The Wednesday Hodgepodge! New For Me!

I have never done the Wednesday Hodgepodge before, but this one sounded interesting to me so I thought I might give it a try!  Joyce over at From This Side of the Pond blog is our hostess, and I've been reading other blogging friends' posts from this weekly meme for a long time, but never got around to joining in until now.  I always thought it was interesting that she writes "From This Side of the Pond", and I live on a pond, albeit a very dry pond at the moment.  So here we go...

 The Wednesday Hodgepodge

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 638

Here are the questions to this week's Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then skate back here on Wednesday (January 28th) to add your link to the party. See you there!


1. I live in the south so we're pretty much only talking about the weather right now. Give us a weather report from where you live. Does the kind of weather you're having today affect your mood in some way?
As I am typing this, here in north central Florida, it is currently 30 degrees.  We will be having freezing temperatures every morning for the next week, and only warming up into the 50's mostly.  This winter has been unusual for us here in Florida already!  As far as affecting my mood? Well, I will be thankful when the freezing temperatures are over and we can get back to our normal kind of winter with cooler days and plenty of sunshine,  although we need rain desperately here on MY side of the pond!  (For those of you who are new to my blog, I live on a small pond that I've named "Still Waters Pond",  and it has been completely dry this past fall and winter due to no rain in our area to speak of for quite a while. So we keep praying for some good rain to fill it back up!)


2. Avocados, kale, cauliflower and cottage cheese have all had their time to shine. 2026 brings us the year of the cabbage. Is this a vegetable you like? If so, what are some of your favorite dishes that call for cabbage?

Yes, I do like cooked cabbage as well as cole slaw made with raw cabbage.  This receipe below is one of our old family favorites, and it's extra good right now during these very cold days! I made a big pot of this last week, and we enjoyed finishing up the leftovers a couple of days ago.  Here's the receipe in case you're wondering what to make for dinner at your house today:

Hobo Stew

Cook a couple of slices of bacon, chopped into smaller pieces, in the bottom of a large soup kettle or dutch oven.

Brown 2 lbs. ground chuck in the pot, and drain off fat.

Add 1 medium chopped onion to the meat and cover and cook until onion is tender

Add 1 can diced stewed tomatoes (I used the ones with green pepper & onion and celery added)

Add approximately 3 cups of water to the pot, cover and let simmer while you chop up the next ingredients:

Add four medium, peeled and cut potatoes

Add four or five peeled and sliced carrots

Add two cups of chopped cabbage.

Add salt and pepper and garlic powder to season.

If needed, add more water, cover and let cook until all vegetables are tender.

(All ingredients can be added according to how much you want to make! This will make a nice dutch oven pot full of stew)

Serve with fresh, hot cornbread. We like to crumble our corn bread onto the stew.

We used to make this in Girl Scouts, and would put all ingredients in a large metal coffee can, cover tightly with foil, and bury under the coals of our campfire and let it cook all day. It would be delicious for supper!

3. Was a Cabbage Patch Doll a part of your childhood? Or maybe your children's childhood? What's a toy trend from your childhood you remember wanting for your own?

I am too old to have had a Cabbage Patch doll in my "first childhood", but I was given one for Christmas one year by my brother in law in my "second childhood".   And I still have her today:

She was one of the "Little Astronauts", and I named her Robin Noel, because she has "red" hair, and I always said if I had a little girl with red hair I would name her Robin Noel. I ended up with three sons, all with brown hair like their daddy, so this is my little red headed girl. LOL. And also, with three boys, I had no good excuse to buy dolls for my children.  

As far as from my own real childhood, I had a Tiny Tears Doll.  And I still have her, although she is quite a bit worse for the wear...but she's over 70 years old, so what do you expect for a rubber baby doll? She was once stored in the attic at my parents' home (in hot Florida), so that is why the rubber on her arms and legs became cracked from the heat.  But I just can't bear to throw her away, since I've had her this long. I'll leave that up to my adults sons someday.

I also had one of the first original Barbie dolls (yes, I'm that old). HERE's a link to a post I wrote about her.

4. Something you've spent a lot of time doing lately?

Chasing around our outdoor cat named Blackie, who is trying his best to become an indoor cat, and we are working at that very gradually, especially with these very cold nights.  He comes inside to sleep in a kennel/crate, and then we let him out in the morning to eat and walk around the house inside until it warms up a bit outside.  However, I must stay it feels a LOT like following a two year old toddler around, watching out for where he goes and what he might decide to get into.

He also likes to play "hide and seek", and he thinks he's hiding from me under this rolling cart in our kitchen! LOL.

And here he is, waiting outside our bedroom doors for my hubby to come out.  Even though hubby is a reluctant participant in this experiment, Blackie is doing his best to win him over. LOL.

5. Somehow it's the last week of January...sum up your month in just three sentences.

We started out the New Year getting over bad colds that interrupted our Christmas holidays, but thankfully we are fine now. It's also been rather expensive due to some dental issues that had to be resolved. We are ending up the month with frigid temperatures and are hoping February will be healthier and warmer and filled with happy blessings.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Yesterday morning, on a chilly ride to the dentist to get my permanent crown put on, (which was another episode all its own), 

I learned something new and wonderful about our new to us car that we bought last year in the summertime...

That little symbol on the dash that looks like this picture below is actually a button for a heated seat!!!  We did not know we  had heated seats in this car, and boy, was that ever a welcome surprise!!!  Here in Florida we've seldom needed such a gadget, but let me tell you, it sure feels wonderful!!!!! Woo Hoo! Now I find myself looking forward to taking a ride just so I can turn that thing on! LOL. 

Okay friends, old and new, this was fun for my first go-round on the Wednesday Hodgepodge! Not sure if I will make it a weekly event, but we shall see how things are going by this time next week.  Until then, take care and stay safe and warm, wherever you are!! Thank you, Joyce, for allowing me the joy of joining up today!

Tuesday 4~ The End of the Year

I'm a day late, but it's still The End of the Year!!

 The End of the Year

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 in the new year. We wish you a very Happy New Year!


January is named for Janus the two faced god who looked into the past and future. Some believe he was Noah who may have been worshipped by his progeny. He certainly looked into the pre flood world and the new world.

The Anglo Saxons called January Wulfsmoanth meaning Month of the Wolf and the Wolf moon appears in January.

1. January 1, 1892 Ellis Island opened it's doors. Did any of your relations enter the United States through Ellis Island? If not, do you know your family's history?

I really don't know about Ellis Island, if any of our family ancestors came that way. I know my paternal Great-Grandfather and his mother and others did migrate from Germany, and I'm not sure what year, but I am quite sure it was before 1892.  And I know that my paternal Grandmother's ancestors were also here before then, as one Great-Great-Great Grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War, and her maternal grandfather fought in the Civil War.  I have done some family ancestry research, the one most prominently done was about my paternal Grandmother, and I have shared her history HERE before, "Elva's Story~ A Story of Sacrifice and Love.  I especially wanted to remember her again right now as December 27th would have been her 130th birthday, and her story is so very special.

2. January's birth stone is garnet and the flower is the carnation. Do you have favorite gem stones or flowers? 

My birthstone is Sapphire (blue), for September, and that is my favorite gemstone.  This is the birthstone ring my hubby gave me many years ago...before the Princess Diana ring was so popular! It is a very dark sapphire, so much so that I wasn't sure it was a sapphire until I read the link above about the darker sapphires actually being considered the best! I didn't know that! So now I love it even more! LOL. Really, I love it already because my hubby gave it to me totally by surprise! That is a blessing in itself!

The other ring is my mother's wedding and engagement ring set.  I was blessed to be given this by my father right when my mother passed away. He told me to take it off her finger and keep it. Later I was pleased that my other siblings confirmed that it was okay with them that I should keep Mom's rings. So I wear them proudly and thankfully in loving memory of my mother.

 Flowers? Well, there are so many I can't name them all.  Roses, lilacs, peonies, and simple summer flowers like daisies and sunflowers and zinnias, and so many others. I love most wildflowers too! The Blue Aster is my birthmonth flower (September).

3. January 6 is Epiphany. Many take that day as the final day of the Christmas celebration and take down their decor. What about you?

My family tradition growing up was to always wait until January 6th to take down our tree and decorations, but I always thought it was because January 6th is my mother's birthday! She said they always waited until her birthday to take down the tree, but I don't know if she ever made the connection with it being Epiphany! Maybe she did, but I was too young to understand that.  As an adult in our own home, we have often waited until January 6th, but lately I've usually wanted it cleaned up before then, so often it comes down right after New Year's Day.  I don't like to do it on the holiday itself, as we may have company or we may be doing something special, so I usually wait until after.

4. There is some scientific evidence that January can set the tone for your entire year. What do you think of this? Do you make resolutions, etc? Do you pick a word of the year or have any traditions like that?

I don't make resolutions as I know that I most likely won't keep them, so why stress myself?  However, I have for the past several years selected a "One Word" for the year, and I have seen how God has used that word in my life throughout the year to help me to grow in a certain area of my life, whether spiritual or physical or other.  For 2025 my One Word has been "Wisdom".  These verses from Proverbs 2:1-11 have been my guide throughout the year:

Proverbs 2:1-11 NLT

The Benefits of Wisdom

2 My child, listen to what I say,

and treasure my commands.

2 Tune your ears to wisdom,

and concentrate on understanding.

3 Cry out for insight,

and ask for understanding.

4 Search for them as you would for silver;

seek them like hidden treasures.

5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,

and you will gain knowledge of God.

6 For the Lord grants wisdom!

From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7 He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest.

He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.

8 He guards the paths of the just

and protects those who are faithful to him.

9 Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair,

and you will find the right way to go.

10 For wisdom will enter your heart,

and knowledge will fill you with joy.

11 Wise choices will watch over you.

Understanding will keep you safe.

I have not zeroed in on my new One Word yet for this year,  but hopefully by tomorrow I will have a better idea of what it might be. However, I normally do not reveal it until January 1st.  Right now I am still praying about it.  I do believe the Lord will help me discover it between now and then.

Click HERE for a previous post on this same topic.

Now, if you want to join in the fun, you can CLICK HERE and visit with others who are also playing along!  Happy New Year!

Here's some other good thoughts from Isaiah the Prophet as we approach the New Year...

Isaiah 43:18-19 NKJV

18 “Do not remember the former things,

Nor consider the things of old.

19 Behold, I will do a new thing,

Now it shall spring forth;

Shall you not know it?

I will even make a road in the wilderness

And rivers in the desert."

On another note...last night we celebrated our sweet Daughter in love's birthday. They came over and made homemade pizzas  (no picture of that, however), and then we had birthday cake and ice cream.  Rose is such a sweet sweet person, and she is such a wonderful blessing to our family.  Here's a few pictures of the celebration:

I changed the table decor from Christmas to birthday in her honor:

We always take pictures of people blowing out their candles! That's a family tradition!

Rose loves to work in her garden, and so she needed some new gloves. They actually have roses on them...

And she loves to feed the birds and needed a new bird feeder that was somewhat squirrel proof. Time will tell...and who doesn't love a soft new cozy blanket...especially when it dipped down to freezing last night?

All in all it was a lovely little family party.  Hubby was feeling well enough to join us but still has a bit of a cough, so he had to stay away a distance...and I am mostly better and thankful for that...

Okay, now we are ready to begin the big festivities of seeing in the New Year, right here from our couch...well, most likely from our bed because we never stay up that late!  So so long 2025, and we will see you all next year!!  

Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV

24 “The Lord bless you and keep you;

25 The Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.” ’

Trees and Stuff

 Turns out I was wrong about the trees in this post a week or so ago.  I thought that the pine trees on the lot next door that had the green ribbon around them were the trees they were going to cut down when they cleared the lot for the new house.  

However, this morning when I went outside because I was hearing a lot of noise next door, I discovered that the pine trees are basically the only trees they are leaving on the lot!

With a few minor exceptions, (for which I am thankful), most of the beautiful old oak trees are being removed instead.

They had this excavation machine over there picking up the trees that the other "claw" like machine was pulling up by the roots and putting in a stack for the excavator to pick up and put in the trailer to be hauled away.

They had to make a LOT of trips to wherever they were hauling that trailer load throughout the day.

It was fascinating, but sad, to watch whole trees being uprooted and discarded into the trash dump.

However, at the end of the day, there were still some beautiful trees left on the lot, and the view of Still Waters Pond and Goose Island will be lovely for whoever is blessed to live in the new house that will be put on this lot.

However, one fellow was not too happy about this situation.  Mr. Red Shouldered Hawk was calling out his displeasure at this intrusion to his hunting grounds.

I think he was telling me exactly what he was thinking about this issue in some uncensored shrieks.

I told him I was sorry, but he gave me "the look" and then flew away to happier hunting grounds.

Even though I am not thrilled with the destruction of so many beautiful trees, I am still hopeful and praying that we will soon have some wonderful new neighbors. I try to look at this in as positive a light as possible.

Here's some good thoughts from Proverbs 3:27-30 about our relationships with neighbors:

27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,

When it is in the power of your hand to do so.

28 Do not say to your neighbor,

“Go, and come back,

And tomorrow I will give it,”

When you have it with you.

29 Do not devise evil against your neighbor,

For he dwells by you for safety’s sake.

30 Do not strive with a man without cause,

If he has done you no harm.

And here's what Jesus taught His disciples about this...

Mark 12:30-31 NKJV

30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 

31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 

There is no other commandment greater than these.”

I pray that I will be that kind of good neighbor.

I wanted to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers on behalf of my hubby, who had a medical procedure done yesterday. Everything went very well and his results were quite good, so we are extremely thankful.  He has to have another test tomorrow, which is a follow up to the surgery he had last fall.  And then next week there will be another kind of test.  Then hopefully that will be it for a long time!  The co-pays for these procedures/tests are beginning to add up, but we are thankful that we have insurance (medicare advantage plan) to take care of the bulk of the expense.  And we are thankful that we have the medical technology available to diagnose and also help treat/cure medical problems when they do arise.  We know that God does the actual "curing"/healing, but we are thankful that He has given people knowledge and wisdom to know how to treat our human ills and diseases.  We've certainly come a long way since the days of "bleeding" someone to cure them, which usually just hurried along their death.  Yes, I am very thankful for our medical professionals.

Well, folks, it's time to close for today. It's 94 degrees outside and very bright and sunny. No rain in sight for the next week. We are praying for a break in the weather soon. Still Waters Pond may soon have to be called Still No Waters Pond! LOL.

Take care my friends! 

Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV

24 “The Lord bless you and keep you;

25 The Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.” ’

Amen.

Monday Monday, Birds, People, and Blessings!

 Happy Monday morning everyone!  I hope you have had a peaceful and blessed weekend.  Ours was somewhat busy, but all good. I'll start out with a few pictures from Still Waters Pond of a Brown Thrasher that landed in a tree and visited for a few minutes. We don't get to see them very often, and normally they are on the ground, "thrashing about" in the bushes and weeds, looking for a good meal. But this one decided to land in a tree to say hello, so here he is:

The Brown Thrasher

The weekend started out with one incident that wasn't so great.  We went over to our son and DIL's house to check on things since they are on vacation, and as we stepped out the front door a very long black snake slithered across the step just as my hubby was about to step down on the step. When he saw the snake he leaped across the step and almost knocked me down as I was in front of him headed for the gate. This all happened very fast, as you can imagine, and left us both a bit breathless at being taken by surprise.  We recovered from the "shock" and headed on home.  It wasn't until a day later that my hubby realized that he must have either pulled a muscle or pinched a nerve in his lower back when he made that giant leap.  And so for the rest of the weekend he was pretty much in pain, using ice packs and/or the heating pad and taking anti-inflammatory meds.  Thankfully today as I write this he is starting to feel better, but still hasn't totally recovered. We are just very thankful that he didn't fall or actually knock me down in the process either. It could have been much worse.  We are very thankful.

On Saturday I had the privilege of attending and helping out at a baby shower at our church.  This was actually a kind of a "mission project", as this dear sweet family does not attend our church, but they are the neighbors of one of our members, and she wanted to help them out.  They are a blended family and between them already have 8 children, and this baby will make #9!  

I know...they look so young to have so many children...but I must tell you they are the sweetest couple, and the three youngest children, all boys, came along with them, and they were so well behaved and precious.  The new baby is a girl, and she is expected to make her arrival in a couple of weeks.  

Some of our thoughtful ladies also brought gifts for these children to help entertain them while Mommie opened her presents.  That was a very smart idea!

I was very pleased so see that there were many wonderful gifts, including this adorable Care Bear Tricycle, made with diapers, bottles, booties, onesies, and various other necessities for a new baby. 

It was nice that we already knew the baby was a girl, so gift buying was much easier!

I hope we get to see the baby dressed in this precious little blue dress!!

This is my friend Norma, who planned the shower and is always looking for ways to reach out to our community and help children and families.  She is a blessing to all of us.

Here's a picture that hubby took of me before I left for the shower. I don't get to wear my flowered summer skirt very often, but felt like a baby shower was a perfect opportunity!

On Sunday morning hubby made it to Sunday School to teach our Adult Sunday School class, but was hurting so bad in his back that he really wanted to go home as he knew trying to sit still in a pew for an hour was going to be very painful. So we came back home and took it easy the rest of the day.

Thankfully, our son Scott came home to visit (and do his laundry, LOL), and he grilled some hamburgers for lunch. That was a real treat!

Scott's grilled hamburgers (or anything he grills) are always the best!!

This is little out of the sequence of events, but on Friday our "kids" Noah and Dawn came back from Maine after being up there for a couple of weeks.  They had originally planned to come back down here to work, but after a lot of consideration they have realized that they are better off back in Maine where they have more connections and opportunities.  We are going to miss them, but are so very thankful for the time we had together while they were here.

I would appreciate your prayers for them as they begin a new chapter in their lives. 

Their time here was hopefully a new beginning in many deeper aspects, and this verse from 

Philippians 1:6 really speaks to that hope and promise:

I found this song by Steve Green that also speaks to that promise.

I am dedicating this song to Noah and Dawn with a prayer for their future:

Lyrics

He who began a good work in you

He who began a good work in you

Will be faithful to complete it

He'll be faithful to complete it

He who started the work

Will be faithful to complete it in you

If the struggle you're facing

Is slowly replacing

Your hope with despair

Or the process is long

And you're losing your song

In the night

You can be sure

That the Lord has His hand on you

Safe and secure

He will never abandon you

You are His treasure

And He finds His pleasure in you

He who began a good work in you

He who began a good work in you

Will be faithful to complete it

He'll be faithful to complete it

He who started the work

Will be faithful to complete it in you

He who began a good work in you

He who began a good work in you

Will be faithful to complete it

He'll be faithful to complete it

He who started the work

Will be faithful to complete it in you

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Jon Mohr

Well, that's about it for today. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead. 

Numbers 6:24-26

24 “The Lord bless you and keep you;

25 The Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace.” 

Amen.