Hello friends. Thanks for stopping by the blog. I hope you will leave a comment and say hello. Time for a Wednesday Hodge Podge! Enjoy the whole link-up here.
1. ‘The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.’ How does this saying ring true in your own family, either the one you grew up in or the one you made? I am interested to see how others answer this question. I looked it up and this saying, which I have heard many times and have even used myself, refers to: “when someone is displaying traits or behaving in the same way as their relatives (especially parents)….” But I have always heard it (and used it) with a negative connonation. As in, someone copying their parents’ “bad side” or a negative trait. So, how would I answer that question? Which negative trait(s) of Mom or Dad do I have or do I mimic? Hmmm. Probably more than I admit but I could not think of any I wanted to share on the Hodge Podge. I suppose I would say that my dad was an incredibly private person. Although very friendly, he kept people outside of the family at a significant distance. I am much like that. I have tried to be more open. More approachable and even more vulnerable. But I cannot say I have been very successful at it. I guess the “apple has not fallen too far from the tree.”
2. Something you’re nuts about these days? How about something that’s driving you nuts? Election season always drives me nuts. The ridiculous ads. The signs littering every corner and vacant patch of grass. And the endless junkmail. Junkmail drives me nuts. Political junkmail is maddening. Something I am nuts about might be pumpkin spice yumminess. I’m a bit nutty and fall for all the displays in the store. It seems that just about everything now has a pumpkin flavored, or pumpkin spice, version. And, apparently, I am here for them all:)
3. What does abundance mean to you? Abundance is not simply “a lot” of something because defining a lot of anything can be subjective. Abundance to me is having more than you need and, even more specifically, more than you deserve. For example, if I have an abundance of zucchini…well, I have more zucchini than I really need. Oh, but to say I am abundantly blessed is have more of God’s goodness and favor than I could possibly deserve. Just for the record…I do not have any zucchini (just now) but I am, without a doubt, abundantly blessed!
4. Caramel apple-caramel cake-caramel corn-caramel sundae-caramel macchiatto…what’s your caramel treat of choice? I will say that caramel is not one of my top favorite flavors. I don’t think I have ever had a caramel macchiatto but I would certainly give that one a try. No to caramel corn and to a caramel apple, for sure. And, given a choice, I would pick a different topping for a sundae. I think my answer here would be caramel cake. I have memories of my aunt making a homemade caramel apple cake that was so delicious! I know I asked her for the recipe (many years ago) but only attempted to make the cake once. It was very labor intensive. I really need to find that recipe and give it another try!
5. What’s a childhood memory that always comes to mind as the leaves start to fall? This question was even harder for me that the first one. Questions that require my memory are always tough:) We did not have any traditions, per se, in the fall. Other than going trick or treat. But even that was so much simpler (and innocent) back then. I don’t remember meals or treats that were specific just to the fall. The leaves starting to fall and the beginning of autumn really just meant back to school. We did not start back to school until September and it seemed that, without fail, the weather would turn and I always had a new cardigan to wear with my dress on the first day of school. I went to public school but, the years I was in elementary school, we had to wear dresses to school. And a new cardigan was always a must.
6. Insert your own random thought here. Not exactly a random “thought” but some randomness, nonetheless. I came across a Fall Photo Challenge (found it on Pinterest, of course) and decided to see if I could pick up my camera every day for a month. Not exactly challenging for most folks but it is for me. Something I want to work on. And just to keep myself on track, I have decided to include them here each Wednesday. Today I have days 1- 5 to share. Yes, I should have 6 but yesterday was share a meal. A meal? I just did not see anything interesting, food wise, on my table. Or elsewhere. I will have to work on that one.
But I do have five out of six. Not bad for me. I put them in a collage so as to not be too overwhelming (er, boring). The prompts this week were: coffee, something orange, your shoes, your camera (um, that would be my phone), and a pumpkin. Here’s what I’ve got…..
How do you make those photo collages on a blog?? i love what you did! Pretty pics!
I’m with you regarding junk mail. UGH and those political signs are all over my neighborhood and i too cannot stand them. I refuse to put one on my lawn. (i do admit I put one on for KH).
I enjoyed your answer regarding abundance.
Happy Wednesday!
Sign me up for pumpkin everything, too. And I have discovered maple and apple are great together, as well. If we can’t have the fall weather here, at least we can have the flavors!
I agree that saying is usually carried with a negative connotation. I always try to look at the positive side of it. I agree with your answers to #2. We had political representatives knocking on our door this week. I was already in my pajamas and cooking supper. I didn’t answer the door! And pumpkin spice is the best. God is so good to us, isn’t He? Always giving us more than we need. I love that you’re joining the photo challenge and can’t wait to see what all you capture.
I do like caramel, and it is usually in the fall when I give to having one or two caramel somethings. Now pumpkin spice stuff is different as I could eat pumpkin pancakes, muffins, bread, and cookies all year long. In fact, I have a pumpkin whoopie pie waiting for me in the fridge. I enjoyed your collage. How did you create it? Happy Wednesday, Jennifer!
your fall photo collage definitely speaks fall. you did good. Caramel is something that I do like, but I am not a huge fan of ice cream, so I never have to worry about a topping on a sundae. I never order one or make one. Politics in general drives me crazy and like you, the ads have become so mean from all parties.. I think most people are so annoyed by them. It’s good to visit here today… enjoy hodgepodge Wednesday..
Hi, those shoes, cute, cute, cute!!
Thank goodness, no election here this November, but we will have a governors race heating up and it will all start soon enough.
Ugh! Election season does sound maddening but yum to the pumpkin spice.
I remember going back to school in September and that was always the start of Autumn.
Great job with the photos.
Your photo challenge sounds neat. Jennifer taking a photo a day- YAH! Great photos, BTW. I agree that I tend to think of the statement about apples falling far from the tree in a negative way, like someone is saying it derogatorily.
I enjoyed this! In my case, I think the apple not falling far from the tree can be both negative and positive. Hopefully the positive list is longer!
I remember as a child my father raking the leaves in our yard into a big pile and later me diving into them. My father didn’t always appreciate that.
I’m not a big fan of caramel but if I had to choose, it would be the sundae.
It’s so pretty and fall-like in here! Pretty!
There’s a blogger who participates here most weeks (Kym @ A Fresh Cup Of Coffee). She hosts a photo challenge with new prompts every two weeks, and leaves the link up for the full two weeks. I’ve had fun with her prompts which are often pretty challenging, and you might want to check it out. She’s posting new prompts tomorrow. I love the idea of a fall challenge and your pictures definitely say fall. A caramel cake is labor intensive and I’ve never tried making one myself. I find the icing super sweet and can only eat a very small slice.
Here is a description of my egg//cheese scramble:
I will do so!! I´ll also state it here: I take an egg and basically cook it- scramble it is another way to say it I think (but the end product is not pieces of egg)- but I cook it with cut up cheese and form it like a patty in the pan. It ends up being fairly circular- enough to fit nicely over my toasted bagel :).
I also get so tired of political ads – seems like 90% of them are just negative attacks on the “other guy” and while it’s important to point out why your opponent may be a very poor choice, you also need to tell me why you’re a great choice, and not a lot of politicians do that.
Love the definition of abundance you gave – not just having more than I need, but more than I deserve. We really are blessed with great abundance using that definition!
I see Joyce was kind enough to mention my Everyday Images photo challenge, and I’d love to have you join us for that. A new one opens tomorrow and the rules are VERY easy. Stop by and visit if you’re interested!
Over here one of the most popular flavours for just about anything sweet is salted caramel. Is that as popular over there? I really like it and think that one of my favourite desserts is salted caramel and pecan meringue roulade – yum!
I don’t ever remember dressing up for halloween as a child, my children did, but no outstanding outfits, ghosts and witches were about all there was. Nowadays however … it has definitely become more of a thing.
I do love a photo challenge and your collage is great! You definitely hit the brief.
First of all (before I forget it) I LOVE your orange shoes! Those are adorable, Jennifer.
Reading about the caramel cake that your aunt used to make brought back memories of a cake my mom used to make. The cake was a plain cake, as best as I can remember, but she made the best caramel icing. Today (Thursday) marks the 8th anniversary of her passing on to be with the Lord.
I truly enjoyed your answer to #3 regarding abundance. We are abundantly blessed, aren’t we? xx
Your fall photos are adorable! I loved your through-provoking answers to all of these questions, and you really should try that caramel macchiato. I tend to like them from actual craft coffee places rather than from Starbucks or McDonalds, I once heard them referred too as ‘fast food coffee’ and that makes sense to me. I really did enjoy reading! I hope you have a wonderful week!