Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 629

 

Here are the questions for this week's Hodgepodge. Thanks again to Joyce. She has written 629 sets of questions. Unbelievable!! Answer on your own blog, then hop back over to Joyce's blog on Wednesday (November 19th) to share answers with the blog world. See you there! 

 

1. Let's do our gratitude question first this week...what's the best thing about your home, and have you taken time to enjoy it lately? The best thing about our home is when it is filled with people with love! In addition to that, the best thing about our home is its "rise from the ashes."

July 9, 2022 - Lightning Strike - Five fire trucks

Our living room

Our entry hall

My office upstairs which looks really bad, but wasn't as bad as the bedroom next door.

The bathroom in the room that took the brunt of the fire.

I'm going to be transparent here. I did not expect the surge of emotion I would feel looking at these pictures. It has been 3 years and I saw a therapist for the entire first year following the fire and these photos still brings tears to my eyes.

But here we are today. Everyone is healthy and our home is whole.

It is fully updated. Here is that living room that was floating in water.

And here is that bathroom.

And here is my office.

God was with us every minute and brought us through the fire and we are better on this side than before. Count your blessings, name them one by one!

2. Do you like squash? Of the varieties listed, which one's your favorite and how do you like it prepared? Is squash of some sort on your Thanksgiving menu?? 

acorn, butternut, delicata, spaghetti, zucchini, crookneck (yellow squash), patty pan

We love delicata, but can't get it year round in Alabama. We also love butternut and it has been on our Thanksgiving menu many times. We make it like sweet potatoes, but it is lighter in texture and taste. I really enjoy yellow crookneck when it is fresh in the summer. Acorn squash are ok if you can get the ones that taste a little sweeter. I have used spaghetti squash in several recipes over the year. Patty pan is fine, I just don't cook it often.

3. Last time you were 'squashed in' somewhere, or felt squashed? When we were flying from Frankfurt to Chicago a few weeks ago. I always get stuck by the man who spreads himself over two seats -- his seat and part of mine. I totally felt squashed.

4. Have you ever played squash? What about other 'racquet sports' such as racquetball, tennis, pickleball, badminton, table tennis (ping pong)? Are these sports something you enjoy? I have never played squash. Way back in the day (like 45 years ago), I played racquetball fairly regularly. I actually took tennis lessons, but I was never a good player. I have never played pickleball, but it is all the rage where I live. In my lifetime, I have definitely played badminton and ping pong! At this time of my life, I'm not enjoying any of those sports. 

5. Something in today's society or culture that feels like a 'racket' to you? If you don't like that one, tell us about a place you've been recently where there was a lot of 'racket'. We were somewhere recently when my watch went off two different times telling me that the noise level was too much. I think it was when we were on the cruise and everyone was in the lounge and people were laughing and talking! It didn't sound like a racket though -- it sounded like happy people on vacation! I do know a 'racket' though -- Mark went to buy one of our former caregivers a gift card. There was a $7 convenience fee added on - that is just ridiculous. The other 'racket' would be the cost of greeting cards. The price of greeting cards is totally out of control!!

6.  Insert your own random thought here. There’s a lady on Instagram I follow—Nanette Johnson at sweetfringebenefits. She and her husband are having a different kind of holiday season this year, and it made me think about our own. When your kids grow up, move out, and start families of their own, the holidays definitely change. And now that Mark’s mom is no longer living, things have shifted even more.

So what will you be doing for Thanksgiving? For Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?