Hodgepodge for September 11

 

Better late than never,  I'm joining in with Joyce and the gang for the Wednesday Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond.  Here we go ...

 1. When the Hodgepodge lands on September 11th I want to acknowledge that. Will you purposely pause to remember, pray, or attend any sort of ceremony on 9/11? Share any thoughts or memories you'd like to share about this day. 

I often post a link to A Prayer on Patriot Day -- a prayer for hope and healing -- which is really good, but I see it's been a few years since I did that.  So click one of the links if you'd like to read it.  

A takeaway for me from that day as I spent time in prayer for the terrifying situation: 

"At that moment I just remember being overwhelmingly thankful that I know the God of the universe, and that all events are under His sovereign control -- even when they appear out of control. I remember thanking God that even though these events were a terrible shock to us, that they were no surprise to Him, and that somehow, in some way, He would bring good out of this national tragedy. I found that He increased my faith during those dark days, and I trust that others experienced this also."

We are in dark times again.  Yet as His children we understand that God is with us in dark times and chaos, as He is in each moment of our lives. And just as Paige pointed out so beautifully in her prayer for hope and healing, "He goes before us; He can be trusted with every detail; and He is our safe place today, and for all eternity." 

Graphic by Abby at Little Birdie Blessings

 
2. Growing up, did you spend a lot of time with your grandparents? What's something you learned from a grandparent? 

I spent quite a bit of time at my maternal grandmother's house as she lived next door.  My grandfather died when I was four, so I didn't know him well at all.  I've written about my grandmother in the past.  Here's a snippet: 

"Her big farmhouse was spotlessly neat and clean, even the guest rooms, and she was also a wonderful cook and baker.  She was a homemaker par excellence (and her aprons always matched or coordinated with her dresses!)  but she was also an astute businesswoman and always dressed up to go to town. "

She also adored all twenty of her grandchildren and wanted life's very best for each of us.

Here are some things I learned from her:  

How to make doughnuts -- I really did very little cooking in my grandmother’s kitchen, but the one time I remember clearly was when she taught me to make her famous doughnuts.  These were cake doughnuts and were so scrumptious!  I remember her teaching me to mix up the dough, which was not really too different from other doughs I had made.  She had a special board for rolling out the dough on. 

In past years Gram always had used lard to fry her doughnuts, but by the time she was teaching me, she had switched to Crisco.  She used an electric skillet for frying, which worked so well for keeping the fat at a constant temperature.  She preferred to fry the doughnuts on her enclosed front porch, so as not to fill the kitchen with the aroma of frying doughnuts. 

My doughnuts turned out okay for a first try, and at the end of the session, Gram gave me her doughnut jar.  This was a large glass jar that had once been used for churning butter.  It held a lot of doughnuts, and she made me promise to fill it often.  

Some other things she also taught me:

Lessons in hospitality

Advice for cookie baking

3. What's your go-to breakfast? 

Coffee with cream only.  We do intermittent fasting.

4. Tell us the story behind one of your favorite photos. 

Oh, that's a hard one, but since my hubby's birthday was September 7, I will go with this one from September 2022.

Our Nevada family was out here visiting.  I had made Cornish Pasties to take along for a picnic in Franconia Notch State Park.  A lighted candle and a round of "Happy Birthday" from the assembled crew (which included eleven of our grandchildren" made it special!

5. This week Friday lands on the 13th. Are you superstitious in any way? Do you like scary movies, and if so what's your favorite? 

Nope, not superstitious in any way, and I don't like scary movies even a little bit.  There's enough scary stuff going on in real life right now.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Should I even admit that I'm seriously considering Write31Days for October?  Almost certainly I shouldn't.  So let's say instead for a random thought that we have had a string of incredibly beautiful fall days recently.

And there's the Hodgepodge for this week...