Wednesday, January 22, 2025

When I got tired of the above, I faked a tropical environment below! Is there anywhere in your area where you could also “fake it”?

It’s Wednesday and time for Hodgepodge with Joyce!

1. What’s a winter memory you treasure (can be from any winter in your lifetime)? 

I grew up on a lake and when the lake froze all the neighborhood kids would gather to skate, play ice hockey, sled down the hill onto the lake, and have all kinds of fun. I had a ton of neighborhood kids around my age – mostly boys. There were a couple of girls and we could hang. This was only an hour away from where I live now and the lake always froze over. This is how I know it’s not as cold as it used to be. We all owned our own skates, of course.

2. Tell us about the last time or a recent time you were caught up in red tape. Does it send your frustration level off the charts or is it something you’ve come to expect when dealing with any sort of bureaucracy?

I really can’t think of anything, but I think working for a large school district involves a lot of red tape. I feel like they can’t think outside the box and they continue doing things the way they’ve always done. Like our snow days – we don’t have any built in days. Do you know the last time we didn’t need to cancel school? It’s been like never. Each snow day gets tacked on at the end of the year. We don’t even know our graduation date until late March. It’s no way to plan or ask others to live their lives. Also, we are we not using the technology that we have? Did we learn nothing from the pandemic?

3. Do you eat/like fish? Do you cook fish at home? What’s your favorite fish dish? Ever been ice fishing? 

I do! I mainly just cook salmon at home. I would like to get more types of fresh fish at the local fish place I have never been to. I love a bourbon salmon dish at a restaurant but my kids are saying my salmon is as good or better than many restaurant versions they have had.

I always think of the movie Grumpy Old Men when I think of ice fishing. The men at my lake growing up would drill for ice fishing to make sure the ice was safe enough for the kids and then I got to watch them fish!

4. Did you watch any of the US President’s Inauguration coverage on Monday, Jan 20? On a scale of 1-10 (with 1 being not at all and 10 being very very) how interested are you in politics in general? Do you follow/keep up with/ get involved with local politics? 

I just watched a little bit. I got home from the grocery after it had started. I think politics are so messed up in our country. It’s all about power and money and self-gain. There are very few public servants anymore. With the said, I am a very patriotic person and I appreciate our country because of the travel I have done.

5. What’s the coziest thing you own and what makes it so? 

I would say my Ugg comforter that really should be replaced. Tom and I bought it a few years ago at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I even like it in the summer, but should use a summer weight quilt.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We are going to think the temps in the 40s are practically spring like next week! It’s all about perspective, no?

This week we have lows of 2 degrees and highs of 14, 24, 32, and 28!

That’s all anyone can talk about right now it seems.

Amy

30 thoughts on “Hodgepodge”

  1. Yeah, we’re feeling the same way with our weather; I miss those highs in the 20’s and 30’s! It’s been below freezing in the mornings and warming up into the teens during the day.. I have zero desire to go anywhere! We enjoy watching the ice fishing and while we have all the supplies I don’t think my husband and sons have ice fished in years (we don’t eat anything we catch in the lake). I do, however, cook lots of fish/seafood dishes. Salmon and haddock/cod/pollock are the two I mostly cook with but we also make shrimp, scallops, and tilapia from time to time.

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  2. Definitely agree with you on the temps- can’t wait for the 30’s and 40’s here later next week- sad right?! Ha! An Ugg comforter? I am jealous! 😉

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  3. This cold weather just seems to be hanging around – I like it because we don’t have snow! I cannot imagine what the people in the panhandle of FL are doing right now! I am pretty sure they are not prepared for all the snow they got!

    xo,

    Kellyann

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  4. Agree with what you said about politics which is why I think the smaller the government is, the better. Less bureaucracy, less taxes citizens have to pay, etc. We used to ice skate, too, on a creek on our property. My kids grew up in a plat without access to a body of water on which to skate so they don’t have those memories (they’ve skated indoors). Temps in the 40’s will seem glorious!

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    1. So true. Oh, fun! I love a creek! I love walking in shallow water.
      I know – it’s gonna feel so warm! Ohio is even colder than here and my sis in Columbus got two days off.

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  5. I love that you faked a tropical scene; I don’t have a place like that, but I would love a tropical scene right about now! I answered similarly about a winter memory, and loved the one year that the lake at Dad’s froze solid. I can imagine the frustration from working for a large school district; it has to be annoying working in an environment run by people who don’t know how to plan and/or use technology properly. On another note, I’d love to chat with you soon! It’s been a while and I feel like we have so much to catch up on. I hope your day is great, my friend.

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    1. Do you have any tropical decor Mexican places? It works! I swear! I felt so happy!
      So cool about your Dad’s place.
      Yes, it is!
      I am totally up for that! I might text and ask your availiability!

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  6. I find it fascinating that you don’t have built-in snow days, or know about graduation dates, or anything like that. Even my backwards, po-dunk town has it all planned out months in advance of the start of the next school year.

    I have so many good memories of hanging out in your neighborhood!

    Not a moment of my time was spent on the spectacles of Monday. Those people are not worthy of my time.

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    1. Maddening is more the word but very soon it won’t be my problem any longer.
      Oh you do! I thought your house was way more fun than mine! You had it all! What a cool childhood we both had.
      Yeah, I get that.

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  7. We had a duck pond (that’s what we called it although I don’t remember seeing ducks in it) in our neighborhood and it was a favorite hang out. Lots of kids in my neighborhood too, and there was always something going on. We used to skate on the pond and I wonder now if kids have skates? Maybe the hockey players, but just regular ice skates? Probably not in SC lol. I can’t believe technology isn’t being used for all the snow days. I get maybe having a couple of days off, but when it extends into a week or more that’s crazy. We know we can do it. It’s super cold here too and I’m ready for spring. Have a nice day!

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    1. Ha – so cool! I had a great childhood on that lake and with those people. We are still tight knit!
      It’s crazy!
      This is making me more ready for spring I think. But, I will just enjoy the 40s!

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  8. I would much rather be somewhere tropical than be in the snow.
    What a lovely winter memory. The fun you had as a kid sounds fantastic.
    It is so interesting how your schools deal with snow days. Here they just take it as a lost school day but I guess the snow is rarely as bad here in the UK.

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  9. Your lake memory just reminded me of the first time I “ice skated” – I was about five and a friend had a frozen pond in their backyard and (adults were there) but we just had on our snow boots on the frozen pond.
    Red tape- I should have thought of school stuff. Haha – it can be maddening. We are the same way – not knowing how/when the school year will end and when graduation will be. It’s ridiculous
    Next week looks like a “heat wave” haha

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  10. I can just imagine all the red tape in the school district. That is crazy about the snow days. Our district plans for a few, so it seems like they have figured out that they will probably have them every year. I remember when I was teaching, they decided to have a make up day on a Saturday. No one came…ha, ha. We are hitting 40 today, and I’m going out for a walk. Too much time inside this week!

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  11. I teach and we have missed so many days, especially the first week in January. The county takes our spring break and tacks days on to the end of the year. Last week, Chromebooks were sent home so this week Monday-Today, we have had virtual instruction with assignments posted.

    I mainly fix salmon too. Very cold here but is expected to be a heatwave next week with temps in the 30s and 40s.

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  12. Can you share the secret to your salmon that everyone loves? I usually have to get it frozen here in the midwest but used to just grill it in the summer. Any good marinades or things? I grew up in Kansas with no water nearby so I’m jealous of people that got to ice skate or do fun things in the water. We have 5 snow days a year built in to our school district so they have our calendar planned a few years in advance. If we don’t use them we just loose them but I remember one year we had to add 5 minutes to our day for two weeks to make up for needing more than that. We only used one this year and it was for cold weather.

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    1. I think I usually start from fresh and do 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Can you get a piece of fresh at your local supermarket? I rub a bit of olive oil on top and then I shake a salmon rub on top of that. I do the 20 minutes and then I broil for a couple of minutes at the end.

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  13. My parents owned a lake lot (they intended to build a cottage) then bought a cottage. We went ice skating all the time. I even did some ice fishing, but it wasn’t worth it to me! I like tilapia if it’s baked just right. Mainly, I like fish fried and covered with tartar sauce so I don’t taste it! Dumb, right? It’s crazy your system doesn’t have built in days. One year, we ran through all of ours (maybe 3 or 4) and had to tack them on at the end of the year. We ended up going to school through the third week of June. My kids bought me a faux fur throw from Pottery Barn for Christmas, and I just bought another one on clearance. It’s so heavy and squishy. If you need me, I’ll be snuggling under it!

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

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  16. I”m ok with the cold….because I no longer have to get up at 5:30 and get to a classroom early! A perk of being retired…..staying in and drinking hot coffee all morning…

    I also grew up near a lake and have wonderful memories of winter time in central NY where we had LOTS of snow. Now i live in eastern NY and we usually only get about 4-6 inches at a time. at least that’s how it’s been the last couple of years.

    Enjoyed your hodgepodge answers and I’m with you regarding politics. Our nation is SO messed up.

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