Hodgepodge: Food, Flowers, and Fluffy Friends

1. Who taught you how to cook?

I have learned to cook from many sources. . My mom taught me what is probably the most important lesson and that is, "If you're going to have to cook for yourself and others for the rest of your life, you might as well learn to enjoy it." She enjoyed cooking, although she wasn't particularly creative and never "gourmet." But she taught me the basics (not that I was interested). She also taught me to think through steps of cooking so that everything would be hot at the same time.(That was before the days of microwaves.) She also taught me to make food look pretty. Presentation matters. At least that's what I believed as a single. Imagine my shock when it didn't matter to my husband, so when we got married, he couldn't figure out why I'd transfer food from a pot on the stove to a pretty dish for the table just 28 inches away when we could simply take our plates to the stove and save ourselves some dishwashing.

It never dawned on me that it was acceptable to do it that way! We've met in the middle several times. He's learned to appreciate pretty food, and I have learned to accept "a guy's ways" which, I gotta say, sure DOES save dishwashing time!

When my mom turned vegetarian in 1979, cooking meat was something I couldn't learn from her. I was 14 and not really into domestic arts; they were pedestrian compared to cheerleading and crush-of-the-month relationships. I ate whatever. At 21, I learned from my friend Kim how to cook meat. She and her hubby Gary had my Paul routinely to their home for good eats in his single days, and it was in my best interest to sway him toward me by following in Kim's footsteps.

The picture above is of my latest vegetarian meal--eggplant parmesan, which happened to be the first meal I tried to cook when Paul and I were dating. I had never made it before. (You can call me brave or stupid.) I didn't know the eggplant should be steamed or sauteed first to soften it. To this day I recall the result was more like Hockey Puck Parmesan, but the man married me anyway.

2. Have you been told you think too much? Are too much of a perfectionist? Are you too sensitive? Were they right?

Indeed I've been told I think too much, but moreso that I talk too much. (I'm sure that comes as a huge surprise to my regular readers. Most Hodgepodgers answer the question with 1/4 of the words I do!) The thing is, I often talk in order to think through a problem to its solution or root cause.

I am not really a perfectionist (except that I am hypercritical about grammar, spelling, and punctuation). I figure there is more value in having 80% of my to-do list done well than only 20% of it done perfectly. Things can almost always be fixed if you mess up anyway. I do not give my surgeons the same margin for error, but then again, they probably don't give themselves that margin , either, and that's why they pay them the big bucks and I get nuthin!

Am I too sensitive? About some things, yes. I get my feelings hurt (or I get angry) if people don't communicate with me. If I think people are withholding information from me, I fear the worst--that either they don't like me or they're about to do something that'll hurt me. It's happened more times than I can count. It's especially true if those people are in authority.

3. As a child did you have a favorite blanket or toy? Tell about it.

I still have my favorite stuffed animal ever. I got him for Christmas in third grade. He's a panda bear named Quincy. I named him that because I wanted to have a friend with a rarely-used first initial like I have.

4. What 'institution' do you have the most faith in?

Great question. Not sure I have a ready answer. I think I don't have faith in any institution because all of them fail. Marriage fails, the church fails, the government fails, schools fail. So as cliche' as it might sound, I put my faith in God. He is the only Faithful One. By His grace, those institutions succeed as well, but the track record is something I don't put stock in.

5. Chrysanthemums-pansies-burning bush-ornamental cabbage...your favorite in an autumn garden?

I love the burning bush, but am thrilled by the pop of color that mums bring to an otherwise drab fall garden. My mom's bridal flowers were mums, so she requested mums at the party which I've been blogging about. Jill and I bought a variety of real and silk flowers to add to them, and all of us joined forces to carve, scoop and fill pumpkins as "vases". Here's some busy busyness going on a few days ago. It takes a village to make centerpieces, ya know. Here's Rachel "fussing" with something on a flower, so it runs in the family.



Sarah and Andrea look so serious about the job at hand. Paul looks serious about the TV show. (He actually asked a few times, "What stinks?" and I said, "Mums and pumpkin guts. Wanna help?") He
has little use for either flowers or
pumpkins, and even less desire to
fuss about them, so the answer was a consistent "no" in the gracious name of
"you need sister time"!


6. What superpower do the kids in your neighborhood seem to possess?

The ability to pierce second holes through my earlobes by screaming, from the distance of three football fields.

7. Are you a fan of the cranberry?

Eh, I would not say a fan, but I like it okay. I have to be in the mood for cranberry juice or cranberry sauce, and when I am, I really enjoy it. But if the cranberry didn't exist, I wouldn't sit around trying to invent it.


8. Insert your own random thought here.

"A promise made is a debt unpaid" (from "The Cremation of Sam McGee") The promise I made to myself (ie the debt I'm in) is to walk 26.2 miles in November. I have thus far walked a half mile. Can I just say I am not a fan of making debt payments, but in the long run (long walk?) I concur that it's better than not making them?