The Grand Ole Hodgepodge
Joyce takes the lead with her thought-provoking questions, and we dive in with our answers!
My favorite scent is the exhilarating fragrance of the outdoors - a blend of earthy, damp leaves and pine needles on rich soil. I love to open the windows and let that invigorating aroma fill my home. And then there's the unique scent of wet cement, that can't be replicated.
Would we find this in or around your home right now?
Yes, it is currently overcast and has been a damp Fall day. With open doors and windows, the aroma of my incense cedar tree fills the air, especially after rain. I also enjoy scented candles, but not too many of those artificial scents, as they give me congestion. A bowl of apples and fresh eucalyptus leaves, the comforting scents of brewing specialty teas, warm baked bread, pies, cookies, and hearty casseroles all combine to create the fragrances of the season.
In my youth, as I busily pursued life, I often overlooked the scents of Fall. Now, these familiar aromas envelop me in transporting me back to those days, and I realize now, subconsciously, I was paying attention.
I hope never to forget these wonderful Fall scents.
2. October is Country Music Month...are you a fan of country music?
I enjoy it at times.
Do you have a favorite country artist?
No.
Ever been to Nashville?
Back when I was a kid - we visited our family in Tennessee, they would all attend the Grand Ole Opry, while my sister and I stayed back with our cousins. I do wish I had gone back then at least once.
In terms of lifestyle, are you more country mouse or city mouse?
I don't know what I am - I've lived in the big city, a small coastal town, and the urban sprawl of Silicon Valley, where I raised my boys. I now live in a semi-rural town that has big-city aspirations. It’s growing with new businesses and housing sprouting all over. Exciting for the younger more “hip” people.
3. How about 'country cooking'? (loosely defined as rich flavors, familiar foods, large portions, often fried, and often associated with the southern region of the US of A) chicken and dumplings-fried chicken-shrimp and grits-biscuits and gravy-mac and cheese-fried green tomatoes-cornbread-collard or turnip greens-deviled eggs-'barbecue'-gumbo-banana pudding
As with everything, in moderation, it's fine, once in a while, but I wouldn't want to eat it regularly. When I visited my brother in Alabama, I had a hard time with the food because I’m not used to it. It seemed like everything was fried - my God, even the pickles! No, thank you. I am used to fresher ingredients.
Which of the foods listed is your favorite?
I've enjoyed fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, deviled eggs, banana pudding, and cornbread. Grandma made delicious dandelion greens and collard greens. I also loved Aunt Wilma's perfectly breaded fried okra, fried to perfection with no slimy feel, and Grandma's pinto beans with ham hocks that she always had simmering on the stove.
Any on the list you haven't tried or would say a firm no thank you to if offered?
I don't eat shellfish, and I've never tried grits or fried green tomatoes.
4. What's something that always has a positive impact on your mood?
Spending time with my loved ones (dog and cat included)
5. As we say so long to September, share a noun, a verb, and an adjective that tells us something about how that month looked for you.
Hot Days, Hectic schedule, and new friends.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
Thanks for dropping by.
Debby
I am a country mouse and I like country music too, but not a fan of grits or fried tomatoes. I do like fried chicken though. Enjoyed reading your answers. Janice
ReplyDeleteGood fried chicken is delicious.
DeleteIt's often difficult to define likes and disllikes when pinned down to an answer, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteYes it is. Often I just put the first thing that pops into my head.
DeleteFun read! I'm a country mouse. Always been a county mouse. Back in the day when I was a kid I had a friend and she was very much the city mouse and we used to joke about that. Happy Fall to you Debby!!!! 🌻
ReplyDeleteMy dad was a country mouse and he married a city gal. Dad was always wanting to go back to his roots whereas Mom always loved the city life. They compromised and lived in suburbia.
DeleteI love that story, Debby. That's a great middle ground they arrive at 🧡
DeleteMy favorite fall scent is burning leaves although I have to go out into the country to smell them as it's not legal to burn them here.
ReplyDeleteWe don’t do that here but I bet it does give a nice fallish aroma.
DeleteCedar and eucalyptus, yesssss I never would have thought about wet cement, but you're right! Southern cooking might well be my undoing, lol. I resisted tasting fried green tomatoes for years, and now I wonder whatever took me so long.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the update on sweet Laydee!
Well if someone made me some, I’d try it. Do you all buy green tomatoes at the store because I’ve never seen them. I guess you have to grow and sacrifice a luscious red tomato for something green, breaded and fried! 🍅
DeleteI appreciate your random.
ReplyDeleteI too have not tried fried green tomatoes.
Carla
Thanks for visiting Carla. I appreciate it.
DeleteI do enjoy country music, Debby, but even though we live in the South, we don't eat a lot of fried foods due to health issues. I will have to say, though, that I love grits! Maybe, you can get a chance to try them some day. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteI pretty much enjoy all types of music but the last couple of years, I’m enjoying classical music and play that during the day. Beautiful listening to the different instruments and how they come together for form a masterpiece!
DeleteI never ate shellfish either. and I have never had grits or fried green tomatoes. They all seem so unappealing to me!
ReplyDeleteI’m allergic so I stay away from shellfish and even some fish. I’d try the grits and green tomatoes if someone who knows how, cooked it for me. It’s not seen in our restaurants. It’s totally foreign to me.
DeleteGreat answers. I agree that sometimes its hard to really pin down answers.
ReplyDeleteI too love the fragrance of wet cement. Hard to define but it does bring back feelings of home when I was young. Love the smell of bresh brewed coffee and warm out of the oven bread and apple pie.
I think I am a little of both mice ... never lived really rural but we only have to go 5 miles or so to be out in the farm and ranch lands. I could never live in NYC. Loved being there for 2 weeks of work at a time, but was so glad to get back home to suburbia.
Love GOOD fried chicken and the comfort foods ... in moderation as I age.. sigh
I loved my visit to Nashville with a fellow blogger (not on any longer) We had a ball. Did all the touristy things and went to a Sandy Patti conference. Wonderful.
I don't mind "country" music as long as its not too twangy and nasal sounding.
Fun questions.
Now I'm hungry for some fresh baked bread!
Sue
As a child I lived in San Francisco before we moved to Pacifica I loved it there. Mom did all the shopping by walking to the market every couple of days, doing laundry at the laundromat with the other moms, and just the hustle and bustle of the Haight Ashbury before the hippie invasion. It was a great place to live. Then we moved to foggy Pacifica and it was boring to me until I started to settle in. I always missed the city life. So convenient and everything right out your front door - no car needed.
DeleteHowever it’s not what it once was - and I do get a kick out of hearing roosters in the morning, and the bleating of goats. Once I was at Bible study and the farmers cows got out and were all in the parking lot of the church and I couldn’t help but laugh, knowing this is something you don’t see in the Bay Area.
I liked your answers
ReplyDeleteThanks Jo-Anne
DeleteI'm a country mouse but don't like country music. :). One of my favorite smells is clothes hung out on the line. I took clothes off the line and put them on the table to fold today and the whole house smells wonderful. :)
ReplyDeleteOhh that is a nice fragrance. I prefer natural smells to the artificial candles. Mostly due to allergies that I seem to have acquired the older I get to artificially scented products.
DeleteI think I am a mixture of mice. I love the city and all it has to offer, but am very glad to come home to my smaller more rural city.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite scent of fall is probably cinnamon.
God bless.
I love living here and would love to live in a more rural area but moving further away from medical facilities wouldn’t be very smart.
DeleteNo wifi around here today, so I am late commenting. Only on rare occasions do we eat fried foods now days. Fried chicken was a dinner staple when I was growing up, but I have not personally fried chicken in Years. We do eat a lot of veggies ... I only listen to music when I go to bed and it is mostly Southern gospel or Country christian.
ReplyDeleteI recently had fish and chips that were dripping in oil. I sent it back and just had them take it off the bill. If the oil is HOT it doesn’t get drippy. They just didn’t know how to fry. So far we don’t have issues with our cholesterol because we both grew up eating fairly healthy.
DeleteFried food is so heavy and leaves me feeling stuffed. We rarely eat fried food. I do love pinto beans!
ReplyDeleteAgree and it is heavy food. I don’t like the feeling of being “stuffed” I’m much more inclined toward a lighter diet.
DeleteHey, you will have to try grits and fried green tomatoes - just once. I love them both. A outdoor scent - interesting.
ReplyDeleteI’m open to that but I know no one who cooks that way here; no restaurants.
DeleteOutdoor scents - yep because after a summer of AC and not able to get outside, I appreciate those awesome earthy aromas. Plus I can’t take too many artificial fall fragrances. Fresh is best!
One of my favorite fall scents is the smell of lit Jack-o-lanterns as the lid starts to cook and burn on Halloween.
ReplyDeleteNever been a country music fan but lately I have started to enjoy some of it. My taste is rock and really like most of the southern rock bands.
There is an cappella group I have listen to the last few years and saw in concert a couple years ago that sing a mix of country and rock, they are called "Home Free"
I am a smaller city/town girl that likes to near the big cities but not live there.
My mom made fried green tomatoes sometimes. I never really likked grits until I had them in New Orleans. Tried a lot of "southern style" food that trip and it was really good. Not really fried stuff but we did try the fried pickles. My high school best friend's parents hailed from Oklahoma so her mom made great fried chicken and there was always a pitcher of sweet tea ready to drink.
I have had collard greens at a BBQ place in Oakland but will not touch okra.
Oh I know that fragrance - I like that too! I would never eat okra again. Aunt Wilma has passed on and no one could cook them like she did.
DeletePlease read my post
ReplyDeleteI did and commented back in September.
DeleteYes, they do fry their pickles down here in the South. When I first heard of that (after moving to Florida from Colorado), I was surprised. What do they taste like? Fried pickles. Nothing special. Grits, too, are bland and boring.
ReplyDeleteYeah I thought fried pickles was the craziest thing I ever heard of.
DeleteI can't do the fried pickles, although I love pickles right out of the jar. Fried okra is my favorite fried food and one of the only things I eat fried. I love the meme in your random thought! Enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDelete