Wednesday, January 19, 2022

January 19 Hodgepodge

 

Not sure how this happened so quickly, but it's past the middle of January!  It's also Wednesday again, and time for the Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond, where Joyce asks the questions and bloggers provide the answers.  Here goes!

1. It's National Popcorn Day-my favorite! Are you a fan? Sweet or salty? A good or great movie you've seen recently (at home or in a theater, either one)? 

We are definitely popcorn fans in our family -- salty rather than sweet, though of course homemade caramel corn is yummy.  My hubby and I often have popcorn for supper on a Sunday night, along with apples and usually cheese and crackers.  I put a couple tablespoons of olive oil on the popped corn rather than butter, and toss it until coated before sprinkling on salt and nutritional yeast.  I got this idea from cookbook author Ken Haedrich, and it really does produce tasty popcorn that's a little healthier.

Most recent movie was probably A Wonderful Life, on Christmas day while waiting to Skype with the Nevada family.  We were all too full from Christmas dinner and Christmas cookies to even consider eating any popcorn, though.

Another of Ken Haedrich's cookbooks

2. What's something you didn't realize was going to take so much of your time as an adult? 

 Housework.  If only there was a way for it to stay done.

3. Your favorite yellow something? 

It's funny but there isn't much yellow in my wardrobe, although it's a color I do like.  All I can remember is a gorgeous yellow Fair Isle cardigan that I had in high school, and a couple of yellow t-shirts that I no longer own.   

I have a few yellow dishes -- some Fiesta plates which are a yellow I really like, and a newer Fiesta sugar & creamer which is a duller, paler yellow.  I don't love the color, but I do like the dishes, which were a gift.

4. Why do you write? 

Because I can't seem to help myself.   I've always liked to write.  When my daughter introduced me to blogging, I jumped in and started two blogs within a year (both of which are still going strong).  Somehow I have this maybe erroneous idea that people would be interested in what I write.  But I think I would blog anyway even if no one read it but me or my family.


5. Share a favorite memory associated with snow.

Let's see.   From childhood (although I have no photos of this): Every day after school in the winters of my younger years, we would come home, get all suited up in our woolen snowpants,  buckle boots, jackets, hats and mittens, and head for our sledding hill which was in a field a fair distance behind our house (but still in sight of it).  Whether we used wooden runner sleds or aluminum flying saucers depended upon the consistency of the snow.  Of course we wanted to get the greatest speed possible.  We had neighbor kids who usually went out with us.  We would stay out until dark and then come in soaked and sweaty, hanging up our outdoor gear and consuming mugs of hot cocoa with blobs of marshmallow fluff melting atop.  The photo below is of a snow fort our dad built us,  but it gives you an idea of the necessary snow clothes.

From last year:

My hubby and I took a wonderful getaway to Bridgton, Maine in February.  A nifty feature of Bridgton is Pondicherry Park, 66 beautiful acres of woodland and stream in the heart of downtown.  The covered bridge below is on one of the trails.  

 

We were able to follow trails and actually come from downtown all the way up to our Airbnb on one of them.  Slogging through the snow is not a favorite activity of mine as an adult, but most of the trails were quite clear and easy to navigate.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

This has been a blustery week in our part of New Hampshire.  Bitterly cold last Saturday and Sunday, then heavy snow on Monday.  Now we're back to cold and wind.   Here's what it was like yesterday afternoon as I wrote this post:

22 mph winds makes 15º feel like minus 6 degrees!

And there's the Hodgepodge for this week!  Head on over to From This Side of the Pond and snag the questions, why don't you?

14 comments:

  1. What fun snow memories!!

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    1. They really are! So blessed to have memories like this!

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  2. What great memories you shared. I love that your dad built the snow fort. My dad was also very involved with us as children. What a blessing that still is. The wind here in the Dallas area has been ferocious the past couple of weeks dropping our wind chill to what your actual temperature has been. This will be another cold and windy day with a low of 24. That's cold in Texas. I will check out your other blog as well.

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    1. It was 20 below zero here this morning! Very thankful that the wind wasn't blowing!

      Yes, please do visit my Christmas blog! There's a lot there!

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  3. This week, I followed your advice! Hasn't it been windy and bitter cold? I can feel the drafts running about the floors. Some days, I have worn my clothes with my fluffy housecoat over the top. Brrr...

    I did not realize you could traipse all over Bridgton on those trails. Amazing.

    Oh the winter clothes! Someone must have written about them. The smell of wet wool was quite something. Those boots certainly never kept my feet warm. How about yours? I remember bread wrappers and my father's wool socks put over my shoes before my boots were put on...still frozen feet!

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    1. I'm so glad you followed my advice this week! It was a fun post! (Though apparently Deanna's phantom commenter didn't find it so?!)

      Yes, we did have traipsing all over on those trails. Really a nifty park!

      Oh yes ... the smell of wet wool. Our back hall smelled like a small flock of wet sheep on winter evenings!

      Oh yes, my feet were usually cold as well. Snow tended to slide into those buckle boots. Bread wrappers helped but never enough.

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  4. That's a cute black and white from days gone by. I'm with you on your answer as to why you write. Happy Hodgepodge to you!

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  5. Happy childhood snow memories! Wow! Love it. We moved to Florida when I was 6, so I missed out on a lot of snow fun as a kid, but when we moved back up north with our own 3 kids in tow, we made sure they had lots of fun in the snow to make up for it. I enjoyed walks in the snow on a sunny day when the wind wasn't too bad. We've had cold and windy days here this week, and we can feel the draft coming in around the windows, etc., and plus we've both been sick with this bug, so layers of warm clothes and bathrobes and blankets have been our attire INDOORS this week. Yes, even in Florida! I love reading your happy memories...I am glad you chose to take up blogging. I feel the same way as you do!

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    1. 20 below zero here this morning, Pam! 28 below up at the top of the state in Pittsburg. Thankfully the wind isn't blowing. That really helps.

      Hope you are both feeling better now!

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  6. OK... I'm going to be on the lookout for some nutritional yeast. It's one of those things I've heard about for years, but honestly wasn't even curious enough about it to seek it out.
    Putting it on popcorn sounds like an idea to try. And I had that cookbook once upon a time. Seeing it again makes me second guess purging it for a few seconds. :)

    Love your childhood snow picture. We really didn't have much snow gear, and I remember getting soaking wet playing in the snow as a kid. Sounds dreadful now, but it was good fun then. Good memories.

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    1. I'm sure there are all sorts of brands, maybe even flavors, of nutritional yeast. We got the Red Star brand and found it at Walmart. It is seasoned but mildly so. It's good on vegetables too. And hey, if you try it, that will be another New Thing!

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  7. I adore covered bridges! I want to get back up to New England and explore; we were there only for a day visiting friends in NH a few years ago. It's absolutely gorgeous! :)

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    1. It really is a gorgeous state in nearly every season except Mud Season (early spring). And yes ... covered bridges. We love them too. Such a wonderful piece of history. Seeing them never really gets old.

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