Wednesday Hodgepodge - Volume 673

 Hodgepodge Questions - Volume 673 

1. When you think of autumn what sounds come to mind?
Leaves crunching underfoot.

Canada geese honking southward. 

2.  Is a trip to the mountains something you enjoy? What's your favorite mountain?  

I live in a valley surrounded by mountains, so a trip would be a short drive for me!  I don’t have a favorite mountain.  I grew up in a valley with one mountain, Mt. Diablo.  I liked going to the lookout at the top, on a clear day you could see so far in all directions.  There were also wind caves to climb into.  

3. What's something that once felt like a mountain, but is now just a molehill?  

I’m not so sure my former mountains shrunk as small as molehills, but having to figure life out after my husband died, with two children still minors, felt like a mountain.  There are still struggles resulting from that event, even after more than 20 years. 

4. Let's play this or that-fall foods edition. Yes you have to choose. 

I can choose from two options when I like both, but I can’t choose from two options I despise! 
    • pumpkin spice latte or chai latte - absolutely neither one!

    • apple cider or hot chocolate - hot chocolate
    • stew or chili – if I made the chili, chili.  I like mine!
    • sweet potato casserole or green bean casserole  - once again, neither.   Marshmallows spoil sweet potatoes, and I hate green bean casserole! 

    • butternut squash soup or creamy mushroom soup  - I don’t consider myself a picky eater at all, but, both are a huge ick for me!  I never eat mushrooms, they taste like dirt (and are fungi after all, which I love to photograph!), and squash is never suitable for me in savories. 
    • cranberry sauce or gravy  - cranberry sauce.  It’s good on nice rolls like ciabatta, or sourdough bread, with leftover turkey and melted mozzarella. 

butternut squash pie - you can use any winter squash,
it will taste the same as pumpkin

5. Sum up your September in a sentence or two.  

Expensive, I had to buy a new dryer.  Then, I had to have an electrician install a new plug (the original was for a range, not a dryer).

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

It’s been quite a month.  Besides the dryer (I would have put it off longer but for an uncomfortable interaction with a homeless man at the laundromat), I’ve been working on my rotted deck removal.  It’s been removed, and now I’m facing the question of “What do I do now?”  I'm adding rocks around the area that will have something done.  Don't worry, the plastic will go, it's the reason the deck was so rotted. At least Autumn is my favorite season, so there is that to cheer me up!