Hodgepodge: Hindsight, Hiding, and Hardships

The first Hodgepodge of 2012 has been ushered in. If you are looking for writing prompts on your blog, jump in today. She is on Volume 60 (which, given there are 7 questions per week, means that's 420 questions asked in just over a year). Plus the little bonus of sharing your own random thoughts at the end. Joyce aptly notes that's "a lot of random." I like the randomness of the questions because they make me think, make me recall bygone days, make me hungry, make me laugh or cry, and make me want to read how other bloggers interpret and answer the same questions.

1. What are three words you would use to describe your 2011?

Sad, stormy, partially healing

2. Do you like shrimp? What's your favorite way to have it prepared?

Yes, I love shrimp, prepared any which way. My favorite, though, is probably in a dish I make called "Don't Invite the Rabbi, Just the Pasta" which is very-unkosher with shrimp and bacon, all mixed in with spinach, onions, garlic, fresh basil and other yummables, served over linguine or whatever pasta I have on hand.

3. Is your house de-Christmased? If so when did you tackle that job? If not, when will the decorations come down?

Yes, it is. I was really "in a mood" on Dec. 29th. I kept it up the 28th when my future daughter-in-law stopped in to do a gift exchange while traveling. I have never taken the Christmas stuff down that soon, but it was getting on my nerves and I didn't want to start the New Year feeling cluttered, which Christmas feels like after Dec 25th. I thanked myself for keeping the decorations simple this year, and I donated or trashed whatever decorations didn't lift my spirits or if I couldn't remember who gave it to me or why I had kept it. I organized everything neatly in the back of the basement, and labeled the Rubbermaid bins anew, so I am feeling "ahead of the game," at least in this area of my life. It gives me a sense that at least something is right in my little life when I see orderly, labeled things.

The outdoor lights are still up, but that's because it's way too cold to be on the roof unless you're a reindeer. Or a shingle.

4. Do you like to watch scary movies?

No. I can't stand them and don't let others watch them here. I will occasionally watch scary TV reality shows like "I Survived" and "I Shouldn't Be Alive," but not movies that glorify Satan, fear, and death.

5. ice skating~sledding~skiing~snowboarding~of the four listed which wintertime activity do you most enjoy?

Well, I don't do any of those anymore. I went skiing once in high school and it was fun, and I would have done it again except I'm scared of the ski lift. Heights and I don't get along, yet gravity and I are bosom buddies. Sledding with the kiddoes when they were little was a lot of fun, except that "what goes down must come up" and I wasn't thrilled about the "coming up" part. I've never once been tempted to snowboard. I have a son who does that extreme sport and we have the EOB's from the insurance companies and the accompanying ER bills to prove how extreme he is. I am older, wiser, and much, MUCH less coordinated. Plus, I have a general dislike for cold weather and a specific dislike for ice.

6. Did you have a childhood hideout? Describe it.

Yes, but if I tell you, I will have to kill you.

Actually, I had a few hideouts. The ones I remember best were in Kansas. In the house we had a "secret passageway" between the little bathroom and the family room. It was a tiny hall, dark and slightly wider and taller than my dad's filing cabinet which stood at one end of it. We also hid in the wheat fields. Ironically, we would "hide" when no one was looking for us except "bad guys" in our imaginations. Or the farmer whose wheat we were crushing; our parents told us not to play in because it didn't belong to us and we'd crush it with our bodies. I remember asking, "What's the big deal about crushing this wheat? There's plenty more of it. Just look around!" That's not a good thing to tell people raised on farms.

7. What's a place or space that motivates you?

Schools have always motivated me, from third grade to the present. I've always enjoyed the social life, the academia, the extracurricular activities. Being inside the schools in which I've taught has motivated me to be a better teacher. I love the bright, well-lit, organized spaces there and the shared love of learning by other faculty and students.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

The New Year is not starting well at our house.

1. The car needed $800 in repairs.
2. I shopped for $108 in groceries at Aldi, only to discover I had no way to pay for them. Someone in the family had borrowed and lost my debit card. Aldi doesn't take credit cards, and I didn't have the cash on me.
3. Called home from the store to ask someone to come with their card, only to be informed the fridge had died while I was gone.
4. If my husband can't fix the fridge, we'll have to replace it. It's not that old--maybe 7 years? I pray it can be fixed.
5. A new fridge costs about as much as a wedding rehearsal dinner. Just sayin'.

6. To find the silver lining in all of this, I will report that the temperatures are supposed to be in the teens tonight, so we packed coolers of food and set them in the garage. That will be our "ice box" until repairs or replacement of our most major appliance is complete.

Happy New Year? Not yet. Not here.