Hodgepodge 101

I have 101 things to do before hosting Thanksgiving next week, so I will be taking a blog break for a week. I will probably write and upload pictures like a madwoman tonight and schedule out the posts that are in my head.  So, in case you just don't feel complete without a daily dose of my blog--hahahahahhahaha--I will have something for you when you stop by.

The first post before my timeout is the Hodgepodge.  


1. What rule of life should never be broken?

I was going to say, "Ladies first," but I can think of plenty of scenarios in which I'd MUCH prefer to see a man go before me, or instead of me.  In battle, for instance. Or out to  a frosty car to heat it up.  Upon more thought to this question, I'm going with The Golden Rule. If that's the most popular answer to this question, then all I can say is, "Wonderful!"

2.  What is your favorite family recipe?

I don't know that we have just one.  We have a slew of good cooks on both sides of the family. One of my prized possessions is  the Dauber Family cookbook that's  filled with recipes (and humorous anecdotes) from my dad's side of the family.  The best part of the cookbook is the genealogy in the front. Seeing the many branches that go way back makes me feel a deep sense of belonging. The family cookbook is a kind of metaphor for the recipe titled "me." All those crazy genes from the beginning of humanity, created and measured by the Great Chef God Himself, stirred into one big family pot, simmered for eons, distributed throughout a myriad of "kitchens" over the centuries, refined over decades, and then transferred into one tiny portion to my mom's "oven" to be baked for nine months, and delivered to the "table" of parents hungry to meet their new concoction.  

I'm sure their "little entree" was too spicy at times and they asked the Chef to please go easier on the Tabasco next time. (He did. My younger sisters are like mac 'n cheese compared to me.)

3. Is the media manipulative?

Yes, it certainly is. I have to keep in mind at all times that the news is always being "spun." When I took journalism and had to write news articles, I remember that the professors could not stress enough to our classes, "Keep all your opinions out of the news. Report the facts. Save your opinions for feature articles. Otherwise you are editorializing, and that's unacceptable for journalists writing news." Nowadays, it's tough to read or watch anything called "news" that doesn't have the author's bias in it.  As a Christian, I have to make sure I "renew my mind" with truth of scripture so that I'm not taking on the biases of the culture.  That's exhausting. It's easier to just not watch.

Of course, when it comes to advertising, the media is supposed to be manipulative. It's called good marketing-- or "creating a need people didn't know they had."

4. Hubs and I saw Skyfall last weekend...are you a fan of the Bond films? If so, who's your favorite Bond?

Not a big Bond fan. I might get sucked into one if I walk in while others are watching, but I don't think I'd choose it on my own.

5. What is one thing you hope people never say about you?

"I never knew she was a Christian."


6. What's a nearby tourist attraction you'd like to see, but haven't gotten around to visiting?
The Philadelphia Museum of Art.  It's on my 101  in 1001 List.

7.  Where's your favorite tree?

I have two favorite trees, and both were  (are?) on my late Grandpa's 480-acre farm in Valley Falls, Kansas.

One was a sprawling oak near his pond, where the cows would find shade, and they'd rub their itchy backs against its bark, and is locked in my memory along with learning to fish and just loving my
grandpa's company. It was a rare treat to spend time with him.

The other tree was another sprawling oak, located in his front yard. I remember sitting under it with him on my last visit before he died. We held my babies, his first two greatgrandchildren. Under that tree,  holding the fourth generation in his lap, he was a happy, old, satisfied man in tan coveralls. Under that tree, holding squirmy beings who wore me out and filled me up at the same time,  I felt I had given him two of the best gifts a granddaughter could ever give her grandfather. He adjusted his glasses, chin going up and down, and he smiled. Then he said,  "Well,  I'll tell you what, Zoanna.  Ya done good. Ya done real good."

8.  Insert a random thought.

I thought for sure Joyce was going to say something about 101 Dalmatians as a segue into asking about dogs or age spots or having too much of a good thing under one roof.  So I'll ask, what good thing do YOU have too much of in your house?  I have too much paper clutter.