Welcome to the Hodgepodge! Hop over to Joyce’s blog to find the other HodgePodgers by clicking the button below…

1. When were you last facing an ocean? Using just ONE word, describe how you felt as you faced that ocean.
Although I last faced a sea at the beginning of this month with our Soul Surfers, I believe the last time I faced an ocean was when I was in South Africa. One of my favourite memories is of a collection of us heading to the beach after church for the final time and jumping waves (breaking the ‘don’tgointhewater’ rule in the process). I don’t remember much about how I felt, other than being shocked at how warm an ocean could be in ‘winter’. Our first day together when we met the young people from local youth groups we were teaming up with was spent on the beach, and our final hurrah together on our penultimate day in South Africa was spent on the beach. Both days ended knee deep in the Indian Ocean and it was wonderful!

Our group – team building on 1st day together

Most of our group – final day together

2. What are three sounds you hate to hear?
People throwing up, people doing that choking cough thing, and people throwing up.

3. This question comes to you courtesy of some real life friends. Hi real life friends! When you shop for yourself, do you try everything on in the store before buying or do you buy, try on at home, and then return what you don’t like or what doesn’t fit?
Definitely the latter. The only time I try on in the store is if I might not be able to take it back or it’s an ‘emergency buy’. Shopping is something to be done as quickly as possible.

4. February 26th is National Pistachio Day…are you a fan of the little green nut? Do you use them in cooking and baking or prefer to eat them right out of the shell?
I love pistachio nuts, I don’t use in cooking or baking (too expensive) and I usually only buy them when they are on special offer at Christmas and love to eat them straight from the shell.

5. When did you last have to compromise with someone? Were you happy to reach the compromise or slightly irritated it was necessary?
I’m pretty sure I have to make compromises on a daily basis in some form or other. Compromising, sharing and all that stuff is just part of life I think. For sure there are things I wouldn’t compromise over (sorry dudes, but you ain’t seeing this girl naked unless you become my husband) but whether it’s agreeing to have Chinese for tea because others in your family want it even if you don’t, or agreeing to do something at a different time schedule to make it easier on someone else…I’m usually happy to do it!

6. Have you ever written a letter to an elected official? Did you get a response?

I’ve written letters to my MP and an MSP (Member of British Parliament and Member of Scottish Parliament) and gotten responses both times. My MP even tweets back!

7. We ‘March’ into a new month at the end of this week…what’s something on your March calendar guaranteed to make you smile?

Snowdrops and clocks going forward!

8. Insert your own random thought here.
So I’m really sorry to have missed the HodgePodge last week. Last Tuesday was a pretty horrible day all around. I wrote on my blog that I had a migraine but it turned out I was showing symptoms of meningitis and there was no migraine – in fact a very nasty flu virus (thankfully not meningitis since I didn’t go to a hospital to get checked out which I should have done according to my doctor who I finally phoned on Friday afternoon). Although I’ve technically been more acutely ill before (food poisoning is the WORST..worse than mumps and chicken pox and this horrible flu) I don’t think a bug has taken me out in quite such a weakening fashion. Like not being able to eat or move for days. 4 days of a high fever really take a toll on your washing machine too. I don’t usually sweat that much. Every few hours it was like someone had dunked me in a swimming pool and plonked me back in bed/on the sofa. To top it off, the day my fever broke I hurt my back. And then today I went to my gran’s funeral where my brothers and I had to try and squeeze into the backseat of my Mum’s car (this did not work). And my skin is super-sensitive like someone is trying to rub me down with an invisible blanket of thorny holly leaves. It’s all very bizarre. But I do seem to finally be on the mend now. And so I don’t finish off this week’s HodgePodge whinging about being ill, I leave you with this funky chair I photographed at the restaruant/cafe we celebrated my friend’s birthday at the other week. I totally want a chair like this!