Hodgepodge Wednesday

Happy Birthday Joyce!

1. What's the best and worst thing thing about growing older?

The best is that as you get older you get more people in your life to love. Teenage children grow to become adult friends and grandchildren fill your heart more full than you ever imagined.
The worst is the aches an pains that life gives you. Not just the physical ones, but losing friends and family to illness'.

2. Autumn arrives this week in the Northern Hemisphere...what one thing do you love most about the fall season?

The changing colors of the trees. It is like Mother Nature is putting on her fancy dress clothes and going to the ball.

3. Speaking of fall...pumpkin seems to be flavoring everything these days-are you a fan? What's your favorite pumpkin flavored food or beverage?

I don't like pumpkin. That being said...Last deployment, my snow angel brought me a loaf of cranberry pumpkin bread. I ate a piece to be nice and fell in love! It is the only pumpkin I will eat.

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread
3 Cups all purpose flour
5 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
3 Cups granulated sugar
1 (15 oz) can Libby's 100% pure pumpkin
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 Cup Orange Juice
1 cup Fresh or frozen cranberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour 2 9x5 loaf pans
Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in large bowl.
Combine sugar, pumpkin, oil and OJ in large mixer bowl and beat until blended.
Add Pumpkin mixture to flour mixture, stir until moistened. Fold in cranberries.
Spoon batter into loaf pans.
Bake for 60-65 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool on wire racks for ten minutes. Pop out of pans and allow to cool completely.



4. Since we're on the subject of fall...what's the worst fall you've ever taken?

The worst was also the best..yes this is how my life rolls. I was going to college on Edwards Air Force Base and I was invited up to a friends dorm party for New Years Eve. He lived on the 3rd floor of the dorms. I had taken my bag up to his room and forgotten my diet Pepsi down in my truck. I went to walk down the stairs and my knee decided to dislocate on me as I was walking. I wound up tumbling down not one, but two flights of stairs. I was a little scraped up and in a lot of pain at the bottom of the stairs when I heard the most wonderful grumble-rumble voice ask me if I was OK. That voice came from the cutest airman I had ever laid eyes on. Talk about embarrassment!! He helped me up, back to the dorm room and as the story goes, we lived happily ever after. Yep I fell at the feet of my now husband. I'll keep him.

5. If you could own a prop from any film what would you choose?

Mary Poppins Bag- as long as it came with the magic intact. Plus, I have always loved old carpet bags!

6. What's the most interesting word you've read or learned in the past week?

Grr. This is from my Grandson Little Bear. He is learning to talk and I am Grr. Maybe one day he will call me Gramma, but I will take Grr for now.

7. When was the last time you locked yourself out of your house, car, or office? Was it a big deal?

Sarge and I were going to go on a date. Just out to dinner, nothing fancy, and we both went out the door without our keys. Thank goodness we had had our cell phones, because we were able to call our daughter who was 30 minutes away to come open up the house for us. As we waited, we decided to take a walk around the block and talk. We got home just as she was pulling in and we decided to order pizza for the night, snuggle on the couch and watch a movie instead.


8. Insert your own random thought here.

I am still cleaning the house up. More of a deep clean and declutter than normal cleaning. This week, I have been working on the master bath. In that bathroom, I had an old dollar store metal rack that I had baskets on which held my towels and such. I always found it cluttered up the area and was never happy with it. This last weekend I went to a Flea Market here in town and found a cabinet that is perfect for that space. My DIL (Mombear) and I got it put in the bathroom yesterday.
Here it is after cleaning, in my kitchen.



Cat stamped



And Grand kid approved



(yes, fuzzy pictures, sorry)