Loose Leaf Notes

1. In the same way I know when the food I’m cooking is done (or burned) by the way it smells I know when the woodstove’s gone out when I get cold.

2. I have psychic connection with my 4 minute boiled eggs in the morning. I never time them but always know when they’re done.

3. Massage:  I’m a pumpernickel loaf … of soft fresh dough … buttered with oil … rolled out and formed … pounded and kneaded … toasty and warm … I’m dreaming of poppy seeds … I’m a twisted bun … Ahhh, turn me over … I’m done.

4. “One thing I might say to someone who can’t relate to poetry is: You don’t have to love all poetry. Do you love all music? Do you love every piece of art you see? Find just one poem you love, and speak it out loud. Your body, feelings, voice, and thoughts will come into harmony when you speak a poem that matters to you, and that can be incredibly healing.”  ~ Kim Rosen, Written on the Bones, Sun Magazine

5.  “When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.” ~  Eulogy for Robert Frost by John F. Kennedy

6. I came home from warmish weather in Boston to snow and brutal cold in Virginia, causing me to comment to anyone who would let me vent that I thought “the snow globe has shifted on its axis.”

7. I just updated my G-whiz Kid (code for amazing grandchild) category archive to G-Whiz Kids.

8. Friends have asked my thirty-one year old son Josh if the fact that his younger brother has 3 kids has put the pressure on him to have kids.  His answer was that it took the pressure off. Why would he have pressure to have kids when he already has  niece and two baby nephews?

9. “Having a baby is like getting a tattoo on your face. You kinda need to be committed before you do it.” favorite current line from Eat Pray Love.

10. Wise words on ‘Why Politicians Can’t Ignore Us’ from Joseph McCormick, founder of the Transpartisan Alliance HERE. Joseph used to live in Floyd and I attended some of his dialogues on democracy meetings.

11. Funny how the word “individual” practically has the word “divide” within it and that the word “fatal” comes from the word “fate” as if to underscore that our fate is fatal.

12. Speaking of fatal, Frosty the Snowman gets hit by a bus HERE.

13. And THIS video clip about a chef who gave up his career to feed the homeless is the  most inspiring one I’ve seen this week.

The Thirteen Thursday Hub is HERE.