A Homey Hodgepodge

Hello and welcome to the last Hodgepodge until sometime in November...not that November is all that far away. (Goodness, can you believe how this month has flown by?)  Our hostess, Joyce, will be busy moving into her dream home next week.  What an exciting time!  We hope the Lord blesses your new home and fills it to the rafters with all the people you love and happy, happy times.

Now, let's get on to the Hodgepodge before the day turns into Thursday.  (As usual, I'm running late.)

1. Besides your very own house, describe a place where you feel most 'at home'? 

That would be the home of my friend and teacher of my home church group. Her home is small, cozy, and wonderfully decorated (she is creative and talented) and she opens it to us each week for Bible study as well as welcoming us any time we want a quiet place to be with God (Her home is high on a ridge overlooking a lake and wrapped on three sides with glorious porches she has decorated in different themes.)

2. When did you last 'hit a home run' with something? Explain. 

That would be the homemade, from scratch, no-recipe, beef vegetable soup I made over the weekend.  My husband is still raving about it and asking when I'm going to make it again.

3. Tell us about something you love in your house or kitchen that is 'homemade'. 

I have a collection of valences for the window over my kitchen sink that my mom has made for me.  There is one in appropriately patterned fabric for virtually every holiday and season.

4. 'A man's home is his castle'...which of the world's ten most captivating castles (according to The Travel Channel) would you most like to visit and why-

Mont Saint-Michel (France), Edinburgh Castle (Scotland), Neuschwanstein Castle (Germany), Glamis Castle (Scotland), Windsor Castle (England), Chateau de Chambord (France), Hampton Court Palace (England), Prague Castle (Prague), St. Michael's Mount (England), Leeds Castle (England), and Swallow's Nest (Ukraine)

I really don't know a think about castles and while I'm sure I'd enjoy seeing them...I don't have any great desire to.  That said, if I was going to choose one of these I'd just pick one of the ones in Scotland because that's the place I'd most like to see.

5. What's a recent or upcoming plan or project that's required you do a little homework before getting started? Did the homework cause you to abandon your plan or adjust it in some way?

I guess the most recent thing was planning my daughter's baby shower.  It's been a while since I'd been to one and she kept telling me times have changed. She wasn't kidding.  The days of a simple shower are gone.  It seems everything is a major event these days so I get to get up to speed and I made adjustments all along the way.  Trust me on that!  It turned out great, though, and my daughter was thrilled.

6. In your opinion, is homework an unnecessary evil or a valuable practice? Should schools be done with homework? Why or why not? 

I'm not sure where I stand on this.  I believe there is value in homework and it gives parents a chance to be involved and know what the child is learning, but in the reality of today's world many parents are not involved and children have so many activities that are valued over homework that it doesn't get done.  I see kids missing school all the time because they don't have their homework or a project done on time.

7. Share a favorite memory of your childhood hometown. 

I lived in a few towns growing up, but the first was a typical 1960's American small town...sort of Mayberry-ish, but even smaller.  We lived right in town and one of my favorite memories is of walking downtown with my dad after church on Sundays.  We'd go to the newstand to get the newspaper and a comic book. Such simple, happy times.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

Just sayin.'