by jphilo | Aug 18, 2015 | Top Ten Tuesday
Over the weekend, The Man of Steel and I finally finished washing the windows. To celebrate, he suggest we sit down and watch The Music Man, the 1962 classic movie musical staring Robert Preston and Shirley Jones. So we did. It was a fantastic way to spend an afternoon together, and here are 10 reasons why.
10. Hearing the Man of Steel exclaim, during the early part of the movie when Marion Paroo (Shirley Jones) was in her severe phase, “You know who she reminds me of? Hillary Clinton!”
9. The movie is set in a fictional town in my home state, Iowa. And it was written by Meredith Wilson, who hailed from Mason City, Iowa.
8. Because these lyrics from Iowa Stubborn are absolutely true:
And we’re so by God stubborn
We can stand touchin’ noses
For a week at a time
And never see eye-to-eye.
But we’ll give you our shirt
And a back to go with it
If your crops should happen to die.
7. B-a-a-a-a-a-a-l-zac.
6. The library dumbwaiter. I want one.
5. There’s nothing like listening to and watching a marching band to get the blood pumping. Except for being in a marching band…and the movie brought back great memories of being in one in high school.
4. Buddy Hackett’s plaid suit in Shipoopi. And Buddy Hackett in general. What a goofball.
3. The little girl in the white sailor suit with blue trim dancing her heart out in Seventy-Six Trombones.
2. Winthrom Paroo (a.k.a. Opie Taylor, also known as Ron Howard)
1. Robert Preston. He is the definition of the word “prance.”
Do you love The Music Man movie? Tell us why in the comment box.
by jphilo | Aug 11, 2015 | Top Ten Tuesday
Today’s top ten list is the flip side of the top ten things to dislike about getting older. Here’s a look at what’s to like about getting older.
10. Well-meaning people who hate leaving anyone out stop urging you to participate in games like volleyball or kickball, which you have always hated.
9. No more school. Or school tests. Ever.
8. Young children and teens no longer inhabit your home, so you can watch television, Netflix, and DVDs with adult themes.
7. Women only have to wear make up when they want.
6. Shared history with relatives becomes more precious and rich by the month.
5. The older you get, the more friends you have of all ages.
4. Memories wrap around you like a soft blanket.
3. The older you get, the easier it is to recognize beauty–and to appreciate it.
2. Grandchildren!
1. Heaven gets closer every day.
What’s to like on your getting older top ten list? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | Jul 21, 2015 | Top Ten Tuesday
I’m spending the week with my daughter, son-in-law and their 3-month-old baby. You know. Helping out so Daddy and Mommy can get some things done. Like sleeping, showering, and going to the bathroom while I take care of the adorable grandson. Who is also quite distracting, and for the following 10 reasons is why this post almost didn’t get written.
10. My adorable grandson has been drooling and needs Grammy to wipe it away.
9. My highly aware grandson doesn’t like wet diapers and needs to be changed again.
8. My adorable grandson used up all the diapers and Grammy is folding clean ones.
7. My adorable grandson is fussing and only Grammy can make him happy.
6. My adorable grandson is sleeping so Grammy and Mommy are madly working their ways through their to-do lists.
5. My adorable grandson is cooing so we have to Facetime with Papoo and Great-grandma Dorothy so they can enjoy his adorableness.
4. My adorable grandson’s smile melts Grammy’s heart, and she forgets all about social media.
3. My precocious grandson just figured out how to put his hand in his mouth, so we are planning what to wear for his presidential inauguration.
2. My adorable grandson’s mother and I went grocery shopping, which is much easier when the adult to baby ratio is 2 to 1.
1. My adorable grandson didn’t fuss during the shopping trip so we went to the coffee shop to celebrate.
What kept you from blogging today? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | Jul 14, 2015 | Top Ten Tuesday
Today is my last full day at Family Camp. Here are the top ten rules to live by at Family Camp, 2015.
10. Take lots of pictures to document changes and progress from year to year:
9. Welcome unexpected visitors with calm, kindness, and wonder.
8. Spend as much time talking as eating during meals. (Please note: the photographer was too busy heeding this advice to take any pictures during meals.)
7. Work hard on your work crew in the mornings, but not too hard.
6. If you enter the chess tournament be prepared to sacrifice several hours for each match, if necessary.
5. Make time for conversation often.
4. Fun stuff for kids should always be a top priority.
3. Be grateful that Family Camp now has enough cabins and cabinettes so everyone can sleep in rooms with real beds and electricity.
2. Hug as many babies and toddlers as possible as often as possible.
1. Look up at the beauty of creation and give fervent, frequent thanks to its Creator. 
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 | Jun 16, 2015 | Top Ten Tuesday
The bags are packed and I’m ready to head out for the Cedar Falls Christian Writers’ Conference tomorrow. Here are 10 top ten reasons to attend a writing conference, in Cedar Falls, Iowa or anywhere else one is held.
10. They’re a great opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of other writers and to see if your inner insecure writer’s envy-o-meter readings are going down or up.
9. Writers’ conferences are a wonderful place to make new friends.
8. And they’re a place to reconnect with old friends, too.
7. A good writers’ conference will provide information and concepts to challenge your comfort zone, stretch your thinking, and conceive new ideas.
6. Each conference should offer confirmation that God created you to be a writer…or not.
5. They offer time to reflect upon where you are now as a writer and where you want to be in the future.
4. They also offer time to step back and see God’s hand at work in and through your writing.
3. Somehow, unexpected doors for your writing will open in unexpected ways and under the most unexpected circumstances.
2. Someone else does all the cooking and cleans the bathrooms.
1. At a writers’ conference you are with like-minded people who think your obessions with reading, composition notebooks, ballpoint pens, and mechanical pencils are absolutely normal.
Have you ever been to a writers’ conference? What’s on your top ten list?
