Flat as a To-Do List: The Weekly Hodgepodge

Join the fun! 

Come on over to 

From This Side of the Pond 

for the Hodgepodge link-up!

From Volume 641:

Pancakes...are you a fan? Syrup or no syrup? Plain, blueberries, chocolate chips, bananas, or some other add in? Are pancakes on your menu this week? 

I'm a big fan of pancakes.  My favorite recipe for them is here. My preferred way to eat them is topped with fruit and with a side of scrambled eggs.  I'll eat them with syrup or little honey if fruit is in short supply.  This week I do plan to make a batch and freeze the extras.

Tell us about a time recently when you felt 'spread too thin'. 

From Pinterest

This past couple of months have felt that way to some extent.  Along with my full-time job, I taught a course at the university, so I've not had much time left for blogging or other creativity.  The winter weather here in Colorado has been very mild, so I have been getting out and walking as much as I can.  So that's something.

There's always tasks to complete on my job, but this is the beginning of my "busy season."  The university as a whole is preparing for commencement, and the College of Adult and Graduate Studies is preparing their portion of the annual board of trustees report (what I lovingly call the "Big Bad BOT Book").  I have a list of related tasks a mile long to get done.

To keep my sanity (and my hair), I'm planning some mini vacations before my yearly week-long vacation the end of May.      

From Volume 642: 

Three sounds you love to hear? 

1. The laughter of children.
2. Any good music.
3. The morning crows, magpies, and geese that have been chiming through my windows lately. 

Three sounds you hate to hear? 

1. The screeching of tires.
2. Any loud-pitched noise.
3. The strident belting out of unnecessary vulgarity.  Y'all know that I'm no prude and I come from a very "cussy" family (and I even let one fly every once in a while), so it takes a lot of potty language to get me ruffled.  Some folks don't have any larger vocabulary than the F-word.  Come on, you're better than that.

From Pinterest

We March into March with next week's Hodgepodge...what's one thing on your March calendar that makes you smile? 

It's not on my calendar yet, but March 23-27 is the on-campus student's Spring Break.  The online students do not have a spring break this year (it happens occasionally). However, Lord willing (and I can swing it), those days will be my spring break.. If not, I'll take days closer to Good Friday since we get that holiday off anyway.  

Insert your own random thought here.  

In case you missed it:  

• My previous Hodgepodge post "The Skip Ad Button" is here.
• My latest Weekly Digest "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" is here.
  
• My latest First Line Friday post:  #43 - Looking for the King by David Downing is here. 
• My "2026 Baby Got Stacks" reading challenge is here.  (Updated regularly).  
• My "26 for 2026" challenge is COMING SOON. (Updated regularly)
• My "26 for 2026" art challenge is COMING SOON.  (Updated regularly). 

2026 Baby Got Stacks Reading Challenge

Artwork by Shannon Maddox
aka "Auntie"

 

Welcome to the 2026 "Baby Got Stacks" reading challenge!

Before we get started, let's do a little review.  Last year's challenge was a stunning success.  My goal was 100  books; I read 119!  This year I'm mixing things up a bit.  My total goal on my Goodreads challenge is 125 books. Part of that goal (chronicled here) is to read 100 children's books.  I'm using the Scholastic 100 Greatest Books for Kids list as a guide along with reading other children's books that pique my interest.  I've not read most of the books on the Scholastic list, so this should be fun. 

For those new to my blog, I divide my reads into several categories.  Sample categories for this year's reads include:

• Glorious rereads - books I enjoyed so much that I'm reading them again.
• Recommended Reads - books recommended by what I hope are trustworthy sources.
• Cross References - books referenced in other books I read. Not exactly a recommended read, but similar.
  
• Everybody's Reading It - books that everybody and their grandma read that I'm just now getting to.
• Impulse Reads - Books I bought, borrowed, or checked out of the library for no other reason than "hey, this looks interesting." 
• Kiddie Lit - Children's books.  This year, they get their own list. 

My rating systems is as follows:

✮✮✮✮ = Outstanding
✮✮✮ = Pretty good
✮✮ = Could have been better / could have been worse.
✮ = Not so great.  What the heck did I just read?  I'm finishing this one purely out of spite.
Zero stars = Ain't nobody got time for that = DNF (did not/would not/could not finish)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Books Read and Reviewed:

Completed books will be marked as a link to the review or Goodreads comments. *indicates a volume from my personal collection.

Book 01                                             
Book 02                                               
Book 03         
Book 04
Book 05

Read but Not Reviewed: *indicates a volume from my personal collection.

Regular reads:

1. The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton ✮✮  (Category:  Cross Reference)
2. The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron* ✮✮✮✮ (Category:  Glorious reread) 
3. Enjoying Jesus by Tim Chester  ✮✮✮✮
4. The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawerence* (Category:  Reread and Cross Reference)  
5. How Can I Practice Christian Meditation?  by Joel Beeke*  ✮✮✮✮ (Category:  Glorious reread) 
6. Struggles in the Spiritual Life by Timothy Gallagher  ✮✮✮1/2
7. Phantastes by George MacDonald  ✮✮
8. Sanctuary of the Soul by Richard J. Foster  ✮✮✮✮ (Category:  Glorious reread) 
9. The Little Flowers of Saint Francis by Brother Ugolino Boniscambi ✮✮  (Category:  Cross reference) 
10. Spurgeon:  A Life  by Alex Diprima ✮✮✮✮ 
11. A Call to Prayer by J. C. Ryle  ✮1/2    
12. Prayer by Timothy Keller  ✮✮✮✮   
13. Hudson Taylor:  Deep in the Heart of China by Janet & Geoff Benge ✮✮✮✮
14. Prayer and Praying Men by E. M. Bounds  ✮✮✮1/2  
15. Before Amen by Max Lucado  ✮✮✮✮     

Category:  Kiddie Lit

1. The Cookcamp by Gary Paulsen ✮✮✮1/2 
2. Alida's Song by Gary Paulsen  ✮✮✮1/2 
3. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan ✮✮✮✮ 
4. Skylark by Patricia MacLachlan ✮✮✮✮ 
5. Caleb's Story by Patricia MacLachlan ✮✮✮1/2 
6. More Perfect than the Moon by Patricia MacLachlan ✮✮✮ 
7. Grandfather's Dance by Patricia MacLachlan ✮✮✮1/2
8. Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems  ✮✮✮✮ 
9. Knuffle Bunny Too by Mo Willems ✮✮✮✮  
10. Knuffle Bunny Free by Mo Willems ✮✮✮✮   
11. Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans ✮✮✮✮        
12. Madeline and the Bad Hat by Ludwig Bemelmans ✮✮✮✮   
13. Madeline's Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans ✮✮✮✮ 
14. Madeline and the Gypsies by Ludwig Bemelmans ✮✮1/2  
15. Madeline in London by Ludwig Bemelmans ✮✮✮✮ 
16. Madeline's Christmas by Ludwig Bemelmans ✮✮1/2 
17. Matthew Henry by Glenda Mathes & Joel R. Beeke ✮✮✮     
18. John Bunyan  by Glenda Mathes & Joel R. Beeke ✮✮✮  
 

First Line Friday Entries for the Year: 

*indicates a completed volume.  They may have a separate review or a "last words" section.

#41

#42

#43

#44

#45 

Ain't Nobody Got Time for That!:

First Line Friday #43: Looking for the King by David Downing

Thanks to Carrie at
Reading is My Superpower
for the Link-up

 

 

Title:  Looking for the King
Author:  David Downing
Genre:  Fiction

    〰First Line〰

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"Here lies buried the renowned King Author with his wife Guinevere."

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Synopsis:  (From Goodreads) 

It is 1940, and American Tom McCord, a 23-year-old graduate student, is in England researching the historical evidence for the legendary King Arthur. There he meets perky and intuitive Laura Hartman, a fellow American staying with her aunt in Oxford, and the two of them team up for an even more ambitious and dangerous quest.

Aided by the Inklings — that illustrious circle of scholars and writers made famous by its two most prolific members, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien — Tom and Laura begin to suspect that the fabled Spear of Destiny, the lance that pierced the side of Christ on the Cross, is hidden somewhere in England.

  〰First Thoughts〰

Since studying some of C. S. Lewis' more theological works in grad school and later reading biographies about Lewis and his friends on my own, I've had an interest in the Inklings.  A friend at church--a fellow theology nerd--introduced me to the Wade Center podcast.  This show comes out of Wheaton (IL) College and is totally focused on the inklings.  Dr. Downing (the author) and his wife are the former hosts of the podcast, so knowing their in-depth knowledge and excitement about the inklings make me excited to read this book.  I think I may take a weekend to snuggle up in my reading chair and take in this potentially fascinating story.

So, what's the first line of the book you're currently reading?