The Wednesday Hodgepodge #73

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. How do you define beauty?

Beauty, to me, is not about how someone looks, it's about the way someone behaves. Someone can be the prettiest, most drop-dead gorgeous person in the world but if they are unkind and rude to people, it makes them ugly in my eyes! Real beauty is being kind for no reason, giving a nice word when someone needs it, a smile for no reason, being thoughtful and making others feel good about themselves. The way someone treats others always reveals more than their appearance ever could.

Beauty is not limited to people! Beauty is all around us. In a sunrise or sunset, a song that drags you right back to an old memory. Sometimes it’s the view from a hilltop, a meal that just hits the spot or a nice cup of tea that you desperately need. Beautiful moments don't need to be planned, sometimes they just show up when we least expect them.

I think we tend to overthink what beauty means, it took me way too long to answer this question. For me, it’s the little moments, how people make each other feel and noticing the good stuff that’s all around us. That’s what really makes life beautiful.

2. Have you ever taken a trip by train? If so where did you go and what did you think of the experience? If not do you have any desire to do so? Where would you like to go? (You might find inspiration here-The Best Train Trips in The World)

I have travelled by train quite a few times, mostly to York and Newcastle upon Tyne. I enjoy it when everything goes to plan and I like being able to sit back and look out of the window. You see things that you wouldn't normally see from the road. The last trip we had to Newcastle Upon Tyne, we saw the other side of the Angel of the North statue and the rows of bridges across the River Tyne!

Of course, trains have a habit of testing your patience with delays, cancellations and when they are overcrowded. Eek! A good few years ago, we travelled by train over Christmas and it was a complete nightmare with people sitting in our reserved seats, people thinking we were in their seats and people pushing and shoving! I wrote a blog post all about it. Travelling by train makes people angry!

A few years later, there were train strikes when we were travelling, so we had to change all of our plans but it worked out well and we just started our holiday a few days earlier. We'll just forget that in my panic I booked the train tickets for October instead of September. Oops! I realised before we left and it was sorted out quickly! Phew!

If I could choose a train journey anywhere in the world, I would want to ride on one of those sleeper trains that is part of the holiday. Looking at the Best Train Trips in the World list, the one I'd most like to do is the Rocky Mountaineer in North America. The scenery looks amazing and I think it would be such a memorable trip with the glass-domed carriages where you can see right around you. It sounds like a trip to add to the bucket list!

3. Shell shocked, bombshell, bandshell, shellacking, in a nutshell, walking on eggshells...choose one and tell us why you chose it, or how it relates to your life in some way currently.

I don't think any of these relate to my life at the moment so I chose in a nutshell because I'm all for keeping things simple. When I saw this question, I had to Google what a bandshell and shellacking were because I had no idea what either of them meant! You learn something new every day, especially on a Wednesday from the Hodgepodge. Hehehe I think in a nutshell is a good phrase because sometimes you don't need a long explanation or loads of unnecessary details. In a nutshell, I like keeping things simple and learning new things along the way.

4. Tacos, pistachios, oysters, clams, eggs...your favorite food on the list that comes in/with a shell?

I think I am going to be pretty basic and say eggs. I love that you can have them in so many different ways. Fried, scrambled, hard-boiled and my favourite, dippy eggs. There's something about dippy eggs with toast soldiers that I never get bored of but eggs are one of those things that can be eaten any time of the day, breakfast, lunch or even for tea!

5. Are birthdays a big deal in your house? Is your own birthday a big deal in some way? Elaborate.

Yes, birthdays are a big deal in our house. We've had 3 in the last month and a half. My fellas and both my daughters. We love having an excuse to celebrate, have a nice meal out, make a fuss of each other and of course, there is plenty of cake! It will feel strange this week not eating birthday cake. hehehe

I like celebrating my own birthday too. I like having a day that's all about me, doing something I want to do, eating what I want to eat and maybe getting a few presents along the way. It's my birthday in November and it seems such a long way away. Hmmf.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

The TV is getting good here! Big Brother is back on, Strictly Come Dancing is coming soon with new presenters and The Great British Bake off too! Nigella Lawson is taking over from Prue Leith. Sir David Attenborough is returning with Blue Planet III and a whole bunch of celebrities are taking part on The Traitors! It looks like a good line up. I am looking forward to seeing Miranda Hart and Richard E Grant!