The Wednesday Hodgepodge #52

I hope you are all having a good week. It's Wednesday, which means it's time to join in with the Wednesday Hodgepodge with Joyce who blogs at From This Side of the Pond! Each week there are 6 questions, we answer and then link up. Simple!

1. April 22nd is Earth Day...what's the most 'out of this world' place on earth you've ever visited? Tell us something about it.

I’m actually quite boring when it comes to travelling. I don’t really go anywhere but the most "out of this world" trip I’ve had was spending Christmas in a hotel with my family, my dad and his partner. It just felt really different from the usual Christmas at home. Everything was already done, the decorations were up, there was no stress about cooking or cleaning and it felt like I was stepping into a Christmas film for a few days.

2. A favorite quote, verse, or song lyric with the word earth in it?

The first thought I had for this was Earth Song by Michael Jackson, I used to love that song and the music video which went with it but thought that was too obvious! I found a few quotes which did make me smile:

Be like Earth: keep spinning even when nobody appreciates the effort.

You are allowed to grow slowly. Earth took billions of years and still isn’t finished.

If Earth can survive asteroids, you can survive that awkward email you sent.

When life feels heavy, remember Earth is literally carrying oceans on its back and still showing up daily.

3. What's the most trivial thing about which you have a strong opinion?

The TV volume! It is never right! One minute someone’s whispering like they’re sharing a big secret and the next minute it’s like the whole soundtrack is trying to blow the windows out. When I am watching some shows, it feels like I am a sound engineer, constantly turning it up then down! While I am on about the volume on the TV, it has to be on an even number. Odd numbers just feel wrong.

4. What's your most commonly used kitchen utensil or tool? What's the last thing you made using that tool?

I bought some tongs a few years ago and they are the most used thing in my kitchen. I got a pack of 5 or 6 purely to get things out of the air fryer but now I use them with everything like the George Foreman grill, turning things over in pans and they have saved me from burning myself many times while using the air fryer. I last used them to make the red onion and bacon tart. They are great for turning the bacon over in the pan and scooping the red onions out of the pan to put on the pastry.

5. Marilyn (Memphis Bridges) gave me a great book of 3000 questions, and I'm going to try to use one in our Hodgepodge every week. Here is today's - What is your greatest extravagance?

My biggest extravagance is definitely takeaways but not just the obvious ones, like pizza, Chinese food or fish and chips. It’s the random shop sandwiches for lunch when I could’ve easily made something at home but didn’t. It’s picking up a sausage roll when I’m out, even though I wasn’t even hungry five minutes earlier but I could smell them coming from the shop. It’s the fancy coffee drinks which are like a reward for getting something done. All these little food decisions add up and I never seem to learn.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

If my eldest could have a break from bringing colds and germs home from work that would be great. I came down with a cold that I caught from her over the weekend. Thankfully, I didn't feel too ill. It was more the inconvenience from my runny nose and not sleeping as much as I would have liked but that worked out well. I was snotty and sneezing, dosed up with cold and flu tablets and felt wide awake, which meant I stayed up both nights to watch Wrestlemania. If I had been feeling well I would not have stayed up both nights but sick me thought I was going to be awake anyway, so I might as well. I am feeling much better now and can at least breathe through my nose properly again.