A new year for Wednesday Hodgepodge.

Here’s to aiming higher in 2026!

Starting off the first Wednesday of 2026 with a new set of questions that Joyce From This Side of the Pond wants us to ponder.

1. What are three words you would use to describe your 2025? 

Feet: In January I developed Plantar Fasciitis for the first time in my life so a lot centered around my feet and getting around the pain. Purchases of shoes, socks and inserts were contemplated. I did not do any walking trails, hikes, to speak of in 2025.

Plans: Lots of plans for travel and parties and carpooling and gifting in 2025. A lot of those plans are for 2026, too. I keep sane with my lists.

Yo-Yo: Up and down and up and down and up when it comes to my weight…again. I’m working on the down trend as I type.

2. I ask this question every January, and I always get comments about how we shouldn’t be banning words. This is fun and games so just play along : ) 

Every January 1st since 1976 Lake Superior University has published a list of words they’d like to see banished from the Queen’s English. Words may be banished due to misuse, overuse, or just general uselessness (go here to read about how the words are chosen). Here’s the list for 2026- 

67 • demure • cooked • massive • incentivize • full stop • perfect • gift/gifted  • my bad • reach out 

Which one (if any) do you use most often? Which one of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word you think should have made the list? 

I did a word search on my blog to see what if any of these words I used. Since I talk about the Lord Jesus Christ on my blog and share verses and hymns that center on Him there were a lot of posts with the word perfect in them since He is the only perfect person that has ever lived on this earth. It was not the same kind of perfect people use these days, though. Just this last week I got a response to a text message that said ‘perfect’. When we’ve made restaurant choices the wait staff have responded with ‘perfect’. That’s not the form of perfect that I’ve used.

Gift and gifted have popped up in my blog posts, too, but they are appropriate to what I was expressing.

I have talked about what was cooked but again I don’t think that’s the ‘cooked’ they are talking about here.

I vote for 67 getting the ax.

3. What are your nightly rituals? Is that different from your ‘ideal’ nightly ritual? If so what’s your ideal? 

If you talk to our grands, they’ll tell you (even though they don’t spend evenings with us) that we sit in front of the tv eating ice cream every night. They might not be too far off.

Ideally, I’d like to read more and be done eating by 6pm.

4. January 6th is/was National Bean Day. Do you like beans? Which one is your favorite? Last thing you ate made with beans? 

Yes, I do like beans. Pinto is probably my favorite and the kind I have most often since Mexican food is comfort food for us. We had refried beans with our Mexican meal on this past Sunday.

5. Are you easily embarrassed? Elaborate. 

Not unless I’m caught naked! 🙂 I’ve done embarrassing things in my life that I’m ashamed of. I have been forgiven for those things. I’ve learned over the years to avoid embarrassment whenever I can. In general, I’m not easily embarrassed.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I was impressed with the way our daughter-in-law, her mom and our grands started out the New Year. They walked the Rotary Trail. Check out that temperature!!

I also need to share this sweet embroidery that our grandson JJ completed and his mom made into an ornament for me. I love it!