Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Let's Decorate the Hodgepodge

Thanksgiving has come and gone...can you even believe it?
I hope everyone had a great one!
I don't know about you, but I'm still stuffed. 
And here I am planning the meal for our early Christmas gathering, less than two weeks away.
I have already decided that a variety of appetizers will be the meal.
~
The fall decorations have made their way back into the garage and in the next few days,
Jim will bring in the Christmas tree (my skinny little fake one) and numerous tubs.


I will have the house to myself this weekend so I can make as much of a mess as I want to!


I get a little misty thinking about the possibility of decking these halls for the last time.


Of course, we are not sure exactly what God has in store...
...but hey, it's all good!

So we're here for Joyce's Hodgepodge...


...where she asks the questions and we answer them on our blogs.
Let's get on with the questions, shall we?
~
1.  What's something blogging has taught you about yourself?

I guess when I first heard of blogging, I found it rather silly...I wasn't really sure what the purpose was. Then I started reading one, then another and another. And then I got this wild hair and started one myself...how crazy is that? Before long I began to feel connections to the author's hearts and personalities...many seemed as though we were kindred spirits, so to speak. Never did I imagine that such wonderful online friendships could be formed...and I have been amazed that you don't have to meet someone face to face to really care about them. My blogging sisters have truly enriched my life. 

2.  Leftovers...are you in the 'reheat and eat' camp or the 'put them in the fridge until they spoil and then toss them' camp? What's your favorite thing to have leftover? What can you not abide as a leftover?


I believe I touched on this in my last hodgepodge post. You can pretty much find me in the "reheat and eat" camp, not only because I really enjoy most leftovers but I'm not into wasting perfectly good food. My favorite thing to reheat and eat could possibly be chili or soups in general...they seem to get better every time. There is very little that I 'could not abide' as a leftover but green salads and some fruit salads don't seem to do well in the fridge for long. And this just may gag some of you but sometimes you just may find me eating cold pizza...right out of the fridge... for breakfast. 

3. 'Me time'...your thoughts?


I think we all need some "me time" in order to be who God created us to be...and whatever that looks like will be different for each one of us.

4. When people come to you for help, what do they usually want help with?

Decorating ideas and/or help setting up for an event at church, or maybe putting together an insert or flyer pertaining to said event...and on the home front, mending or alterations of some sort. One instance that stands out is when I was asked to help Adam hang his bear rug on the two-story high wall of their former home. It began with drawing a diagram of the wall and planning the placement of the bear. He attached the anchors to the wall in all of the right places while I hand-stitched heavy duty D-rings onto each paw, the head and other strategic places. The real fun came when he climbed an 18 foot extension ladder as I held up part of the weight of this thing that seemed to weigh a ton...BUT, we got it up there! I don't know if my fingers hurt more after sewing on all of those D-rings or the time when I helped him sew up the skin on one of his own taxidermy projects. Yes, I've done that too. 😉

5. If your childhood had a smell what would it be? Tell us why.


There are many smells that remind me of my childhood home and some of them are seasonal. In the warmer seasons the one smell that I can never forget is the aroma of freshly washed sheets that hung on the clothesline to dry. They will never escape my memory...just as the smell of cedar awakening the senses on that first cool autumn evening as a thick, cozy quilt was brought out of the cedar chest and placed on my bed. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I must confess that I wrote most of these answers 'under the influence'. Not really, but I do still feel a bit swimmy-headed. I am writing this post after having a medical procedure earlier today (Tuesday) so I am home from work. Praise the Lord that there is no more stent in my common bile duct and hopefully, no more will be needed in the future. God is good! I will make sure to proof-read (again) in the morning before I hit the publish button. So what's my excuse for all of my other typos?


Have fun decorating!

(If the spacing looks all wacky on this post,
it's because blogger must be having issues and not letting me edit it them correctly.
It's driving me crazy...like a picture hanging on the wall that's crooked.)

Hugs!

31 comments:

  1. Debby,

    Most of your delightful responses mirror some of my thoughts but I didn't exactly reflect these answers in my own responses. I didn't understand the whole blogging thing initially, either nor did I foresee the beautiful friendships I'd forge from this community. It's definitely a blessing and a venture I'm glad I took on. I love the coziness of your photos you shared! :) I think leftovers are purrfect and makes life a little easier but like you, I can't see wasting good food. I'm glad to read the stent is removed. Was that used to remove infection? When I was hospitalized in 2013 for diverticulitis (I didn't know this is what I had until the second visit which required surgery), they inserted a drain tube to remove the infection and I was happy to get that thing out. I hope you're feeling better this morning, though. Have a wonderfully blessed day!

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  2. Dearest Debby, how I LOVE your home all dressed up in Christmas decor :) I am sure you will have a lovely weekend to yourself getting everything festive. I, too, am hoping to pull out the decorations tomorrow or Friday. With so many cats in our home this year I'm nervous that the decorations will bring only chaos! HA :)

    Delightful post, as always, my friend. Love to you!

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  3. Hope you are feeling better after your procedure. Sounds painful.
    I loved your thoughts on blogging. My feeling exactly! Love my blogging friends! Your pictures are so beautiful, I am feeling the Christmas spirit here. :)

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  4. Good morning dear Debby. I hope you are feeling better today and well on the mend. I enjoyed reading your answers to the podge today. So, are you moving, too? This will be our last Christmas at this old house. Your photos have put me in the mood to decorate.

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    1. So...talk about being on medication. I just re-connected the dots on your move and the fact that you are building a home on your kids' property. duh!

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  5. I'm not one to waste food either so I totally will reheat even if it's not the best.

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  6. Hope you are all better now. I hear ya about being misty with the possibility of decorating your house for the last time. Even though it will be exciting to be closer to your grandchildren, it will be difficult to leave behind a home full of memories.

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  7. Thank God for modern medicine! - and for the outcome of your procedure! I loved your recall of scents from childhood. Those are some of my favorites too! Love all your photos, as always, and especially that clocks one. Gorgeous! Have a blessed day, Debby.

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  8. Loved your me-time answer and so true. So glad you are feeling better and we will trust our Father for continued recovery. Your home looks so warm and festive. I also have made such good blogging friends and yes, that is a blessing.

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  9. Blogging does create wonderful community with people we'd otherwise never get to meet. I've been at this since 2001 and it sure has changed. Unfortunately, I'd say that one of the things that has changed is the number of opportunities to really connect. It's gotten harder with the advent of the bloggers who are in it to make money. It's not the close-knit community it once was.

    Glad things went well with your procedure and I hope they continue to improve.

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  10. Dear Debby, I hope that you are on the mends friend from your procedure. And isn't fun though when you can do a little decorating and be as messy as you want when you are alone? LOL! My 13 year old grandgirl helped me with some Christmas decor this year and I am so grateful. Seems TIME has not been on my side as of late. Now for my skinny tree to come in (which I have been wanting one) and then to decorate it. Time is passing us by quickly it seems. Now onto the fun questions.
    1. What's something blogging has taught you about yourself?

    How to express myself I guess. Actually, blogging is just that for me. Expressing myself and I have found it to be very good therapy for me. I love sharing my life with others and making new friends has been the icing on the cake. I have blogging friends that I feel so very close too and talk about them as if they lived within walking distance. You my friend are one of those sweet sisters!

    2. Leftovers...are you in the 'reheat and eat' camp or the 'put them in the fridge until they spoil and then toss them' camp? What's your favorite thing to have leftover? What can you not abide as a leftover?
    We are "leftover" eaters at my house. My man will eat leftovers till they are gone! I was raised by a grandmother that said wasting food was a sin and there was many people in this world that would like to have just a tad of what we ate. I've always had that same concept. Girl, I will eat fried chicken or pizza for breakfast! LOL! My favorite leftovers are many things but soups, chili's and even spaghetti seem much better the day after.

    3. 'Me time'...your thoughts?

    YES, on the ME TIME. Matter of fact I am at a place right now where I feel I need a little ME TIME! Being a mom to three daughters and 5 grands sometimes the me time slacks a little. Though I wouldn't take anything for the relationship we all have I am sorta looking forward to a little me time. Just not so sure when that will be. LOL!

    4. When people come to you for help, what do they usually want help with?

    With the grands on occasion. We see each other all the time and me and my girls talk daily. They are awesome mom's and believe in taking care of their children but they do need Nana's help at times and I am all too ready to oblige. Most people at church come to me for decorating tips or help. Most often I have women from Bible Studies comes to me for just some good old words of wisdom. "Teach the younger women" and that I do try to do with the Lord's help. Not too sure at times if they really want to hear the "truth" but that's what they get if they come to me and somehow the Lord has blessed. I have a small group of women that I mentor and I call them my spiritual daughter's. I have to be careful though cause MY DAUGHTER'S never has like sharing! LOL!

    5. If your childhood had a smell what would it be? Tell us why.

    This will sound crazy but I would have to say the smell of coffee and a fresh shave from my Papa. He got up every morning and the first thing he done was shave. Then to get coffee and eat breakfast that granny prepared. I can remember sitting in his lap many mornings and just hugging him and putting my face close to his just so I could smell his fresh shaven face and the smell of coffee. Wonderful memories and I miss him so.

    6. Insert your own random thought here.

    Okay, so this is funny but got to share. I bought myself a pink Elf on the Shelf! I know, what does an old woman want with a pink elf on the shelf? I am so excited and intend on having fun with her. Matter of fact she was sitting in my man's chair when he came home from work last night and I do wish you could have seen the look on his face!!! It was priceless. He thinks I am going off the deep end! LOL!

    Happy Wednesday to you dear friend.
    Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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  11. What a beautiful ornament.
    My alone time is my morning walk. : )

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  12. Love your Christmas Blog Header ...
    Love this time of year too!
    We're not decorating until the second weekend of December but I always enjoy getting the home ready for Christmas.

    Yes, blogger does sometimes do things, or not do things, that can be annoying - but I enjoyed your post.

    All the best Jan

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  13. Blogging has opened up a new world to me and I'm glad you are here and glad we found each others blogs.

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  14. Your Christmas tree is so pretty, Debby, and you are one of the only ones I know that still has the colored lights. I still love them as well. The room looks so cozy with the candle and the colored lights in the distance. And I love the picture with all the clocks. We're getting our tree this weekend, and I can't wait to decorate it! There's just something so magical about a tree all decked out with lights and ornaments with the scent of pine lingering. : )

    ~Sheri

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  15. Debby, you always have the BEST answers and I so enjoy reading them. It's always so interesting to read everyone's answers. Loved your blogging answer and I, too, feel such a connection to many of my blogging friends, one being you. Happy rest of the week Debby!

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  16. Dear Debby! You have such a winning way with words...it is always so much fun to read your posts and see your beautiful pictures. I can surely relate to the feelings that accompany decking the halls for the last time in a beloved space. We experienced that not so long ago, and oh, my, I still hurt when I think of it. But, as you said, it's all good, and life does somehow go on, and God moves us forward into something new and exciting, and even though we never forget those precious memories of old and bring tears now and then, we find that the new memories we make are every bit as precious! Now, here's a secret...I LOVE cold, leftover pizza, too! Oh, my, there is just something about it...it has a flavor all its own. I totally agree with you that my blogging sisters (YOU included) are a very precious part of my life, and you absolutely don't have to meet someone face to face to love them dearly and care deeply about what touches their lives. Thank you for your sweet presence in my life, your encouragement, your faithful prayers, and your dear friendship. You are a continual blessing to me, and I thank God for you. I know this Christmas will have an element of sadness without your dear brother, and I pray God holds you close in every moment of grief. Sending love and hugs your way today, sweet friend!

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  17. As always, Debby, you photos are so beautiful....they could be on Christmas cards!
    Yes, blogging surely has given us wonderful friendships, hasn't it? We know from their words and photos what they are like in their hearts.
    I hope you're feeling better after your medical procedure, my friend. I had to chuckle when you mentioned crooked pictures driving you crazy. I have to look around sometimes, to make sure no one is watching while I'm out somewhere, when I have to straighten a crooked picture. We are funny creatures, aren't we?

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  18. Loved your hodgepodge today, Debby! (Speaking of typos . . . I just typed hodgepodge four times before I got all the letters in order. Good grief.)

    Oh, that is a little bittersweet, thinking that it may be the last time you decorate this house for Christmas. The last time we had Christmas at The Farmhouse, we didn't know it would be the last time. (That is probably a good thing!)

    I am glad that your medical procedure was successful and I pray that all will continue to be well!

    You know that I am a fan of your photography . . . and I love that last photo of the white ornament. Gorgeous!

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  19. It has been a blessing to my life to have blogging in it. I have meet the most wonderful people. I love Thanksgiving leftovers but like you I will not waste good food! So happy for you about your random thought. Have a nice party.

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  20. Ha, that story of the bear rug!! What a job! You are a good mom. Hope you are feeling better and maybe you can just rest a little this weekend when you're by yourself. I agree about leftover soup. I like to make it the day before I eat it, because it's always so much better. Blessings and xo Deborah

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  21. Wow! Had never considered the particulars for hanging a bearskin rug before. Sounds intense. You make that home shine for Christmas, Debby! I know that you will. What you said about blogging is so true, thoughtful, too. We can have more in common with women we shall never meet than with those we meet every single day.

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  22. Pretty clocks and decor. I hope our tree makes it to the living room this weekend. Hope you're feeling better now.

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  23. I know it is bittersweet decorating your present home for the last time but you have so much to look forward to with the new home! Exciting and busy times for you. I love your memories of smells from home - very similar to mine. I hope you are enjoying a nice day and that you'll have a great weekend.

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  24. I hope you keep blogging when you transition to a new home--I always enjoy your blog and your hodgepodge answers. Your decorations are so pretty, as is your photography. I would have a hard time thinking of one particular scent--they just hit me when they do… like walking in to some place and being transported to my grandmother's house. But yes, the smell of sheets hung outdoors! Mmmm

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  25. Truly the biggest blessing of blogging for me has been as it was for you, the friendships made! It is incredible how enriched my life has become because of the input of friends all around the world, kindred spirits, yes! And so much encouragement in the Lord too, as we share our joys, sorrows, struggles, things that work, and things that don't. I am so thankful for our blogging friendship, it is such a sweet joy!

    I know only too well the bittersweet feeling of leaving one place, both the uncertainty and the excitement too. You have a lot to look forward to, but it is hard leaving those memories behind too.

    I pray the Lord blesses this season for you, and that He comforts your heart with the passing of your brother, I know holidays are always such a tough season for the loss of their presence.

    I enjoyed the story of you and your son hanging the bear skin, wow, that was quite a project! I didn't think your post looked wonky, so perhaps the issues blogger was having resolved when you published. I hope you are having a marvelous weekend all to yourself... enjoy it dear friend!

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  26. Sweet friend, I am sorry to learn of your medical procedure. I am so far behind on things it may be Easter before I catch up.

    Loved your answers. I love Hodge Podge and always mean to do it but I spent Wednesday with my daughter and grand, then had choir practice and on Thursday my niece helped me decorate our tree. I pay her cuz she needs the cash, and she helps me because I don't do ladders if I am able to avoid it. Not since my broken foot - just too scared now, haha. So it is a win-win.....and I a can listen to her share things in a safe "just us" setting. We've done it four years now, so it's become tradition. She's an angel whose last Christmas is this year as next year she's off to college. She will be home, of course, but it will never be the same.

    Oh dang I am crying. Not good- heading for church to sing in choir and a snotty nose from crying and red-rimmed eye is NOT an option. So I leave you with that.

    Hugs and prayers. Have a beautiful week. ♥

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  27. I loved reading your answers (and that you decorated alone - I always enjoy it BY MYSELF!) and we have a lot in common lol! I got teary because none of the kids will be here for Christmas but I soldiered on and decorated any way with Christmas music blasting. I am definitely also a reheat girl except for fried foods that are soggy when you reheat unless you put them in the oven to crisp up!

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  28. Hi Debby! I really like your festive blog header, it's so colorful!
    We have a fake Christmas tree too, my husband never really loved the real kind, which is funny to me. Oh well! Leftovers? Depends. I might eat it, I might not. My husband is a lot like you though, he hates to waste food.
    My childhood smelled like Noxema and chlorine. We were all swimmers!
    Blessings,
    Ceil

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  29. Hi Debby! I pray you're feeling better after your procedure. I know your Christmasing will be beautiful. Take care of yourself and thanks for popping in to see me.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  30. I read these the other day, part way through, had to do something and did not get back to them. I still love to go to bed on sheets that have been line dried. And I tried to think of the scent I associate with childhood and cannot narrow it down to just one. Honeysuckle is one, fresh cut hay, and oh, the smell of a barn yard. Might stink to some but not to me.

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Thank you for stopping by today! Your sweet comments are such an encouragement to me.

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