Hodgepodge Wednesday 8 April 2020

http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com/p/how-to-join-wednesday-hodgepodge_17.html


It's time for the weekly Hodgepodge questions and answers, hosted by the lovely Joyce. 

If you want to join in
http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com/2020/04/hey-hodgepodge-peeps.html

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 363

1.        How will you celebrate Easter this year?

So very differently from last year when we hosted a family dinner, roast beef and all the trimmings with a home-made raspberry cheesecake for dessert and unusually for Easter the weather was beautiful.

 

Roast beef, Yorkshire puddings and all the trimmings

Home-made Raspberry cheesecake

This year it will just be hubby and myself.  I’ll be ringing my family.

Oh, we might indulge in an Easter Egg or two.

2.       Is it easier for you to receive grace offered or extend grace to another? Explain.

Not quite sure whether I’ve ever received grace but I always try to extend grace to others.

I think the word ‘grace’ means something different to me.

 I had an aunt whose name was Grace, a lovely lady.

 

My granddaughter’s name is Grace, a lovely young lady who will turn 16 in June, but although she is lovely and beautiful and kind hearted, unfortunately, she is not very graceful.  Hopefully she still has time to achieve this – she’s nearly 6’ tall and towers above me.

3.      Do you say grace before meals? If so, do you have a standard dinnertime grace or is it more 'off the cuff’? Do you say grace when dining out? Do you have a favourite grace? Any special memory associated with 'saying grace'?

Sorry, folks never have said grace before meals.

4.     What are some challenges you think the next generation will face? (Generation Alpha-born between 2011 and 2025)

Oh my, this could turn in to quite an essay but I think I’ll just say I’m pretty worried about the next generation and all the challenges they will be facing.

5.      Share a favourite quote or lyric featuring the word faith.

I don’t have a favourite quote or a lyric but I certainly have faith in my love for my husband, faith in my family and my love for them and faith that ‘somehow’ we will all survive this horrible and unprecedented time we are all going through. 

My grandmother’s name was Faith, a hard-working, loyal, faithful woman who didn’t have an easy life or much money. 

Along with looking after her father and elder brother from the age of 13 after her mother passed away, she married at 16.

She looked after her invalid husband and then her youngest son who became bedridden in his late 20’s until he passed aged 50.  She lived in the same village all her life – it was more of a hamlet really although it boasted a pub and a church.

At age 16 she had long ginger hair.

My grandmother, Faith, at 16 years old

6.      Insert your own random thought here..

I hate putting fuel in my car and will do anything to get somebody else to do it, normally my hubby.   He filled my tank up the week before lock down and that tankful of fuel will last us for the next six months as I’m only going out once a week to collect groceries.

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Wheels

https://ceenphotography.com/2020/04/02/cees-bw-photo-wheels/

This week our topic is Wheels.  

HERE IS MY ENTRY:

The steam engine with its wheel

Close up of a wheel from the above steam engine

A mill stone set into a wall of a house

A wooden wheel probably from a farm cart

Wheel on a stretcher WW1 from Margate Museum 

Hodgepodge 1st April 2020

http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com/2020/04/springing-back-into-hodgepodge-volume.html

Every week Joyce poses five questions and the sixth question is for our own random thought.

     1.     Has spring sprung in your part of the world? How can you tell? Did March come in like a lion where you live? Going out like a lamb or something more ferocious?

On Sunday we had all four seasons in that one day, coinciding with moving the clocks forward one hour.   We started with rain, turning to sleet and then big snowflakes fell gently.  A couple of hours later we had a hail storm and in the afternoon, the sun shone through the window showing all the dust (see Q3).

We seem to be a bit behind this year in the UK.  The tree branches are still bare but I have primroses in my garden, a lovely splash of yellow and it always reminds of my youth when I and the other children in the village would go primrose picking over the fields which were then bundled up with wool and sent by train to Covent Garden in London. 

2.     The last thing that caused you to spring to your feet?

A huge black spider running across the living room floor.

My husband jumped out of his skin as I squealed, well I thought I squealed he said I ‘screamed like a girl.’  He came to the rescue with a jam jar and coaster and putting the beast outside.  My hero xx

3.     Do you have a spring clean to-do list? What's one chore on the list you've already managed to accomplish? What spring clean chore do you most dread?

I don’t have a list, although our daughter (who is on lockdown in New Zealand) sent me a list she was sent – it makes me feel a little guilty but not enough to buckle down and get on with them. 

I think the worst would be skirting boards and coving.

This is the list she sent!

4.    Tell us something you've learned about yourself or the wider world as a result of social distancing/the virus crisis.

How lovely and helpful family, friends and strangers are whilst we are sequestered indoors.

Our local Indian restaurant/takeaway shop in our road has been supplying 40 meals for the vulnerable in our street and 40 meals to be transported to our wonderful workers in our local hospital.  Well done them.

5.     Something you love that's the color pink?

Pink roses from hubby.

6.    Insert your own random thought here.

I’ve worn the same pairs of earrings since lockdown.

I haven’t worn any perfume since lockdown.

1

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Week 3 – Pick a Topic from this Photo

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Week 3 – Pick a Topic from this Photo

Week 3 -Pick a Topic from this Photo

The possible topics from this week’s photo (see photo to the right):  Public transportation, bus, RV, trees, bird, whale, tent, grass, bridge, water, white, green, window, or come up with your own topic.

Here are my photos: 

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Birds

This week our Black and White Challenge subject is:  Birds

Cee says:

Feel free to use your archived photos for this challenge since most of us are staying home these day. Stay safe, healthy and happy!

This week for my entry my photos come from my archives. 

He looks quite disgusted with the proceedings

A pair of lovebirds - they were very noisy

Birds of Prey

A pair of black swans

Oops!

HODGEPODGE 25 MARCH 2020

http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com/2020/03/were-baaaackthe-wednesday-hodgepodge.html

I'm joining in with this lovely bloghop for the first time. 

There are a set of questions posed on Tuesday with your replies on Wednesday.

1.        Howdy Hodgepodgers. It's kind of fun to be back, isn't it?  Last time we met was September, 2018. Tell me something big-important-happy-or sad that's happened in your life since that date. Just one thing. We don't know how long this current isolation situation is going to last and we might need to dole out our news bit by bit.

It was Mother’s Day in the UK on Sunday – we had to celebrate virtually – a present left at the back door, a gift sent through Amazon, couldn’t see my kids (grown-up as they are).   Thank goodness for FB.

2. Might as well get this out of the way early on...COVID-19. On a scale of 1-5 how serious are you about keeping your distance? Explain. fyi-I didn't create the scale but have seen it several places online. Also fyi-we won't only have virus related questions each week, but for this first one it feels right.

 

1-Not at all, living normally

2-Cautious but still going out

3-Going out as needed, mostly home or working from home, still seeing friends/family

4-Extremely limited, only going out when unavoidable, minimal contact with people

5-Full lockdown, no one in or out

Number 4: a week ago we started limiting any activities outside the house, all social activities, clubs etc. were closed down, one trip a week to a supermarket

3. Raise your hand if you think you might run out of steam in the cooking department before it's all said and done? What's something delicious you've cooked or eaten in your own kitchen in the past week?

Both husband and I love cooking and as well as experimenting – difficult these days with food limited – we are both quite good at making up dishes as we go along.  Last week we produced – homemade beef stew and served it over large portobello mushrooms

4. What's a television show or movie you've seen recently (it could be an oldie) that you really liked?

We’re catching up with a few American shows, i.e. Chicago Med is one.

5. Share something funny you've seen or heard this week.

6. Insert your own random thought here

The UK is on total lock down – I think I’ll be ‘embracing my grey hairs!’ in the weeks to come. 

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Week 2 – Pick a Topic from this Photo

I'm joining in with Cee's Fun Foto Challenge and this is week 2 taking a topic from the above picture. 

As we are all housebound or limited in our travels my pictures are from my archives as, I suspect, many other contributors' photos will be. 

To join in use this link below: 

https://ceenphotography.com/2020/03/24/cees-fun-foto-challenge-week-2-pick-a-topic-from-this-photo/

Here are my pictures: 

They are all from the UK in summers past. 

A leafy lane on a walk to the local pub (those were the days). 

A lane in Lavenham in Suffolk

 

A country road in Kent