How the Cookie Crumbles?

Christmas is the season for cookies so it’s appropriate that this post is in the top 10 for the year read and enjoy 

HOW THE COOKIE CRUMBLES?

A lifetime friend (when you get to be a certain age you  know that this term applies—) and I  were  in a deepish philosophical  conversation when he used the phrase… “well sometimes that’s  just how the cookie  crumbles.”  

Well  at the end of this  post I’ll  talk about  the relationship  between finding peace and joy and  cookies  crumbling…. however right now I’m sticking to the  good part—-cookies.  

I  didn’t  do worldwide research on this so I apologize  to those  outside our borders  who read this…. I probably  have things other than  this blog to apologize  for when it comes to Americans so just forgive me and read on.  

In 2017  it was estimated  that the average American eats  18,928  cookies in a lifetime.  However there is of course  the  controversy whether  double stuff Oreos count as one or  2 or 1.5 —we‘l will have to  call in the bureau of standards and form a committee  and after a fact finding  task force gets done with   a preliminary investigation, tentative findings will be issued after which there  will be a prescribed  comment  period.  For now, let’s say  double stuffs are just  regular  cookies  using Performance  Enhancing  Substances  and  while it will keep them out of the hall ofame—- the old school  kind  will make it on the first ballot (can you tell i’m a baseball fan?) 

Alright… we eat this 18,928  cookies  in our lifetime and what are the favorites  —-Well this list  I read counted brownies as cookies…not related to that  original number of 18,928 and so I’m unilaterally  throwing  them out of the  five.
  So  t5  to 1—- you want suspense  right?  Sugar Cookies (seems a bit repetitive to me).. come in at 5.  Number 4 Oatmeal Raisin.  Now  I refer to this as the cheater cookie..  People will say “oatmeal is  healthy and raisins are a fruit.  Nonsense I say…. raisins are a fruit.  They are a fruit packed sith sugar in its natural state and  Raisin bran cereal contains more sugar than  Frosted Flakes.  So these  “healthy” cookies are at number  four disguised as “healthy”.  Number  3 is  Oreo….the originalNow I don't  know  if this counts all the  off-brand varieties or not, however, I don’t care. Oh sometimes  nabisco gets carried away  with  orange or pink  fillings for  holidays etc… but oreos will always be  ok in my book.  they  have  become a little suspect in recent years sneaking their way into the ice cream market  — you know  like the cookies and cream types.  Come on Oreo you can make it on your own… you don’t  have to count on ice cream to help  you out.  Then at number two….  Peanut  Butter  Cookies.  Now  peanut butter  came up  on the list at number two as a biT of a surprise  for me.  After all there are a lot of people with nut allergies out there and  thus  I’m a bit concerned that in the future  these cookies will be relegated to  a contraband  status.  For  now good work  on holding your  place and of course it doesn’t  hurt that  people often  combine you  with  chocolate access.

Well that leads us to the number one cookie….. of course  you know it is CHOCOLATE CHIP.  I won’t  go  into the number of store  made varieties of  chocolate  chip cookies except for a brief  commentary on “Chips Ahoy.”  I am  not at all sure  how the idea of selling  these cookies  using the  maratime  theme  came into being.  I don’t see a bunch of  pirates standing  on the gang  plank saying “I’m not coming  aboard unless we have  those cookies  with our rum.”  Oh well  whatever… 

Alright now  I promised I would get to the Peace and Joy  part.   and so I will… 

For  many  many years my uncle has ben going visits older  sister on Saturday mornings expecting  home-made  chocolate chip cookies to go with  the coffee  they  have shared  to talk about life  in their hometown and the quirks in our family.  I just know it is part of a routine that  gives them both an anchor of peace in their lives… and though  it probably doesn’t have happen  quite as often as it used to.  I think  it has been a valuable ceremony for  both of them.  I’m not  so sure  it wasn’t a way  for each of them to reset from  the weak and start the weekend.  So  seeking peace and joy sometimes requires building  some of these routines just as reset  mechanisms …. Now I could be completely  wrong, in which case it has always been a good excuse just to have cookies  for breakfast.  However, if you look  at the nutrition content in some cereals you are having cookies for breakfast too.  I once look at the  nutrition  value on a box of lucky  charms and in the  nutritional value box it just said  LOL…

Anyway it is Saturday  Night    I’m saying have a cookie— relax… there are some healthy choices out there, but aI am just saying have one  in honor of all the brothers and sisters  who have enjoyed cookies together  or all the grandmas  who made  the cookies for their grandkids.  I know that  all 18928  of our cookies haven’t been  so special and a few  have broken  off and  had tho be spooned out of milk or coffee … but there have been some  very special cookies  made and eaten over time and all of us  should find some to enjoy from time to time.  

Okay  one last  cookie story… when I was a kid there was a bakery/factory  in  our little town that made some of the “off-brand or local store brand cookies.  But the smell from the factory  sure was a good thing.  One day in the local drugstore/soda fountain an odguy probably  half my  age now cam  across the street  into the drug store to grab  some  gum.  He was  complaining that the government  was making them wear  these silly hard hats  now.  I being curious and in a state of disbelief asked  “really?”   This  guy looked  at me and  smiled—-then he says ‘yep my boy.. i survived  Nam and a couple more years in this mnan’s  army so it would be  a crying shame if I got  killed by a couple cases of  vanilla wafers  falling  off my forklift.”  He just  laughed and said enjoy your tootsie  pop kid to which I said I don’t  have one….He threw  a dime on the counter and said go crazy ny little man.  So from  then on how’s a kid ever going to break a  positive  connection with cookies?  

Alright  tomorrow I’m adding part two  this post… It will poetic and musical and my tribute  to cookies a great source of  peace and joy.

Thank you Thursdays

THANK YOU THURSDAY

Well I know. I have done this before on a limited basis, however I suspect I don’t do it enough (no not change my socks).  

SAY  THANKS 

So I am going to  try to religiously (and if you have no  religious leanings)  just pretend I said. Regularly  or routinely  do this  twice a month on —you guessed it Thursdays!

So I’m pretending this is my first ever T—Y—T  post so let’s Stuart at the beginning (well  not with Adam and Eve or the Big Bang—I don’t. Have all day to explain the quantum physics. Involved.  Even if I did some of. You would start a big debate over the. Particle vs wave controversy and let’s not even. Get into  dark matter, string theory, or  the many worlds hypothesis.  

Okay let’s. Get down to it

It’s my Mom’s Birthday so I’m going to start. With my parents and family.  Without. Those folks my mind.probably wouldn’t have the  “unique” qualities  it takes  for me to write  this stuff.  I’m not saying they agree with it so much as  they provide a particular. Framework that helps me keep a very. Loose grip on  sanity....but they kept me alive  for all these many years.  So Happy Birthday Mom and thanks to the rest of my family.  If. You are a relative  reading this..yes. It applies to you too—no good deed should go unpunished.

Now ..

Let’s get a little more serious.

It’s also Tom Murray’s  birthday and he is an author  who I talked with about. Writing. A couple times.  He has this. Book “Fathers Sons & Holy Gosts of Baseball (see link below) and he used. Nearly half a lifetime to  write it in honor of  a place and some people he loved.  Anybody. Who writes knows the. Need to finish something once it is in your blood and that’s what I have Tom to thank for.

There is also. Jane Sutter from my hometown and she has written a billion newspaper. Articles and a book about her family’s  “drug store/ soda fountain”.  It illustrates how a small business  weaves it way through the lives of.  People. And a community.  Also Jane has  provided   me with answers to questions about. Writing.  I may interview. Her for an upcoming. Blog post or two but  I haven’t figured out. If it’s a blog or a podcast endeavor.  

Now to some  people. I have thanked. Before and will again...

Peter Leidy  (http://www.peterleidy.com) who has a curious manner about. The world and  is not afraid to  learn and pass his weirdos along.  He also listens to my ideas—some  good —some  bad.  He  encourages my. Mindfulness  Side  so the more I act like a guru...well thank/blame him. 

Now when it comes to the  bloggers/social media/marketing folks I want to thank.  First is my daughter.  She’s not famous but what sy he is I’d say is inventive and courageous and willing to  start a business on her. Own to make her life better.  Her. Link is below and will appear  on my blog  fairly regularly as she is always. Putting. Some new products together  for  seasonal accessories or cosplay purposes.  

Next there is “do. You Even  Blog”. Podcaster. Pete who has provided  great information both in. Personal correspondence and on his  podcasts about blogging.   (His link is below). 

Finally for today there is Giles Jordan who  has done the same for me as  Pete.  

Last...but  absolutely. Not least has been the writing and reading communities on Twitter.  You are not all angels but the support you provide each other is uplifting and deserves some. Gratitude.  

Writing and living are complicated  ventures. Separately and doing them together  even more so.  

So for now  I’m going to have to wrap. This up so that I can get it posted today—otherwise the whole. “Thursday” thing doesn’t work so well.  

If you  want me to thank someone on this blog on some upcoming. Thursday be sure and  send along a comment on this, a facebook message, or  a tweet and I will do almost my best to get it included.

Thanks 

Yep 





https://whal3n.bigcartel.com/
 This is my daug

 That’s my daughter Breanna   The spirit of invention and style is alive and well in the next generation
https://doyouevenblog.com/podcast/  this is the link to do you even blog thanks Pete



https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-blogging-pod/id1332073721?mt=2

 That’s the link to Giles Jordan‘s podcast thank you Giles wherever you are in Western Canada right now




 And happy birthday Tom here’s a link to where you can find his book
https://www.google.com/search?q=fathers%20sons%20and%20Holy%20ghosts%20of%20baseball%20by%20Tom%20Murray

How to Cope With Writer's Block

Leaping Over Writer's Block

Well here you sit with writer's bloc

Your brain's a mess and your pen won't talk

Your keyboard waits and laughs quiet silently

You'd like to take  and throw it violently

Yesterday the thoughts were flowing 

Paragraphs and word  count growing

So what happened when you  went to sleep

Did demons into your  mind creep?

Did  Shakespeare  have these  Moments Too

Did Hemingway say  "hell I'm through?" 

Did tthe Bronte sisters say let's just go shopping and 

Did Steinbeck say 'let's all go bar hopping?

So how  does a poor soul like me then cope? 

I focus on  one  happy thought to use'

And then put o my confy shoes- because if my feet can't breathe ,

There would be no  muse.  

Then I take that concept and try to find all rhymes

To which  it might connect at least a couple times

Then I dream of childhood days my buddy Dr. Seuss

And start weaving words in patterns and some completely loose

Before I know it words are springing  from my mind

You'd be surprised  about the ideas that I find

The train of words that  rumbles through seems to go  on and on

The writer's block that once  was there is now completely gone

The product that i soon have is a semi-poem draft

But as we all know the first one is the hardest of our craft.

This method rarely fails me so I'm passing it to you

Have fun  with  "red fish, blue fish, the grinch, green eggs and ham

They'll get you out of  nearly every language jam

This was  my helpful  hint to bring  peace and joy  to mind

If you discover others tell me what  you find.