The Art of the Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. October 25th is International Artists Day...do you have a favorite artist? If so tell us who and why. 

Fun question. It varies, but I seem to be drawn to Canadian artists, or those (like Arthur Lismer) who were born somewhere else but became part of the Canadian art tapestry. 

I am working on learning to like some of the more abstract painters like Mark Rothko. Not even contemporary, I know, but I'm still catching up.

2. Would you describe yourself as artistic? Elaborate. 

Can I draw or paint? Not worth a nickel. Some years I have made rather nice collage-style Christmas cards, though.

3. What's a skill, task, hobby, or job you've done so often you now have it 'down to a fine art'? 

Folding our laundry Marie Kondo style. I've been doing that now for five years, so, yes, it takes a lot less thought than it did at the beginning.

4. How often do you dine out? Fast food, fine dining, or somewhere in between? Tell us about a less than stellar restaurant experience you've had recently (or not so recently if that's easier).  

I had a Filet-O-Fish on the weekend, does that count as dining out? 

We go out for Chinese food or Swiss Chalet when we need a break from our own cooking. Familiar rather than fancy.

5. Do you celebrate Halloween? To what extent? Are there trick or treaters where you live? 

Barely, to all of those. We bought a box of mini Coffee Crisps and Smartie packs to have on hand, but we'll probably end up eating them ourselves.

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

Russ Ramsey (author of Rembrandt is in the Wind) writes about the disadvantages of working with marble: "it often has veins of impurities, it stains easily, it erodes when exposed to acidic rain, it is inflexible. You cannot add back to marble once you make a mistake." (Instagram post today) And yet...sculptors have used it for centuries, sometimes to make the most beautiful sculptures ever. Something about it challenges them, draws them to ignore or work around all those disadvantages because of what they can envision it becoming. Maybe like the way God sees human beings.

Linked from The Wednesday Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond

Wednesday Hodgepodge With a Sprinkle of Ginger

1. What's something small you tend to sweat even though you know you shouldn't? 

Trying to answer the first question on a Wednesday Hodgepodge.

2. October 17th is National Pasta Day...do you like pasta? What's your favorite? Cooked at home or eaten in your favorite Italian restaurant? How often do you make/eat pasta? 

Ooh, yeah, pasta. Did you know Canadians tend to say pasta with a very short a, as in, he pasta me the bowl of spaghetti? Apparently it's a Canadianism that most of us don't notice until someone from the U.S. points it out to us. Also "drama."

This year we have been extra fond of Greek spaghetti, both homemade and at a local diner.

3. Do you consider yourself a spontaneous person? Explain. 

More so than most people would probably give me credit for. I am up for a certain amount of "let's drop everything and go." Spice of life, right? But I like routine and order too.

4. Who are some of your heroes? Tell us why. 

Demosthenes, Publicola, and Timoleon. I like history.

5. Let's wrap it up with something light...Taylor Swift...are you a fan? On a scale of 1-10 how much so? (1=who's Taylor?, 10=a true Swiftie, seen her in concert more than once). If you're a fan what's your favorite T. Swift song? 

2. Sorry, daughters.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I'm having a busy couple of weeks, as I published a book, my colleagues and I published a book, and this weekend is an annual retreat where we all get to talk about books (and insects, and Canadian art, and other things). I took time out to make a batch of pumpkin bread, because pumpkin and ginger really say "fall" to me.

Linked from The Wednesday Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond.

Wednesday Spicepodge

 Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back (click the graphic) to add your link to the party. See you there! 

1. What's something that scares you? 

The big serious things? not going there right now.

Small and silly ones? Mice. I do not think they're nice.

2. Do you care where the food you eat comes from? To what degree? 

Right now I care more about managing to keep it on the table at all. We do buy local produce when we can.

3. What's something you wish you'd spent more time doing when you were younger? 

It's hard to go back and think "if I had done this," because if it had changed my life dramatically, I might have missed out on other things that have happened.

But definitely less time spent watching T.V., more time talking to real people and finding out their stories.

4. Let's play autumn this or that....pumpkin spice or apple cider? Corn maze or haunted house? Horror film or Hallmark movie? Blanket or sweatshirt? Watch football or watch the World Series? Foliage-red, yellow or orange? 

Cider, yes, and all colours of leaves. The rest of the list, no real opinion.

I don't buy fake pumpkin-spicy things, but I do bake with pumpkin and spices, if that makes sense.

5. This time last year where were you and what were you doing? 

Pretty much the same as this year: getting ready for a fall retreat on Lake Erie, trying to salvage the last of our parsley from malevolent squirrels, and going to the flea market when we can.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I saw a video this week about a family who were able to pack and move out of their rented (furnished) place in one day (three car trips), thanks to their already-minimalistic mindset. What was more troubling was the reason they had to move at all: somebody at the rental office apparently made a clerical error that couldn't be undone (didn't renew their lease). I also just finished reading The Watchmaker's Daughter by Larry Loftis, a new biography of Corrie ten Boom. If you don't know or have forgotten, she was released from a WWII concentration camp due to a clerical error. Clerical errors may have been responsible for more good and bad events in this world than we will probably ever know.

Linked from The Wednesday Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond.