Chocolate Seasoning: The Weekly Hodgepodge

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Come on over to 

From This Side of the Pond 

for the Hodgepodge link-up!

 

From Volume 572 - The colors of fall...red, brown, russet, golden bronze, golden yellow, purplish red, light tan, crimson, orange red, and scarlet. Are these colors you like to wear? Is this your season in terms of color? What about your home? Would we see these tones in your home decorating? 

Out of these colors, my wardrobe has some purple and red tones (and yes, crimson--RTR).  Because I have yellow/bronze undertones in my skin, yellow tones wash me out and don't look good.  My "season" is supposedly winter.  While I wear a lot of black pants and skirts, my blouses are normally in the royal tones.  However, I don't try to stick to any specific palette; I wear what feels good and looks good to me.

As far as my home decor goes, my palette is all over the place.  All of my furniture is either black or dark brown (I do have a piece of furniture I'm soon going to paint a cheery blue color) and my walls are white, so I have splashes of different colors in each area.  I have red in my kitchen and office area, turquoise and teal in my dining area and living room, and purple in my bathroom and bedroom.  I figure by the time I finish decorating my apartment, I'll be able to buy a house and start over.

From Volume 573 - On Wednesday we officially reach the '70 days until Christmas' mark. Have you purchased any gifts? If you don't celebrate Christmas then how about Hanukkah presents? 

Not yet.  Most of my presents will be handmade, so I have been pondering over what to make for different people.  I'm also trying to decide what new Christmas crafts I want to try this season.  All of November and most of December will be dedicated to making gifts.  Yes, I usually start in July, but I taught this summer and that threw off my schedule.

From Volume 575: 

What are your current priorities in this season of life? Elaborate as much or as little as you like.

This particular season (fall into winter) is especially hard on me psychologically.  I talked here about my annual battle with Seasonal Affective Disorder.  Intellectually I know that since mid June the days have been slowly getting shorter.  However, the shortness of the day hit my body with a jolt about two weeks ago.  It was not pleasant.  I knew that I had to go back to the strategies I've previously used to battle the impending threat of extended melancholy.  The good thing is that I'm already in the holiday spirit, so focusing on Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas will go a long way in boosting my mood.

What's one thing you wish you had more of? 

Space.  Don't get me wrong, I'm very thankful for my apartment, but I do look forward to having my own house with designated spaces for things like crafts, work, and exercise.  

Last thing you ate that contained chocolate? Last thing you made that called for chocolate? 

Quaker makes chocolate flavored rice cakes that I enjoy on a regular basis.  It's been a hot minute since I've prepared a recipe containing chocolate.  I'm thinking the German Chocolate Pie I made last year was the last recipe of that type I've made.

Insert your own random thought here. 

An update on something from my last hodgepodge:  I mentioned that one of my fun October activities was a book study I was starting in my home.  Our church had a fair to introduce the groups and several people signed up.  However, NOT ONE PERSON showed up for the first meeting and the majority of them never informed me that they weren't coming.  Can you say tacky?

I knew you could.

Sigh.  Am I doomed to be plagued by grown people who cannot act like it?  I may try to start the group up again in the spring, but I don't know.  I don't really like to waste time studying and prepping for nothing.

Oh well, on to try something else.

In case you missed it:  

* My previous Hodgepodge post:  "Rhythm and Poetry" is here.
* My latest First Line Friday post: "#23 - From Devastation to Restoration by Jerry Savelle" is here.
* My "24 in 2024" post is here.
* My 2024 reading challenge:  "Full Shelf Challenge V.2" is here.
* My latest series on my Auntie's Workshop blog "30 Day Art Challenge 2024" starts here.