How About A Little Hodgepodge?

It’s Wednesday again, and, today, that means two things.  Number one, it means I finally have an appointment to have my mammogram done.  Number two, it means it’s time to join in with The Hodgepodge.  I like number two the best, so let’s hop right to it, shall we?  As always, thanks to our gracious hostess, Joyce, for hosting.  You can join in The Hodgepodge by clicking Joyce’s button at the top of this post.  Here are this week’s questions:

1. What lesson has failure taught you?

Failure has taught me that I am not, nor will I ever be, perfect.  It also taught me that my plans are not always God’s plans! Last, but not least, that if given the chance, I shouldn’t be afraid to “dust off my pants” and try again whenever I fail.

2. What decision are you glad you made?

I’m glad I made the decision to become engaged and married to Ed!  I spent my last two years of high school, engaged and sitting home alone, while Ed served his tour of duty overseas.  Many well-meaning people tried to tell me I was “wasting the best years of my life” by being engaged so young.  They were wrong!  The best years of my life were yet to come, and I wouldn’t change a single thing!

3. I’ve been a little bit surprised to see fully lit and decorated Christmas trees popping up for the past several weeks in friend’s Instagram feeds. So tell the truth-is your tree up and decorated, and if so when did that happen? If not, when will you be decking the halls?

No, I do not have any of my Christmas tree(s) up yet, but I do have my year ’round tree decorated for Thanksgiving!  It’s covered in pilgrims, turkeys, and pumpkins of all kinds.  I do not believe in decorating for Christmas until after Thanksgiving, so I’ll begin decorating for Christmas the weekend following Thanksgiving.  First things first!

4. Solitaire-Poker-Rummy-Hearts-Go Fish-Old Maid…which game of cards would you most like to join?

I still enjoy playing ‘Go Fish’ with my granddaughter, occasionally, and I’m also still a fan of ‘Old Maid’!

5. This question comes to you courtesy of a Facebook friend, who once upon a time had a blog…When you’re feeling stressed do you snack a lot or are you more the ‘can’t eat’ type?

I can’t eat when I’m feeling stressed.  My stomach feels queasy and my throat seems to close up.

6. Have you ever reviewed a product or service on line? Was your review favorable or less than favorable?

Yes, I’ve frequently been asked to leave reviews for various products, that I’ve purchased on line.  I’m always honest, and fortunately, most of my reviews have been favorable.  I would like to do a review of my new washing machine, but the jury’s still out on that one, so I’ll wait a bit longer!

7. What was the best conversation you had yesterday?

As usual, it was a conversation with my daughter.  She and I can talk about anything and everything–and we usually do!

Random: Update to ‘Trouble and the Man With the Can”

It’s been a year since anyone has lived at my mother-in-law’s house.  The saga of the cats living at the empty residence continues..

The feral mother cat disappeared, never to be seen again, as well as one of her kittens.  The other two kittens are alive and doing well.  Then, of course, there’s ‘Trouble’, who continues to live up to her name…  Ed, the man with the can, continues to feed these misplaced cats daily.  Here’s the latest news:

After staying at our son’s house for well over a week, ‘Trouble’, the cat, has, once again, moved back to Ed’s mom’s house!  I don’t know what that cat is thinking!  Currently, one gray kitten, who’s still pretty wild, is at our son’s house, the other gray kitten, ‘Jo Jo’, is at our house, and ‘Trouble’ is back living alone at my in-law’s empty house.  This breaks my heart.  It’s like she’s waiting for someone to come back home…

On a happier note, ‘Jo Jo’, the former feral kitten, is doing great!  Somehow, ‘Jo Jo’ found his way to our house one day, and has made it his permanent home!  It took me about two months to tame him.  ‘Jo Jo’ follows me everywhere, and not only will he now let me pick him up–he demands it!  That cat just can’t get enough attention!  He loves to be rubbed and talked to, and, just like his cousin, ‘Trouble’, ‘Jo Jo’ drools on me when I rub him and talk to him!   ‘Jo Jo’ often sits outside the kitchen window and meows for my attention.

Ed sold his little silver Neon to our daughter, a while back, and that move thoroughly confused these cats!  For a while, the cats continued to greet the little silver car, thinking Ed was bringing food for them.  They’ve since learned that food now comes in my little black PT Cruiser or in grandpa’s old truck, which now belongs to Ed.

Ed continues to take food the ‘misplaced’ cats food daily…