Chit Chat & Hodgepodge

Whoo-hoo, it’s Wednesday! The week is almost half over. Today, I have a number of to-dos, but before I have to buckle down let me dash over for a little Chit Chat on Patrice’s Farmhouse Porch.

1. Where is your favorite place to think, reflect, or pray? This can be either the still of the morning before anyone is up and at the close of the day as I unwind for bed.  
2. Did you believe in Santa as a kid? I did believe in Santa, but it seems my world of wishful thinking of the jolly ole elf ended early on as a child. There was one time when I was about 5 or 6 years old, Santa came right in our front door. He wore a red suit and had a sack of toys.  I thought it was really amazing that he showed up like that, but something told me it was someone pretending to be Santa. Perhaps it was then I realized Santa didn’t exist.
3. What’s your favorite kind of Christmas cookie? You can add a recipe if you have time. There’s definitely no contest here when it comes to which Christmas cookie is my favorite. It’s naturally Sugar Cookies cut out in glorious Christmas shapes and frosted.  This recipe is like mine. We use to make sugar cookie cut-outs every Christmas so the children could leave Santa some, along with a cute note.  This year, I we may make gingerbread cookies. I ordered some adorable USA made cookie cutters – gingerbread boy, girl, and a house from www.annclark.com. I can’t wait to get them to try them out!
4. Did you grow up around any of your grandparents? Both sets of grandparents lived close to me when I was a kid. I spent a lot of time with my maternal grandparents.  My maternal great-grandparents were alive, too, but they lived 2-hours from us. In September, my maternal grandpa went home to be with the Lord. He was 88. This Christmas will be a bit somber for us, but I know Grandpa is happy with Jesus and no doubt spinning some long yarns for the angels. He’s there with his parents and my brother, as well as others who have gone on before.
5. What’s your favorite winter sport-skiing, skating, sledding, other? If you are in a warm place, what is your favorite winter sport to watch when the Winter Olympics are televised? I don’t get outdoors to do much anymore. As a kid sledding was one our favorites to do. We got some really good snowfalls in WV. Knoxville doesn’t see too much accumulation. Our kids haven’t gotten to experience as often some of our vivid childhood memories of sledding.  Ice skating is fun, but I’m terrible at it and usually walk…limp away all battered and bruised. You won’t find me ice skating anymore. As a spectator, I enjoy many of the winter sports – downhill skiing, bobsledding, & figure skating may be my top picks.

I have one more stop before I dash into the kitchen to make my Black Walnut cake for our Christmas dinner. I’m going to join Joyce in today’s edition of Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. Do you put Christmas decorations in every room of your house? If not, what rooms do you decorate? The living room is the primary room I decorate. I do put out a few figurines in the kitchen in my window. However, if I had more space then I would decorate more. I’m already dreaming about how I want things to be in our next house.

2.  If you could visit one of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) which one would you choose and why? It would be excellent to visit any of the Nordic countries, but I believe I would choose Finland because I have a long-time pen pal who lives there and it would be such a joy to go see her. Finland is known for its saunas and lakes, cross-country skiing, and reindeer. Yeah, I know some of the other countries are, too, but for me, Finland would be my destination!

3. What does the word faith mean to you?  Believing in what you can’t see or touch just like the Bible teaches in Hebrews 11:1.

4.  You can go back to your childhood for one day…what day and age would you choose?  I have sporadic memories of my brother when we were small. I’m almost 5-years older than him, and I got married at 17 and then moved away. Everything I hold precious about him was from our childhood, so to have one of those tender moments back would be a treasure. We use to share the same bed and we would play cars with our feet. Do you know what I’m talking about? This is where you’d match your soles. One foot would be the gas and the other the brake. We would put the pedal to the metal,  VROOM-VROOM and then when we’d stab the brakes, EEK! We had so much fun doing this. We would take baths together in one of those old fashion ball and claw tubes, which made for a small pool for two young children. We’d take turns diving beneath to the water looking for buried treasures or pretending we were fish. Those were sweet times. I also enjoyed snuggling in bed with my baby sister reading bedtime stories to her. I missed many years with my younger siblings after moving far, far, away so the memories I have I cherish.

Now that we have one son-in-law and fixing to get another, then I believe I’m going to have to get busy making some additions.

My DH & DS made me a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting over the weekend served with Blue Bell Peppermint ice cream. Double yummy good! This is what my DH got me this in an XS…

My DS got me this…

We watched movies and had a nice time. I’m not getting older, I’m getting better!

Come back tomorrow, and I’ll have my recipe for Black Walnut cake posted! This is a rich buttery cake with cream cheese frosting. It goes so well with a cup of coffee, too. You will want a second piece. It’s just that kinda good!