Wednesday, August 30, 2017

August 30 Hodgepodge

It's Wednesday again!  Time for the Hodgepodge with Joyce and friends at From This Side of the Pond.  Head on over and get the questions, answer them on your own blog and then jet back to Joyce's and link up!

1. Can you believe we're rolling in to the Labor Day weekend? What's a project you'll labor over this fall?

No, I can't believe it's Labor Day weekend so soon. Probably the biggest project I'll be laboring over this fall is trying to get my parents' house cleaned out and dispose of the contents.  Come to think of it, that just may be the biggest project I've ever labored over.
The little loom pictured above is just one of the many items I had to find a home for -- with many, many more things to go.  Fortunately, a local friend who enjoys weaving was delighted to have this child's wooden loom.

2. Tell us about the best perks you ever had in a job?

That would probably be my "second cook" job back in the early 1970s at a gorgeous, historic inn on a beautiful lake.  This was a situation where just a certain amount of food was prepared as the menu changed every day.  If the kitchen ran out of, say, chocolate cake or a certain entree, there just wasn't any more available that day.  We cooks and waitresses got to eat leftovers and were they ever yummy.  We were also allowed to spend time at the lakefront in our off hours. 

3. August 31st is National South Carolina Day. Have you ever been to SC? Any desire to go? According to Southern Living, these are the top ten things to do in South Carolina...

Explore Charleston, bike, golf or relax on Hilton Head Island, see the beach and the boardwalk at Myrtle Beach, visit the state museum in the capital city Columbia, observe the wildlife and natural beauty of the Ace Basin, take a walk or hop on a trolley and check out Greenville's charming main street, visit Fort Sumter where the Civil War began, stroll through Pearl Fryar's Topiary Garden in Bishopville leaving time to check out The Button Museum, also in Bishopville, see Morgan Island (also known as Monkey Island)-home to nearly 4000 Rhesus monkeys. 

Which is most appealing to you today? If you're a SC native, resident, or frequent visitor what would you add to the list?

I've been to SC a couple of times and have spent time in the Greenville area as well as the Charleston area.  Which is most appealing to me today?  I would love to go back to Charleston someday and explore further.  The beauty and history of this city deserve another look.
Photo from Pixabay
4. Beef, pork, country-style, barbecued, baby back, spare or short...your favorite kind of rib? 

Some years ago I made southern-style ribs in the slow cooker very frequently ... every time they went on sale for $1.99, basically.  Here is one recipe that we really enjoyed: Tasty Pork Ribs.  Nowadays we eat very little beef or pork.  I never buy it.


What's a dish you enjoy that really 'sticks to your ribs'?

Let's see.  One that comes to mind right away, a stick-to-the-ribs breakfast treat that stays with you a long time, is Hot Apple Oatmeal.  If you go to this post: Some of my favorite apple recipes, it's the second recipe down. 
(I think I know why this question came to Joyce's mind.  Her own severely bruised ribs are really making their presence known these days!)

5. What's one important skill you think every person should have? Why? 

The ability to think clearly and make rational, wise decisions.  And I do think this is not a given, especially not in our day of "fake news", Facebook, and Photoshop.  So many people believe everything they're told, and that's scary.  Thinking for oneself is a skill and, like any skill, must be honed and utilized to be at its best.
Graphic from CrossCards.com
6.  Insert your own random thought here. 

Let's see ... random thought.  Summer has simply flown by this year.  Being gone to Nevada for two weeks really cut into the summer, but it's more than that.  First we had no real summer weather, then a spell of heat and humidity that was just unpleasant, plus lots of rain.  We had perhaps a week, maybe two, of perfect summer weather.  Now, we're experiencing fall-like crispness, which I really enjoy, but it just doesn't feel like we've had much of a summer.  Not complaining at all, you understand.  Just saying how it seems to me.


And so ends another Hodgepodge.  Thanks to Joyce for these questions -- and I'm looking forward to seeing how others answer!

18 comments:

  1. Great Hodgepodge! Your job in #2 sounds amazing - I love historic inns and you are so right in #5 - the ability to think clearly can be very skewed by today's media.

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    1. Thanks, Pamela! I enjoyed reading your Hodgepodge also. Those were quite the perks that came with your job!

      Thinking clearly and critically is so important. Sometimes I wonder if we're going to end up with entire generations unable to think for themselves.

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  2. I worked in an historic venue while in college and the dining perks were great : ) Weve had cook mornings here but it heats up during the day. I'm still ekeing out all the summer I can !

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    1. Mornings are very cool here right now ... unseasonably so for August, it seems to us. We've had a small fire in the kitchen woodstove every morning this week, and switched to flannel sheets on our bed!

      Like you, I'm still trying to eke out summer. And by the calendar we still have another 3 weeks of it, so we're perfectly justified in doing so!

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  3. I hate to think of summer ending, even though i do love the crispness of fall air and the beautiful colorful landscape in October. But i dread winter. I feel for you cleaning out that house. It's a difficult job. We went through it with our cousin's house, which is what is motivating me to get busy on our own!

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    1. I hate to think of summer ending too, even though fall is my very favorite season. I know what’s coming! And like you, I dread winter. Think ours are much the same as yours. Cold, long, and potentially quite snowy.

      Yes, cleaning out that house is looking like a never-ending job. And yes, it is motivating me to get rid of a lot of things I’ve saved. All in good time!

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  4. The apples are coming in now in NoGA. I hope to pick some up this weekend when we go to Ellijay. My sweet neighbor who takes in our paper and gets our mail for us needs some as a thank you gift and I love a good Mountain apple. They taste so yummy compared to the ones in the grocery store.

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    1. Mountain apples would be a wonderful thank-you gift! Early apples are in at some of our local orchards here too ... but I think I will hold out for Ginger Golds and Honeycrisps!

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  5. Your choice of skill is a great one. It has been a weird summer here with all the rain. I am quite sure it has had an impact on tourist money. We don't really have a local newspaper that reports on that kind of stuff anymore, but I would think that was down.

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    1. Thanks, Sandy. We had a lot of rain in July and the end of June ... the destroying roadways kind of rain, in some cases. It has probably impacted tourism, but that may even out. We get loads of leaf-peepers in the fall, and then of course skiers and snowmobilers in the winter.

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  6. Your job at the historic inn would be wonderful - both for the location and the food! Hot apple oatmeal sounds delicious - especially now that apples are being harvested here in Minnesota. Good luck with cleaning out your parents' home. I had to do that in late-2015 and early 2016. It's a lot of work...and such a bittersweet relief when it is completed.

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    1. The hot apple oatmeal is a great breakfast for fueling a school day, an autumn hike, or whatever your family has in mind.

      I hope to have the worst of the cleaning out accomplished by winter. And then maybe spend winter and mud season clearing out our own house!

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  7. I almost said the same thing for the skill!

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    1. You did say something sort of close, if I remember right. Great minds think alike!

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  8. I recently read a quote in an old book: "what the public thinks depends on what the public hears." We really have to be on our toes these days.
    That clean-up reminds me of when we cleaned out my parents' home and also my mother-in-law's home. So much stuff I laid awake over an hour last night thinking about everything in our house!

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    1. What a great quote, Nonnie! It is so very true.

      Every day I try to take a little bit out of the house. It's going to take a long time!

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  9. Exactly so! No real summer to speak of...perhaps it'll show up to finish the season. I've had to either bake or put the furnace on for the past three days. Chilly.

    True enough. Too many people hold too tight to their preconceived philosophies without testing them in the least.

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  10. We've had a fire in the kitchen wood stove every morning this week, I think. Today I did some baking. Today has been so chilly and breezy!

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