Wednesday, December 20, 2023

The O Christmas Tea Hodgepodge

 From this Side of the Pond

1. Did you do more talking or more listening yesterday? Was it by choice or by necessity? 

Oh, that's right--when I first saw this question, I thought "I should pay attention to this today!" but then I forgot. So I'm not sure; I think it came out about even.

2. Are you a tea drinker? Hot, cold, or both? Flavored? What do you like in your tea? Do you make Christmas tea this time of year? What time of day do you like to sip your tea? 

I have a small collection of teapots, and I will drink tea when it seems the polite thing to do, but I actually like coffee better. So, pretty much no to the rest of the questions.

3. What's an activity you won't try, an event you won't attend, or an athletic challenge you won't take part in not even for 'all the tea in China'

Anything involving the phrase "athletic challenge." 

4. What's something most people seem to love but is not 'your cup of tea'? 

Sushi.

5. How does your family celebrate New Year's Eve? 

When our kids were younger, we used to do theme parties with them. These days, my husband and I might watch an old movie, eat snacks, play a Christmas-gift card game, and somewhat ashamedly fall into bed sometime before 12.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

When we came into church the first week in December, we were each handed a broken piece of coloured glass (with a warning to be careful!). The message was that each of our lives resembles a fragment of a stained-glass window, made complete and brought together by God's hand. I kept forgetting to take that piece of glass out of my purse--but if you're expecting to hear that I cut myself and am going to carry the scar of that fragment on my hand forever, no, I did eventually give it a safe home on top of a vintage canning jar, where the light can be seen through both the clear glass lid and the almost-triangular green shard--which, I've noticed, is almost the shape of a Christmas tree. Maybe even the broken bits have meaning when we look close enough.

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

Wednesday, December 06, 2023

Crank it Up for the Wednesday Hodgepodge

 From this Side of the Pond

1. What's one fun thing on your December calendar? 

Having a dessert party with our church group.

2. Sherwin William's Color of the Year for 2024 is Upward, described as 'a hint of silver lining', 'a breezy blissful blue' (see sample here). Benjamin Moore's Color of the Year for 2024 is Blue Nova, where 'violet and blue come together in a sumptuous hue'. (see sample here) Valspar's Color of the Year for 2024 is Renew Blue, a balanced blue with a touch of grayed sea -green' (see sample here)

Seems like the design world is keen on the color blue for the new year. Do you have a lot of blue in your home decor currently? What shade? Of the three colors listed which one's your favorite? Do you need to paint? How likely is it you'd select one of these shades for your home? Which one? 

Blue in my closet: yes, sure, fine.

Blue in our house? Hardly at all. As a GenXer, blue feels like too much of a throwback to the blue carpets etc etc etc of the 1980's. 

3. Do you struggle with 'the seasonal blues'? What are some things you do to try to beat the blues? 

Listen to some different kinds of music, or at least Christmas music in a different style. Right now I have a "Christmas Around the World" CD playing that has a lot of South American rhythms and steel drums.

Turn on the star light in our living room window.


4. Blue jeans...love 'em or no? How many pair do you own? Are you married to a particular brand? 

I have two pairs, both thrifted. One pair are Levis, one are a brand nobody's ever heard of. 

5. In terms of holiday preparation (baking, shopping, wrapping, mailing, meal planning, etc) how far along are you? 1=haven't given it a second thought, 10=nothing left to do but wait. 

Managed to address all the Christmas cards today plus make chocolate banana bread for the dessert party, so I'm feeling pretty 10 just at the minute.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Instead of random thoughts, random shots?

New-to-me bookcase to hold art and poetry books

Advent wreath
Hand-crank coffee grinder we just bought
Euro-groceries for Christmas
Three-dollar box of iffy Christmas stuff from the thrift store
This is what was actually in the box
And these are the candle rings and candles on our dinner table, looking quite festive and not at all blue.