5 Quick Things #400 🐂

leisure, protein, 80s music, and generations

Hi there,

What’s the official “anniversary” gift for 400? Platinum? Uranium? Plutonium? Either way, happy 400th issue of 5QT! I started this weekly letter before I migrated to Substack in 2019, and it quickly became one of my favorite regular work tasks. I’m happy to say it’s still way up on my list… It’s sometimes challenging during busy seasons—such as, oh, now for example, what with a book-edits deadline, current open enrollment for my classes next year, and a daughter getting married in a little over two months. But I’m grateful for the work no matter how full life is, so thank you, thank you, thank you for reading this over the years! I’m honored.

When I’m not doing all the above, these days I’m daydreaming about this spring’s backyard garden—I’m keeping it simple this year (see: above), but I’ll at least do my usual cucumbers and tomatoes for my summer stash of pickles and salsa. I want to get better at flower-growing, though… Any resources out there? YouTube channels? Podcasts? Do share!

Late Winter, Early Spring, Red Dock, Saugatuck (2013), by James Brandess #

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5 Quick Things ☕️

1. If you’re a leveled-up subscriber of The Commonplace, don’t forget to share your monthly gratitude lists—it’s one of my favorite things to read each month. You guys are naming everything from the Winter Olympics, to spring weather, orange cake, planting seeds in milk jugs, Lent, backyard chickens, goofy dogs, and more… I love it.

2. Leisure is the basis of culture, according to the 20th century philosopher Josef Pieper¹. But leisure isn’t lounging around or mindless playing; believe it or not, it takes intentionality—and for those of us with a lot of plates spinning, it’s sometimes annoyingly harder than it should be. Arthur Brooks, one of my favorite modern thinkers, has a solid episode about what leisure actually looks like, boots on the ground. Good stuff.

3. Fridays in Lent are challenging for me as someone who eats mostly carnivore, but it helps to still focus on getting as much protein and good fats as possible. Along with some scrambled eggs, here’s my go-to carnivore breakfast smoothie: this bone broth², about a 1/4 cup heavy cream, about the same in coffee (decaf if I’m already floating), about 10 drops of iodine, and a handful of ice. Blend and done.

4. I never grew up really thinking about generations in a clear-cut, divided-line manner the way they’re talked about now (which is perhaps, ironically, a symptom of my actual generation). I honestly believe I’m from the best generation—the ‘xennials’—which I’ve also heard called the Oregon Trail generation or the Star Wars generation. Basically, it’s those of us born between 1976-1985 (when those OG Star Wars movies released and when we got to play OT in elementary school once a week as a reward for good behavior); we’re not quite Gen-X, not quite Millenial. This short video is surprisingly accurate, I think.

5. And finally, speaking of the 80s… I’ve shared these before, but it’s been a few years, and by-golly if they’re not so much fun (and a rare gem that briefly went viral during that Covid lockdown era). The 1986 one is still my favorite. All hail the fourth grade.

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Currently Reading, Watching, Listening 📻

This Movie Soundtracks for Reading & Studying playlist

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Quotable 💬

“Faith is the essence of our capacity to receive the free gift of God.” -Fr. Jacques Philippe³

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Reminder: I’ve got a Lent Playlist! 🎧

If you’re reading through my Lent book Bitter & Sweet right now (or even if you’re not), here’s your friendly reminder that I’ve also got an accompanying daily playlist to keep you company throughout this long season. It’s a gem, if I say so myself! …But definitely not because of me—it’s because there’s such good music out there in this department these days.

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Over or under: which is correct? 🧻

I asked this visual question a few years ago and I remember the correct answer (over) winning, but I don’t remember it being this much of a landslide... Glad to see I’ve still got a solid group of smart readers here.

• Over: 90%

• Under: 10%

Find the next poll here.

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Historic Highlands: Our 2026 Pilgrimage to Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

“There is no other place like Scotland in the whole world.” - Sir Walter Scott

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Quick Links 🔗

• 📐 Create your own Rule of Life

• 🎧 Listen to A Drink With a Friend

• 📖 Read my books

• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Join the next pilgrimage: Scotland!

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Question(s) For You to Ponder… 🤔

What are three very small things you’re grateful for?⁴

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Have a great week,

- Tsh

p.s. - A lemon on a pear…⁵

1. This seminal book of his is so good and important—I re-read it every few years.

2. I know this is a bit on the pricey side, but it’s the cleanest, carnivore-est one out there.

3. From my current Lenten read. It’s super good.

4. My list: the weight of the handle on my favorite coffee mug, the way my cat’s ears twitch when I scritch her, and the excellent back support on our Adirondack chairs on the backyard deck.

5. …and now that song is in your head. You’re welcome.