Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Hodgepodge to the Rescue!

Is there a blog priest who comes to read last rites over a dying blog? If so, I need his name. My blog is on life support, thanks to the valiant  efforts of Joyce, whose weekly Hodgepodge questions offer a type of CPR to this once-viable blog of mine. 
Thanks, Joyce. Did you ever think of yourself as a first responder in cyberspace?


1. Something on your October calendar that makes you smile?

Well, TODAY another Zubbie baby is being born (or has been born and we have not received the call or text or FB message yet). My nephew Danny and his wife went in this morning to deliver their third child, the gender of whom they did not want to know.  So we wait, and my October will include a visit to this new little breath of fresh air in our ever-expanding clan. 

2. Food for the soul or music for the soul...which camp are you in? Tell us why.

Great question!  I would have to say that music touches my soul more deeply than food does. Both have the power to take me back to childhood (can you say peanut butter and jelly sandwich and "Itsy Bitsy Spider"?)  and both have positive and negative associations.  Both have made me swoon,  but food has never made me cry (save for onions) and  never taken me to the heights and depths of emotion that music has. 

Maybe you didn't mean the question that way, but that's my take on it. 

3. What are two or three things you've learned recently as the result of an online search?

-the definition of "ligand" (although I still don't understand it because it's chemistry)

-this recipe for Jewish Apple Cake, which oddly enough does NOT call for orange juice, like most of them, is the BEST I have EVER had. Oh, my goodness.  
-this recipe for beef stew. Paula Deen's Old Time Beef Stew. 

If you are still holding a grudge against Paula Deen, please make this stew. It will redeem her in your eyes. Seriously, the broth is almost divine. It might even have touched my soul ! It's got Worcestershire and sugar (of course it does, it's Paula Deen's, says hubby).  I didn't photograph my stew. Stews don't always look so great in pictures, have you noticed ?  Sometimes  it looks like barf .  Anyhoo, try this beef stew if you are a stew kind of person. 



4. Share your favorite game day recipe. You can describe it, post the how-to, or add a link to the actual recipe. 

It's as easy as 1-2-3. Put on comfy clothes, crawl under the covers, and take a nap. 

5. What are your five essential steps for creating the perfect morning 
routine?

 Start the night before, because Genesis 1 says "and the evening and the morning were the first day".  By God's design, a day is sundown to sundown, so if I follow HIS model, things go better:

-make sure school uniforms are clean and ironed, and if not, ask the boy to  wash and iron  them (as a 13 year old, it's his responsibility)

-make sure clean bath towels are in the bathroom, or in  baskets upstairs, not in the basement.
-decide what to pack in my son's lunch

Then, in the morning...
-have coffee with creamer  because that first sweet sip is my absolute FAvORITE way to start the day
-sit in my quiet family room after hubby leaves and before the boy wakes up, and read my Bible and pray
-


6. What small thing have you taken note of today?

something clinging to my dog's whisker (which I then gently wiped off)

7. Sum up your September in seven words or less.

How about 7 Chinese words I learned from my ESL students' mom? (phonetically spelled here)

"ni hao" (hello),  "see-et, see-et neen" (thank you), "wah-on" (goodnight)




8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I saw the movie "War Room" and thought it was very good. I was skeptical going in,  gotta say,  but it was girls' day out (our Bible study group went on a whim) . Why skeptical? Because a lot of the Christian films have just been cheesy with mediocre (or bad) acting, predictable plots, corny humor, and cliche' scripts.  "War Room," by contrast, had mostly quite good acting (except for Beth Moore--she should stick to writing and public speaking--and that guy who played the jerk of a boss at "Tony's" office).  I didn't think I'd cry, but I did; the message was powerful.


7 comments:

Paige McDaniel said...

I really want to see War Room -- thanks for the review!

Cathy said...

I really loved War Room a lot!

wildirishrose said...

Oh that stew sounds delightful. I'll have to try it sometime!

And congratulations to your family on the new little arrival!

Lea @ CiCis Corner said...

Well, I strongly dislike Paula but I strongly like beef stew so I will go check out that recipe. As always, I chuckled all the way through your answers. Happy rest of the week!

Joyce said...

I make quite a few of Paula Deen's recipes, often reducing the salts though. She loves her salt! And butter, but she and I are on the same page there : ) Her vegetable beef soup is my favorite, and when hubs walks in the door at the end of a day and smells that soup cooking he deems me best wife in the universe! I make it with short ribs and it is so good. I don't put in all the salts though, and there's plenty to freeze. Her peach cobbler is also fab! Congrats on the new little girl in your life! I haven't seen War Room so thanks for the review. About that dream...hmmm.....my hubs might sky dive in a tuxedo : ) I would never sky dive so that part is definitely a dream!

Susan Kane said...

We went to see War Room, and I came away with a sense that I, too, needed a prayer closet. Have begun, but inconsistent.

Preeti said...

Dear Zoanna,
The purpose of the blog is to share your thoughts, insights and your journey. And if your journey requires a stop, your blogging may reflect that. It is perfectly acceptable to take a break.
It is not dead (or dying), just taking it easy.
In fact, there is a group of quilters who are proud to be Slow Bloggers!!!
Hugs, Preeti.