Hot dog! Time for the Wednesday Hodgepodge!

Wednesday again! Time for the Wednesday Hodgepodge, in which Joyce asks the questions and bloggers provide the answers.  It's always a lot of fun, so if you'd like to join in, head over to From This Side of the Pond and get the questions from Joyce, then answer them on your own blog.  Here are this week's questions:


1.  Do you think the pandemic has had any kind of positive impact on your mental health? Explain.

No, I do not think it has had any kind of positive impact at all upon my mental health.  I can say in a sense that it has helped my spiritual health, in that it has driven me to a greater dependence upon and trust in God and to spending more time in His Word and in prayer.  It has also allowed me time to avail myself of many online Bible messages and resources from other churches, which has added a richness to my spiritual experience.  (In another sense, I feel that it is detrimental to all believers when they cannot meet together in person.) 

All of the flower photos here are of the trumpet vine at the homestead.

But as far as my mental health is concerned, no.  This pandemic has been discouraging, depressing, frustrating, and occasionally infuriating. 

2. A hot mess, hot under the collar, in hot water, hot button, hot diggity dog!, hot shot, hot seat....choose one and tell us how it applies to your life currently.

I try to avoid "hot button" issues here on my blog.  But there is one currently that is affecting our town in that our selectmen are far overstepping their bounds and trying to mandate masks for everyone.  I will just say that wearing a mask or not needs to be a personal decision.  There's plenty of science out there on both sides of the issue as to how protective they actually are of ourselves or others.  There's also plenty of evidence that for a healthy person, wearing a mask (outside of a health care environment ) is actually detrimental.  And of course there are many with medical issues that mean they shouldn't wear one.  No one should force mask wearing on anyone else, whether through mandate or shaming.  If you feel a mask is necessary, that's your right.  Wear it.  However, if you feel strongly about the impact on your own health personally, then you have every right to skip it.  This is (still) America.

3. Speaking of the hot seat, do you work well under pressure or do you actively avoid high pressure situations?

I do work well under pressure.  By God's grace and with His help, I can often accomplish quite a lot in a short period of time.  

High pressure situations, though, are different.  I try to avoid those as much as possible.  (See #2 above -- I seek to avoid divisive issues here on my blog.  This time I did feel led to share a little bit.  I am trying to keep an open mind and I hope that my readers will, too.  Please be courteous in any comments.  Thanks! 😐)

4. Hotdogs-yay or nay? If you said yay how do you like yours? Did you know July is National hotdog month?

Yay to all-natural hot dogs.  I like them either with or without a bun (though if there is one, a grilled or toasted bun is the best!), with any type of mustard.  Sometimes relish.

Think I got this photo from Pixabay.  I don't like ketchup on my hot dogs.

5. I read here a list of America's coolest Southern towns. They are Marfa Texas, Greenville South Carolina, Abingdon Virginia, Athens Georgia, Bentonville Arkansas, Florence Alabama, Oxford Mississippi, Abita Springs Louisiana, Wilmington North Carolina, Monroeville Alabama, McMinnville Tennessee, Natchez Mississippi.  How many on the list have you seen in person? Which town on the list would you most like to see?

I think the only one I have spent any time in is Greenville, SC.  We visited there several times when our daughter and son-in-law lived there.  I have heard good things about some of the others.  I think I would particularly enjoy visiting Oxford, Mississippi.    Arlene at Nanaland visited there and wrote an account of their visit.  You can read it here: Oxford.  In addition, I would love to be able to visit my friend Mrs. Smith while in the area.

Photo by Arlene from Nanaland

 6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Happy to have disposed of boxes of small antique and vintage items from the old homestead  yesterday via an antique dealer.   Nothing particularly valuable, just lots of small things, some of which most people would have thrown away.  Just thankful to have that much more out of the house.  The little cardboard doll's suitcase below (of which I will write more later, Lord willing) is one item I had planned to toss in the trash just as soon as I got photos of it.  That went!

That's it for this Hodgepodge!  Happy Wednesday, all!