Joining With Wednesday Hodgepodge

As I sit here in the early morning hours, I see our world is cloaked in heavy fog. We probably won't see a sunrise then, but never mind, I do love a good foggy morning too. Today I'm joining with the lovely Joyce at From This Side of the Pond in her Wednesday Hodgepodge. She asks great questions and we get to answer them in our own way; she does remind us to be nice or she'll have to get out the wooden spoon.

1. 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder'. What have you seen recently that you thought was beautiful? Yesterday, I was out taking my walk. It was a gorgeous Spring day with sunny skies and chattering chickadees in the woodsy area. As I passed along one street, I noticed a fellow getting ready to take out his vintage car ... one of those beautiful, long boats from the late 1950s or early 1960s. Perhaps he was taking it out for the first time after a long winter; when I watched him go by I caught the look of joy on his face. For me, that was a beautiful moment -- it really made my day to see this complete stranger thoroughly enjoying being out in his beautiful old car.

2. Our culture and beauty...your thoughts? Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to be beautiful like those beautiful women I saw in old movies -- Grace Kelly, Deborah Kerr, Audrey Hepburn. I know my ideal of beauty was shaped from these images seen on television; I assume many others in our western world have taken their ideals from Hollywood role models, both then and now.

As a woman of a certain age now, I still love the grace and elegance of these beautiful women, but at this stage of life, I'm also drawn to women like Mother Teresa, whose love for Jesus and the poor shone from her eyes and lit up her face into a different kind of beauty. And to Dame Judi Dench, another lovely woman I admire, who may be more beautiful in her 80's than ever before.

I think there is a shift, however small, in the way our culture envisions what is beautiful and who is beautiful. I've seen recent ads on television where young Down's syndrome children are the models. At first I found it a little jarring; after all, we're so trained, so used to seeing only the perfect portrayed. But it's changing. That is good. Those kids were beautiful.

    

3. Age before beauty, beauty queen, beauty mark, beauty sleep ... which beauty-ful phrase resonates with you today? Why? Beauty Sleep, to be sure. Having experienced the very real ill side effects of not getting enough sleep while working our part-time job as night cleaners a few years ago, I realized it was not just about not feeling alert when we don't get enough sleep; it truly affects the health of our body and mind, and never mind what we see when we peer into a mirror.

   

4. I read here a list of the top ten beasts that scare us the most -- alligators, coyotes, black bears, birds (pigeons in particular), sharks, bats, bed bugs, rats, rattlesnakes, and the black widow spider. Which beast on the list scares you the most? What is the likelihood of you having an actual encounter with that particular beast? Did a movie contribute to your fear of this creature? Have you ever had a real life encounter with any of the animals listed?

I used to be afraid of the coyotes howling at night when I was a little girl living out in the country. I'd let my imagination run away with me and imagine myself locked out of the house at night and the yowling beasts trying to get me. Nightmarish, to be sure.

Except for the birds, I wouldn't want to meet any of the beasts on the list. Yes, I watched Hitchcock's The Birds years ago, but as creepy as the movie was, it never translated into my being afraid of birds in real life. I'm more afraid of rattlesnakes. We were in the Drumheller Badlands a couple of years and our guide told us to be aware of rattlers in the area. Thankfully, we don't have them in northerly Alberta so, no, I haven't seen one up close and personal; hope I never do. 

5. Where were you when you last heard a bell ring? Was it alarming or musical? Sitting here at my computer listening to a YouTube from England, I heard bells being rung. I loved it. It's the bells that I'm really looking forward to hearing when we get to Oxford in a couple weeks time.

6. What's your favorite carb? Bread, hands down. I could easily eat it three times a day: First, toasted with jam, peanut butter, or both; as an egg, ham or grilled cheese sandwich for lunch; and as savoury garlic bread for supper. And, if I can't have bread, then let me eat cake. 

7. Let's wrap up another month of Hodgepodging and life with an acrostic. Recap your month using the word MARCH.

March still brought snow and wind
As warmer temperatures seemed to hide
Reading nice books and eating
Cake with tea
Helped to make it fine

8. Insert your own random thought here. I'm resorting to a quote I read recently by Sir Winston Churchill... because it's now morning and I smell coffee being brewed, so I have to hurry: 

"To be really happy...

one ought to have at least two or three hobbies,

and they must all be real."

For me, reading and blogging are two hobbies that are very real to me -- I feel quite happy and content when I'm engaged in my books and my blogging world. I'd be interested to know which hobbies are very real for you?

Wishing you a beautiful day,

Brenda

xox

Linking with Wednesday Hodgepodge