On the fast track to the Hodgepodge

 

It's Wednesday again, so time for the Hodgepodge -- the linkup where Joyce, at  From This Side of the Pond, asks the questions and bloggers provide the answers on their own blogs.  Since this week's Hodgepodge lands on Fast Food Day, the questions mostly involve fastness in some way.   Here goes!

 1. When did you most recently need to 'think fast'? Elaborate.

 Last Thursday we were at our little camp doing a bit of cleaning, yard work and cooking prior to our friends coming for breakfast on Friday morning.  Mr. T was outside raking leaves and I was in the kitchen chopping a tomato to add to a dip recipe.  [Important information: The only door to the camp is in the kitchen, and my back was to it as I worked at the counter.]   I was nearly finished with my task when I heard a rhythmic thumping sound emanating, it seemed, from the next room.  It sounded almost exactly like a washing machine out of balance.  But there is no washing machine at the camp.  We had a fire going in the woodstove that afternoon, and we have an Incinolet toilet.  Could something have gone wrong with one of these?  Mystified, I went into the next room only to find a child perched on the bed, drumming her heels rhythmically against the bed rail.   This girl, below, now a few years older but wearing a similar hat as she was dressed up "as a young lady" (her words).

She had sneaked past my hubby outdoors and managed to come in the screen door and through the kitchen without me ever noticing.  She then went up to the loft and waited, hoping to scare me when I came into the living room.  When I didn't do that, she came back down and waited in the sleeping nook, finally drumming her heels in an effort to get my attention.

She did that!  I had to "think fast" as to how she had gotten there.  But first, I jumped.  And screamed.  Very satisfying reaction, from Ari's viewpoint.

2. The Hodgepodge lands on National Fast Food Day. What was the last fast food you ate? What's your favorite fast food? How often do you grab fast food? 

The last fast food we ate was at McDonalds back in mid-October as we headed north for our Back Lake getaway.  We were in a hurry and yet wanted to stop for a very short break in our journey.  This McDonalds is the last fast food outpost on our route.  It was okay and served its purpose of refueling quickly.  Favorite fast food?  Probably Wendy's.  How often we grab fast food -- as seldom as possible.  Very, very rarely. 

In years past, we often took our grandkids to McDonalds for breakfast during the Christmas season.  This lodge-themed McDonalds, complete with fireplace,  was a favorite of ours.

3. Life in the fast lane, get nowhere fast, on the fast track, not so fast...pick one and tell us how it applies to your life in recent days. 

Life in the fast lane describes our October.  We were constantly on the go, meeting up with friends, attending a retreat, spending a week at our volunteer jobs.  We did have that getaway up north in the middle of it all, thankfully, but it meant 3 hours of travel each way.  Below is one of the roads at The Wilds of New England.  A slow lane within the fast lane of October, you might say.

4. Are you a fast walker? fast talker? fast worker? fall asleep fast? stay fast asleep without too much trouble? 

I'm not a fast walker and I try not to be a fast talker.  I'm a lot less fast of a worker than I used to be: everything seems to take longer as we age.  I do tend to fall asleep fast, and I do tend to stay fast asleep without much trouble.  I guess those two may be more valuable in the long run than being fast in other areas.  So thankful that God gives rest.

5. What is one 'hard and fast rule' in your house? 

My grandchildren know this one well: No boredom allowed.

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

We're supposed to get our first measurable snow of the season tonight (as I write this on Tuesday).  My hubby has been doing a lot of work preparing for winter -- cleaning the garage so cars will actually fit inside, putting away outdoor furniture both at home and cottage, draining water at the cottage, removing freezable things from there -- such a lot of work.  We still may stay a night or two at the cottage now and then if the temperatures allow -- but it will be more like camping.

Above, a November snow in 2017.

And this week's hodgepodge is a wrap!   Why not go see Joyce at  From This Side of the Pond and snag the questions to answer on your own blog?