Roll out the Barrel and it is the Hodgepodge

 

Hello Friends,

It is Wednesday and that means it is time for the Hodgepodge! 

  April 7th is National Beer Day

We have a question about beer in the Hodgepodge today. I am sharing photos above of a past Mother's Day with our boys at Leinenkugel's.

Alright, roll on with the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

 

 1. Egg on your face, putting all your eggs in one basket, a good egg, walk on eggshells, nest egg, or a tough egg to crack...which eggy idiom currently applies to your life in some way? Explain

I am going to go with "a good egg" ... my PT guy encouraged me to try an eight week exercise program to help me gain some strength that I have lost. It is called Slow Burn. I was a good egg and signed up for the class. 

2. April 7th is National Beer Day...are you a beer drinker? If so do you have a favorite? Beer battered fish, beer bread, beer can chicken, beer brats...which one sounds good to you? Have you made any of these?  

I do enjoy a beer every once in awhile. My husband enjoys Leinenkugel's.  I will say the Leinenkugel's Juicy Peach is very refreshing on a hot summer's day.

I like beer battered fish, beer can chicken and beer brats. 

My husband will grill me a beer can chicken every year. 

Grill season will start this week in our neck of the woods, I cannot wait.

 

 3. Do you have siblings? What's the best thing about being your sibling? If you don't have siblings, what would you say are the pros and cons of being an only child? 

 

 I have a younger sister. It is great to have family you can count on when in time of need.

 

 4. How do you feel about floral scents in products? Do you have a favorite?

I like lavender. I have a lavender lotion that I love to use in the evening when getting ready for bed.

  5. What's one thing in your home that begins with the letter G that you would say is a keeper, something you'll hold on to? Tell us why. 

Our grill ... can you tell I am getting excited for grilling season. We do not grill year around. When the grill comes back out on the deck, it is like opening day of baseball around here. 

My husband does all the grilling. He uses a charcoal grill. He is a master with charcoal. It has been fun to watch how he has taught our son's to use a charcoal grill.

 6. Insert your own random thought here. 

2026 Easter Cake

Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.

A little bird nest in the middle with robin eggs.  

Happy Easter! 

 

 

  

Cook Down Day

 

Hello Friends,

We have finished up our collecting and cooking down of the maple sap into syrup. I thought I would show you in photos the process. Do remember this is a fun hobby for my husband, there are more professional / high tech ways of doing this. He enjoys collecting the sap from our two trees for fun and does it the old fashioned way.

 It is a fun way to welcome in spring.

He will tap the tree, as you see in the above photo.

The sap is collected in the bags. 

 

 Once we have enough sap for cooking down, my husband starts the process outside. You slowly cook down the sap until it starts to sugar up and makes syrup.

 

 

My husband brings in the sap and finishes it off in the house. He can watch it close with a candy thermometer. 

I help him put it in jars and we give it a quick hot water bath to seal the lids of the jars. 

The finished product, fresh Wisconsin maple syrup from our backyard. 

We celebrate with a fresh maple syrup sundae. 

 

Happy Easter Week and it is the Hodgepodge

 

A little craft project. Using Mod Podge creating fun Easter eggs out of old sheet music. Using the old sheet music, colored paper and silk flowers to create butterflies to add to a spring basket.

 

Happy Easter Week my friends and it is the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

 

 1. March is rolling on out of here. Sum up your March in ten words or less. 

March weather added excitement to an already full calendar.  

 2. Are you afraid of heights? When was the last time you found yourself dealing with a height, and did it make you nervous?

I am not.

Below is a photo of Sears Tower ~ Chicago, Illinois ~ my sister and I had a fun adventure in the city and we had great fun exploring Sears Tower.  

  3. What's a word you struggle to spell on a regular basis, and sometimes need to double check before writing it down? Use the word in a sentence that tells us something about your April calendar.

Miracle  

Oh this word gives me trouble. 

We will be celebrating our first son's birthday in April. It was a true miracle and blessing when he arrived in this big world. It was a difficult time getting him to come on out into the world, a difficult labor indeed. Ha!

Fast forward today, he is a leader to several other young men and women. 

He sends me photos of his deployments and trainings. 

In this one he simply said, "Hi Mom"

 

 Happy April Birthday Sam!

 

 4. Love 'em or hate 'em, with Easter comes the sweet treat known as Peeps. So... do you love 'em or hate 'em? Speaking of peeps, what's your favorite way to have chicken? 

No, I am not a  fan. 

I have used them for decorating my Easter cakes.

I love grilled chicken breasts. My husband makes up his secret sauce, he soaks the breasts in the sauce overnight before grilling. 

 

5. This week's Hodgepodge lands on the first day of April, which happens to be National Poetry Month. Do you like poetry?  Share a favorite line or two from one of your favorite poems. What makes this one a favorite?  

  I do like poetry.

In Flanders Fields ~ John McCrae

 

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

    Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

        In Flanders fields.

 

It is a powerful poem. 

It is a favorite because my dad memorized this poem in grade school. My dad did not like school and I have many stories about his shenanigans as a school boy.  He did work hard to memorize In Flanders Fields as a young boy, even though he did not like school, that makes it even more special to me.

 

 6. Insert your own random thought here.  

 

Please join me in praying for our troops.

 ♥