Thursday Thirteen #10

Thirteen Things in My Life Beginning with “H”

In No Particular Order

1. Holidays. I love ‘em. When I have the time and energy, I love to decorate for them. Love to celebrate them. Love to surround myself in the sights and smells of them.

2. Hair. For as long as I can remember, it's been the bane of my existence. Yes, you can have hair that's too thick. Trust me. Too thick. Too curly. Too dense. Just too. When I was younger, I wanted long, straight, thin hair. I'd still like to wear a decent ponytail just once before I die. I'm not sure it will ever happen. 3. Henry VIII. I'm fascinated by the history surrounding this man, and have been for years. I'm also a huge, huge fan of The Tudors on Showtime. Jonathan Rhys Myers does an incredible job portraying him. 4. History. Okay, I'll admit it. I'm fascinated by history in general, especially old English and early American history. 5. Home. I love to travel, but I also love to come home. Once I'm here, it's hard to pry me loose again. When I was a kid, I would have been perfectly content to have everyone come to my house to play. I saw no need to ever leave my house and my yard. Now, I'd rather go to somebody else's house so I don't have to clean mine :) 6. Honesty. It's very important to me. Tell me anything, but make sure it's the truth. The truth, I can handle. 7. Hopscotch. One of my favorite childhood games. Apparently, my favorite layout was the English one. The one they refer to as "American" had the X square in where 2 & 3 are in the picture here, and I tended to lose my balance. I needed those extra few jumps to get my footing, I guess. 8. Hope. Without it, life is flat. 9. Horses (imaginary). Another favorite childhood game was imaginary horse. My friends and I would play it at recess when I was in first and second grades. My horse was black with a star on her forehead, and her name was .... wait for it .... Star! Though I imagined myself a stellar horsewoman, I only rode real horses about once a year, so it's the imaginary ones that stick in my mind. 10. Hospitals. My family and I have spent entirely too much time in hospitals. They're not a place I like to go, but when I have to be there I'm awfully grateful for them, and for the people who work in them. 11. Hugs. From granddaughters. Heaven on earth.

12. Hungary. I've never been there, but my brother-in-law was born there, and his mother lives there still, and my nieces and nephew are half Hungarian, so it counts. 13. Haagen Dazs: I'll admit it. I'm a complete ice cream freak. Winter, summer, spring and fall. It's never too cold. I love Haagen Dazs Vanilla Bean.

Adventures in Food -- Or I Drank Goat's Milk and Nearly Gagged

Since I'm still butting up against a deadline and not blogging regularly, I'm going to cheat again and do a meme. This one was created by Andrew at Very Good Taste and looks kind of interesting to a Food Network junkie.

Here’s what you do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions. 2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten. 3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. 4) Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison 2. Nettle tea 3. Huevos rancheros 4. Steak tartare 5. Crocodile 6. Black pudding 7. Cheese fondue 8. Carp 9. Borscht 10. Baba ghanoush 11. Calamari 12. Pho 13. PB&J sandwich 14. Aloo gobi 15. Hot dog from a street cart 16. Epoisses 17. Black truffle 18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes 19. Steamed pork buns 20. Pistachio ice cream 21. Heirloom tomatoes 22. Fresh wild berries 23. Foie gras 24. Rice and beans 25. Brawn, or head cheese 26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper 27. Dulce de leche 28. Oysters 29. Baklava 30. Bagna cauda 31. Wasabi peas 32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl 33. Salted lassi 34. Sauerkraut 35. Root beer float 36. Cognac with a fat cigar 37. Clotted cream tea 38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O 39. Gumbo 40. Oxtail 41. Curried goat 42. Whole insects 43. Phaal 44. Goat’s milk 45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more 46. Fugu 47. Chicken tikka masala 48. Eel 49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut 50. Sea urchin 51. Prickly pear 52. Umeboshi 53. Abalone 54. Paneer 55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal 56. Spaetzle 57. Dirty gin martini 58. Beer above 8% ABV 59. Poutine 60. Carob chips 61. S’mores 62. Sweetbreads 63. Kaolin 64. Currywurst 65. Durian 66. Frogs’ legs 67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake 68. Haggis 69. Fried plantain 70. Chitterlings, or andouillette 71. Gazpacho 72. Caviar and blini 73. Louche absinthe 74. Gjetost, or brunost 75. Roadkill 76. Baijiu 77. Hostess Fruit Pie 78. Snail 79. Lapsang souchong 80. Bellini 81. Tom yum 82. Eggs Benedict 83. Pocky 84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. 85. Kobe beef 86. Hare 87. Goulash 88. Flowers 89. Horse 90. Criollo chocolate 91. Spam 92. Soft shell crab 93. Rose harissa 94. Catfish 95. Mole poblano 96. Bagel and lox 97. Lobster Thermidor 98. Polenta 99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee 100. Snake

Okay. Not bad. Slightly more than half, so I still have a way to go. I'm open to trying almost everything on the list that I haven't tried already -- and there are a few things I think I may have had, but I'm not sure so I didn't mark them.

How about you?

All is Well!

To everyone who has asked about Abigail's health, thank you for including her in your prayers over the past few weeks. She had a follow-up visit with the doctor today, and it looks like the operation has been successful so far. Everything in her little brain is working the way it's supposed to be working. She'll have another follow-up visit in three months, but for now all is well. So, to our family and friends, to all of you who held our sweet little girl in your hearts while she went through the brain surgery, to her surgeon and the entire medical team who cared for her, our heartfelt thanks. We couldn't be more pleased with today's news.