I'm joining Carole for Three on Thursday, with three more questions. I've been having fun asking my kids some of these questions, and I may have asked the clerk at the library the one about the best lesson she had learned from a work of fiction.
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| A friend sent me this photo and said seeing the smiling sun hot air balloon fly over her neighborhood was the best thing that happened to her this week. |
1. What strange or uncommon food combinations do you really enjoy?
It's not all that strange, but I love to dip pretzels in slightly melted chocolate ice cream. What I enjoy is the sweet/salty combination, but my father made a big deal out of it for some unknown reason and wouldn't let me do it when I was growing up. Now I'm the boss and I feel like I'm getting away with something when I dip my pretzels in my chocolate ice cream.
2. What’s the best lesson you’ve learned from a work of fiction?
He is not my favorite Agatha Christie character (that would be Miss Marple) but I've learned some lessons from Hercule Poirot. Because he is a detective, his primary traits were to be curious, seeking, and detail-oriented and this has validated my desires to be observant, stay authentic, and be comfortable with who you are. He believed curiosity feeds the intellect, and I agree.
3. What was the best thing that happened to you this week?
It didn't happen to me, but it is still the best thing that happened this week. Over the weekend, Justin got a call from the HR person at his workplace that he had been exposed to someone who tested positive for Covid. He had a test scheduled for Tuesday morning and the best thing was that it was negative. He already had a vaccination appointment scheduled for tomorrow, so I'm very glad that that can proceed as planned.
Answer one, two, or all three questions, or make up your own. I'm looking forward to reading what you have to say!
Back when I was in college/grad school in Philadelphia, there was an ice cream place we used to go for a special treat that would take all sorts of add-ins and mix it with your ice cream (this is back before Coldstone was a thing, and this place had some fancy proprietary gizmo that ground up the add-ins and mixed it with your ice cream). I have a very distinct memory of having chocolate ice cream and pretzels from this place.
ReplyDeleteI have learned so many lessons from literature, but I think the biggest one is a lesson I've gotten from quite a few books, but Anne of Green Gables comes to mind first. The lesson is that there are plenty of other people, like me, who feel emotions very deeply. For a long time as a kid, I felt like I was the only one who was "sensitive," but I soon found in the books that I read many other kindred spirits in that respect.
Ooo! These are fun questions!
ReplyDeleteMy answers:
1. I love Cambozola cheese with fig jam... this is my favorite savory/tangy/sweet combo.
2. I love your second question so much... and while I dearly love Hercule and Miss Marple. I would say that my favorite fictional lesson giver is Armand Gamache... he shows that empathy, caring, and concern for those around him when paired with his ordered, detailed process makes for an excellent pattern for life.
3. I think you win the week with Justin's good news! But I confess that I did some wild cheering when my turn finally arrived for Unsettled Ground! I started it last night and read well past my "usual" bedtime! :)
I can't immediately think of any weird food combos of my own, but one of my sisters LOVES to snack on green olives dipped in Cool Whip!
ReplyDeleteSo many good lessons from fiction, but I have to go with words from Shakespeare's play Hamlet: "To thine own self be true." You have to start there.
A good thing that happened to me this week is that I was excused from jury duty. We don't get paid at work for jury duty, and with my husband working only part-time, it would have made things even trickier financially.
I'm sort of embarrassed to share my answer for #1 (Tom thinks I'm really weird), but I have loved peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches since I was a kid. (I still love that combination, but now I eat almond butter and mayonnaise on toast.) :-P My "literature lesson"? Scarlett O'Hara taught me that . . . "After all, tomorrow is another day." And that has served me well since first reading Gone With the Wind (in middle school). As far as a best thing this week? Hmmmm. . . I think I'm still holding out to see what happens today or tomorrow! ;-) Great questions, Bonny. And I'm so glad to hear that Justin's vax can go on as scheduled!
ReplyDeleteI will have to think about food combinations. There are not many foods that I will not eat in novel combinations, so I am willing to eat a lot of things that people might think are strange.
ReplyDeleteI have learned so much from fiction, but my favorite is Armand Gamache's 4 rules of what you must learn to say, "I don't know. I need help. I'm sorry. I was wrong'.” These are difficult to say at times, but I find they are always the right things to say if they are true.
I love that hot air balloon, and your story about Justin's good fortune is good news! The best thing that happened to me this week is that nothing particularly bad happened! Just the run of the mill worries and life as usual.
Good questions, Bonny!
1. I don't think it's weird, but my family does: fried egg sandwich with dill pickle and brown mustard on rye. Haven't made one in ages. Now wishing I had read your post before deciding on my breakfast.
ReplyDelete2. Lessons learned from fiction: I would probably go back to Nancy Drew, way back when. That series taught me that girls/women can take the lead, be curious, and question the way things are. Now that I think of it, I have also read each of the Maisie Dobbs novels when they come out for much the same reason.
3. Best thing this week: my back doesn't hurt this AM.
That sandwich sound delicious to me! My oldest son likes a fried egg and peanut butter on hamburgers, but your combination sounds perfect. And Nancy Drew was indeed in charge, with her roadster and curiosity. I haven't read any Maisie Dobbs, but may need to. Any day we wake up without too many aches and pains is a good one. I hope your pain-free back continues.
DeleteFun questions Bonny! And great news about Justin!
ReplyDelete1. I don't think it's weird, but I prefer mayonnaise on fries rather than ketchup. (And Kym - when Fletch was in high school and running track, the coach had them eat peanur butter, mayonnaise and banana sandwiches!)
2. I'll have to go with both you and Kat - Hercule and Armand both have provided sage advice (I just need to remember to heed it at all times).
3. The whole week has been good - not great - some annoyances (work-wise), but I will go with more ripe figs!! And now I have to look up the cheese Kat mentioned - I've never heard of it!
1. I haven't had it in years, but a cream cheese & grape jelly sandwich. White bread, Philly cream cheese, and the grape jelly that came in a cartoon glass, of course! Also, butter & honey sandwich. And honey on Cheerios... but I guess that's not weird since GM now makes their own version of that.
ReplyDeleteThree answers to one question. :)
I don't know if it's really weird but I like chopped green olives in my tuna salad. Best lesson from a novel, marry for love and that came from Pride and Prejudice. Best thing this week, finishing Hannah's wedding sweater!
ReplyDeleteWeirdest food combo? I can't think of one, but I do enjoy a sardine sandwich on toast with a bit of mustard now & then.
ReplyDeleteI've learned so many life lessons from books, but I guess I'll go back to 4th grade when I first read A Secret Garden. I learned that every person is worth our love, care, and attention and that we can heal ourselves by helping others.
Most fun this week? A road trip with some girl friends to a very small town a few hours away. They had a festival going on that we enjoyed. Every year the farmers in that area grow flowers to sell at the festival and we came home with arm loads. My flowers are in a vase and remind me of the joy we shared that day.
I haven't had a sardine in ages, but they're nice and salty and provide some calcium! That lesson from The Secret garden is a truly lovely one. I was an adult before I learned the secret about helping others also helps us, too. And what a fun trip! Like Kym always says, flowers are magical (in so many ways).
DeleteOMG - my Dad and I ate our chocolate ice cream with pretzel sticks while watching the Ed Sullivan show on Sunday's - shows how old I am haha.
ReplyDeleteGreat minds and all that (and I would have eaten my chocolate ice cream with pretzel sticks while watching Ed Sullivan if my father had allowed it)!
DeleteGreat questions.
ReplyDelete1. My vote for sweet salty combination is toast spread with raspberry or mixed berry jam topped with pieces of white cheddar.
2. Willa Cather taught me the strength of ordinary women and the value of women as artists.
3. The best thing this week: talking to Norah on FaceTime.
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