Wednesday Hodgepodge

 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 635

Here are the questions to round one of 2026

 (round 635 for real).  

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

I’m sorry to say that even though I always try to follow the rules, I simply couldn’t come up with three words to describe our year. Instead, something settled quietly into my heart:

His Mercy Endures Forever.

Those four words say it better than anything else could.

As some of you know, Mr D and I both have health issues. We know God has had His hand on us, guiding us through each and every day.

 

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?

cooked

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? 

67, I don’t know or understand it, so I went to co-pilot and this is what I got . . .

“Six Seven”: When Kids Make Nonsense Make Sense

Every generation has its secret handshake — a little phrase or gesture that makes adults tilt their heads like confused golden retrievers. Lately, the kids have latched onto something new: “six seven.” Not sixty‑seven. Not math. Just… “six seven.”

And they say it with such confidence, as if it’s the most natural answer in the world.

Ask them a question? “Six seven.” Tell them to stop? “Six seven.” Ask what it means? A shrug… and “six seven.”

There’s even a little hand motion that goes with it — palms up, alternating, like they’re weighing invisible marshmallows. And somewhere in the background, a rapper’s voice from a TikTok edit is chanting “six seven,” and the whole thing becomes a cultural snowball rolling downhill.

Maybe that’s why this trend makes me smile now. It’s a reminder that childhood is supposed to be a little absurd. A little loud. A little baffling. And a lot joyful.

And maybe — just maybe — the next time a kid answers me with “six seven,” I’ll smile, shake my head, and let them have their moment.

So, with all that info, I don’t think it needs to be an official word of the “Queen’s English.”

 

2.  What are your nightly rituals? Is that different from your 'ideal' nightly ritual? If so what's your ideal? 

Brush my teeth and take my meds and lights out!

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

We just had pinto beans last Saturday evening and leftovers on Sunday, compliments of Tammy.  The meal was completed with cornbread on the side and glass of sweet ice tea. Yummy

4.  Are you easily embarrassed? Elaborate. 

Maybe years ago when I was young, thankfully I’ve learned to roll with the punches and laugh at myself.

5.  Insert your own random thought here. 

Sometimes I think God must smile at the way we humans treat ordinary moments like they’re nothing special, when really they’re the tiny stitches holding the whole day together. A warm mug, a kind word, a breeze that remembers your name—none of them loud, all of them holy in their own small way. Maybe the secret is simply noticing. It reminds me of the verse, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24) A whole invitation tucked into a single sunrise.

Sunrise at Sylvan Beach, La Porte, Texas.

(not my picture)

 

Until Next Time