My brother Joe (left) and I are in this photo, taken in August of 1956. How many of those steel swing sets did your family go through? They just were never meant for harsher northern winters. After a few years of rusting away, they ended up in the junk pile. I think we went through 3 of them. With a 600 foot drive, we had…
Mid-summer TV Reviews
The summer TV season continues with some pleasant surprises. I love the cooking reality shows. Hell’s Kitchen is really getting hot. It’s too cool that the Waffle House cook is holding her own and still in the running. Top Chef Miami is also getting bitchy. Dale, the gay contestant, is doing well but almost got booted this week. One surprise is the NBC show, America’s…
Loulies… for the love of food
The daughter of a friend and former coworker has been building up quite a nice food web site over the past year, http://www.loulies.com/. She and some of her friends had been featured in Oprah Magazine with a story about their Cook the Book Club. It’s a novel idea where the participants in the club agree on a cookbook to purchase and use. After a few…
When it comes to gays, what would Luther do?
OK, two religious posts in a few days… I promise that I am not going to get over religious on you this week, but today’s USA Today’s Monday: On Religion editorial page featured an editorial by Mary Zeiss Stange, professor of women’s studies and religion at Skidmore College. You can read the column here. In her editorial, she posed the question, “When it comes to…
Weight Watchers: Week 5
This past week was a week when I did not follow plan very much. I went overboard at our 4th of July picnic. Leftovers were around the house for the rest of the week. I certainly thought it would be a week going the wrong way. I was happy that I weighed in at 256.4 and still lost .6 pounds bringing my total loss to…
Funny NY Times iPhone Video
My cell phone contract is up in August. I have always taken the cheapest phone when I renew. The iPhone features has me considering it as an option. So many nice features, but it has many minuses also. Anyway, I came across this funny video today.
Division in the Church
This past week, the ELCA removed Pastor Bradley Schmeling of Atlanta from its clergy roster. Pr. Schmeling, a gay man in a same sex committed relationship, was tried at an ELCA discipline hearing in January. He was found to be in violation of the ELCA Visions and Expectations document. The verdict was for him to be removed from the roster after the ELCA Churchwide Assembly…
Perfect Weather for Flowers
This year has been perfect for growing flowers. Here are some pics of my perennial planters on my deck and front porch. They just keep getting more beautiful as the summer goes on.