My True Love at Hodgepodge Corner

Along with the wood dust (from our stove), 

the bagpipe chanter (still in the good-intentions stage), 

the rosette iron, the antique phone,

and the antique accordion,

the top of this bookshelf holds a treat which

my true love 

brought home one day - 

a Sulfuric Acid bottle.

Fortunately, it was empty.

Yes, I'd rather have that than a dozen roses.

But now that I HAVE that,

I wouldn't mind a bouquet of

zinnias.

***

Join us and Joyce over at 

From This Side of the Pond

for

She writes the questions; 

we write the answers.

Hit the button above to link up your Hodgepodge post.

1. Have you ever written a love letter? Have you written one recently? Had one written to you? Did you keep it?

 (the Grandma/Grandpa part of this photo is from an old Mary Engelbreit calendar.

The letter is from a group of letters that Mr. C. found on a demo site. See what I mean?)

No, I haven't yet read them.

It seems like such an invasion of their privacy,

even the privacy of people who are now long gone.

*Since I wrote that, I did read the letter above because Mr. C. pointed out to me
that I had had no such feelings of hesitancy about reading
General James Longstreet's family letters in the archives
in Gainesville, Georgia. I guess that's true.
But, having read this letter,  I'll have to say that 
General Longstreet's family letters were lots more interesting.

(Just look at that.

A hundred years ago, it cost 2cents to mail a letter.)

So, if I have ever considered writing a love letter, I most likely would have talked myself out of leaving a paper trail that my great grandchildren could someday find and giggle over how precious and quaint their dear old great grandma and great grandpa were.Shudder.

2. What's a movie that ends in a way you especially love?

I rarely (like almost never) watch romantic comedies, but I love the way 'You've Got Mail' ends, with Meg Ryan, standing in the park and looking completely flummoxed when she sees Tom Hanks approaching. But the very best part is when Brinkley, his Golden Retriever, runs up for a group hug. Doesn't that dog scene just get to ya?!

The dog part is at 2:20. :-)

3. Something that makes your heart sing? And for those of you who are parents, I mean something besides your children that makes your heart sing?

Sunrise, January 30, 2015

Yes, and our Christmas tree is still up and lit up on the front porch.

Let the neighbors talk. It's so nice to come home at night and see that cheery sight.

I might keep it up until the snow is gone.

My children phoning or texting me makes my heart sing. Hearing my grandchildren or getting photos of them makes my heart sing, as does seeing Mr. C. pull up the driveway at the end of a busy day at work. Besides that, a gorgeous sunrise, standing on our hilltop in the green alfalfa field in late May, seeing an eagle in the top of our pine tree, looking at a pretty herd of cows resting in the shade of a tree, seeing my sweet kitty all curled up at the foot of our bed, knowing that the dogs will be glad to see me when I come downstairs each morning, feeling the crisp leaves under my feet in the fall, listening to the honking of migrating Canada geese, standing on our front porch and hearing a pounding rain and thunder and my deep-toned wind chimes all at once, hearing soul-feeding choral music from Trinity College or John Rutter, looking at the beautiful rolling hills of NW Wisconsin in our own neighborhood, spending an afternoon with my Bible study friends, and most of all, knowing that there is Someone to thank for all of these amazing gifts. Pondering God's grace and mercy, and His awesome creative power and love. It's kinda scary awesome. Those are just a few of the things that make my heart sing. There are many, many more.

 4. What's the last event you had to attend, phone call you had to make, routine task you needed to complete, or meal you had to prepare, that you did do, but only half-heartedly?

The most recent event that I approached half-heartedly was a women's meeting at our church. I tend to shy away from women's meetings (my Thursday Bible study, which I love, is a whole different animal), but I was more than a little surprised at how much I enjoyed the fun and interesting day spent at a 'Heart of Love' brunch/meeting. Just the title would normally put me off, not that there's anything wrong with love, of course, but love is defined in various ways by various people. Sometimes it's inadvertently defined as 'sappy, gooey love,' which I find annoying, although it does occasionally find its way into Downton Abbey. But usually not, thanks to Cousin Violet. Sorry, I digress. The meeting was more about the women in the church actually getting to know one another better. We are a small church, but spread apart geographically with a radius of about 75 miles, so we seldom see one another except at church. Yet we all have the same goal of reaching into our culture with the life-changing message that Jesus is Lord, so it obviously will help if we get to know one another better. At least that was my take on it. I do tend to be preoccupied with whatever I'm reading at the moment, so I'm not making any guarantees. Anyway, it was a great meeting and I'm glad I went.

Sunrise photo,

from the front porch, same day

5. Tuna fish salad-yay or blech? If you said yay, how do you like your tuna salad prepared? Hey, this is the Hodgepodge, right?

It does occasionally occur to me that I should probably make an effort to suppress my opinions, for I risk losing every follower this blog has ever had, but to answer the question, I like tuna salad IF I'm the one making it. I like white albacore, a little mayo so that it's not sloppy, diced onion and diced sweet red pepper, maybe a little lemon juice and a little cayenne. NO EGGS. I haven't made it for a long time because I haven't found a salad dressing that tastes like Miracle Whip but doesn't have MSG, dairy, or soy in it. I did actually make my own from a recipe I found online about three months ago, then, as I was just about to eat it, I chickened out and threw it away.

Yesterday's 'bouquet of roses' brought to me by

my true love

(He does occasionally bring flowers too, just for the record)

These were found on a demo job, collected in the ductwork, where some little

person, presumably, had entertained him/herself by dropping cars into the floor register.

Now they're all scrubbed and ready for our grandkids to play with.

6. What's something you 'know by heart'?

I know the books of the Bible by heart, several Scripture verses, the 'be' verbs, almost every cartoon theme song from the late 1950s, and how to find my way home from town. 

via cartoonscrapbook.com

Yogi Bear,  Quick Draw McGraw, Huckleberry Hound

Yes, I can sing them all. I wish my brain could store

useful information that easily.

7. In the spirit of Valentine's Day, what two or three word phrase would you write on a conversation heart for someone you love? That someone could be a spouse, child, parent, cousin, bestie...anyone at all whom you love.

I would love to have the conversation hearts include these two words, 'German Shepherd' or 'Puppy Love,' because I would buy a bunch of them and make sure that Mr. C. found them everywhere!

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I have run out of random thoughts today. All of the above felt random enough.

Thank you Joyce, once again, for the Hodgepodge!

***

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