggers.  Here goes with today's questions:

1. Setting aside the real March Madness (NCAA Basketball) describe something happening at your house this month that might earn the title 'March Madness'?

Mud Season is beginning, and that tends to drive me mad.  I detest mud.  Yes, yes, I know it's because of snow melting and frost coming out of the ground, and those are GOOD things.  But mud is ugly.  And the grit that gets tracked in during mud season!

2. What's a favorite made up word from your childhood or a favorite from your children's childhood? Does your family still use the word today? If there's a story behind the origin please share.

Wow, there are a lot of ways I could answer this question (a question I would never have thought of, by the way.  Joyce is so inventive.). My mother used a lot of words that had to have been made up, though I'm not sure who did so or what the story was behind them.  For example, anything not straight or plumb earned the description "skewangly".  Pronounced skew (as in skewed)- angle-ee.  She might use this to refer to anything from an uneven hemline to a pan of inaccurately cut brownies.  I seldom use it, but sometimes I find myself thinking it.
This photo of falling snow is from 2011
One of our favorite family expressions came from my daughter.  Away at college, she once said in a phone conversation, "It's snowing like a bandstand here."  She likely meant to say "snowing to beat the band", but that's not how it came out.  Whenever we experience a heavy snowfall, that expression still gets used.  Snowing like a bandstand.  That happened just last Tuesday when we got about a foot of the white stuff.

3. Will you be doing any spring cleaning now that the season is upon us? I read here a list of 15 quick (under one hour) spring cleaning tasks. They were-

clean out a drawer, vacuum furniture, whiten tile grout, dust the nooks and crannies you don't get to year round, degrease kitchen cabinets, wipe down walls, go behind furniture, wipe down ceiling fans, vacuum the mattress, clean the range hood, wash baseboards, shine the stainless steel, clean out vents, tackle the windows, and wipe down gadgets

Of the fifteen 'quick' tasks listed which two most need doing at your house? Will you do them?



I try to keep up with cleaning all year round so that I don't have to do spring cleaning as such.  But I usually fail miserably, so yes, I have begun doing some spring cleaning.

Of the fifteen "quick" tasks listed, I can cross three of them off right now since I don't have grout, ceiling fans, or a range hood!  Of the remaining twelve tasks, since I can only choose two, probably wiping down walls and dusting nooks and crannies would be the most necessary.  The mattress and stainless steel were recently done, and I've done several drawers in the past week.

4. A favorite movie set in Paris or New York?

Annie.

5. What's put a spring in your step this month?

Some warm sunny days and several opportunities for mini-dates with my hubby.

6. Did you ever want to be a teacher? Why or why not?

I never did as a child or young person,  because teaching meant standing up in front of people and talking, something that terrified me.  As an adult, however, after trusting Christ as Savior, I came to realize that teaching is one of my spiritual gifts.  I've taught both kids and ladies in Sunday School, and have also worked as a teacher's aide at a Christian school.  It's so interesting to see how God works in our lives.

7.  What's your favorite floral scent? Do you have this somewhere in your home or maybe in a perfume? How do you feel about florals in food? How about wines with floral notes-yay or nay?


Hmmm... a toss-up between honeysuckle, apple blossoms, and lily-of-the-valley.  I have had each of these as perfume over the years.  I think edible flowers on/in food make a unique and interesting garnish.  We don't drink wine so I had no idea there were actual floral notes in wines.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

March is National Crafting Month and, although I've accomplished very little crafting, I have tried to work on something every day.  Mostly, it's been a cross-stitch Christmas ornament featuring a cardinal on a tree branch.  You can see a scan of the kit, below.

I did finish a crocheted hot mat too -- from this pattern -- some have asked about it, so here's the link -- Scalloped Potholder --

The one I just finished is a different color, but you get the idea.
A stack of finished hot mats, last summer
and I've been continuing to work on these fabric alphabet letters.
 Happy Hodgepodge Day, everyone!

32 comments:

  1. Wow! Looks like you've gotten a lot of crafting done over the cold winter months. The only thing I did was gain weight. Have a great week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, that stack of hot mats was made over the summer, not the winter. I haven't accomplished much crafting all winter. It's just the month of March that I've actually been able to do a bit of crafting every day.

      You have a great week too, and thanks for stopping by my kitchen table!

      Delete
  2. I wouldn't like that mud either Mrs. T. I try to do a little cleaning rotation all year as well. Sometimes I do well, and others I get too busy, so I have a few tasks I need to do on the cleaning list. I need to hit my outside windows.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It'll be awhile before we get to the outside windows. Too much snow on the ground!

      Delete
  3. Totally forgot about apple blossoms and lilies of the valley! Both have such delicate and beautiful scents. The hot mats you made are so pretty and colorful. I like the idea of the tangible fabric alphabet letters. What a great thing for kids to use!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, the young grandkids I've made these for really enjoy them. I make sure to give them plenty of letters so they can spell out the names of everyone in their family. The older siblings like spelling out words for them too.

      Thanks for stopping by to visit!

      Delete
  4. I would love to be able to crochet...love your colorful hot mats! I, too, love the scent of lavender!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Crocheting is quite easy, April. I think especially now, in the age of YouTube videos, it may be easier than ever to learn how.

      Lavender is so soothing, I think. Helps with calming stress!

      Delete
  5. Those hot mats are SO cute and cheery! I love all the floral scents you do, and I LOVE the movie Annie. I remember when I introduced the grandsons to it, they 'knew' they would hate it, and within 15 minutes they were hooked, and watched it over and over and over. LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Judy! I just enjoy that vintage-style hot mat pattern and have it memorized by this point. Very easy but comes out so cute.

      That is so funny about your grandsons and the movie Annie. Reminds me of recently when my daughter started a new read-aloud book (one from her own childhood) with her kids (8, 10, and 12). The 8-year-old thought it "sounded boring" but less than a chapter into it he was enjoying it for all it was worth.

      Delete
  6. It is hard to imagine living in snow and especially melting snow for so long. Our children live in northern Indiana and I love visiting and enjoying the pretty aspect of the snow. But the dirty melting snow pushed up along the streets and parking lots, and the nasty slush isn't quite as romantic for us southern gals. Enjoy your week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dirty melting snow and nasty slush are apt descriptions, Elizabeth! Snow is so beautiful when it's falling and newly fallen. But the aftermath is far from pretty.

      Thanks for stopping by, and have a blessed week!

      Delete
  7. Beautiful hot pads. I forgot about Annie being set in NY. I hope you enjoyed the snowfall, we were forecasted to get over 1 foot but it was a bust! Instead all we got was a few inches and then sleet and rain so it was a mess. Have a good week :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Theresa. It's an easy pattern that I can do without thinking much about it, so I did tons of these last spring and summer in waiting rooms, nursing home, etc. And yes, a few at the beach, too.

      Yes, Annie -- remember the song "NYC"? One of our local schools did a simple version of the musical a couple of years ago, so the songs are fresher in my mind than they might otherwise be.

      You have a good week too!

      Delete
  8. I forgot about honeysuckle. Their scent always takes me back to my childhood. A whole hedge of them grew along our neighborhood pool fence and we kids would all stand their and taste : ) You are so crafty! I love the fabric letters.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What a fun memory of honeysuckle, Joyce! Thanks for sharing it. Glad you enjoyed the crafts ... the fabric letters are easy and fun to make. You might think about making some when that new grandchild turns one. They are a great gift for little ones.

      Delete
  9. Oh my. I am slipping. I actually did this and it is sitting in my folder waiting for final edits and I forgot to do them so missed posting. Oh well, sometimes things don't work out as we had planned.

    All that said, yours is a most interesting Hodge Podge. I like your mother's invented word. It works! (Someone introduced the word "twitterpated" to my sphere and I like that to describe being wound like an eight-day clock. I can not actually speak English; I simply speak in colloquialisms and expressions. Ha!)

    Your handiwork is lovely.

    You have already arrived in mud season? Oh that we were that far down the road. We are not. Definitely not.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, Vee, I wish you had gone ahead and posted it anyway. Don't waste it -- you can spin other posts off it, I'm sure.

      A friend of mine uses "twitter-pated" to describe couples who are madly in love. My mother had a ton of made-up words. I think you speak and write excellent English; colloquialisms and expressions make your writing even more interesting. Sort of like Louise Dickinson Rich; I think she may have written entire chapters in some of her books about the local way of speaking.

      Well, I thought we WERE in mud season, but apparently I was mistaken. Today we got a good 6 or 7 inches of snow when "a dusting" was predicted. Wondering if you got snow over there...

      Delete
  10. Well first off I don't think I've ever encountered "mud season" which I think seems like a good thing, lol...goodness! Don't know how I forgot Honeysuckle as it is one of my very favorites too. I have a candle in the kitchen of it and light it almost every day! I too was an aid in a Christian school for several years, and have taught numerous children's sunday school classes and women's groups...really enjoy.

    And then I wanted to thank you SOOO much for the devotional book you sent me. I didn't know at first it had even arrived as my hubby brings in the mail and usually hands me whatever is directly sent to me, but for some reason he didn't that one and it set there in a pile for several days before I sifted through it and found it! It was soo good and soo nice of you. I brought it out to my DIL who homeschools her 4 children and teaches the women's groups at my son's church as I am sure she'll be able to put it to good use. Anyway, thank you again! What an accomplishment to have done something like that!

    OH! And as always I LOVE all of your hand work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can definitely be thankful you have never encountered mud season, Debbie! It is such an ugly time and just makes such a mess. It's the reason that spring is my least favorite season. By the time wild flowers bloom and spring bulbs flower, the mud is gone but by then it's nearly summer.

      You are most welcome for the devotional book -- I hope that your grandchildren enjoy it.

      Glad you enjoyed seeing the handwork -- it is accomplished in bits and pieces of time, but I do love creating it.

      Delete
  11. Now how in the world did I forget about the sweet smell of honeysuckle? It was right outside my bedroom window when I was a kid and the attic fan sucked it right into our bedroom! Ahhh. We also pulled off the flowers and sipped on the honey. Your crochet work is lovely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What a sweet, fun memory, Nonnie! Thanks for sharing it and also for your kind words about my crochet projects. They are simple but fun to do.

      Delete
  12. Wow, you have been busy!
    Love mini dates!
    Enjoy your week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hope you enjoy your week too, Capri! Thanks for stopping by my kitchen table and please visit anytime!

      Delete
  13. I loved reading your answers, Mrs. T! Isn't there something about certain aromas that conjure up our love for them? I've never seen lilies of the valley here in Texas, but they were right along my patio in Ohio, and I can still imagine their scent. Another one is the scent of lilacs, which I don't see in Texas, but had in Ohio and Michigan.
    Your. Rocketed hot pads are soooo pretty! I want to look up that pattern. Thank you!
    Thanks, too, for your sweet comments about my grands. I appreciate your visit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kitty! I wonder if Texas is maybe too warm and dry for lilies of the valley and lilacs. Both lovely scents.

      Glad you enjoyed the hot pads. You can find the pattern here: Scalloped Potholder. In fact, I should add that into this post.

      Have a wonderful weekend!

      Delete
  14. Oh yes, the mud - awful! Only those who live in the north understand! Its a prelude to spring though, so that does make it a tad more bearable! Loved your hodgepodge answers, and your maple syrup decor! Glad you are having some mini-dates with your husband! Is that because of spring breakup? My son, who works for a logging company, has seen work slow way down because of the breakups. Your crocheted mats are darling! Happy fun colors :) Hugs to you today!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dreadful, isn't it. I detest mud! Yes, our mini-dates are possible because of spring breakup. It does make things difficult in the woods. Around here, too, towns put load limits on the secondary roads which can mean no trucking on them in early spring. Unless one is fortunate enough to have a job site accessible by a state road, it may mean work is not possible. He will probably be back at work next week as they work on steam cleaning and maintenance for the equipment.

      On the subject of mini-dates, my hubby noted yesterday that one need only look at his credit card statement to see it's mud season ... a diner, a pizza place, Dunkin' Donuts several times! Well, it makes up for all of the dates we haven't been able to have this past winter when he was working long days, 6 days a week!

      Glad you enjoyed the crocheted mats. I love the colors available in that pretty cotton yarn. I'm going to add the pattern link into this post.

      Have a wonderful weekend!

      Delete
  15. Well I've missed this one and probably several others as life has been a challenge for me of late. I did want to stop in and visit a few friends tonight though. I enjoyed your answers. Take care and enjoy your spring.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Praying for you, Julie! Thanks for stopping by. Glad you enjoyed the hodgepodge answers and I hope that you will have an enjoyable spring as well.

      Delete
  16. I enjoyed your posts and photos. The spring blossoms are so pretty now. Enjoy your weekend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Karen! I am so glad you enjoyed them.

      Delete

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit my kitchen table! I love company here in my kitchen, so be sure to leave a comment so I'll know you've visited! I'll answer your questions and comments here on the blog unless you request otherwise.