<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Pondering my way through life]]></title><description><![CDATA[Pondering My Way Thr]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Tue, 07 Apr 2026 04:37:26 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.ponderingmyway.net/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[A Beach Walk ]]></title><description><![CDATA[March I have been in south Florida for just over a month now.  In late February and March, it's a great place to escape the cold remnants of winter in the Midwest. This particular winter seemed to nettle my brain a bit. One too many polar vortex’s this year for many of us in the great white north.   Where we live in Florida is not on the beach, but it is close enough to make walking to it, and on it, a frequent activity. So today  I’m pondering the power of the place where the sand meets the...]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/post/a-beach-walk-1</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69cade15138134f817289a82</guid><pubDate>Mon, 30 Mar 2026 20:43:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_b9abbb6103f447cd94590dab6c4cd764~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jimthefooddude</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Hopelessly Humorless ]]></title><description><![CDATA[February 2026 I often ponder why there is not as much laughter in my life as there once was.  Nor in the world in general.  These days it’s easier to see all of the bad that goes on.  It’s harder to see the good things in life and the funny things.  And that is a real loss.  Both for me and for society.  I think about this all the time. Then, I began to wonder if maybe the reason that there is so little humor is because we fail to embrace it.  Or to even recognize it when it comes...]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/post/hopelessly-humorless</link><guid isPermaLink="false">699dbc88e9360bd69c33954a</guid><pubDate>Tue, 24 Feb 2026 15:11:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/16d14c88dd47fc1ade70d98da52b6133.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_848,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jimthefooddude</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Radio Goo Goo Gone]]></title><description><![CDATA[February 2026 (reissue) I took a short road-trip the other day to visit a friend. As I slid into the comfortable seat of my truck, one of the first things I did was to scan through the radio stations to find a tune that caught my fancy. I am pretty much conditioned for this activity. Whether I am driving across the country, or to the grocery store. Quickly, I landed on XM radio’s 70’s on 7. Which is my go-to. I settled in to listen to Casey Kasem recant and play the Top 40 songs from this...]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/post/radio-goo-goo-gone-1</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6991efddb9026888daf8f89c</guid><pubDate>Sun, 15 Feb 2026 16:12:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_6856b663b86e4527a09938f7cf1509e2~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jimthefooddude</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Role of Toilet Paper]]></title><description><![CDATA[February Today, as I changed my roll of toilet paper, needing to make the momentous decision of “over the top” versus “under the bottom” of the roller, I pondered the origin of this material, as well as the practice of wiping one’s bottom.  I obviously have too much time on my hands.  Thankfully, because of toilet paper, that’s all I have on my hands today.  I know, I know.  Yuck, right?  Well, just think about a time before toilet paper. Don’t you wonder what that was like?   As I began this...]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/post/the-role-of-toilet-paper-1</link><guid isPermaLink="false">698e3d99e46957565bf548b2</guid><pubDate>Thu, 12 Feb 2026 20:57:53 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_3b39082d78dc495ea9a7dd960138f710~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jimthefooddude</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[In the Zone ]]></title><description><![CDATA[February 2026 I have a cold so I’m pondering my symptoms. Because it’s hard to think about anything else when you’re swallowing through sandpaper, your left ear aches while ringing like a storm siren, and your nose vacillates between running like a leaky faucet and being plugged like Rapunzel’s shower drain. I know these symptoms well, as I watched my whole family go through them systematically over the last few months. I thought I had eluded this perpetrator but have nonetheless, been...]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/post/in-the-zone</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6988a9cb40d7c5baf3ae2266</guid><pubDate>Sun, 08 Feb 2026 15:48:55 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_e6d3f7edd5ec4991a50fb7482ef0f9e7~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jimthefooddude</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Going to the Dogs]]></title><description><![CDATA[February 5, 2026 With all the crazy stuff that goes on in the world, including the inescapable cacophony of ridiculous news, and political waywardness, whether fake or otherwise, it’s nice to know that this time of year you can flip on the TV and see something that is utterly pure.  Something completely unbiased and unadulterated. That of course, is the Westminster Dog Show. The Super Bowl of the Canine world.   We live in a conspiracy friendly world. In this day and age, there are so many...]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/post/going-to-the-dogs</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6984ac144ef7940ceef1b272</guid><pubDate>Thu, 05 Feb 2026 14:45:41 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/736c0078e4e84b5895d9c3c44a1a2fb2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jimthefooddude</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What Did I Miss? ]]></title><description><![CDATA[February 3, 2026 I was at the grocery store today and met an old colleague of mine. A nice guy.  We worked at the same company for 25 years or so. I hadn’t seen him in ages.  Somehow, in our conversation we started talking about the concept of dry January, and the fact that I annually participated and just successfully completed this year’s wagon ride.  He asked if I had rushed right out for a cocktail on the first day of February.  I had not. I didn’t recall him being much of a drinker, but...]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/post/what-did-i-miss</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69828bd1322c09b8312d5303</guid><pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:07:38 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_a530099afaa842858d90cde75204bb29~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jimthefooddude</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A Watched Pot…  ]]></title><description><![CDATA[February 1, 2026 February only has twenty-eight days. Merciful Lord, thank you! That means we can dash through this month and be that much closer to June. Which is when spring truly begins in Michigan. Winters are brutal in these parts. Exceedingly prolonged and lingering. That about sums it up.  It’s like that proverbial watched pot that never boils.  But in our case, it is because we forgot to turn on the burner. All of this makes me ponder how we deal with the stir-crazy nature of a long...]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/post/a-watched-pot</link><guid isPermaLink="false">697f63a21dce0ff3f10378c9</guid><pubDate>Sun, 01 Feb 2026 14:34:31 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c84b542d3f4d4f39bbfd5afe2d934fc6.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jimthefooddude</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Winter Wonderment ]]></title><description><![CDATA[January 27, 2026   It’s winter in Michigan, and this year it’s a bit of a real one.  It started snowing at Thanksgiving and it’s been snowy and cold ever since. Yesterday’s high temperature was 8 degrees Fahrenheit.  Right now, at 9am, it’s -18F. That’s really cold!  Rumors abound of exploding trees, with videos on the internet. But who can believe anything from that medium.  Remember the last time we were together, we discussed that.   Today, as I sat inside all warm and toasty with my...]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/post/winter-wonderment</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69795fe5042aa3bcbc74df87</guid><pubDate>Wed, 28 Jan 2026 01:02:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a32894a5bea0492eb65b16fcd5225796.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jimthefooddude</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Social Disruption ]]></title><description><![CDATA[January 20, 2026 It’s hard to have any kind of social relationship nowadays. With a real human that is. And I too, am partly to blame. At least in this little sphere of influence called my life. This morning, I was sitting at the breakfast table for like the millionth day in a row with 2 people glued to their iPhones.  Yes, I had mine with me too. I wouldn’t want to be left out.  But even when it’s just my wife and me, I still compete with an iPhone for her attention. A contest that I rarely...]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/post/social-disruption</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69795f2d67f9308d29723d27</guid><pubDate>Wed, 28 Jan 2026 01:00:36 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_5e59094d66ec427eb60be189d257adc6~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jimthefooddude</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Happy New Hair ]]></title><description><![CDATA[January 7, 2026 It’s January 7th and this is my first time pondering in 2026.  I’m still writing some, but I am spending much more time reading right now. I started a project to compose a narrative about my home state. It’s something I have wanted to do for a very long time. Of course, getting started is always the hardest part.  But it finally happened over the holidays.   The first thing I do for a project like this isn’t the writing part. I try to do some research and gather source...]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/post/happy-new-hair</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69795ed713a746db9d7bff1b</guid><pubDate>Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:57:30 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/67ad58_134247ca2142407da4710effe41b8a0d~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_213,h_250,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jimthefooddude</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Holiday Race ]]></title><description><![CDATA[December 27, 2025 The holidays are most certainly a marathon, and not a sprint.  It’s December 27th and I feel like I am at about mile fifteen.  A little past halfway, but nowhere near the home stretch.  Not that I have any true frame of reference for the real thing.  I ran an actual 5K once and that was marathon enough for me. But this holiday season has felt especially long and drawn out, full of overindulgences that I have been unable to avoid.  Or maybe I should say unwilling to avoid....]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/post/the-holiday-race</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69795e3467f9308d29723ae8</guid><pubDate>Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:55:14 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_bbad5929ac37491f8511d920ad5bedbe~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jimthefooddude</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Goodbye Old Friend]]></title><description><![CDATA[December 15, 2025   I’m sad today. At first, I couldn’t figure out why. As I began to ponder the cause, I didn’t have to search too long to figure it out.  And, like many times, it is an odd thing for me to be melancholy about. Or in this case, maybe not. It seems I lost a good friend today. Not a person, but a friend, nonetheless. Maybe it’s more apt to call it a companion. Regardless, it is a loss.   I worked for 30 years at the Kellogg Company.  A fairly massive multinational business that...]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/post/goodbye-old-friend</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69795ddada77a8ffff05cb32</guid><pubDate>Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:53:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_79fa8523fc15400a8e0d544f0f5641b8~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jimthefooddude</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Mail Order Madness ]]></title><description><![CDATA[December 2025   I’ve talked before about ordering stuff from Amazon and getting it the next day, or even the same day on a few items. I often wonder what kind of strange logistical solution makes this possible. I’m pondering now about my childhood, when you might order something from a catalog in October if you hoped to get it by Christmas.   Catalogs were the Amazon of yesteryear. There were Sears, Montgomery Ward, JC Penny, Spiegel amongst a variety of others. Even Radio Shack and Sharper...]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/post/mail-order-madness</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69795d3767f9308d2972386f</guid><pubDate>Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:51:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_2fa5acdf30d542849e2e9653616df94e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jimthefooddude</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[I Just Don’t Carol Anymore!]]></title><description><![CDATA[December 2025   Now that the stupor from my gluttony of Thanksgiving is wearing away, I am happy to welcome more standard eating habits, as well as reasonable alcohol consumption. I have heard that Socrates once said, “the secret of true happiness lies in learning to enjoy less”. As much as I agree with this philosophy, I have not yet learned how to apply this worthy message.  Especially around the holidays.  But with Thanksgiving behind us, I guess I can start embracing Christmas. Or at...]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/post/i-just-don-t-carol-anymore</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69795cd067f9308d29723768</guid><pubDate>Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:49:15 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_c09b328d392e49958076f5b2e1847488~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jimthefooddude</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Just Filling the Page]]></title><description><![CDATA[December 2025 I don’t feel much like writing today.  I’m in a bit of a mood.  That always happens after a major holiday, where I have spent endless hours planning and executing something.  There is a bit of a lull in energy afterwards, and I feel it.  It doesn’t hurt that we got a foot of heavy, wet snow and I was out shoveling our driveway multiple times yesterday.  It has left my back feeling sore and worn out. Oh, did I mention I ate and drank too much over the course of the long, long...]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/post/just-filling-the-page</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69795c2bda77a8ffff05c6c4</guid><pubDate>Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:47:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_ef48dfbad71d47c183109e191df6dcd0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jimthefooddude</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Mondazed?]]></title><description><![CDATA[November 2025 It’s a Monday. I can tell by the way the coffee tastes. I could tell by the way I made my bed. A little sloppy. I didn’t fluff the pillows nor perfectly sculpt and straighten the bed spread. I left it a little rumpled. I’m usually particular about this, almost ridiculously so. But not today. It’s Monday.  And frankly, I don’t even feel like pondering anything.  Well, maybe pondering Mondays will be good enough.   I’m not sure why Monday’s matter anyway. I’m retired so every day...]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/post/mondazed</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69795b9267f9308d2972343d</guid><pubDate>Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:44:42 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5b407ef3b9b94132b0fdb212bc5ce38e.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jimthefooddude</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Retreat!  I Mean Fall Back! ]]></title><description><![CDATA[November 2025 It was a beautiful November Sunday, watching my favorite team, the Detroit Lions, lose while I was doing chores around the house. One of the only good things about Sunday football, any network TV for that matter, is that there are so many commercials that it allows me to get up and do other things.  Unless you want to sit there and memorize the jingles or the tag lines for today’s pharmaceutical, fast food, or insurance companies and their offerings.  Knowing how much it costs...]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/post/retreat-i-mean-fall-back</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69795b0967f9308d297232e8</guid><pubDate>Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:42:10 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_1600fe990c4d4c38935009825fac8fd5~mv2_d_6000_4000_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jimthefooddude</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Give Me Five ]]></title><description><![CDATA[November 13, 2025 I don’t really remember being a 5-year-old.  The earliest image I have stuck in my brain is getting up from a nap and my family had a new dog.  I was probably only a 4-year-old at that point. I also have images of things that happened when I was 5, in kindergarten.  That’s about the extent of it.  Of course, that was almost 60 years ago.  I guess I can be forgiven for lacking those memories, of which I am certain there were many formative moments.   Having had kids of my...]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/post/give-me-five</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69795a40042aa3bcbc74d138</guid><pubDate>Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:39:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_85a69e21354349e5b5471051f31151b7~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jimthefooddude</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[“Wine-ing” about Bourbon ]]></title><description><![CDATA[November 2025 The other day, I went to Louisville, Kentucky with a couple of buddies.  We have been talking about taking a trip to the Bourbon Trail for a long time now, and we finally did it. Over the years I have been blessed to be able to visit wineries all over the world.  In the United States, I have visited the great wineries of Napa and Sonoma in California, as well as those from the amazing Willamette Valley in Oregon. Outside of the US, I have had the pleasure of visiting wineries in...]]></description><link>https://www.ponderingmyway.net/post/wine-ing-about-bourbon</link><guid isPermaLink="false">697959cc67f9308d29722feb</guid><pubDate>Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:36:30 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_5057e39ec70241f4bc1becc17900b7fb~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>jimthefooddude</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>