In the past, I wrote about how we did a lot of puzzles during the pandemic, but then I decided I really only enjoy doing them once a year – at Christmas. It’s so nice to work on it together in the same room as the Christmas tree.
The only hard part is figuring out what music to listen to while we puzzle. I like the “Classical Christmas” station on Amazon Music, but after a while that tends to drive my husband out of the room. (To be honest, one too many versions of “Greensleeves” by the Celtic Women is annoying – even to me – and I love that stuff!) I came home the other day and he was working on the puzzle all by himself and listening to everyone’s favorite holiday band: Black Sabbath. 😂
I think we’ll finish by Christmas. We’re making good progress.
Our top 5 grocery list items are usually milk, pasta, eggs, bananas and yogurt.
This time of year, I buy a lot of butter because I like to bake holiday cookies, especially when my son is home to help eat them.
A few years ago we were gifted a large jug of real maple syrup from a friend’s farm in Vermont and I discovered a great maple cookie recipe on sallysbakingaddiction.com (a wonderful website for free baking recipes). These maple brown sugar cookies are delicious and moist. (I’m allergic to tree nuts, so I make them without the pecans and they’re still delicious.) The icing is reminiscent of maple sugar candy. If you grew up in New England, you probably remember begging your parents for a maple leaf like this from a tourist gift shop in New Hampshire, Vermont or upstate NY:
The dough needs to be chilled for a few hours before baking and highly recommend the parchment paper method she describes, including banging the cookie sheet when first out of the oven to get these nice crinkles.
The only catch is that the recipe calls for maple extract (in addition to vanilla extract), which is not available in most grocery stores. I had to order some from Amazon. I’ve never made these cookies without the maple extract. I think it may be a key ingredient. The other key ingredient is, of course, real maple syrup. It’s in both the cookie dough and the icing – a third of a cup in each.
I got two of these for Christmas last year (one light, one dark). April’s Maple is a family-owned American (blue state) small business. Check their website for gift ideas: https://aprilsmaple.com/
When I was a senior in college (around 1986), Ralph Nader came to campus and I went to hear him speak. At that time, he was mainly known as a consumer safety advocate and had not yet run for POTUS. He was suffering from Bell’s Palsy at the time (a temporary condition) and half his face was paralyzed, yet he persevered with a pair of dark sunglasses to protect his unblinking eye and gave a very inspirational speech.
I had no idea what I wanted to do when I graduated. I’d majored in history. My standard answer to people who asked me what I planned to do after graduation was, “well, I have jury duty,” which was true.
It seemed that a lot of people were planning either to go to graduate school or seek jobs in New York City (Wall Street for financial types and Madison Avenue for advertising types). I was interested in neither. Nader was the first person to introduce me to the idea of a “nonprofit organization.” He talked about “the greater good” and floated the idea that a career in the nonprofit world was a perfectly legitimate option for college graduates. I honesly had never considered that path until I went to a lecture by Ralph Nader.
That led to me seeking out an internship and eventually a job in the art museum world (a true passion of mine). I remember that my college had exactly zero resources for someone looking to work in nonprofits. I had to drive down to neighboring Wesleyan University to access a datatbase of opportunities. One job lead to another and I ended up working in the nonprofit world for over 35 years. For the most part, I really enjoyed my career and was motivated by the missions of the various organizations I served. I don’t think I ever would’ve been happy at a bank or an insurance company.
So thanks Ralph. I do appreciate the door you threw open in my mind back in 1986. This does not, however, excuse your possibly throwing the 2000 election to George W. Bush over Al Gore, but everyone makes mistakes.
A year ago, I would not have anticipated being unemployed (or very possibly, I’ll just say it: retired) by December 2023, although I had been thinking about it.
I had worked in a job I really loved for nearly 20 years, but it was definitely getting repetitive. ALL my requests had been honored (full-time status; remote status, etc.) except ONE. And the one was that I really didn’t want to report to my toxic supervisor SuzanneDanielle (her real name) any longer. But I thought I’d put up with Danielle until I turned 60 (at least). The salary was quite good and the benefits were great.
Well, a “last straw” event led to my resigning and leaving just after Thanksgiving. As of today, I think I made the correct decision. I’m so happy to never have to deal with Danielle again – ever. We’ll see how I feel about being unemployed/retired once the excitement of the holidays has passed.
In the meantime, my son came home from college yeserday (yay) and I made an attempt at one of NYT Cooking’s top 50 recipes of the year. They call it “Marry Me Chicken.” Supposedly, if you’re single and you make this for someone, they’ll put a ring on it fast. Here‘s the recipe. Here’s how mine came out:
I have no notes. I followed the recipe as written and it’s a winner.
This is more of a tip, rather than a skill or a lesson, but it was useful on my recent trip. Just before I left, a friend told me about the camera feature in the Google Translate app. She said you could take a photo (of a menu item or whatever) and it will translate the text from a photo. While in France, I discovered it will also translate things “live.” In other words, you just open the camera feature in Google Translate and focus on a sign (or whatever) and it shows you the translation right there in the camera frame. You don’t even need to take the photo!
I did make a fairly earnest effort to brush up on my French before we left. (I used the Mango app, which was free with my library card.) I think it really helps to use a bit of French with Parisians. They like that you made an effort. A simple “Comment vous vous-appelez?” and an “Enchanté” goes a long way with your taxi driver or waiter. Many speak decent English and when they realize you suck at French, they’ll switch to English and you learn a lot. I can honestly say that I did not encounter one bristly Parisian, and prior to the trip, grumpy Parisians were my husband’s biggest fear.
Five kinds of melted cheese for dinner at Monbleu in Montmartre. It’s not exactly what we thought we ordered, but it was good!
I’ve been lucky to visit and travel in Europe several times since the 1980s (especially Italy), but I’d still like to visit some cities that I’ve never been to including Stockholm, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Lisbon, Dublin, Edinburgh, Vienna, Berlin and Athens.
And I’d like to go back to Europe’s greatest city – Paris. I loved it in the holiday season, but I want to go back in warmer weather. Also, I want to see Notre-Dame when it reopens. Here’s how it looked last week, still under scaffolding. What a massive and complex restoration!
I recently read an interesting article by Adrienne Matei in The Atlantic—The Type of Charisma That Saves a Holiday Party. The author said that, despite endless studies and self-help books (the “charisma industry”), true magnetism is an elusive quality. She talked about “flashy anectdotes” vs “selfless charisma” as a conscious sensitivity to those around us:
…charisma does not have to be self-serving. In Greek, charisma translates as a “gift.” Rather than keep that gift to exploit for themselves, some charismatic people disperse it…I call these people vibe popes. Consider it a nondenominational title for those who unite people under the divine light of a good time.
Now, I certainly don’t claim to be a vibe pope, but I’m not shy. I got a couple of nice messages from colleagues, when I left my job last month. One person said that I had been very good at connecting people (from the two pre-merger entities) and “bridging the gap” after the merger. Even my toxic boss, in her e-mail message to the department about my departure, said that I was skilled at “cultivating new and lasting relationships with donors” and that my “enthusiasm for (the organization) is undeniably contagious.” OK, so maybe I have some level of charisma.
I’d like it to be said that I used whatever charisma I have for good–that I made people feel more warm, welcomed, connected, less lonely. I know that to do that I need to listen to people more closely.
In the spirit of warmth and connection, I wanted to share yesterday’s Santa Lucia broadcast from Sweden. I watch it every year, because my dear daughter is named Lucia (pronounced the Italian way: Loo-CHEE-ah).
We’re Italian-Americans, without a drop of Swedish blood, but I must give credit to Sweden for really making “Lucia Day” (December 13) something special. They celebrate the triumph of light over darkness in the most beautful way. Stunning Nordic setting, music, children, carols, strings, firelight, reindeer – and so very many candles. I hope it helps put you in the holiday spirit.
Today is my son John’s birthday. It’s also Taylor Swift’s birthday and Santa Lucia day in Sweden – so it’s a big day around the world. (Lucia is my daughter’s name, so it’s interesting that he was born on her saint’s name day. And by the way, I’ve added visiting Sweden to my bucket list.)
I waited a long time (six years) to have a second child. I was happy with my one little girl and didn’t think I wanted more children. When I started to second guess that decision, I really agonized about it. I made lists of pros and cons, saw a therapist, and read a book about the environmental impact of having more than one child in a First World country: Maybe One by the great environmentalist Bill McKibben.
In the end, my heart won out and we were so fortunate to receive the best Christmas present ever in the last month of the first year of the new millennium: an adorable baby boy. I was over 35, so I know I was lucky! On my first day as a mother of two, I felt that our family was complete. There was no turning back now. It felt like I had fully committed to this motherhood thing. It would be the most important part of my identity for the foreseeable future.
I have performed on stages many times, with choirs and choruses. In the past, I wrote about how I took voice lessons in my forties so I would be better prepared for the occasional solo.
Public speaking is harder than public singing for me. I can’t remember ever giving a speech. I once presented an award to a dear colleague – in front of cameras and an audience – but I don’t think I had to say anything. They used my words (from a previous essay) to quote me while I was on the stage. Here’s the photographic proof.
Berklee 2017 Urban Service Awards
A side story to this photo is that Boston’s current Mayor, Michelle Wu, also received an award at this same event and I was seated next to her. This was before she was the mayor. At the time, she was a Boston City Councilor, but I did not recognize her. She looked so young. I thought she was a college student and I asked her what her major was. Then she got up to receive her award. Oops! Embarassing. (Sorry, Mayor Wu)
What are your favorite physical activities or exercises?
This is similar to a recent prompt. Of the big three (walking, swimming, biking), walking is the easiest—no helmet or bathing suit required.
It’s really fun to walk around a new city, or a neighborhood you’ve never been to before in your own city. I had no problem closing my Apple Watch rings in Paris. (Yes, more Paris, sorry. I don’t travel that much, so this trip was a big deal.) Here are some street scenes from our walks around Paris.
Fruit vendor on Rue Cler
Le Marais – the 4th arrondissement – showing its pride 🌈
The Big Wheel on Place de la Concorde with Christmas Market in foreground
Street art in the Marais
View of Pont Alexandre III and the Grand Palais from Les Invalides
Rue Montorgueil at night
Louis XIV statue at Versailles: you can build yourself the grandest palace in Europe, but it won’t stop a seagull from sitting on your head!
The famous “Centaur” by the sculptor César (an ode to Picasso) with traffic cone embellishment 😂
First glimpse of the dome of Les Invalides from the Army Museum courtyard
The grand gate at the Palais de Justice on the Île de la Cité (the historic island in the River Seine)
On the bridge to the Île de la Cité (the Seine looking greenish that day)
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