WEDNESDAY HODGE PODGE

 

1. Share a favorite moment from your Christmas holiday celebration.

My favourite moment came on Christmas Day as  I sat down at my son’s dining room table with my 3 children, their spouses, my 6 grandchildren and my husband. It has been a couple of years since we have all been together and it may be some time before it happens again.

2. What would you say has been the biggest news event during your life so far?

There have been many however the one I will always remember is the death of John F Kennedy. I was in grade 7 homeroom and the teacher came in at 2 pm shaking like a leaf. He then burst out the news that the president of the US had been shot. My mother was ironing at the time and she didn’t finish it for 3 days as we all sat around the tv watching the news.

The other event was 9/11. I was in my office when it happened and only found when I went for a coffee. Since the only tv was in my office I had many visitors and made many phone calls that did not pertain to work.

Both of these events changed the way I see the world and they have certainly impacted many lives.

3. The Pantone Color of the Year for 2015 is Marsala. What say you-like or no like? Would I find this color anywhere in your home or wardrobe? Will you add something in this shade to either?

To be honest I had to google the colour. I like the wine colour and have a few tops in a similar shade as well as  a table cloth. I am not likely to add much to either my wardrobe or my home decor.

4. Would you rather meet your ancestors or your great grandchildren? Explain why.

I want to be able to meet my great grandchildren. My mother has just added another great grandchild to make it 13. I love my grandchildren and would love to see them married and successful.

5. Share one life lesson learned in 2014?

I learn from my grandchildren every day. I always say I don’t need a gym because I spend time with them. They keep me active and young.

6. What was your best or favorite purchase made in 2014?

My favourite purchase so far is our cruise that we are taking in 63 days.

7. What is one thing you're looking forward to in the new year?

 I missed cruising this year and look forward to next year where we actually have 2 cruises planned.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

Christmas time was hectic with my daughter and her family here but it was fun. We weathered through some sickness and enjoyed our time together. Now I plan to stay bundled up as the cold winter weather sets in and dream about our cruise in March. I also have a new great nephew who was born on December 27th. This is my sister’s second grandchild. Welcome to the family.

I want to wish everyone a Healthy and Happy New Year!

There will be no Hodge Podge next week as Joyce our wonderful hostess is having a wedding. See you in 2 weeks time.

MEMORY MONDAY

 

My mother has written her memoirs and has been after me to write mine. I have been resisting for a while however I am creating Memory Monday to help me along. Come join me with your own memories. Each week will be a different prompt to encourage the  writing of your memories. Link your memories and share them with everyone.

Our prompt is: More Christmas Memories

I wrote about me early childhood Christmases last time. Now I want to talk about the memories that I have had with my husband.

. We had only been married for 6 months and were both paying for our apartment and everything else for the first time in our lives since we had both lived at home, so our first Christmas was very frugal.  We both worked right up until Christmas and we had no time to even think about it.

Our first decorations came from the store where DH worked. His manager was kind enough to let us into the storage room and gave us carte blanche on the existing stock which he discounted by 50%. DH was given the task of finding us a tree while I was at work. He returned to our old neighbourhood because the churches were selling Christmas trees. The first one was sold out however the second one had a few scraggly trees left and he got one for a dollar. he brought home a scrawny looking Charlie Brown tree and knew I would be upset. He spent the afternoon reworking the tree. Apparently he hammered branches, glued some into place and used a lot of string.

I walked in from work to the most amazing tree I had ever seen. The lights were on and it shone with love. There weren’t big gifts under the tree but it was a great start to many more Christmases. Of course DH is in charge of all of the tree trimming.

We had fresh trees up until our third Christmas. We switched to artificial ones because the real tree became a fire hazard. We redecorated the tree which DH also got from his work and no one could tell it was not real.

A lot of our decorations are now being used by our children on their trees as we have down-sized to an even smaller tree.

Next Week’s Prompt: A Vacation Memory

 

My daughter made us a Memory Monday button that you can grab from my sidebar if you want.

Please link up your posts to this continuing linky so we can watch each other’s memoirs develop over this year.  Please use the format of “PROMPT – BLOG NAME” so we can follow each week’s writing.

 

SUNDAY IN THE CITY

 

Let’s travel the world together!

We don’t very many warm nights in December however we took advantage of the great weather and walked around the neighbourhood the other night. Here is what we saw:

The grandchildren set this up and I couldn’t resist the picture. I wish everyone friendship in 2015!

SIX WORD SATURDAY

 

 

Christmas is over! Happy New Year!

FRIDAY FRAGMENTS & FOUR FILL IN FUN

 

Happy Boxing Day!

The day after Christmas became known as boxing day and was originally an English custom. The Lords in England would share their Christmas with their employees and everyone received a box. These days the day has become known for shopping. This year may not be as good since Canadians are adopting the Black Friday shopping style instead. Personally I don’t shop either one.

Christmas plans got changed slightly when my son’s family woke up sick on Christmas Eve. We were originally going to have dinner and gift opening with them after attending the Christmas Eve service. However my daughter H’s in-laws kindly stepped in and we had Christmas Eve with them instead. We went out for Christmas dinner at my son’s on Christmas Day.

The best gift I got this Christmas was from my whole family. All 3 children, their spouses and my 6 grandchildren as well as  hubby sat at one table for dinner. It was beautiful. I also got books, 2 sweaters and concert tickets.

This week’s co-host is Obi from Eloquent Rambles- she came up with the last 2 statements:

The statements:

1. When it is cold outside I wrap up in a blanket and read a good book.
2. A family dinner is my idea of sharing.
3. Getting in the car is my go to way to travel.
4. I must have hot water in the shower.

WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE

 

Hodgepodge will be on Christmas vacation next week, so no questions/answers on Dec 23/24th. We'll be back to ring in the new year together the week after, December 30/31.  

It is Christmas Eve and unfortunately the little ones are sick so we have a change of plans.

I hope everyone has a healthy merry Christmas!

THOUGHTFUL TUESDAY

 

Coffee Chat will return after Christmas!

The house is all decorated. The cookies are made and being eaten. Almost time for another batch. The shopping is done- oh no wait we ran out of milk, don’t forget the tea. Have we got enough bread as the stores will closed for one whole day.

The grandchildren have come for a play. All of the noisemakers are going at once. The carousel sings “Jingle bells” while the tree sings “Santa baby”. Don’t forget to shake the snow globes!

The Christmas cards have been sent and the e-cards acknowledged.

Am I ready for Christmas? Too bad if I’m not!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

MEMORY MONDAY

 

My mother has written her memoirs and has been after me to write mine. I have been resisting for a while however I am creating Memory Monday to help me along. Come join me with your own memories. Each week will be a different prompt to encourage the writing of your memories. Link your memories and share them with everyone.

Our prompt is: My Children

DH and I have 3 wonderful children. They are unique in their own way. My first child is H and she was born one day after my MIL’s birthday. She was also the first grandchild on both sides.  My mother told my husband to call her first and sat by the phone anxiously waiting to hear. It was a long day for everyone however H made her presence  at 5 pm and caused quite a stir because she had lots of black hair. The other babies in the nursery were mostly bald. Mother raced up to the hospital and exclaimed that she looked like an Indian princess.

Our second daughter C was born 19 months later. She was tiny and looked Chinese with her black hair. Because my mother was busy looking after H and DH was working I had very few visitors except my BIL. Everyone thought he was the father and put him in a hospital gown to hold her. She also looks very much like my sister P so he felt an instant connection.

Our son M was born 11 months and 1 day later. The night before he was born we were playing bridge at my parents’ home because they were minding the girls while I went to the hospital. My Dad asked DH if the third baby would be a boy or a girl. DH answered by saying if the baby’s hair was black it would be a girl and if it was blonde it would be a boy. During the delivery we surprised the doctor by announcing the sex of the baby before he was completely born.

With 3 children under the age of 3 it was quite a challenge. I washed 4 dozen diapers a day for a year. Getting everyone dressed to go outside took organization although having a 3 seater couch helped. We also had 3 car seats in the back of a little car until the mini-van came into being. Unfortunately I was a stay-at-home Mom and DH worked extra hours to support us.

I am sure the children will tell you that we faced many challenges along the way but I think they have all done well for themselves.

I I

Next Week’s Prompt: More Christmas Memories

My daughter made us a Memory Monday button that you can grab from my sidebar if you want.

Please link up your posts to this continuing linky so we can watch each other’s memoirs develop over this year.  Please use the format of “PROMPT – BLOG NAME” so we can follow each week’s writing.

 

SUNDAY IN THE CITY

 

Let’s travel the world together!

Visitors to the bird feeder!

I’ve shown you mine, now show me yours!

SIX WORD SATURDAY

 

Family has arrived! Bring on Christmas!

FRIDAY FRAGMENTS & FOUR FILL IN FUN

Only 6 more days until Christmas. The shopping is done but not the wrapping which I hope to do today. The baking would be done except I use the same pans and we keep eating it.

I should be sleeping except DH has a terrible cold and is snoring at the moment. Oh well I can pace myself for the rest of the weekend.

I didn’t send any Christmas cards in the mail this year. Instead I found an e-card sight and sent my cards by e-mail. For those who don’t have e-mail I have been phoning directly to wish them a Merry Christmas.

To my blogging friends I also

Wish a Merry Christmas!

This week’s co-host is Elizabeth from Silver’s reviews – she came up with all the statements:

The statements:

1. I would never want to go back to work.
2. Do you always get up in the middle of the night? I do that is why I am writing this at 3:30 in the morning.
3. Christmas is my favorite holiday because I get to spend time with my family.
4. Realizing that I am getting old makes me frustrated.

THRIVING THURSDAY

 

It is time to ponder with Brenda again. This is the last ponder for 2014. I love this blog because I get a chance  to play with words.

Today's word is Cold

Is it going to be cold for Christmas in your area? Will it snow and give us a white Christmas? I know that we would like the cold and snow to hold off until everyone has arrived safely to spend the time with their families over the holiday season.

I don’t mind the cold because I can dress up in a warm coat with my ear muffs, scarf and gloves. However I dislike the cold because I have to bundle and can’t get out to walk as often as I would like.

Winter is also the time for the flu and colds are rampant. A cold is just a runny nose, cough and feeling lousy whereas a flu includes a fever and aches and pains. We hope to stay healthy by washing our hands a lot and taking our vitamins. We also need plenty of rest and lots of liquids.

Everyone is so jolly at this time of year and yet there are people who we want to stay away from because their attitude is very cold. This is not the time of year for a Grinch or Scrooge.

Finally there are cold-blooded animals such as snakes and alligators.

Do you wash your clothes in cold water?

So for cold there is wintry, dead, insensible, feeble, infection, respiratory disease, blight,  preserver, uncooked, non-active, adversity, impassive, cheerless, indifferent,unsociable, unkind and pure.

May you have a warm, healthy Merry Christmas!

WEDNESDAY HODGE PODGE

 

1. Time magazine has selected The Ebola Fighters as their person of the year for 2014. Do you agree, and if so who would you say is a close second? If you disagree with their choice, who do you think should have been chosen?

I agree.

2. This question comes to you courtesy of Susan who blogs over at Stew Mama Says. She knows we have a wedding happening any minute now, and she asks, 'What's your favorite-something old? something new? something borrowed? something blue in your home?  Be sure you hop over and say hi to Susan today!

My something old is my grandmother’s pearls, blue is a garter, new is the wedding dress and something borrowed is the veil.

3. Fudge-yay or nay? Your favorite flavor? Do you make it yourself? With nuts or without? 

Absolutely. I have made several batches of chocolate (5 minute Carnation fudge recipe) although the dulce de lache has become our new found love. I do not put nuts in the fudge.

4. December 17th is Wright Brothers Day, commemorating the first successful flights made by Orville and Wilbur Wright in 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.  How old were you when you made your first flight? Do you like to fly? Have you ever been to Kitty Hawk or other parts of the North Carolina Outer Banks?

I am not a keen flyer as everyone knows however it is the airports that I really dislike. My first flight was in 1972 when I flew to England where I toured for 6 weeks. Sorry have not been to Kitty Hawk or North Carolina Outer Banks.

5. Do the people in your family tend to follow a particular career path, and if so what's the path?

No we do not follow a career path in my immediate family although my sister is a doctor and one her daughters  went into medicine.

6. What is one thing you absolutely, positively must accomplish today?

I must get this blog done before I go to babysit my grandchildren.

7. This Christmas I hope everyone can be together with their families and be healthy.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

We are almost ready for Christmas. We are expecting our daughter and her family on the weekend. Let’s hope they have a safe drive. I still have some baking to do but that is ongoing as what I have made so far has been consumed. Another batch of fudge anyone! I also found the holiday Rice Krispies yesterday. I was able to send out e-cards this year by using Jacquie Lawson. I will make a few phone calls to those who don’t have e-mails.

I hope Santa is good to everyone!

THOUGHTFUL TUESDAY

 

What does Christmas Eve look like at your home?

*This the last chat before Christmas!

Christmas has always been an exciting time for us. I used to go overboard with decorations. It helped that I worked for Avon for 19 years and used to buy all of the demos that they sold. I used to hold an Open House every year and invite friends and family to enjoy all of the work we had done. At one time we would have 60 people cramming into our little house. I used to start my baking right after Halloween and made Christmas cakes as well as all of the cookies.

These days we are slowing down. I have given a lot of decorations away to the kids. We exchanged our big Christmas tree for a smaller table top model. The battery operated Santas are almost worn out. I do have a Christmas tree with red shoes that sings “Santa Baby” which still impresses the little ones and a few of the big kids.

The outside doesn’t get as much attention either. My BIL used to say that we competed with  NORAD for Santa’s attention. We certainly lit up the street. Santa was on a stick along with many other stick figures that stayed in the ground until Spring.

Even though Christmas is quieter around here we will be delighted to have the whole family together. We always say it won’t happen again however when it does we will enjoy the experience. We don’t cook the turkey dinner so my son and his family have taken on that role.

I will be going to Christmas Eve service at my DIL’s church. We took the children last year and hope to make it a tradition as well.

Unfortunately next year will be different again as we will be away. Hopefully our children will create their own traditions. No matter who can make it we will all be very merry.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

MEMORY MONDAY

 

My mother has written her memoirs and has been after me to write mine. I have been resisting for a while however I am creating Memory Monday to help me along. Come join me with your own memories. Each week will be a different prompt to encourage the writing of your memories. Link your memories and share them with everyone.

Our prompt is: My Husband

I would not trade my husband for anyone else in the world. He is really too good for me and I love him to pieces.

My husband is the eldest child of 3 boys born to German parents. His father fled Hitler before the Second World War and came to Canada as a homesteader. He started his new life in a small community called Tom’s Lake in Alberta. When Canada declared war on Germany he joined the Canadian Army and was sent back to Germany during the Occupation. While there he met his future bride who fled the Russians invading what is now East Germany. It took a year for his bride to arrive in Canada.

Unfortunately my husband never learned German because his parents wanted to speak English. He grew up down the street from our house and we went to the same schools. He became very active in Scouting and met my father and brother.  My mother knew his mother as well. When I needed help with math in high school he became my tutor. We dated for a while however I wanted to meet other people and let him get away. (I was young and foolish).

Luckily we came together a year later through a Scouting event.  I knew in an instant that we were truly meant for each other. My husband has made a lot of sacrifices to ensure my happiness. He took a job with my father in the family business to provide us with a comfortable life.  I worked nights and he worked days so we didn’t need a babysitter. Eventually he prepared all of the meals and a lot of the work around the house.

We didn’t have a honeymoon so for our 25th wedding anniversary we went on our first cruise to Alaska and  now  we have nearly 200  days under our belt. Today we spend our retirement days together dancing and staying healthy. We hope to have many more years together.

 

 

Next Week’s Prompt: My Children

My daughter made us a Memory Monday button that you can grab from my sidebar if you want.

Please link up your posts to this continuing linky so we can watch each other’s memoirs develop over this year.  Please use the format of “PROMPT – BLOG NAME” so we can follow each week’s writing.

 

SUNDAY IN THE CITY

 

Let’s travel the world together!

This week we have been in several neighbourhoods. The first is my Mother’s residence which is all decked out for Christmas.

This is what they are showing in my son’s neighbourhood.

I’ve shown you mine, now show me yours!

SIX WORD SATURDAY

 

Limited blogging time! Preparing for Christmas!

FRIDAY FRAGMENTS WITHOUT FOUR FILL IN FUN

 

 

I am late posting today because we had an early morning start. Our granddaughter F had her school concert today. We had to be on the road by 8:30 this morning to be able to arrive on time. We made it however we still had sit in the back. She did an amazing job.

This afternoon it was all about playing with the grandchildren while Mommy went to work. Next week will be all about baking and wrapping as we prepare for the arrival of the rest of the family for Christmas. Let us hope they can have great weather for a safe drive up.

Are you ready for Christmas?

THRIVING THURSDAY

 

It is time to Ponder with Brenda at http://bygadventures.blogspot.ca.

Today the word is Handle

I hope I can get a handle on this ponder today. Blogging has become an essential part of my days since I have retired. I blog to keep in touch with my family, friends as well as the new bloggers I have met over the years. I have even started my own blog on Mondays called Memory Monday. I think I am handling this very well. I am also pleased with all of the participation I have gotten.

Handles can be found on many household items. The one I am going to use today is the handle on a snow shovel since we got a lot of snow over night. There are also door handles, suitcase handles, cupboard door handles as well as drawer handles.

Of course there are love-handles which seen to be accentuated over the Christmas season. There are also handle-bar moustaches which were all the rage in November.

Lastly there is my handle which is retired-not-tired.

Happy pondering everyone!

WEDNESDAY HODGE PODGE

 

Despite the fact that Joyce  is planning a winter wedding + Christmas = not a lot of time to blog.  She does however always have time for the Hodgepodge. Here are this week's questions...

1. What is one new holiday tradition you'd like to establish, or one you've established recently, say in the last year or two?

In the last couple of years we have been going to our son’s home for Christmas Eve. My DIL’s church offers a Children’s Christmas Eve service and I look forward to attending again this year. We leave my son and DH at home to finish cooking the turkey dinner for us. After dinner we open gifts with the children and they can go to bed early. D H and I still drive around before we come home to admire the Christmas light displays that people work so hard to put up. This is a tradition we have carried over since our own children were little.

2. It's the second week of December. Have you sipped a cup of eggnog yet this month? Wrapped a gift? Opened a gift? Kissed someone under the mistletoe? Lit a candle? Eaten a Christmas cookie? Seen Santa in person? Watched a Christmas movie or special? Read scripture relating to the birth of Jesus?

Yes I have personally sat on Santa’s knee twice. The first time was with my daughter C and the second time was with my daughter C, DIL M and the grandchildren E, F, and T. As well I have eaten Christmas cookies although I have more to make.

3. Do you think it's better to be an adult or a child at Christmastime? Explain.

Christmas is always about the children. New Year’s is for the adults.

4. It's often said, 'Good things come to those who wait'...agree or disagree? Why?

Yes and No! Sometimes you have your own good things happen. If you sit and wait for it you could get very lonely. I am counting down to my good thing – a cruise and it is only 87 days away. We also got good news concerning the cruise – the price has dropped so we are also saving some money.

5. What's the last sweet thing you baked? Did you keep it, take it to a party/event, or give it away?

I babysit my grandchildren every week and there is an expectation that Grammy will bring a treat. Last week it was shortbread cookies as well as reindeer cookies. We also went for dinner after E’s concert so an apple pie was included. This week I am thinking fudge. The good thing is I get to bake and I don’t eat the whole thing. Thanks grandchildren!

6.  This question comes to us courtesy of Jhona who blogs over at The Red House at the End of the Lane. Everyone hop over and say hi to Jhona this week!  Here is her question... "I heard an actor talk about how he makes a conscious choice to talk to people in elevators.  He chooses to connect, make eye contact, and converse. Do you talk to people/strangers when you're in an elevator or any other place where you might have to wait together? Why or why not?"

I am a big talker! Every where I go in fact my children say I used to embarrass them however they got used to it. I especially love talking to the children and babies.

7. Are you on the naughty or nice list this year? What put you there?

Of course I am nice. I am just enjoying every day that I can.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Speaking of the grandchildren I have completed all of their knitted Christmas presents. I hope they fit and everyone stays warm and cozy this winter. I understand that they have already picked out next year’s projects so that I have time to make them for everyone. Now is the time to finish decorating the house and get ready for our daughter’s family next weekend.

THOUGHTFUL TUESDAY

 

Random Acts of Kindness

As Christmas approaches we get so caught up in the trappings of Christmas. We are out shopping for food and gifts for our friends and relatives and wait in long lines and fight for parking spaces.

Christmas comes at the same time every year and yet people leave everything to the last minute. I have seen and heard people yelling and pushing, cursing and swearing because the lines are so long at the checkout or in the parking lots. Of course many suggest that the stores hire more people to take care of them and that the parking lots be bigger but that wouldn’t help.

How do we combat this? First of all we need to take our patience with us when we leave the house. As a retired person my time is not as important as others. I can always go another time and I often do avoid the crowded times like weekends and evenings however I do take my daughter shopping after work and face the crowds with her.

I also love to spend time with my grandchildren and give their parents a chance to work or play without them worrying. I love to take cookies, cakes or pies when I go for a visit because I enjoy baking and everyone enjoys eating them. As a grandmother I never leave home without kleenex and bandaids in my pockets because one never knows when they will be needed and I have needed them.

Even though we have not had a lot of snow yet, the time will come. Shovelling out our neighbours walkway or even putting away the garbage bins all help a little.

Just being on the end of a phone line when one of my grandchildren needs someone to talk to you gives purpose to being needed.

I haven’t asked for anything for Christmas because all I need is the love of my husband, children and grandchildren. Being able to see them will do for me.

What kindness can I do for you?