Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Do you have an interest in learning about your family's heritage? Why or why not? If you know a little bit about your roots, share an interesting piece of trivia or a fun fact about someone who goes way back on your family tree.

My aunt was the family tree keeper in our family. I think her daughter has inherited that job. Two of my grandpas came from the 'old country,' one born on the boat on the way to the U.S. from Sweden; the other came as a teenager from Denmark.  I know nothing about the relatives in Scandinavia. But here's the ship manifest from 1901 when my grandpa came here from Denmark to work with his brother-in-law.

It states farther down that he was single, that he was traveling with his brother, and that he had $5.00 in his pocket.

Another grandpa, my great great grandfather Isaac, fought under General George B. McClellan in Lincoln's Army in the Civil War. Because of his admiration for the general, my great great grandfather named his son John McClellan Timblin.

2. Branch Rickey, the baseball exec credited with signing Jackie Robinson, is quoted as saying-

"Luck is the residue of design."

 Agree or disagree? Why?

Yes, I agree. Many things attributed to luck are the result of hard work, organization, skill, determination, sacrifice, and perseverance. 'Well aren't you lucky, getting an A on that test. Oh, you were studying last night while I was out partying? Yeah, well, it doesn't matter. I'd never be so lucky.' or maybe you've heard someone say, 'She's so lucky to have that gorgeous garden.' I bet many gardeners are irritated when they  hear that, as they're on their knees, sweating, pulling those nasty weeds, and gritting their teeth.

Which reminds me, one of the funniest things our oldest son said was after he heard his sister play a piece on the piano - or maybe it was the other sister on her violin, 'Wow, I'd do anything to be able to play like that..............except practice.'  LOL

3. In the town where you currently reside, what's your favorite green space?

Luckily ;-)  we don't live in town.

 The Alfalfa Field North of the House
I love it, and can't wait to see that wonderful green alfalfa again!

4. Who is your favorite comedian? 

Until I saw Stephen Mangan in 'Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, I probably would have said Hugh Laurie from Jeeves & Wooster or Martin Clunes from Doc Martin.  But Stephen Mangan is perfectly hilarious! (Actually, maybe it's a 3-way tie)

Looking for The Interconnectedness of All Things

If you have not seen this and have any funny bone at all (I mean at ALL), it will make you giggle, chortle, or perhaps even guffaw!

5. March is National Nutrition Month, and almost everyone needs to improve their diet in some way.  What about you? How can you improve your nutrition on a daily basis? Will you try?

I eat a pretty healthful diet: meat (my general term for meat, poultry, fish, etc), low-sugar vegetables, yogurt, cheese, nuts...and dark chocolate. I could probably improve it by eating a little less dark chocolate, and probably less yogurt and cheese.  But give me a break. I'm from Wisconsin. And in case someone wonders why fruit isn't on that list, it's because a nutritionist told me that there are no antioxidants in fruit that you can't get from vegetables, and fruit is so high in sugar. Occasionally I eat a bit of rice, if it's in a brown rice tortilla, which is what I use for the crust of my Gluten Free Pizza.

But as far as the dark chocolate goes, I'm not sure I'll try to improve. I'm not making any promises here. Also, I'm pretty sure my body doesn't need the volume of mixed nuts and almonds that I consume while watching Pie in the Sky or A Touch of Frost.

6. Which of these green expressions have you 'experienced' in recent weeks -green with envy, green thumb, green around the gills, or give the green light? Explain.

I don't think any of those applies to me, but maybe the green thumb:

All of my Christmas cacti, aloe, yucca, and spider plants are doing well. Even my oregano and lavender plant are thriving. But I'm not showing you the current photo of that lovely rosemary plant you see in the photo. That was taken in December. Now it is dead. As. a. doornail. And one of the lavender plants upstairs on the window seat has also died. Who knows. I think that like the rest of us, it simply got tired of waiting for spring.

7. Where is one place you don't mind waiting?

Anywhere I have my Kindle. I realize that's not a sentence.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

March 10, 2014

This is what the snow looks like now. Dirty and disgusting. And this is the last I'm going to complain about it (unless we have a snowstorm in May again this year). Why? Because we are starting to get warmer temps and this refrigerator will soon be defrosted. Then we'll enter April. April's not perfect by any means, but it is a nice segue to May (see alfalfa field above).

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Thank you for hosting Wednesday's Hodgepodge, Joyce. 

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