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.
by jphilo | Apr 19, 2012 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
After a week of wind, the weather finally settled down. To celebrate the fact that residents of our fair town are no longer in danger of wind surfing down the street each time they unzip their coats, here are three breezy thoughts for this spring Thursday:
- Two weeks into the war against allergens, we’re engaged in a battle against dust mites. So far the mites are winning.
- After 16 weeks, my name made the top of the library’s waiting list for the new Catherine the Great biography. Twenty pages in, after reading about her father (in his 30s) marrying her mother (in her early teens) in a match not made in heaven, it’s already obvious poor Sophie (aka: Catherine the Great) doesn’t have a chance for a normal life.
- Wouldn’t it be lovely if the wind expired along with the wind advisories?
What kind of weather would you consider lovely this spring?
by jphilo | Apr 12, 2012 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
Hiram and I spent the week running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to stay ahead of spring chores. With all the lawn mowing, porch cleaning, and flower bed weeding, I’ve hardly had time to think of three thoughts for Thursday. That said, here’s my best shot:
- The onslaught of spring chores makes me very, very grateful for the innovation hailed by Target in their pre-Easter ad. How did I get anything done before ready-to-cook eggs came on the scene?
- My husband runs several times a week. I walk miles each morning. Still, our day spent weeding flower beds left us gimpy and slow. Is this a sign of advancing age of of the intricate, cunning, and sadistic nature of the human body?
- Despite hard frosts the past three nights, the rhubarb survived and is almost ready to pick. I can hardly wait to bake some rhubarb desserts again. My fave is strawberry-rhubarb crisp. Yours?
by jphilo | Apr 5, 2012 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
Spring is in full swing with Easter celebrations in the works for the weekend. You have just enough time to check out these three thoughts for Thursday before preparations for the celebration crowds out everything else.
- A breathtakingly beautiful drive across the eastern half of our state – its red bud, wild plum, and crab apple trees in bloom mile after mile – made me grateful to live in Iowa in springtime.
- Watching oneself in a video is not nearly as breathtakingly beautiful as a drive across Iowa in the spring. In fact, the experience is so painful, I won’t make a habit of watching the book trailer for Different Dream Parenting. But if you’ve been wondering how the book came to be, check out both the trailer and information about how to order the new electronic version of the book here.
- Did you see Target’s Easter ad in the Sunday paper? Beside the picture of a carton of eggs was a big, red target dot spinning them as “ready to cook and dye eggs!” How long did it take for the advertizing department to come up with that one?
What’s the craziest spin you’ve seen in an ad? Leave a comment so we can chuckle with you.
by jphilo | Mar 29, 2012 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
Between the Republican primary season and the argument about health care before the Supreme Court, the news is overflowing with serious and weighty issues. Therefore, I consider it my patriotic duty as a citizen of a democratic country to share three current event thoughts this Thursday.
- As a kid, I considered the Etch-a-Sketch excruciatingly boring. How fitting for it to enter politics.
- The attorneys arguing against the health care case before the Supreme Court made a mistake when they picked broccoli as the symbol of government going too far. The public outcry would be much louder if people thought the government was forcing them to buy the evilist of all vegetables. You know what I’m talking about. Asparagus.
- Imagine the primary season if Chatty Cathy entered the race. Now that would be interesting.
Now it’s your turn. What children’s toy would spice up the race in your eyes?
by jphilo | Mar 22, 2012 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
A rocking case of laryngitis provided oodles of hours for quiet contemplation since last weekend. Thanks to all that introspection, you get to suffer through reap the rewards in this week’s three thoughts for Thursday.
- Adult children find speaker phone conversations with their parents get a bit draggy when the talkative parent has laryngitis and the quiet parent, whose vocal chords are intact, prefers nodding to speaking whenever possible.
- It’s parent-teacher conference week in our town, a stressful time for parents, teachers, and kids. As a parent, you can diffuse the stress by starting the conference with two simple words: thank you.
- My friend Clare at NanaClaresKitchen.com has joined my oatmeal-as-its-own-food-group campaign by posting a recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal. She calls it a low-cal version of no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies. That’s my kind of breakfast. What’s yours?
