Welcome back!

 

... to the Wednesday Hodgepodge!   Our hostess Joyce asks the questions, and we gather to share answers -- sort of like a cyber coffee klatch!   

What's something that makes you feel stressed?  How do you cope?

'Not sure how it originated, but I've always had a pathological fear of being late.  For instance.  Any time we have to be at UAB, the 'what-iffer' in me starts to engage -- what if there's an accident on I-65, what if we don't leave in plenty of time and get caught in traffic, what if there's no wheelchair transport ....  

How do I cope?  Not well.   I'm 'that' person standing by the front door, bag in hand well before it's necessary.  Meanwhile, Tom's over there chilling and smoking his pipe like Cool Hand Luke.

What's a food you eat that evokes a memory?  Explain.

My regular readers are probably weary of my mentions of Hatch Chile -- but gosh.  It was such a cornerstone of my youth.  One of my biggest regrets is mother not living long enough to enjoy the 'real' stuff I get delivered on dry ice.  She loved living in Florida, but sure missed that particular delicacy.  Quoting from an article in Bon Appetit:  "It's sweet and smoky, it has a slight funk to it and a grassiness that makes it always taste like it's freshly picked.  Like a jalapeno with more of a character arc."

This week's Hodgepodge lands on National Visit Your Relatives Day.  Will you celebrate by visiting a relative?  If so, is travel involved?  Geographically, who is your nearest relative (not counting those living in your own house)?

My son, DIL and Grand #2 are a 45-minute drive away; they all work hard outside the home.  So no, we've no plans to see each other today.  Sadly, our family was very small; my cousins and I've little interest in one another's lives.

What's your most frequently used emoji?  Do you make more phone calls, send more emails or mainly text to communicate with friends and family?

😘 💛🙏

Depending on the audience, it's a toss-up between e-mail, text or private messaging.  I'll talk on the phone, but I'm not really fond of doing so.

Tell us a story behind a favorite piece of furniture.

After my father died in '81, mother shocked us all by having her sunroom enclosed and buying a nice table and chairs.   Unfortunately, I've no pictures -- but that's where she spent the majority of her mornings and late nights, too.  On random Fridays when I'd drive down to Port Charlotte after work, she and I'd sit there sipping wine, consuming bowlfuls of Cheez-Its.  Of course, Caraleigh had her own chair.  She never had much to say, but appeared to understand it all.

Today:  These aren't my favorite cushions -- while in Arizona we kept it outside, where sun destroyed the originals.

Sun room

Here's a close-up of the sole survivor on the rocker I've always kept inside.

Sometimes I sit and run my hands across the buttery resin like momma used to do.

Insert your own random thought here.

Hugs, Myra