by jphilo | Jul 7, 2015 | Top Ten Tuesday
July is a hot and sticky month in Iowa. Even so, it’s one of my favorite months. Here are 10 reasons why.
10. I save so much time in July not having to dress in layers, pull on boots or coats, or hunt for gloves before going outside.
9. Fourth of July celebrations are great fun, but they are more than fun. They are a time to be grateful for the freedom we enjoy in this country thanks to the courage and wisdom of our country’s founding fathers.
8. What is more lovely than gazing at fireflies twinkling during as long summer days fade from dusk to darkness?
7. Sweet corn.
6. My birthday is in July. I will celebrate the arrival of my 59th year, grateful to be in good health, relatively sound mind, and able to walk miles each day.
5. My sweet daughter turns 27 in July. She is a blessing worth celebrating all year long, but especially in July.
4. That same daughter and her husband were married in July five years ago. They are an amazing, faith-filled couple who are living an amazing life together.
3. In a few weeks, I get to spend a week helping out with our youngest grandson. A whole week of toothless grins, coos, and snuggles. What’s not to like about a July that holds that kind of joy?
2. Shadow Valley Family Camp begins tomorrow in Idaho. Look out mountains, here I come!
1. The Man of Steel and I were married in July 38 years ago. I can’t imagine enjoying July without him.
What do you like about July? Leave a message.
by jphilo | May 21, 2015 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
- The top of my dresser is covered with toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, and coconut shells. Can you guess who is going to receive a cornucopia of craft supplies from his grammy this weekend?
- Our son-in-law received his Masters of Fine Arts in Acting and Directing from the University of Wisconsin, Madison last weekend. Kailen Fleck, we are so proud of you!
- 30 years ago this month we celebrated our little boy’s 3rd birthday just before we moved from Camp Crook, South Dakota to Boone, Iowa. This year I just completed the first draft of a novel set in the tiny town where we used to live…just in time to spend the weekend celebrating our son’s 33rd birthday and our son-in-law’s graduation. The best things in life are worth the wait!
What’s been worth waiting for in your life? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | Sep 12, 2013 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
- The 8 and 5 candles purchased for Mom’s 85th birthday on September 3 can be switched around for the man of steel’s #58 this coming March and for my #58 in July. Talk about a triple play.
- The school supply clearance aisles are full of cheap, Christmas stocking stuffer delights. Ka-chin.
- The ivy geranium outside our kitchen door is loaded with blossoms. Can you see me smile?
What do you love about September? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | Jul 23, 2012 | Daily Life
It’s lunchtime, and I just realized there’s no post yet for today. My first inclination was to blame the oversight on my age, which as of Friday will be closer to 60 than to 50. But after looking over last week’s to do list and writing a new one for this week, I decided busyness was the culprit. Take a gander at these to do lists and see what you think.
Items Completed on Last Week’s To Do List
- Buy groceries to feed hungry daughter and son-in-law.
- Water the flowers gasping for moisture because of the drought.
- Squeeze in writing time between cooking and visiting with company.
- Take daughter’s birthday meal, including homemade German Chocolate birthday cake, along with hubby, daughter, and son-in-law, to my brother’s to celebrate birthday with his family and my mom.
- Buy more groceries to feed hungry company.
- Water the flowers again.
- Finish washing the windows with daughter. All done! Yahoo!
- Make pesto from basil growing like crazy because of the heat.
- Buy more groceries.
- Water again.
- Watch 2 episodes of the PBS series Sherlock with husband, daughter, and son-in-law. Waaaay good!
- More groceries.
- More watering.
- Meet with friend (who organized the daughter’s wedding reception) to organize her son’s upcoming wedding reception.
- Finish tweaking of book proposal and send it to agent. Double yahoo!
- Groceries.
- Watering.
Items on this Week’s To Do List
- Get son-in-law to auto repair shop so leak in his car’s gas line could be fixed.
- Buy groceries on way home.
- Water flowers.
- Take son-in-law back to auto repair shop to pick up car.
- Squeeze in writing between cooking and talking about books and movies with daughter and son-in-law.
- Water flowers.
- Take measurements so daughter can make me two bras.
- Watch final episode in series one of Sherlock.
- Try not to cry when daughter and son-in-law leave on Wednesday.
- Water again.
- Prepare for Camp Dorothy by moving Hiram and me to upstairs bedroom.
- Tune the television to The Price is Right, Jeopardy, Judge Judy, Wheel of Fortune, and Antiques Roadshow.
- Pick up Mom on Friday for Camp Dorothy.
- Water some more.
- Celebrate my birthday with Hiram and Mom.
- Put on Vana outfit and settle in for 5 days of Camp Dorothy fun.
- Help at wedding reception on Saturday.
- Water.
What on your to do list makes it easy for you to forget the most routine things? Leave a comment!
by jphilo | Apr 26, 2012 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
This week some deeply, deeply disturbing events intruded on life along our little gravel road. Some of them, as my sister-in-law would say, are downright sick and wrong. This week’s three thoughts for Thursday are written in her honor:
- My little brother, three years my junior, turned 53 yesterday. Do the math for both of us, and I think you’ll agree. That many candles on a cake are more than a fire hazard. They’re sick and wrong!
- My clematis, which usually bloom in late May and early June, are flowering already. Yesterday, I wore capris and went barefoot. Last night, we grilled burgers for supper. Pleasant as all this is, one of these days it’ll be pay back time for our good weather. Why? ‘Cause there’s something sick and wrong about summer starting in
April Maypril.
- After completing the first 100 pages of Robert Massie’s new biography, Catherine the Great, I’ve come to a difficult decision. Should I ever be asked to serve as Empress of Russia, I will decline. What with all the court intrigue, conniving, and jealousy, being a princess isn’t nearly as fun as Disney makes it sound. In fact, the behavior and treatment of royalty can be summed up in two words. Sick and wrong!
Need to get what’s sick and wrong in your world off your chest? Leave a comment.
