Also called stipple ceilings, they were created by spraying small particles onto the ceiling, creating a bumpy texture that looks like popcorn. (Actually, it looks more like cottage cheese, but “cottage cheese ceiling” doesn’t have the same ring to it.) lisadavis.substack.com/p/ceiling-th...

Oh, look, the cat is climbing up the screen door! Should I grab the cat before she destroys the screen door? Of course not, I’m gonna try and get a funny video! This is the moment when the cat jumps down and wanders off to do something boring. lisadavis.substack.com/p/camera-shy

All those people telling you to have a blest day? Technically, they should be wishing you a bless-ed day. lisadavis.substack.com/p/church-words

My husband, a self-styled “uniform czar,” hates this. “Shoes should be in team colors,” he grumps. lisadavis.substack.com/p/magic-slip...

What could possibly be in these cookies to make them change color? Then I noticed the fine print: “These products contain a bioengineered food ingredient.” That could explain it. lisadavis.substack.com/p/i-found-th...

To celebrate St. Paddy’s Day, you can dye your beer green, or have a cup of green tea, a bottle of Mountain Dew or a glass of absinthe. Just be careful with the absinthe. It can be toxic. Actually, so can the Mountain Dew. lisadavis.substack.com/p/green-and-...

The idea of a scapegoat comes from the Bible, part of an ancient ritual in which the sins of the people were symbolically laid upon a goat, which was then shooed off into the wilderness. So I guess it is sort of an escape goat. Either way, poor goat. lisadavis.substack.com/p/are-you-su...

Dairy Queen calls its new sweet-spicy combo “swicy.” Which is better than “speet,” I guess. lisadavis.substack.com/p/who-put-ch...

Dogs can be primary colors: Artistic model Blue Dog. Yellow Dog Democrat. Clifford the Big Red Dog. Dogs can be bands. Three Dog Night. Toto. The Pointer Sisters. Dogs can be comestibles: Hot dog. Corn dog. Hair of the dog. It really is a dog-eat-dog world. lisadavis.substack.com/p/its-a-dogg...

Valentines cards for our times lisadavis.substack.com/p/valentines...

They thought about calling it the “Merger Bowl” or maybe the “Summit Bowl,” but “Super Bowl” was just too darn catchy. lisadavis.substack.com/p/a-brief-hi...

There’s a small light at the end of this cold, dark, wintry tunnel, because it’s Girl Scout cookie season! lisadavis.substack.com/p/its-cookie...

Bless me! A sneeze can spray up to 40,000 tiny droplets of yuck out of your mouth and nose. lisadavis.substack.com/p/achoo-ah-s...

As F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “January is the Monday of months” lisadavis.substack.com/p/hey-there-...

Is it card sharp or card shark? Either one. Both will hustle you in a card game. Although you never hear about pool sharps or loan sharps. lisadavis.substack.com/p/my-grammar...

2025: An unserious look back: Here are the five most popular things I wrote this year, plus my new kitten lisadavis.substack.com/p/2025-an-un...

A meal and a show at Waffle House lisadavis.substack.com/p/seasons-gr...

When she was 8, my daughter made me a Christmas sweater. Don't you dare call it 'ugly' lisadavis.substack.com/p/in-my-holi...

The story of Rudolph was turned into a song and made famous by which artist? A. Gene Autry B. Dean Martin C. Burl Ives D. Tiny Tim The rest of my holiday trivia quiz is here: lisadavis.substack.com/p/want-to-pl...

What color exactly is “soft”? You’d think “daylight” would be warm and yellow, like the sun. But no. The warm, yellow one is “soft white.” “Daylight” is like you’re lying in an operating room. lisadavis.substack.com/p/light-bulb...

Kitten vs. Christmas (What if I wrapped all the decorations in bubble wrap?) lisadavis.substack.com/p/kitten-vs-...

These bugs are considered voracious predators. Not demure. Not ladylike. lisadavis.substack.com/p/thats-no-l...

Why is 7 lucky? Why is 13 unlucky? Your questions answered here lisadavis.substack.com/p/the-number...

The last time I attempted to draw a bird was in a high-school art class. I was trying to draw a white bird flying against a black background. I titled it “UFO,” because it really wasn’t identifiable as a bird. lisadavis.substack.com/p/for-the-bi...

Every year, I run a Halloween story contest for kids for our local newspaper. It’s called Ghostwriters, and every year I get to read through hundreds of entries. It’s a fascinating glimpse into what Generation Alpha is scared of, or obsessed with. lisadavis.substack.com/p/what-evil-...

What is Jason’s full name in the Friday the 13th movies? A. Jason Statham B. Jason Momoa C. Jason Vorhees D. Jason Aldean Take the rest of my horror movie quiz here: lisadavis.substack.com/p/horrors-a-...

This year’s most popular costumes, according to Spirit Halloween, are the pop stars from “KPop Demon Hunters,” the witches from “Wicked” and the superheroes from “Fantastic Four.” I’m very curious to see how they’ve made an Invisible Woman costume. lisadavis.substack.com/p/boo-who

Who is McCoy and why is he the real one? Let's play the Name Game lisadavis.substack.com/p/the-name-g...

If you’re the sort who can appreciate the artistry involved in weaving old hubcaps into a sculpture that reaches toward heaven, Paradise Garden is awe-inspiring. This place radiates with the energy of the spirit who made it. lisadavis.substack.com/p/eye-of-the...

People have been using their fingers to remember things for thousands of years. A drawing from 8th-century China illustrated how to use one’s fingers to remember the 10 virtues of Buddhism. lisadavis.substack.com/p/put-a-stri...

A “mondegreen” is a misheard version of a song lyric — misheard in a way that sort of makes sense and is usually more entertaining. lisadavis.substack.com/p/hold-me-cl...

#Muscadines, for those unfamiliar with the fruit, are barely domesticated grapes, with tough, rubbery skins and unpleasant, spiky little seeds. lisadavis.substack.com/p/grape-ball...

Me: Why is there Halloween stuff in the stores already? Why are there scary movies in the theaters in the summer? It’s too early for spooky season! Old age: Want to see something really scary? Me: No. But yes. Old age: It’s me! lisadavis.substack.com/p/old-age-vs... #oldage #elders

It’s pass muster, not mustard. “Muster” is an old word meaning an assembling of troops for inspection, so if you “pass muster” you pass inspection. “Pass mustard” would be something you do at a cook-out, or perhaps while playing Clue. lisadavis.substack.com/p/did-i-say-...

Credit for the sticky note goes to Spencer Silver, a scientist at 3M who in 1968 was trying to make a super-strong adhesive but instead accidentally invented a “low-tack, reusable, pressure-sensitive adhesive.” lisadavis.substack.com/p/sticky-sit...

The internet ate my brain and now I can't remember how books work lisadavis.substack.com/p/reading-th...

Humans have always talked about cats in colorful ways. You can be a copy cat or a fat cat, a scaredy cat or a cat burglar. lisadavis.substack.com/p/cat-got-th...

There are only four ingredients in a basic fortune cookie: flour, sugar, vanilla and oil. Well, I guess it’s five ingredients if you count the little slip of paper. lisadavis.substack.com/p/misfortune...

The battery of problems I went through to fix my phone lisadavis.substack.com/p/free-of-ch...

Meet Juno, mother of goddesses, destroyer of charger cords lisadavis.substack.com/p/kitten-kab...

322.7 million: Pounds of fireworks bought by consumers in 2024, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association. lisadavis.substack.com/p/all-fired-up

#ConversationsWithOldAge Me: I remember when I used to run into my friends out to eat at restaurants, or going to shows. Old age: And now? Me: I run into my friends at physical therapy. lisadavis.substack.com/p/old-age-co...

Fungus among us. I signed up for a farm box, and now I'm having to eat mushrooms every day. lisadavis.substack.com/p/fungus-amo...

I didn’t want my genetic material to fall into the hands of a possibly nefarious corporation — I’ve seen enough dystopian science-fiction movies to know what happens if you leave your DNA unguarded — so I opted to delete my 23andMe account. lisadavis.substack.com/p/forever-in...

Why spelling bees? What do buzzy, yellow-and-black insects have to do with this? lisadavis.substack.com/p/bee-in-my-...

Every year, I volunteer with the PreSchool Friends program at Grace Episcopal Church in Anniston. I don’t do the hard things like teach the 4-year-olds to count or sit still. I go once a week and teach music. lisadavis.substack.com/p/the-little...

Unlike local and state courts, district courts hear civil and criminal cases that violate federal law — like tax evasion, counterfeiting or mail fraud (boring) or hijacking, bank robbery or art thefts from museums (juicy!) lisadavis.substack.com/p/the-jurys-...

You never call! You never write!! The least you can do is take this Mother's Day quiz. If American mothers were paid for their work around the house, how much would they earn this year? lisadavis.substack.com/p/a-mothers-...

A 19th century songbook is a fascinating way to peer into the past. There are hundreds of tunes in the pages that have survived. What were people singing back in the 1800s? Love songs, to start with. Some things never change. lisadavis.substack.com/p/the-merry-...

The new hip thing: In which I have joint replacement surgery and learn to use a walker. Sadly, not one of the giant ones from 'Star Wars.' lisadavis.substack.com/p/the-new-hi...