The Wednesday Hodgepodge #76

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. Let's embrace it shall we? What's something you recently forgot to do? Is your memory these days more like a sieve or an elephant?

I forgot I was supposed to be at my dad's on Monday. We had talked about it on Friday and I said I would pop over to help with some of the admin for his business. He rang me at lunchtime wondering where I was. Oops! I got my shoes on and rushed over. There was no actual rush but I felt bad for forgetting!

I have a memory like a sieve these days. Things can go into my head and then disappear five minutes later. I can remember random things from years ago that I probably don't need to remember at all but if you asked me on Monday morning what I was doing that day, my memory had given up. lol. I think part of the problem is that there is always so much going on. Even when I'm not really busy, there's always things to remember. Appointments, things that need buying, jobs that need doing, people I need to get back to, things I need to take somewhere and those little everyday things don't seem important until I forget them.

2. Share a trick/strategy you have to help you remember things you need to remember.

I write everything down! If it's really important, I write it on the whiteboard in the kitchen. That way I can't miss it because I walk past it all the time. I also leave notes for myself and I put things in the calendar on my phone and I always get a notification the day before to remind me. If I need to take something with me when I go out, I'll put it by the front door or somewhere that I know I'll see it. I think I've accepted now that I shouldn't rely on my memory for anything important. I could tell myself I'll remember that and there's a very good chance that I won't. Writing it down saves a lot of hassle!

3. What's your favorite fall vegetable to cook with? Do you prefer your fall veggies roasted, blended into a warm soup, or fresh in a crisp autumn salad?

My first thought was parsnips! I had to Google if they were an Autumn vegetable and they are. The peak harvest time is between October and February here. I love them roasted with a bit of honey on. I could easily eat a full plate and when I am making them for say a roast dinner, I always make extra so I can snack on them. I also love Brussels sprouts on a roast dinner at this time of year. They were something I hated as a child but I love them now but only ever eat them between now and Christmas!

I'm more of a roasted vegetable person and I do like soup, especially when it's cold outside but if I had to choose between a bowl of soup and a plate of roasted vegetables, the roasted vegetables will always win. The poor crisp Autumn salad doesn't even get a look in!

4. October 5th is/was National Do Something Nice Day. Did you? If so tell us about it. Or maybe someone did something nice for you, and if that's the case please share.

I went to my dad's and helped him with a few things on the computer. He used to be great at getting these things done when they could be done over the phone or in person but now everything is online and he is not great with technology. Everything seems so complicated needing to use an email address, remember passwords and the dreaded verification codes sent to your phone! He doesn't do text messages. lol It didn't take too long to get the admin done and it was nice to be able to help my dad and save him the frustration of trying to work it all out for himself.

5. Nathaniel Hawthorne is credited with the quote "I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house."

Do you tend to spend more time outside this time of year?

Do you actively pause to soak in fleeting moments of beauty in your daily routine? Elaborate.

I don't spend more time outside in autumn but I do try to make the most of those days when the sun is shining. I like to potter about in the garden and of course make the most of drying the clothes on the washing line. There's something satisfying about getting a load of washing on the line instead of putting it in the tumble dryer. I know that's not exactly what Hawthorne had in mind when he wrote his quote but we all appreciate autumn sunshine in our own ways!

I do try to pause and notice the little things too. There's always something to do so it's good to stop for a minute and look around. At this time of year, I'm noticing the changing leaves, the pretty sunsets and how nice it feels to be outside when the weather is behaving itself. It won't be long until the colder weather comes and I am not a fan of that.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Before I saw the questions for today, I already had in mind what my random thought was going to be. It was going to be about me forgetting to go to my dad's on Monday so now I have to think of something else. lol I had a funny moment last week when I was in town which shows I have a really bad memory for faces. I was walking around a shop and a woman said, "Ohh, hello there. I've not seen you in ages". I had no idea who she was, she knew me though. She asked how my dad and brother were doing, so I narrowed it down a little and then had a little chat about them, the weather and it was only when she was walking away that I realised who she was. I must have come across as so stand-offish. Oops! In my defence, I hadn't seen the woman in about a year and she looked so different from when I used to see her in the place she was working. Oops!