Notes from Jan

Somebody’s Fishing

November 9, 2021

And not for halibut, bass or compliments.

A real friend alerted me to the fact that someone is impersonating me on Facebook. That must’ve been an adventure. I don’t do Facebook, except connecting the blog to it. Well, my son, Chad, did that. So be warned, someone’s phishing for “friends’. Not me. Not that I couldn’t use more friends. I just want real ones, not cyber pals.So, I hope this finds you before the fake-fisherman/woman does.

On another note, I kinda wish someone would “impersonate me” for my annual physical, which I haven’t done except over the phone for the past two years. I’m researching foods to make me appear fit. I saw a troubling cartoon between a woman and her doctor. She explained her weight gain due to water retention. The doctor calmly said, “I’m afraid what you are retaining is donuts.”

I know what you’re thinking. It wasn’t me.

As long as we’re talking food, chew on these.

“Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.” Mark Twain

“If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.” Julia Child

“Cupcakes are muffins that believed in miracles.” (No clue who said that but I’ve thought it.)

Well, all who read this blog may not consider me your friend, but I like this quote from someone.

“I want to be the reason you look down at your phone and smile, then walk into a pole.”

Or when you see one of these posts show up on your screen, your first thought isn’t “delete.”

True friends are life preservers, hope extenders. They help you hold on when you want to let go. They’re just there. As friends go, I’ve found there’s no friend like Jesus. And he calls us friends. Imagine that. (John 15:9-15)

Well, almost time for a lunch of broth with a side of naked greens. So I’ll leave you with quotes from two of my favorite authors.

“We are not here to see through one another, but to see one another through.” Anne Lamott

And, “Be joyful, though you have considered all the facts.” Wendell Berry

Amen.

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24 Comments

  • Reply Marylou Habecker November 9, 2021 at 11:17 am

    Thanks Jan! Lots of joy in this note.
    Hope you have an uneventful trip to the doctor!!

    • Reply Jan Carlberg November 9, 2021 at 11:41 am

      And a joy to hear from you, Marylou. The appointment is next week, so I have a limited amount of time to mend my ways. And I hope, too, for an uneventful trip. The nursing assistant usually suggests I get on the scale backwards to avoid sticker shock.

      • Reply Jeri January 2, 2022 at 9:58 am

        Now THAT’s funny! Hadn’t heard that one before 🙂

  • Reply Randall K. Mathews November 9, 2021 at 11:21 am

    Jan Carlberg, I consider you a dear friend!!

    Randy

  • Reply Jan Carlberg November 9, 2021 at 11:43 am

    Thanks, Randy. You and Alice are friends with faces and I miss seeing yours. Hope you’re both making the doctors shake their heads over how well you’re doing.

  • Reply Mark Taylor November 9, 2021 at 11:59 am

    I agree with Mark Twain. Go for both donuts and naked greens, and let them fight it out!

    • Reply Jan Carlberg November 9, 2021 at 4:47 pm

      Whew! Since I switched to tuna salad and no broth for lunch. Greens tonight with lasagna and perhaps just a small slice of apple pie. Let the fight begin. Just seeing your name popup made me think of our affection for cinnamon buns baked by our mamas. And now I can no longer sing”when the roll is called up yonder” without recalling your take that heavenly cinnamon buns will be called “Pyonders.”

  • Reply Taylor Carol November 9, 2021 at 12:10 pm

    I laughed out loud about walking into a pole.

    • Reply Jan Carlberg November 9, 2021 at 4:51 pm

      Well, consider yourself warned. Always good to hear from you, dear Carol and Mark.

  • Reply Noelle Neville November 9, 2021 at 12:24 pm

    Well, I didn’t run into a pole, but I did awkwardly laugh out loud while reading this in the lunch line at work! Thanks for bringing so much joy and wisdom to my day!

    • Reply Jan Carlberg November 9, 2021 at 4:52 pm

      Nothing like laughter to take the edge off hunger or shorten a line. Happy to share some joy with a side of wisdom.

  • Reply Russell K Bishop November 9, 2021 at 12:58 pm

    …and Amen. Throw caution to the wind. Enjoy your donuts…

    • Reply Jan Carlberg November 9, 2021 at 4:56 pm

      Thanks, Russ. Perhaps I’ll share or confess at out next Bible study gathering. If I host, how about cider and donuts?

  • Reply Wendy November 9, 2021 at 1:16 pm

    Hahaha – the best part about these jokes is imagining your delightful laugh when you first (and 2nd and 3rd) heard or read them! <3 My favorite is "Cupcakes are muffins that believed in miracles"!

    • Reply Jan Carlberg November 9, 2021 at 4:59 pm

      Well, you know me too well, Wendy. Before I pass along jokes, I test them. If I don’t laugh out loud, I refuse to share. I do the same about sharing donuts, but for different reasons.

      • Reply Wendy November 9, 2021 at 7:04 pm

        Haha!

  • Reply Deborah Vigneaux November 9, 2021 at 1:32 pm

    Also two of my favorite authors!

    • Reply Jan Carlberg November 9, 2021 at 5:00 pm

      We have good taste. Thanks for reading this old blog, Deborah.

  • Reply dan russ November 9, 2021 at 8:18 pm

    Jan, I smile even before I open your blog: anticipatory joy!

    • Reply Jan Carlberg November 9, 2021 at 8:48 pm

      Wow! That’s as good as it gets, this side of heaven. Thanks, Dan.

  • Reply Dale November 10, 2021 at 7:34 am

    Thanks Jan,
    You have encouraged me to remove all mirrors so I am not prompted to commit the sin of vanity or was it suicide! I did see something about a fish and when I looked more closely, and saw it was a mermaid, I knew it was my “sister” Jan. 🙂

    Blessings, Dale

    • Reply Jan Carlberg November 10, 2021 at 1:52 pm

      Something fishy about this tale, my brother. Masks serve masks purposes, leaving mirrors with less to do.

  • Reply Valerie McCoy November 10, 2021 at 10:54 am

    Jan, your nurse is kind. Mine usually exhorts,
    “would one of you step off the scale?”

    • Reply Jan Carlberg November 10, 2021 at 1:58 pm

      Nothing kind about a teeny-tiny nursing assistant. who looks too fragile to move the gizmo that measures weight. And why start the weights at zero? It’s painful to watch her struggle to slide it up and up and up to reach whatever she determines is her final decision. Meanwhile I teeter, exhale and hope for a miracle.

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