Wednesday Hodgepodge - 30/4/25

Joyce is our host for the Hodgepodge and blogs here.  This is her 600th edition of the Hodgepodge.  That deserves a medal or at least a glass of champagne.

1. My very first edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge was published on November 10, 2010 (linked here if you're curious). Tell us something about your life from that era. 

I was working full time as a School Business Manager at the time.  Our kids would have been 24, 22 and 20.  Our daughter, the eldest, was sharing a house with school friends, the eldest son was back home after finishing university and was working for a bank in the city (London) and the younger son was at university in Bristol.  I was also keeping an eye on my Mum who was in a nursing home by that time with Alzheimer's.

2. What's a song you love that relates to time in some way? 

I am useless at remembering specific songs and links.

3. May is nearly upon us. When did you last need to yell 'MAY DAY-MAY DAY!!'? 

Well I don't think I've every yelled May Day but I have yelled help more than a few times.  One specific time at work was when a small child managed to climb through some bannister style bars in a play house and ended up suspended by his neck.  I ended up supporting his weight while yelling for someone to get the Site Supervisor to help with freeing him.  Fortunately we managed to do that and the child was fine.  My nerves were not lol.

4. How do you feel about food trucks? Is this a dining experience you enjoy?  Do you have a favourite What's something you've ordered from a food truck?

Don't often use food trucks although the few times we went to a weekend music festival we did.  We had things like jacket potatoes, or a roast dinner served in a huge (as in plate size) yorkshire pudding but I think my favourite would have been the freshly made pancakes. (With lots of chocolate sauce!) 

5. We're bidding farewell to April...what are three adjectives you might use to describe the month you're leaving behind. 

Busy, celebratory (Hubby turned 70) and sunny.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

It has definitely been sunny this week and I've done a "lake lap" a couple of times - there are lots of babies around.

The Egyptian goslings are nearly fully grown.

There was also a duck with at least 8 tiny ducklings but I couldn't get a decent photo of them.  I say 8, there might have been one of two more but yesterday evening they were moving around so fast it was impossible to count them!

The female swan is also nesting at the moment so hopefully we will have cygnets to look forward to as well.

Enjoy the rest of the week all.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - Z is for Zipping

Well I couldn't find any good Z synonyms for waffle or nonsense  so I'll just be zipping through this post.  I feel like I've been zipping through the whole A - Z this year.  A few posts were done in advance, when I had free time on a Sunday for example, but mostly I've been winging it and preparing the day before, or like today trying to get the post done and on my blog before the end of the day.

It's been good to push myself though.

Now, on to the Z countries:

Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted something to link my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit. 

There are 2 Z countries:

• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

It probably won't surprise anyone that I haven't visited either of these and am not likely too.

Which means, I think, that I've only visited 21 out of 197 countries - which is about 10 per cent.  Not very impressive.

My favourite trip has to be when we visited the US in 2014 for our son's wedding and also visited Philadelphia, Washington and New York.

Our trip to Australia in 2017 is also high on the list as is the Norwegian cruise we did.  

I'm sure we'll be back to the US at some point but there are still places in the UK to see too.  Our next planned trip though is to France for a family celebration in July - one of Hubby's sisters lives in Dunkerque.

Yay!  26 out of 26 letters done - and my 11th A-Z challenge complete.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - Y is for Yabber

Well I'm not sure if I Yabber. (rapid indistinct talk)  I mean I often talk fast but I don't think I'm indistinct.  Although Hubby would probably disagree.  He wears hearing aids in both ears and I must admit that I don't always talk at him so he probably does miss some of what I say.  I don't mean I talk at him in an inconsiderate way, just that I sometimes turn away when I'm talking to him and that makes it harder for him to hear me.

And then of course there's always an element of selective hearing on his part.

With his hearing and me talking too fast it's amazing we have any sort of conversation but trust me we do.  Although sometimes he complains I talk too slowly - which is usually when I'm trying to explain something to him and I'm trying to phrase things in a way that he'll understand but he gets impatient.  Definitely feel like yabbering then with words he would not want to hear! lol

Ok time for the Y country.

Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted something to link my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit. 

Yemen

is the only Y country. 

"FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) advises against all travel to Yemen

FCDO advises against all travel to the whole of the Yemen due to the unpredictable security conditions.

If you’re in Yemen, you should leave immediately."

If you did decide to go anyway don't count on making a claim on your travel insurance - travelling against the advice of the FCDO would most likely invalidate it.

I haven't been to Yemen and certainly won't be going. It would make visiting our son and his family in the US more complicated too as we'd need VISAs and not ESTAs.

I'm not sure how many other countries the FCDO advises against but probably quite a few on my lists.

Right I'm waffling now so time for bed.  Yay, Y is done, only Z to do!

A-Z Challenge 2025 - X is for X marks the spot

Well I couldn't find a word that meant waffling or nonsense beginning with X and there are no countries starting with X either.

X marks the spot - somewhere on the globe there must be a place that starts with X. Actually there are a few places, most of which are in China but there is also Xaghra in Malta and Xcaret in Mexico.  Who knew?

Short and sweet today.  I'm flagging but only 2 days to go!

#SoCS - 26/4/25 - Shake

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “shake.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

Well the first thing that sprang to mind with the prompt was to give myself a mental "shake" and get on with writing a post that didn't relate in any way to a letter of the alphabet.  

Yes I've been trying to complete the A-Z challenge again this year and I've been hanging on by a thread.  I didn't have any posts written at the start of the challenge, we've had family staying over Easter so busy at home yet somehow I've managed to keep on track - just!

Actually giving yourself a mental shake is not a great idea.  The brain is not intended to shake inside your head - Hubby is testament to that as he suffered a brain injury when he was knocked off his bike many years ago now.  Thankfully he recovered well.  But so often that phrase is used in books.

Another phrase that has wound up a book group I'm a member of is "letting out the breath you didn't know you were holding" - there have been numerous Facebook posts quoting books with that line in and now we're working on books that "make your eyes roll".

Some things do need to be given a shake though - Martinis according to James Bond, as in "shaken not stirred".

Well I need to stir myself now and get on with the day - it's been a slow start here so I should "shake a leg" as the saying goes.

Thanks to Linda for the prompt.  Find out all the details etc here.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - W is for Wittering

Wittering - to talk for a long time about things that are not important

I can do this until the cows come home.  We used to have cows grazing on the land opposite where we lived in our second family home.  One of the first things I insisted on when we moved in was getting a proper fence and gates in place.  We only had a low wall and no gates in place so it wasn't unusual to get back from being out and find a cow in the front garden destroying the plants.

I think due to all the BSE problems the cows were removed from open grazing land but we had railings and gates by then.

More recently there have been attempts to reintroduce cows and in Epping Forest we have long horn cows.  More information on this can be found here.

We have seen them on our walks:

Right onto W countries:

Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted something to link my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit. 

Oh - no W countries according to the list.

Wait!  What about Wales!  I have to include Wales - my Dad was Welsh, born in hmm - I have to check this out.  I thought he was born in a place called Betws-Y-Coed a small place that was close to Merthyr Tydfil which is more well known.  But I've just looked at a map of Wales and they are no where near each other!  The plot thickens...

We don't know much about his early life - his parents separated and he was taken by his Father to Yorkshire.  He was sent down the coal mines as soon as possible and he opted to escape these by enlisting in the army prior to WW2.  He served during WW2 (including being one of the many evacuated from Dunkirk) but he spoke very little about that time.  Sadly he passed away in 1981 at the age of 63. 

I have visited Wales several times though so I'm adding it to my tally.

That's 21 out of 197 countries then.

And 23 out of 26 letters done.

Friday's Fave Five - 25/4/25

Each Friday I try and join with like-minded bloggers and look back on the things I'm grateful for during the previous week.  Our host for this is Susanne who blogs here.

1)  Family time at the weekend.  My eldest son and his family were still here until Sunday last weekend so it was good to have time with them and my daughter and her family on the Sunday morning.

2)  Quiet time on Monday!  I love having the family here but it is nice to then just have a quiet day without rushing around doing chores or cooking big meals etc.

3)  Ladies lunch on Wednesday with my former work colleagues.  A lovely relaxing way to spend an afternoon.

4)  Modern appliances - especially the washing machine and tumble dryer after having people to stay - all the extra bedding, towels etc.

5)  Good weather.  We have had some rain this week but the worst was overnight and I'm sure it was needed.  But it's been mainly sunny and of course our evenings are longer now - such a mood lifter.

Have a good weekend all.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - V is for Verbiage

Verbiage - language that is very complicated and contains a lot of unnecessary words

Another word I found while looking at synonyms for waffle or nonsense.  And of course I didn't look too deeply into the exact meaning because although I can definitely waffle and talk a lot of nonsense, I'm not sure the language I use is very complicated or, as other dictionaries state, "technical".

I absolutely cannot use verbiage today - I'm totally winging this post.  It's not been done in advance - it's already past midday so this is all you're going to get today!

But... still time to look at the V countries:

Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted something to link my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit. 

• Vanuatu
• Vatican City (Holy See)
• Venezuela
• Vietnam

I have visited none of these!  Vanuatu, Venezuela and Vietnam are out of my reach but, as a Catholic (albeit rather lapsed) a visit to Vatican City would be interesting.

That's still 20 out of 197 countries then.

And 22 out of 26 letters done.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - U is for (H)um and (H)aw

Well I'm scraping the barrel here with the take on Hum and Haw - which I found down a synonym black hole somewhere.  

"To procrastinate; to take a long time before doing something or taking a decision. We hummed and hawed before finally deciding to buy this house."

I would actually say "umming and arring" so it does fit with today's letter and we all know how good I am at procrastination.

Although not when it comes to house buying.  When we were looking for our first house to buy we did look at quite a few houses but then we saw one that had a more unusual layout to most of the ones we had seen and that was that.  It was the house I wanted.

The move to our second house wasn't even planned.  We were quite happy where we were, although we had 3 children by then so we knew a move would be sooner rather than later.  However an acquaintance lost the buyer for their house and we got chatting about that.  I went to look at the house and decided that I wanted to move there.  Hubby took a bit of convincing - and again we viewed quite a few other houses but he finally agreed and it was a done deal.

Our most recent move back in 2020 was hampered by the pandemic.  Having decided to move we had secured a buyer but then we were locked down.  When things started to open up again we knew we would have to move quickly to ensure the chain stayed intact but again when we viewed this house it ticked most of our boxes so it wasn't a hard choice to make.

I do think that you can just get a feel for the right house, but sometimes the circumstances aren't right for everything to fall in to place.  We were lucky.

Right on to the U countries:

• Uganda
• Ukraine
• United Arab Emirates (UAE)
• United Kingdom (UK)
• United States of America (USA)
• Uruguay
• Uzbekistan

Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted something to link my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit. 

Well obviously I've been to the United Kingdom - I live here (in London).  And I've visited Scotland and Wales.  We should try and get to Northern Island at some point.

I've also been to the USA, 3 times now.  We first went in 2014 when our son got married.  And we have visited for Thanksgiving in both 2018 and 2024.  Our son's in-laws make very good hosts and we've been able to host them on their trips here.

I don't think I'll be visiting any of the other U countries.

That's 20 out of 197 countries then.

And  21 out of 26 letters done.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - T is for Tripe

Well of course I think of tripe as another word for nonsense, which fits in with most of my A-Z posts.  Unfortunately it is also: 

the first or second stomach of a cow or other ruminant used as food

having googled it (as you do) it seems there are plenty of recipes for preparing it.  I suppose some of those could even make it taste edible.  But there is just something about it that makes it seem very unappetizing.  It's a bit like offal I suppose - another group of foods that don't have mass appeal although I have eaten liver and kidney in the past.  Not so much these days.  We also used to eat tongue that came in tins. (Although it might have also been available on the deli counter.) I don't think I fully comprehended just what that was at the time - I'm going back to my childhood here - and we also had spam.

Yes for any younger readers out there spam is not just rubbish e-mails it's also a canned meat product made with ground pork and processed ham.

I suppose it's a bit daft really that while I'm happy to eat meat (I try not to think of lambs or cows etc when doing that) the thought of tripe or offal or insects has a very negative effect on my appetite.

I did once plod through a pig's trotter dish in France - I thought I was ordering a piece of pork not a foot!  I did not enjoy it.

Anyway enough tripe for one day.  Moving on the T countries are:

• Taiwan
• Tajikistan
• Tanzania
• Thailand
• Timor-Leste
• Togo
• Tonga
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Tunisia
• Turkey
• Turkmenistan
• Tuvalu

Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted something to link my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit. 

I've only managed one of the T's - Turkey.  Hubby and I did a package trip one year, after the kids were old enough to leave home alone.  It was towards the end of the summer season so the heat wasn't too much for us pale and wan Brits.  It made a change for us as holidays with the kids tended to be camping trips or places like Center Parcs.  We stayed in a nice hotel  with a pool but the beach was only a short walk away.  

Hubby did consider going to Thailand - he has a former work colleague who moved out there and married a Thai woman who would definitely host us but it's not somewhere high on my wish list.  Tunisia is probably one of the few African countries I'd consider going to but, as our son and his family are currently living in the US our travels are focussed on trips to see them for the next few years at least.

That's 18 out of 197 countries then.

And 20 out of 26 letters done.

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 23/4/25

Joyce provides the questions, we provide the answers and we all compare notes here.

1. The Hodgepodge lands on National Picnic Day...will you celebrate? Do you enjoy picnics? Dining out of doors picnic or otherwise? What are three or four things I'd find in your picnic basket?

Ha you have a different calendar to me so no I won't be celebrating although I will be having lunch with former work colleagues today.

I do like to picnic and am happy to dine outdoors as long as there are no wasps around. My picnic basket would probably include sandwiches, something sweet, maybe wine oh and serviettes to clean up with.

2. A time recently where you felt 'antsy'?

Hmm we've just had a spell with my son, his wife and their 2 boys here and, although I love to have them there are the occasional moments when I just want my usual routine of being up first and enjoying the quiet. Of course this doesn't happen at all while they are here as the boys are always up first but they're usually not too noisy so although I often wake when they get up I can easily turn over and get a (little) bit more sleep.

They love playing games.

3. As the saying goes...'when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.' Do you like lemonade? When did you recently need to make lemonade out of lemons, figuratively speaking?

I do like lemonade but the shop bought version - home made is usually too tart for me.

Last week I had to rescue the cake I'd ordered for Hubby's 70th birthday. Despite being a little bit younger than him I obviously had a senior moment when ordering the cake as it had 50th birthday on it. Fortunately I was able to salvage it by removing the 5 and piping on a 7 and it wasn't too noticeable. Phew!

This was just after he'd blown the candles out. Not the best picture of the cake but it was definitely yummy.

4. Recently five 'celebrities' made a brief (ll minute) foray into space aboard Jeff Bezos Blue Origin rocket. Did you hear about this? Your thoughts? If money were no object is this something you'd like to do someday?

I did hear about it. Not impressed and definitely wouldn't want to do it.

5. Favourite thing about the 'space' you're sitting in right now?

I can look out into the garden and watch the birds feeding on the bird feeder.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Things were a little bit busy around here with the grandchildren visiting and I'm also trying to complete the A-Z challenge again this year so I feel normal blogging has taken a back seat. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things and do more blog visits and commenting. Apologies for not getting around to everyone.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - S is for Shenanigans

Well we had lots of "shenanigans" going on here over the last few days 

not the "secret or dishonest activity or manoeuvring" kind

but the "silly or high-spirited behaviour or mischief. kind

With 4 of the grandchildren here at various times they were very high spirited although to be fair they didn't really get up to much mischief.  They do love seeing one another though.

They played a lot of football in the garden and they have used up all my supply of bubbles.  And between them they exhausted Nanny.

So, on to the S countries:

• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Samoa
• San Marino
• Sao Tome and Principe
• Saudi Arabia
• Senegal
• Serbia
• Seychelles
• Sierra Leone
• Singapore
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Solomon Islands
• Somalia
• South Africa
• South Korea
• South Sudan
• Spain
• Sri Lanka
• Sudan
• Suriname
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Syria

Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted something to link my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit. 

There are a lot of S countries but I've only been to 2 of them, Spain and Switzerland.

The Switzerland visit was many years ago when my knees could still cope with skiing. (And pre children!)  We stayed in Verbier and I didn't really enjoy it.  The weather wasn't great and, for the novice skier that I was (it was only my 2nd time) the runs were quite hard.

I visited Spain in 2023.  We went for the wedding of one of our nephews and it was a lovely trip - and a beautiful wedding.  You can read more about it here.

That's 17 out of 197 countries then.

And 19 out of 26 letters done.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - R is for Rubbish

Hmm well I am being rubbish at getting around to responding to comments left here.  I blame it on the grandkids who were here all last week.  I'll try and do better this week but thank you to all of you that have stopped by and left me a comment.

The rubbish collections have been quite challenging here.  We always used to get our main rubbish and recycling collected every week with the garden and food waste being once a fortnight.  Recently they provided us with separate bins for food waste which is collected weekly and is used to make bio fuel which is, of course, great.  But...now our general waste is only being collected fortnightly so we have to remember whether it's a black bin week (general rubbish) or brown bin week (garden waste).  Then of course throw Easter into the mix and who knows when the bins will be emptied.  Although according to the council e-mail it should be the same day as normal, i.e. tomorrow.  I won't hold my breath and I'm hoping I'm right and that it's black bin week as mine is very full!

Right rant over let's get to the R countries:

(Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted something to link my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit.)

• Romania
• Russia
• Rwanda

again I have only visited 1 of these - Romania back in 1975!  It was a school trip and I was almost 17.  We went on a plane that had very noisy engines and rattled, a lot, which was a bit scary but it was my first experience of flying so it was exciting too.  

We spent most of our time in Bucharest but of course we visited Dracula's castle and we had a fun time meeting some local young men at a disco type event.  I think they were looking to find a nice English girl to provide them with a way out of Romania so they were very attentive.  I did correspond briefly with one of them when I got home but nothing was ever going to come of it lol.

I also got used to drinking black tea while we were there too.  Not the most enjoyable thing!

Right that's 15 out of 197 countries then.

And 18 out of 26 letters done.

Friday's Fave Five - on Sunday! 20/4/25

Thanks to our host Susanne for reminding us each week to look back and find the good things in our week.  You can find out more here.

Well I am 2 days late with this but this is why:

1)  We have had our eldest son and his two boys here since the Thursday before last and his wife joined them last Monday.  I love having them here to stay but it does involve early starts and being busy.  Blogging definitely takes a backseat.

2)  Several walks with the grandkids during the week with lots of ducklings to see.

On Wednesday we drove to Connaught Water near us and walked around the lake, then walked on to a cafe for drinks and ice cream.  We had grandson Nathan with us too and the boys had a lot of fun.

3)  A night out with our daughter and son on Thursday evening to a new to us restaurant.  (Smith's in Ongar) It was a birthday treat to Hubby from them.  It's predominantly a fish restaurant but they do have other dishes too but we all had fish for our main - sea bass for Becca and Nick, Skate for Matthew and Salmon en croute for me.  It was all very yummy and they provided an ice cream treat for the birthday boy.

Nick & Matthew

Becca and Me

Birthday treat

4) A birthday gathering for Hubby who turned 70 on Friday. So blessed to have him in my life.

Matt and his family were still here of course and Becca and her family joined us plus 3 of Hubby's siblings and their partners.

They came in the afternoon and I laid on an afternoon tea style buffet which went down well.

And of course there was cake!

Not the best picture - a screen shot taken from a video just after he'd blown out the candles.  I was also thankful to have been able amend the number 50 to 70 on the cake.  Goodness knows how I made that mistake when I ordered the cake online.  Several people joked that I should have left it at 50 - Hubby is having a hard time coming to terms with being 70!

5)  A sympathetic advisor at our credit card company.  I always pay our bill off in full each month.  I have a direct debit arrangement to pay off the minimum amount and then I arrange a payment of the balance.  Last month my maths failed me and I short paid by 3p yes three pence - which incurred £40 in interest!  I couldn't understand it until my son pointed out my mistake.

Anyway I rang the company and acted ignorant and they waived the interest charge!  I'm thankful to be able to have got through to an understanding human assistant

A good week all round.

Happy Easter to you all and hope everyone has had a good weekend.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - Q is for Quandar or quandary?

I thought I'd seen the word "Quander" when I was looking at synonyms for nonsense but I may have been wrong.

According to AI:

"Quander" has two main meanings. It can mean to ponder or wonder about something. Alternatively, it can mean to spend or waste something (like money or time) extravagantly or foolishly.

1. Pondering or Wondering:
The verb "quander" can be used to describe the act of considering or questioning something deeply, similar to "ponder" or "wonder".
For example, "She quandered over the meaning of the poem".

2. Squandering or Wasting:
This usage of "quander" is less common, but it can mean to spend something, especially money or time, in a wasteful or careless way.
For example, "He quandered his inheritance by spending it all on gambling".

In summary: "Quander" has two meanings: to ponder or wonder, and to waste or squander. 

Clearly it feels like it's just a lazy way of saying squander which gives me the quandary of whether to use it for my Q word or find an alternative.  However, I'm preparing this post on Sunday 13th April and it's the last one of the coming week.  A week that is going to be busy when I will not have lots of time to quander so I'm sticking with plan A.  If you have a better word please leave it in the comments.

And, moving on to Q countries (Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted something to link my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit.)

again there is only 1

Qatar 

Unsurprisingly I haven't been there and have no wish to visit.  Thanks to the 2022 FIFA World Cup its visitor numbers were probably drastically increased.  I enjoy watching football occasionally and some of the World Cup games were definitely exciting although it does take over the TV scheduling during the period it takes place.  Researching this I note that in 2026 there will be 48 teams in the final (compared to 32 in the past) so no doubt even more TV time will be quandered on it!

Right that's still 14 out of 197 countries then.

And 17 out of 26 letters done.  The end is in sight.

And here's another quandary - the total prize pot for the 2022 World Cup was £440 million.  Surely that money could be better spent?

A-Z Challenge 2025 - P is for Poppycock

I love the word Poppycock but was surprised to learn that it originates from the Dutch word pappekak that means soft dung.  Dutch immigrants introduced the word to the US and it then began to be used in the UK.  Who knew that such an English sounding word had such origins.  Still a lot of rubbish or nonsense though.

Now on to the P countries. Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted something to link my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit. 

• Pakistan
• Palau
• Palestine
• Panama
• Papua New Guinea
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Philippines
• Poland
• Portugal

Good to see that Palestine is on the list.  I can remember playing geography quizzes on the "Sporcle" site when it was debateable.  Haven't been there though or any on that list except Portugal.

Hubby and I did a long weekend trip to Lisbon once, quite a number of years ago now but we had a good time and I wouldn't mind doing a summer holiday there.  Of the others Poland is probably the only other possibility.

That's 14 out of 197 countries then.

And 16 out of 26 letters done.

A-Z Challenge 2025 - O is for Oh dear, I don't have a clue!

Well I'm sure there must be words beginning with O that can be related to waffling, or nonsense or idling but I couldn't seem to find any.  Not often that I'm lost for words.  I'll make the most of it though and press on.  Trying to get this week's letters completed while my grandkids are out. 

As for countries (Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted something to link my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit.) there is only 1

Oman

Oman is officially The Sultanate of Oman and is next to Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen.  Unsurprisingly I haven't been there and it's not on my bucket list.  (I don't actually have a bucket list.)

Apparently it ranks 37 out of 163 countries on the Global Peace Index, only 3 places below the UK, but being next door to Yemen, which is at the bottom of the list, I definitely won't be visiting.

That's still 13 out of 197 countries then.

And 15 out of 26 letters done.

Start here

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 16/4/25

Joyce asks the questions.  We provide the answers.  You can find out more and join in here.

1. Do you complete your own taxes? Besides actual taxes, what's something you've found taxing lately?

We don't have to complete tax returns thankfully.

It's been taxing trying to keep up with the A-Z blogging challenge I'm taking part in this month, especially with family staying this week.

2.  What are three values you treasure most in a friendship? 

Honesty, loyalty and shared values.

3. Do you meal plan or do you mostly wing it? Share your dinner menus for this week. 

A mix of both.  Some weeks we have a HelloFresh delivery which gets chosen in advance but doesn't always go to plan.  When I'm ordering an online shop I'll also think about what to get for meals but nothing is ever set in stone. (I should also add that Hubby does most of the cooking!)

This week we have had:

Thursday - Pasta with Bolognese sauce

Saturday - Fish and chips

Sunday - Roast Chicken

Monday - Pasta with Ham & Leeks

Tuesday - Steak & onion pie with chips and veg

Today - Risotto with chicken

Nothing too complicated there - we've been catering for a 4yr old and a 6yr old

4. Thomas Sowell is credited as saying, ''There are no solutions, only trade-offs.' Agree or disagree? Discuss.

Umm I think I'd disagree.  Sometimes things can be solved, but there might have to be compromises.  Is that the same as a trade off?

5. What's the best perk you've enjoyed at a job?

Not sure I've had many perks - most of my jobs were either in the Charity or Public sector.  Hubby did get quite good choices on company cars when he worked for a football club though.

6.  Insert your own random thought here. 

I should be trying to get to bed earlier this week - the grandsons tend to wake around 6 am.  Yet here I am at 10.30 pm finishing off this post.  I never listen to my own good advice!

A-Z Challenge 2025 - N is for Noodling Nick

N is for Noodling:

to do or think about something without giving it full or serious attention:

Why Noodling Nick?  Well Nick is my Hubby and I think he spends a lot of time noodling on his guitar.  He would beg to differ of course as he wouldn't consider any time spent on his guitar a waste of time.  He also wouldn't think he wasn't giving it serious attention.  To be fair he does take his guitar playing seriously.  

Before we moved to where we are now Nick was out at least 2 evenings a week meeting up with a group of musicians who would "jam" together.  Something he really enjoyed.  When we moved here (4 1/2 years ago now) I worried that he would miss that - we didn't move far but getting there by public transport isn't easy and of course the jamming takes place in pubs so I wouldn't want him driving there.

He has gone back occasionally but, he has found a new alternative - Open Mics.  He is out regularly to various venues and he definitely needs to give it his serious attention - keeping things straight in the calendar when some run weekly, others fortnightly and then there are the monthly ones which might be the 1st Wednesday for example or the 4th Thursday or any combination in between!  And yes he has been know to turn up on the wrong day from time to time!  He needs to do less noodling.

Now, on to the N letters:

Although I don't officially have a theme I wanted something to link my posts so I thought I'd see how many countries in the World I've visited or might visit. 

• Namibia
• Nauru
• Nepal
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Nicaragua
• Niger
• Nigeria
• North Korea
• North Macedonia
• Norway

I have been to the Netherlands several times and taken part in the Batavieren Relay Race twice.  That's the official site but this Wikipedia site actually details it more.  Essentially it's a Road Relay race over 25 legs covering 185 km.  Sadly it seems there is no relay event this year.  I imagine Covid disrupted things and now they seem to be looking for Committee members to continue the event.  It was a huge undertaking aimed mainly at students.  We had a friend who had taken part as a student and he organised a team of what probably seemed like veterans to take part. It was an adventure.

I have also been to Norway.  Hubby and I did a cruise along the coast visiting the Fjords. One of the best holidays we've done I think - it was great to be able to see quite a few places without having to constantly unpack and repack our suitcases!

That's 13 out of 197 countries then.

And 14 out of 26 letters done.