**Hi to my HodgePodge friends who use blogger as a host! I’m trying to leave comments on your posts today, but blogger won’t let me unless you have the option to use Name/URL. I’d love to comment back to you, but I can’t unless you open your blog out to non-google blog users**

Another week, another HodgePodge – as always you can link up your own post and find links to others by clicking on the HodgePodge blog button below!

1. March 20th is the first day of spring…is she a lion or a lamb in your part of the world? 

Well, only if you live in the Northern Hemisphere – my friends in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand are heading into Autumn. As for lion or lamb? I don’t know what you mean!

**ok, I think the answer is both. Scotland has such unpredictable weather, and we really do get all 4 seasons in one day fairly often. So we can get a bizarre heatwave in March that is hotter than most of our summer days and then snow a few weeks later. Go figure!**

2. What’s the most dreaded task on your spring clean to-do list?  Do you have a ‘plan of attack’?

Spring clean? I don’t think I’ve ever ‘spring cleaned’. Usually any clear outs happen before Christmas or in the summer. Usually the dreaded task is getting bags of stuff to the charity shop. Sorting it and putting it in a bag isn’t a problem!

3. Peas…love ‘em or hate ‘em?  What’s a favorite dish you make using peas?

I’m not a fan of peas. I don’t mind them as an ingredient, but having them as a sidedish – Bleurgh!!! My favourite thing (and indeed the only thing I make with peas) is a frittata with peas, courgette, parmesan, fresh basil, lemon zest and topped off with goats cheese.

Let’s make it clear though. Mushy peas are most definitely an English thing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a friend get a poke of chips from the chippie with a side of mushy peas. But the English do that all the time. Strange people

4.  Do you feel under appreciated?

Occasionally. But most of the time, I have such encouraging friends and colleagues around me that I can feel over appreciated. In fact, they’re in danger of giving me a big head!

5. Have you been using Google Reader?  If so, what are you switching to now that GR has announced retirement?  If not, how do you read your favorite blogs? 

I tried it once as everyone raved about it when it first came out. I hated it. I used bloglines for years, and now I use Feedly. It was a pain using Feedly at first because it used my Google Reader & Blogger settings (I used to use blogger, and I’ll never go back unless WordPress does something drastic), and it had a few bugs. But it has definitely improved and now I  like it!

6. Anne Bradstreet is credited with the following quote~ “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant;  if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”  Agree or Disagree?  Why?

Agree. As much as I hate challenges and indeed, the cold, dark gross winters…I believe you’ve got to take the bitter with the sweet. Adversity grows us, and makes us see and appreciate what we DO have.

7.  When did you last ‘spring for something’?  What was it?

I’m not familiar with this expression…I’ll maybe update when I see everyone else’s answers and gain an understanding of what it means. As I’m guessing you don’t mean when I jumped up to reach to reach something in my kitchen cupboard?

8.  Insert your own random thought here?

I’m happy that the Paddy not Patty (#paddynotpatty) message seems to finally be spreading in North America. Nothing infuriates the Irish more when they see their Patron Saint being called a girl’s name! I only had to pull up 6 people on twitter at the weekend (and one was shamefully a Scottish actor who’s clearly been living amongst Americans too long – lol!). So if you live in USA or Canada, help educate those wannabe Irish folks that the diminutive form of ‘Patrick’ is ‘Paddy‘. If in doubt, just call him by his proper Sunday name of Patrick.