Hodgepodge - There once was a petite old gal from Cali

 Thanks to Joyce From This Side of the Pond, I am joining in yet another Hodgepodge. I think I may start to be a regular pretty soon. I'm enjoying them. 

1. Why do you blog? Have your reasons changed over time? 

I've always kept diaries when I was young. My therapist thought it would be a good way for me to get my thoughts out. Back in the late '90s, my first blog was on Yahoo 360 - then I went to Xanga and then over to Blogger. I especially like Xanga because you could set your audience to where some posts would be public and some would be for your readers and some would be just for me, like a personal diary. 

I've always enjoyed writing since I was old enough - and you would think that because I do, I am a talker. I am not a talker at all. In fact, I am a quiet person -  I just like more meaningful conservations. I am more of a listener than a talker. and I detest small talk. This is why my therapist suggested blogging to me - a way to creatively express myself. Lately, I do not feel I am creatively expressing myself. I feel as if I am in a rut. That is why, I have been thinking about retiring from blogging. So many have left. I find I have to be very careful as to what I post about. Readers nowadays, want fluff - and while I do enjoy that as well, I do have an inquiring mind and for the last few years I feel stifled. I'll be 70 next March so I may or may not continue after that. We'll see. I only have 50 followers - if that -  so I don't know why I care about losing any if I should change things up a bit. 

2. What's a typical Friday night look like at your house?

We observe my husband's tradition - we used to have a group of like-minded who joined with us every Friday night. Both here and when we lived in the San Francisco area. Sadly 3 in our group have passed on. Now we get together for biblical feasts and observances throughout the year. At times we attended the local synagogue but they are going down a different road. 

It is not a set-in-stone rule, that we choose to do this - but it is important to my husband and I knew this when I married him. 

3. Do you like donuts? Your favorite kind? How often do you treat yourself to a donut? Have you ever made homemade donuts? 

I love donuts. I have a weakness for glazed donuts and chocolate-covered donuts. I do not care for cake donuts only the yeasty ones that raise and are absolutely scrumptious. I eat jelly donuts at least once a year on Hanukkah. They are called Sufganiyah. 

I've never attempted to make them. I don't see myself in the future making them either. A good donut shop is all that is needed. 

4. How do you feel about shopping? Are you an online shopper? Catalog shopper? Brick and mortar shopper? Do you order groceries online or prefer to select items with your own two hands? 

I don't like to shop. Shopping for clothes is the worst. No, I take that back - shopping for bras is the worst! I tend to shop online as long as they have a good return policy and the returns are here in the USA. I've been burnt a few times, purchasing something that came from China and when I wanted to return it, the cost was more than the item. So now I check.

 Granted, I can't totally escape in-the-flesh-shopping for some things so what I do is get there as soon as the doors open. I like to get in and out, asap! I do enjoy shopping for wood at lumber places. Love the smell of wood and of course gardening centers. 

I ordered groceries online and had them deliver them one of two times during the pandemic - I didn't like it. 

5. Next week's Hodgepodge finds us somehow in the month of April, which just so happens to be National Poetry Month. Sum up (or tell us something about) your month of March in the form of a limerick. You can do it!! 

Oh man, do I have to? 

There once was a petite old gal from Cali

who demanded corned beef in her tamales

it rained and rained and rained

while she ate and ate and gained 

now she's our fat gal from Cali

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

First off, the term "Cali" is not how I refer to California. I never heard it used when I was a kid - it seemed more like a SoCal term and I was a San Franciscan. (Don't call us Frisco) Then tourists started using it to refer to the whole State and I believe it became more prevalent in the 1980s when there was a song, by LL Cool named "Cali." The term took off after that plus a new generation started using it and the rest is now history. 

I only used it for the limerick. As far as I am concerned I am a Northern Californian. 

I am finding I do reveal more about myself in these Hodgepodges that otherwise I wouldn't. It's like it gets my juices revved up and I start spilling the beans. 

I hope you have enjoyed -

Debby