Wednesday Hodgepodge: From this side of the lake?

Words from the Wednesday Hodgepodge hostess: "Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog then hop back here tomorrow and add your link to the party. "

1. If you could sit beside and/or jump in any lake in the whole wide world today, which lake would you choose and why? 

Georgian Bay, the "appendage" to Lake Huron. If Lake Huron is a person with a backpack, Georgian Bay is the backpack. Many childhood summers were spent at the very bottom of the pack, near the Blue Mountain ski area.

2. What's your favorite 'fruity' drink? 

Lemonade made with bottled lemon juice (but it has to be The Brand, not the generic stuff that tastes like furniture polish). Proportions: 4 cups water, 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup sugar.

3. I read a list here of thirteen things to do right now to simplify your life. (It's also here.) They were-

clean as you go, re-evaluate your relationships (cut toxic ties), unsubscribe (too many blogs and websites), de-clutter, write down your daily goals, reply to emails right away, forget multitasking, create a morning routine, re-evaluate your commitments (which hobbies and responsibilities are most important to you), say no, clean up your computer, and plan your day ahead

Which of the tasks listed do you currently find most helpful in keeping life simple? Which item on the list should you adopt in order to simplify your life this month?

I do a lot of cleaning as I go--take something up when I go up, take something down when I go down; wash the baking dishes while the muffins are in the oven. We are also trying hard to declutter. As for some of the others, I think they work for some people some of the time, at certain seasons, but they can also create stress and guilt in themselves if you just can't make them work. As various people have pointed out, things like "creating a morning routine" aren't a quick fix; they work once you've gotten into the habit, but it does take commitment to make them happen.

4. What did you do the summer after you graduated from high school? 

I graduated twice, because Ontario schools at the time had optional Grade 13. The summer after Grade 12, I washed dishes at a girls' camp in the Laurentians.  All summer. :-& The next year, I decided to do a "volunteer summer." I washed dishes for a few weeks at another camp, then took a bus to Toronto, lived in a church basement, made tofu at a soy dairy, did typing and stuffing envelopes as part of a peace project (yes, really. Isn't that what one should do the summer one graduates from high school?).

5. Are you a fan of podcasts? If so what's a favorite? 

I have trouble finding the right combination of technology and time to listen to as many as I would like. When I'm working on our laptop (the best piece of equipment for me to listen with), I'm usually busy working on something else and can't concentrate properly on the podcast. But my tablet only lets me listen for a short time, then cuts them off. I think I need to look into downloading them instead of listening online.

As far as content? Pretty much anything produced by the Circe Institute, especially the Mason Jar.

6. Do you think today's fathers have it harder, easier, or just different than fathers in the past?

No idea.

7. Tell us one way you're like your father? Or not at all like your father if that's easier?

That's a hard one. How about...we both like to talk about stuff that happened a long time ago, and people we used to know. Also, my dad is a major Brit-phile...we'd probably have a good time if we ever got to tour the U.K. together. (He's been there once, I never have.)

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

This one has been pretty random already.

My high schooler finishes her last week of classes tomorrow and then writes exams. So I guess we go into "summer vacation" mode here. She will be doing some volunteering this summer, but that does not include making tofu.

Linked from Go Jump in the Hodgepodge, at From This Side of the Pond.