Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. The expression 'mad as a March hare' originated with a fictional character who is distracted and frantic. When were you last 'mad as a March hare' and what was it that made you that way?
  
If I'm thinking I'm going to be late to something (anything), I border on frantic. I can't think of anything that brings out frantic in me as much as the thought of being late. If I'm driving on icy roads (which is rare) I'm very focused.  On the other hand, my husband often accuses me of having ADOLAS (Attention Deficit, Oh Look! A Squirrel!!)  Maybe that's just when we're in the car together - because anything like an old barn, a cow, a beautiful tree or a sunset or a flower can divert my attention and totally derail our conversation.

2. Mardi Gras this year falls on Tuesday, March 4th. Have you ever been to Mardi Gras, and if so what did you think? If not, do you have any interest in going?  Purple, green, and gold are the colors of Mardi Gras. Which one is most prevalent in your wardrobe? How about in your home?

I have never been to Mardi Gras and have no desire to attend. However, I would like to go to the old part of New Orleans to see where General Longstreet's office was after the War (Civil War, that is).  Purple and gold are royal colors, making me think of kingly robes and golden crowns, but green is my favorite. Most of my wardrobe (besides the blue of bluejeans) is green of some sort, or brown.  Even a couple of our living room walls are a sage green. But my favorite green is the green that's lying under the 3 feet of snow in our backyard. You won't be able to pry me away from Wisconsin when May arrives. It's GREEN and alive and gorgeous.

General Longstreet

1872 New Orleans

National Archives

3. Are you old fashioned?

I think that depends upon who you ask. If you were to ask anyone older than I am, they'd probably think that I'm not old fashioned. If you asked my grandkids, they'd say YES, I'm old fashioned. That's probably how it is with any generational difference. I love my laptop and blogging and my smartphone and text messaging and reading my Kindle - all newfangled things. But I HATE what's on TV, so we almost never watch it. I like old fashioned mysteries like Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot or Lord Peter Wimsey or Campion - where you usually came in after-the-fact and tried to solve a mystery - NOT where you see murder and mayhem on the television screen. Also, I like to hear 'please' and 'thank you' and to see a gentleman pull out a chair for a lady (assuming he's not pulling it out from under her as she's sitting down.) Cooking and gardening and canning are things I enjoy, so I suppose in that sense I'm old fashioned. According to the number of people who were buying dinner at the deli the other day, I'd say that cooking must be an ancient, nearly-lost art. But I still love it.

Did you want these answers to be short?? 

ITV

4. Do you carefully plan your vacations, or do you prefer the days to be more spontaneous?

I plan vacations nearly to the minute, even including where we'll eat each meal. That said, I like to reserve the right to do something entirely off-schedule, should the opportunity for something better arise out of nowhere. But planning forces one to research, making sure you're not going to miss something you'd later regret. Also it means there's no time wasted, where people sit in a hotel room wondering 'what should we do today?'   That would drive me crazy. So I'd say plan, plan, plan, but be flexible. And don't overschedule, trying to cover too much in one day.

5.  March is National Sauce Month...what's your favorite sauce, and what do you most often top with this sauce?

The only sauce I ever eat is something I've made myself. Sauces at restaurants or on the grocery store shelves are notorious for containing headache-inducing ingredients.  I actually prefer things without a sauce, unless it might be a lemon or blueberry sauce.


6.  What's something that easily brings a tear to your eye?

I'm not really much of a crier. Until about 5 years ago, I think I probably cried at only a handful of movies - ever.  That was before Downton Abbey. Good grief, I've cried over that stupid show more in one season than in all the other movies put together in my life!  Why?  Because of scenes like this, between Lord Grantham and Matthew as they're walking the grounds of the estate (back in season one):

Lord Grantham: You do not love the place yet.

Matthew Crawley: Well, obviously, it's...

Lord Grantham: No, you don't love it. You see a million bricks that may crumble, a thousand gutters and pipes that may block and leak, and stone that will crack in the frost.

Matthew Crawley: But you don't?

Lord Grantham: I see my life's work.

or this one, after Matthew is talking about dismissing the 'superfluous' valet, Mr. Moseley, who didn't fit his lifestyle:

Lord Grantham: “We all have different parts to play Matthew, and we must all be allowed to play them.”

7. If you could own any sports team, which one would it be and why?

First of all, I don't even know what sports teams are out there. But I'd find someone who could tell me which is the most lucrative - and I'd want to own that one - so that I could sell it and travel, as well as own a home next to each of our children. Ha!  Just kidding! (in case any one of them is reading this.) And then of course, there's that little stone cottage in Yorkshire...

But I'd love to see this more often!

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

This should be easy, because I have a lot of random thoughts. But the one that springs to mind today is this:  Why is it that after poring over seed catalogs with photos like this:

my order finally arrives and it looks like this (below)

What a disappointment!

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Thanks for The Hodgepodge, Joyce! Be sure to stop in and visit her at 'From This Side of the Pond.'

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