Today’s blog post comes with musical accompaniment.
Maimonides, a Jewish philosopher in the 12th century, is credited with saying: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Of course, had he lived in the 21st century, Maimonides might have suggested I instead just search on Friday nights for a fish fry. Fishing for a while on Saturday with Janet’s dad, brother-in-law and Jacob was among the highlights of a long Easter weekend spent with family and friends.
In no particular order, I also:
- Bought breakfast for my mom and caught up with her as we drank one too many cups of coffee and occupied a table in the restaurant longer than the bus boy, who had to work around us as he cleared other tables, may have preferred.
Ate eggs baked in hash brown nests, a recipe posted on Facebook by Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman, and shared by Janet with Julie, her sister and our hostess for the weekend. Luckily for the rest of us, Julie was up to the challenge and fixed these eggs as a part of Easter brunch. And they were very good — just one of the many really great dishes she fixed during the weekend.- Watched the University of Wisconsin defeat the University of Kentucky in the semifinals of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. After watching the refs try to help Kentucky win the game and hearing announcers extol the greatness of the Wildcats during the entire tournament, I can’t think of a team I would have rather seen end its season prematurely at 38-1. On Wisconsin, I’ll be rooting for you again tonight as you take on Duke.
- Took a delightful and unplanned tour of a lovely neighborhood in Ottumwa.
- Got home in time to get in a 20-mile bike ride followed by a 40-minute walk.
Why the double dose of exercise, you might be asking. Well, it was a beautiful evening Sunday night in our town on the Mississippi River. And the exercise may have at least helped offset the cornbread corn, cheesy hash browns, Easter candy and everything else we ate over the weekend. Also, RAGBRAI is only 104 days away, so it’s time to get busy.
After the three-day weekend spent with family and friends, it’s time this morning for my nose to go back to the grindstone. But first, let’s take just a second to wish Merle Haggard a happy 77th birthday.
Have a good week, everyone.
Brome Hill 