Wednesday Hodgepodge #246

I guess everybody survived Thanksgiving and Black Friday last week. I only participated in one of those activities and it had nothing to do with shopping but eating instead!  It's time for this week's Hodgepodge with Joyce and the other Hodgepodgers.

1.  Did you watch the Charlie Brown Christmas Special Monday night?  Who is your favorite Peanuts character and why? No, I didn't watch but watched The Voice instead.  I don't think I've watched the Charlie Brown Christmas since my kids were little and were still interested in it.  If I had to pick a favorite character it would be Charlie Brown.  He is just so nice!  He gives his best effort at whatever he's doing even if he's not successful at it. 
 "Most psychiatrists agree that sitting in a pumpkin patch is excellent therapy for a troubled mind."-Linus
Would you agree? Yes...but not that it HAS to be in a pumpkin patch but anywhere in nature that is away from the hustle and bustle of life.  A quiet place to just sit and think really is therapeutic.
2.  Describe a sound from your childhood.  What does that sound bring to mind?  It would have to be the music of the ice cream truck!  I think I could hear it miles away before it ever got close to our neighborhood.  Last summer here in our town, someone ran an ice cream truck around town and just hearing that little ditty playing reminded me of barefoot, carefree summer days roaming the neighborhood with my friends and rushing into the house to get a dime to buy an orange push-up when the truck FINALLY made it to our neighborhood.
3.  You've won a trip to a winter wonderland...would that excite you?  Which one of the following would you most want to experience (or which one would you dislike the least?) -see the Aurora Borealis in Norway, stay in Sweden's Ice Hotel, go dogsledding in Lapland Finland, take a winter wildlife safari in Yellowstone, or celebrate winter carnival in Quebec?
I'm sorry to say that NONE of them appeal to me!  I'm not a cold weather girl at all.  Since I have to choose, it would be the Aurora Borealis and maybe I could see it from a hotel room and not have to go outside! 
4.  Who or what keeps you humble? CHILDREN!  They are just so honest and will really tell you just how it is at times.  The little ones in my Bible Class frequently say things that bring me back down to earth pretty quickly!
5.  What part of preparing for Christmas do you like the most?  Explain. I LOVE decorating the Christmas tree!  It's my favorite thing of the season besides getting together with family.  Taking out the ornaments and remembering who it's for and how old they were when we got that ornament is just so much fun.  It sometimes brings tears to my eyes also thinking about my kids being small and so excited for the Christmas season.  
6.  Gingerbread-yay or nay?  Is making a gingerbread house a part of your family holiday tradition?
I like gingerbread but haven't made it in years.  My kids always made gingerbread houses in their school classes so we never made another one at home as a tradition.  I usually was in their classes at school to help so we all got our 'fix' I guess.  
7.  What's one thing you want to start, do, or complete before the calendar rolls into the new year?
Oh, this list could be so long!  I really need to clean out all of the closets and get rid of stuff.  I take donations to Goodwill several times a year and usually make one last trip there in December.  And, since we hope to be in our new house soon after the first of the year, I need all of the junk gone before we move. 
8.  Insert your own random thought.
We survived our first holiday without having Dad.  In a way, I was dreading the day not knowing how any of us would react.  I had a few sad moments in the days preceding Thanksgiving and then on the day itself it hit me again.  One thing that I loved, even though it made me teary, was finding this tree stump with Dad's initials carved in it.