HAPPY NEW YEAR HODGEPODGE!

     Welcome to the year of our Lord, 2017. I still measure history in two ways, B.C. - Before Christ and A.D. Anno Domini or After Christ. I refuse to accept the B.C.E. and C.E. crap that some have tried to force upon us. 
     How's your new year going so far? Did you make any resolutions? Are your resolutions still intact? I mean, it's been four days and you're not made of stone. No one can blame you if they're not. 
     I resolved to continue to participate in the Wednesday Hodgepodge. Coincidentally, Joyce has apparently resolved to continue publishing the Wednesday Hodgepodge. So in the spirit of my resolution, here is the Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. Share one favorite moment/memory from your Christmas holiday.
     One of my favorite memories is of my beloved SWMBO and I sitting on the couch watching T.V. while cuddling and sharing some Christmas fare. Even the fur babies got in on the act. They're so cute...we just couldn't refuse them.

2. What was the best thing you ate over the holidays? Was it homemade or store bought? If it was homemade did you make it?
     One of the best things that I ate is my world famous meat stuffing. It's my sainted grandmother's recipe and SWMBO loves my stuffing which is homemade. 

3. What was one of the most beautiful things you saw over the holidays?
     There were two, actually...my granddaughters. We bought them some ridiculously large stuffed toys for Christmas which caused their faces to light up. One toy is a large unicorn. The other is an eight foot long snake. Our daughter sent us a photo of the girls fast asleep hugging their respective stuffed toys. That's the stuff that grandparent Nirvana is made of.

4. What does fresh start mean to you?
     A fresh start is beginning anew and forgetting ALL that has passed up to that point. A good example is my daily Bible reading. I have begun a two year program where I will read the Bible in two years. It is premised on the riddle "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." Sometimes life intrudes and you miss a few days, or longer, of reading. When that happens I either go back and read everything that I missed and catch up OR I just begin anew at the point where the Bible reading schedule happens to be. 

5. On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being very positive and 1 being not so great) how would you rate 2016 in terms of personal achievement and well being? Explain.
     I would give 2016 a rating of 5 or 6. I have read a lot more in 2016 than in past years. I have played my guitar way more often as well. I still haven't licked that procrastinating tendency thing though. The nice thing in life is that you can always begin anew if you choose to.

6. 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 more about how the words were chosen or, if you're like me, to find out what in the world the word or phrase even means or the context in which it's used. There were quite a few on this year's list I'd never heard before.

Here's the 2017 list of banished words-

You, Sir-focus-Bete Noire-Town Hall Meeting-Post Truth-guesstimate-831-historic-manicured-echo chamber-on fleek-bigly-ghost-Dadbod-listicle-get your dander up-selfie drone-frankenfruit-disruption

Which word on the list would you most like to see banished in 2017? What word or phrase would you add to the list?
     I'm not one who supports banishing words...period. I'm not familiar with some of the words such as "831," "on fleek," and "listicle" to name three. Many of the other words are perfectly acceptable if used in a proper context. 
     One of the tenets of Philosophy is that you must define your terms. Words have common meanings. If you change the accepted meaning of common words you are hampering communication, not enhancing it. We use words to communicate as clearly as possible.

7. Large or small, light or deep, share with us one goal you have for the new year.
     One goal that I have is to get my health back. I resolve to eat better, move more and take better care of myself.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
     I want all who are reading this to know that I wish you a very Happy New Year. I wish you all the best that life has to offer. I wish you robust health! I wish you material and financial prosperity! I wish you true contentment and joy! Most important, because of the eternal consequences, I wish you a closer relationship with Almighty God.  Happy New Year!