Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Let's Unpack the Hodgepodge

Q:  How many men does it take to tend a fire?


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A quick word here to once again thank Joyce for her dedication to the weekly Hodgepodge. We all appreciate it, Joyce. A very happy new year to you and to all the Hodgepodgers out there!

1. It's that time of year again...time for Lake Superior University to present a list of words (or phrases) they'd like to see banished (for over-use, mis-use, or genera uselessness) in 2018. You can read more about the decision making process and word meaning here, but this year's top vote getters are-

unpack, dish (as in dish out the latest rumor), pre-owned, onboarding/offboarding, nothingburger, let that sink in, let me ask you this, impactful, Cofefe, drill down, fake news, hot water heater (hot water doesn't need to be heated), and gig economy

Which of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word not on the list you'd like to add?

UNPACK. I am so incredibly sick of the word 'unpack,' and I'm not referring to the act of taking the clothes out of my carry-on and either washing them or putting them back into the closet. Did preachers/teachers/lecturers all 'get the memo' (another bad one) to continue to overuse that term in 2017? Let's get rid of both of them, please.

 Grandpa getting popcorn ready
Toesies thawing by an open fire (think Mel Torme')
Tommy enjoying all the affection
Joe and boys playing with dominoes
THE FIRE (okay, so it's not open)


2. What's something you need to get rid of in the new year?

I've already started, although I fell off the wagon a bit during Christmas and New Years, but getting rid of all sugar (including fruit, except berries) and sugar substitutes, even those that are natural. That, along with eating more salt, has made a big impact on how I feel (for the better). And yes, you read that right, eating more salt. Oddly enough, many of us don't get enough salt in our diets. You can Google it.


No idea.
But they needed my kitchen counter to play it
because the little kids had the table occupied.

3. Where do you feel stuck?

I don't feel stuck (bearing in mind that this is only January 2 as I write this) in any area, I guess, except maybe in finding ways to get through the long winter ahead. However, I am much more optimistic about this winter than I probably have been in the past several winters. What I read, what I think, how I worship, is immensely influential over those feelings. And January, although it can be (and currently is) bitterly cold in NW Wisconsin in January, it is usually very bright and sunny - which helps a lot. So, a new year, a new calendar, and a bright sunny day helps me to be full of optimism. 

What Tommy and Smokey do best...

4. January is National Soup Month. When did you last have a bowl of soup? Was it made from scratch or from a can? Your favorite canned soup? Your favorite soup to make from scratch on a cold winter's day?

The last bowl of soup/stew I ate was at our son's house in Minnesota when we returned from Arizona. Our daughter-in-law had made it, it was delicious and hit the spot! It was from scratch.

I don't have a favorite canned soup. I haven't met one that isn't poisonous. I do have a go-to, from-scratch soup recipe for chicken/black bean/tomato/vegetable, which I often make and let simmer on the stove all afternoon. With a string of days that start out at MINUS-20-or-colder-something degrees Fahrenheit, it's probably a good idea to get one of those going again this week. We're definitely keeping both wood-burning stoves stoked up.

Two dozen piping hot popovers
and every last one gone.
I love it when that happens.

5. Tell us one thing you're looking forward to in 2018.

I'm looking forward to visiting our son in Arizona again, to possibly accompanying our daughter to Italy sometime this year, and always looking forward to having the family gather here, as we did this past weekend. Also, a couple other things, possibly better not to mention.


The most delicious, melt-in-your-mouth carrot cake with cream cheese frosting! was sent to us by a sweet friend in Oregon, in memory of his dear wife Bonnie, who made a ton of these every Christmas to give away. It was delicious, Tom, and it went so fast it basically evaporated! Thank you. (The second one is in the freezer, waiting until some time in mid January, when we'll take it out as a special treat.)

Fall of 2012

6. Insert your own random thought here.
Most of the photos in this post were taken this past weekend, when the family gathered here for New Year's. 

Did you realize that the game Clue Jr. is more complicated than the original??


 Me too, Oliver.


Happy New Year, everyone!

And a thought as we all enter this new year of 2018:

"As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him,  rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily..." - Colossians 2:6-9

Thanks to all of you who have read my very intermittent blog over the past year. I do appreciate your nice comments.


Join me on Instagram: @cranberrymorning

Judy

36 comments:

  1. I LOVED all the pictures. Such a cozy, inviting home full of all the feels. This word 'unpack' is a new one to me. I haven't heard it used for anything other than unpacking a suitcase or box ever. This new use is a very unusual meaning if you ask me. Several of those seem so unnecessary. Stay warm up there. I'm not sure any temperature that begins with negative actually needs a number after it because once you're there, how in the world does the number make a difference? LOL We're supposed to get sleet turning to snow this morning. Fingers crossed!

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  2. I love seeing your big family all over your house...filling it with fun and happiness! Happy New year sweet friend. Hugs, Diane

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  3. I love all your photos, Judy. I am now drooling thanks to the pics of the popovers and carrot cake. Stay warm and Happy New Year!!

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  4. As I told Katie C....dilly dilly is a phrase I am tired of hearing. I am ready for this relentless cold to go back up north where it is supposed to be. We are just not equipped for this long term cold. I may hibernate until Sunday when it is in the mid 40s!! yippee. And I am making soup today...it will taste good !!

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  5. Your family photos are amazing and wonderful. You tell those men to get out of my way and I will tend that fire, you know i LOVE FIRE and have NONE. i would be toasting my toes and backside . I am stuck in a plateau of my weight loss, so I fixed that by gaining 2 pounds over the past 10 days.. caused by eating carbs, not sugar, just white flour. as in biscuits and sausage gravy one day, pizza one day, and Christmas was the killer, ham, potato salad, baked beans and deviled eggs. notice there was nary a veggie there. I am back on target the past 3 days. i only eat soup when i am sick or if it is really cold. cold is rare here

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  6. Yours is my favourite blog. I live in Colorado (18° at moment, 44° high), Not in UK, but love British spelling. Im tired of phrase "at the end of the day". I'm a Christian and appreciate the scripture. Also your photos are wonderful. I show them to my granddaughters. "See, here's a gated community in Wisconsin" Keep on, keeping on.

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  7. What a wonderful post, Judy...and now I am off and running for the day-helping my son with his business. Your family photos are just priceless and I know that you love your family to bits---as do I. Have a great day! xo Diana

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  8. Thank you for sharing your family photos with us, such a warm and welcoming home!
    Happy New Year,
    Lori in Blue Ridge, GA

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  9. Hello, the family get togethers are always fun, love the photos. Your kitties are cute and Oliver is adorable. A trip to Italy sounds awesome. I wish you and yours all the best in 2018. Have a happy day and week ahead!

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  10. I love your pictures and the popovers and ham look delicious! Stay warm, my friend.

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  11. Hi Judy,
    Thank you for sharing your photos with us.
    I always enjoy seeing your family. xx oo xx oo

    Penelope is at the vet today for her surgery. Thank you for the help in finding a vet.

    Hope to see you soon,
    Carla

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  12. Happy New Year! I always look forward to sunny skies of January. Here by Lake Michigan Nov and Dec tend be rather gloomy. So the cold temps of January is welcome! Though I think we could of gotten our sun just as well without the negative temperatures.....
    I heard the ice coverage on the Great Lakes is already up to 9% (versus 3% last year).

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  13. Judy, I love the family photos of everyone enjoying themselves. Your home looks like mine when we're all together. Playing games, eating and sharing are priceless to me as I know it is for you. Happy New Year, my friend. xo ♥

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  14. The sleeping kid is so cute!!

    Please visit: http://from-a-girls-mind.blogspot.com

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  15. Such a great post and Hodgepodge, Judy. It's so nice that you were able to have all of your family for New Years...I enjoyed all of the great photos too. I actually don't mind January at all, even though mine is not quite as cold as yours...but almost! We have been in the deep freeze for over a week! I do hope that you get to do those things you mentioned in 2018 (and the ones you didn't mention)! Oh, and my pastor must not be one of them who use the term "unpack"...I guess I have missed that one being a thing! Happy New Year!

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  16. I didn't know there is now a Clue Jr game. I may need to look into that one!

    And those popovers! They look soo good!

    Blessings to you!

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  17. You're inspiring me to make popovers again. It's been years. Since I prefer savory to sweet I bet my sodium level is pretty good but I could be wrong. I should read up on it. I love your new header--beautiful. I feel like I could step right into the photo. I agree with you on "unpack" -- preachers seem to over use it. I also am irritated by nouns turned into verbs, and overuse of the word "space." We could use "room" once in awhile. :-)

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  18. I LOVED all the pictures. Now none of those words really bothered me and some I had never heard of - guess I am not too with it.
    You have a huge map in your kitchen - AWESOME.
    I am getting rid of sugar too.
    Your two cats are gorgeous.
    Your food looked GREAT!
    And Oliver is a doll.
    sandie♥

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  19. Great post Judy and such lovely pictures. Looks like you all had a great New Year.

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  20. I enjoyed your answers today and even more all the photos you shared! There is nothing more precious than family!! I'm excited for you to go to Italy! Wish I could hide in your suitcase! Happy new year!!

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  21. Such wonderful pictures of your family together at Christmas. Thanks for sharing them with us and giving us a peek into your life. It got to be just as cold here in southwestern PA as you said it was there in Wisconsin. Ugh! We did have plenty of sunshine today as you mentioned is the norm for you, but the norm here tends to be gray and overcast. I always say there is nothing grayer than PA in the winter....gray sky, gray trees, gray ground (even the snow gets dirty and gray after a while), gray air, and everything gets coated with salt and dirt and looks....gray. It can get to be depressing even if you don't suffer from depression.

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  22. Your little grandgirlie looks so adorably mesmerized by the fire. Great hassock, too. I am surprised to see how big Tommy is. He’s a big cat. I have been reading that our levels of iodine are dropping because so many have switched to sea salt... Interesting. No fruit? Only berries? There goes the kidneys. Ha! Always something.. Sounds as if there are many happy plans in 2018.

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  23. Not sure what I like best about your Hodge Podge posts . . .
    I do know I like reading your thoughts . . .
    I do love the pictures . . .
    I do know . . .
    Cuddling like Tommy and Smokey is happening often
    around here with our current cold snowy weather mania!
    Board games happening reminds me of HOME with my parents . . .
    And I always glean a bit of curiosity when I read you . . .
    MORE SALT??
    Great post . . .
    Happy, Happy NEW YEAR Judy . . .

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  24. Vee, water water water. A well known nutritionist says there's nothing you can get in fruit that doesn't exist in abundance in vegetables, without all the sugar.

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  25. Judy, how I love a good popover - I would've helped those disappear! I have a word I'd like to add to that list mentioned in #1: "hack(s)." If I see one more mention of "hacks" of any sort, I'm going to scream!

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  26. I just love your posts. I grew up in Wisconsin so I feel your cold pain, but enjoying AZ where I now reside with the warmer winters. I'm envious only during your summers. First I love that fireplace area! Beautiful! Second, love the godly sidebar. Third, dialogue, transparency, and amazing, are three incredible peeves. Closure used to be up there as well, but as lost some of it's use! Happy New Year.

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  27. Enjoyed reading your hodgepodge, Judy. Great photos of family fun and living. I really enjoy salt and stuff that is salt free sometimes makes me gag. :) I made sure my daughter in law used salt with iodine in it during her pregnancy. Hope you find some creative ways to enjoy your long winter! ~ The Happy Wonderer-ellen b.

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  28. That is very interesting that you are taking in more salt. What do you feel it has helped you with? Your soup sounds yummy. I love black beans. I make a black bean chili. Well you New Year sounds like you have some great adventures ahead. You certainly had a wonderful time with your family.

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  29. I wanted to stop by dear precious lady and say Happy New Year to you and your sweet family. May our Lord bless you abundantly. Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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  30. I haven't been by in awhile but I am leaving with a craving for cream cheese frosting :) Happy New Year to you and your lovely family :)

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  31. Happy new year! I'm looking forward to a lot in 2018. I'm off to Australia in two weeks and have a couple of New England trips in the works. It's my 50th high school reunion year and I'm excited about that. I'm also appreciative of my daily life -- enjoying New York, spending time with friends and activities for my college alum group. I feel very richly blessed. Wishes to you for a blessed year!

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  32. You asked about Geneva in an email answer to my comment. Sorry, I can't find the email. I hope you don't mind if I answer here. It's an 1.5 to 2 hours away. It depends on traffic. My husband's working not too far away from there right now in Cranberry. He will be starting a hotel project in Beaver sometime in the next couple of months. I know a lot of people who went to school at Geneva. It's a good school.

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  33. I love seeing all your photos of precious family times . . . guys playing cards on the kitchen counter, sleeping Oliver (awwwww), Tommy and Smokey (the fur family) . . .

    I admire your "no sugar" commitment. (Even if I am not there myself.)

    It sounds like you have some wonderful moments coming up in 2018! Happy New Year to you and yours!

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  34. I wish a trip to Italy was on my 2018 calendar! I've had way too much sugar this past month and definitely feel it. Looks like a cozy new year gathering at your house. Stay warm!

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  35. Great pictures! I hope you have a very blessed 2018. Happy New Year!

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  36. Oh, the carrot cakes that Tom sent was so yummy. We enjoyed it so much!!!! So thoughtful os Tom to think of us.

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