Wednesday Hodgepodge

Linking up with other Hodgepodge bloggers at the home of

Joyce at From This Side of the Pond.

Come join us.

1. May 17th is National Pack Rat Day. Sidebar-should we be celebrating this? Hmmm...

I am always amazed at the days that get national attention.  Let's be honest - would we be aghast if they announced a national pick your nose day or something else just as asinine?  And why do we have to have a national something day every day of the year anyway?

Okay, to get off my soap box and answer the question.  No, I don't think a National Pack Rat Day is called for.  I'm really trying to think of some reason someone thought it was worth celebrating.  Hmmmm.. for sure!

Are you a pack rat? Even if you're not a full fledged pack rat, most people have one thing or another they struggle to part with. Tell us what's yours.

I am not a pack rat at all!  However, I do have a hard time parting with magazines.  Not sure why, but I have to make myself get rid of them on a regular basis.  I think I will need some vital info contained deep within the recesses of the pages, I suppose.

2. What are two things you know you should know how to do, but you don't?

I feel I should know how to swim but I don't and won't.  I feel I should know how to play a VHS tape through our player into the TV.  I have been shown how to do it, but it didn't stick.

3. Do you crave sugar? Do you add sugar to your coffee and/or tea? Do you use artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes? When dining out is dessert a given? Are you someone who has slain the sugar dragon, and if so tell us how you did it.

We have pretty much slain the sugar dragon by just going without.  We have cut out the cherished mid afternoon powdered Chai tea and do not even make deserts.  We never order a desert when eating out and don't use artificial sweeteners at all.  For us southern folks to give up our sweet iced tea is a big accomplishment and sacrifice, but we've done it.

4. What's a trend it took a while for you to come round to, but now you can't imagine living without?

I suppose it could be using my crock pot.  I would use it occasionally, but am now finding myself using it quite often.  There are so many recipes these days using the slow cooker, and I not only find many of them delicious but also convenient.

5. What's a song that reminds you of a specific incident in your life? Please elaborate.

Dick and I have both heard the song "Puff the Magic Dragon" lately.  In fact, Dick walked in the house the other day and said he heard it and immediately texted our son to just tell him he was thinking about him.  I used a record player in the nursery for both our babies and would play a variety of recordings from the time they were born.  They never took a nap, or had a feeding without music.  "Puff the Magic Dragon" was one of our son's favorite songs when he was small, and hearing it again after all these years brought back the sweetest memories.

Made popular by Peter, Paul and Mary in 1963.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

This past Sunday, Dick and I drove down to spend the night with my sister in South Louisiana because I had a doctor appointment the next morning in Baton Rouge.  Her sons had planned an early family dinner "fish fry" for Mother's Day, so we were invited too.  Let me just say, those boys know how to season and fry fish perfectly!

My nephew has a lovely home with what we call in the south, a marsh or slough (slu') in his front yard.  I will be featuring more pictures of this in a separate post, but wanted to just share a few pictures with you.  It is so typical of south Louisiana. 

 I will go into more detail later, but what you see are Cypress trees draped with spanish moss.

 This gray moss is a marvel.

 Another common sight in a marsh or slough are palmetto plants.

Come back on Monday for a Cajun land photo post.