Wednesday Hodgepodge

While Superstorm Sandy might interfere with the Hodgepodge, preparing for a Thanksgiving feast doesn’t keep Joyce from providing a set of fun questions for us again this week.

1. Turkey-love it or leave it?  White meat or dark?  What's your favorite thing to make using leftover turkey?
I’m not a huge fan of turkey, but I do like a turkey on Thanksgiving. I prefer the dark meat (which tends to be more moist than white meat which can be too dry).


2. Gotta burn off all those carbs the day after a holiday feast so which would you rather do-run a 10K or climb a mountain?
Neither.  But if I had to choose, I’d choose the run (and sneak in plenty of walking when no one is looking – ha!).  I am afraid of heights, so I just couldn’t do the mountain.


3.  Do you feel like social networking has made your relationships better or worse?  Explain.
For the better.  I’ve reconnected with some of my high school classmates.  It’s also made it easier to stay connected with my extended family.  I know that Facebook can be huge time-killers, but I make a very conscious effort to restrict my time online, so I haven’t found it to have a negative impact on my life or my relationships.


4. How do you find and express gratitude for the hard things in your life?
I try to maintain an attitude of gratitude, so that when I’m facing difficult times, I can still be thankful. 

5.  In the US, the day after Thanksgiving has been dubbed 'Black Friday'.  Is most of your holiday shopping done live and in person, or is it done more through the magic of the Internet? How do you feel about stores opening at midnight Thanksgiving night? Will you be out amongst the masses on Friday?
I shopped on the Friday after Thanksgiving about 40 years ago – back before it was the “competitive sport” that it is now.  That was bad enough that I swore that I’d never step foot in a store on the Friday after Thanksgiving every again … and I haven’t.  I prefer to shop online … frequently I can find better prices, and thanks to Amazon.com’s Prime Membership, I rarely have to pay shipping.  I don’t have an issue with stores opening on Thanksgiving night … but I do think it’s a shame that many stores are opening Thursday evening.  Their poor employees are having to cut short their family get-togethers for the sake of the almighty dollar. 


6.  Speaking of the color black-which black item in your wardrobe would you say is your favorite?
My black capris.  They travel so well, and since our trips are all to warmer climes, they get plenty of use.  I like how I can take several different tops along, and when paired up with my black capris, I can maximize my wardrobe while minimizing my packing. 


7.  What do you appreciate about your life today?
There are so many things that I appreciate at this stage of my life, but the first thing that came to my mind was how much I appreciate the freedom of retirement.  It allows us to travel and frees us to be able to help when needed.  DSIL is off this week, and he & DD wanted to have a couple of days to themselves.  I was able to have the Ts here Sunday and Monday.  We’ll be able to help my dad to the Gulf Coast at the end of December (he doesn’t like to drive through larger cities, so our getting him down there makes the transition almost stress-free). 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
For the third Thanksgiving in a row, someone is sick at DD’s.  This year it is T#1 who was diagnosed yesterday with mono.   I had to call my dad – for the third year in a row – to give him the heads up … and once again, he’s had to choose not to join us for the holiday.  At 89, his health is too frail for him to risk coming down with mono.  DH and I will still be there to join DD and her family … I’ve already had mono (my senior year in high school), and besides, we’ve spent enough time with the Ts in the last 4+ weeks to where we’ve surely already been exposed anyway.  We’ll use some common sense (i.e., no sharing drinks or silverware, etc. and plenty of handwashing), but we wouldn’t miss the opportunity to spend this special day with the people we love. 



Today I’m thankful for:

• Being able to work side by side with DD in the kitchen preparing our Thanksgiving meal

• Hearing the word snow in the forecast for next week … I know it won’t amount to anything, but I’m so anxious to see snow falling!

• Running water … we had to have our humidifier serviced this morning, and I can’t tell you the number of times I tried to turn on the water while the service rep was here … made me realize how blessed we are to have clean water whenever we want/need it

• A day where we can take the time to reflect on all that we have to be thankful for

I will not be blogging tomorrow, so I’ll wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!