Wednesday Hodgepodge - Volume 401

Check out this week's Hodgepodge here and join us!

1. Tell us about your favorite moment or share one of the bright spots from the year we're leaving behind. 

I have two - the day Sophia told me she had completed all the requirements to graduate with her Master's degree.  She had worked so hard - three jobs at some times as well as her school work - we were so proud of her.  Shortly after that, Vic was promoted to Lieutenant Commander - a low-key ceremony as military ceremonies are running in these COVID days but I get a little thrill every time he calls (he calls when he's gone back to his barracks for lunch) and I see the gold oak leaf on his collar.

2. What do you wish you'd known at the start of 2020? Elaborate.

That investing in personal protective equipment would have been a wise move?  No, seriously, I can't think of anything I wish I'd known that would change the ways things turned out in 2020.  I took all the recommended precautions, teleworked for a couple of months while my place of employment put all the precautions in place that made it safe to go back to work, discovered drive-through library services and grocery pick-up, and utilized FaceTime more than I ever thought I would.     

3. Best book you read this year? If you did not read any books this year, what's the best thing you ate all year? We've all eaten, right?

I read a lot of books in 2020, the list is here, but the best book I read was Belgravia by Julian Fellowes.  I.could.not.put.it.down!

4. The Pantone Colors of the year for 2021 are ultimate gray and illuminating yellow (a bright shade)...are you a fan? Would we find either of these colors in your home or wardrobe? 

I'd never heard of the Pantone Colors of the Year.  This year's colors are a little meh and I'm not sure how they express a message of strength and hopefulness.  The only grey in my wardrobe is a sweatshirt and I don't think illuminating yellow would be a flattering color for me.

5. If you were/are making a list of 21 things to do/accomplish in 2021 what is one thing that would be on it? 

Eat healthy.  Not healthier, since my eating habits haven't been anywhere near that in 2020.  Teleworking kept me much too near the kitchen with disastrous results and when I found out that Vic was not coming home in the summer or for Christmas due to the travel ban in place, it was "Hello Comfort Food".

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Here's hoping that the vaccine comes quickly and that whatever this new variant turns out to be, it can be treated as well.  We have had enough of the 'Rona!