Sweet tooth

April 22, 2026April 22, 2026 ~ MaryG ~ 6 Comments

My daughter discovered this. Or maybe she saw it on TikTok.

Melt a dark chocolate bar.

I do it by breaking it up and microwaving for 30 second intervals at 50% power.

The secret is to quit microwaving while you still have lumps. Just stir the chocolate until it’s perfectly smooth. You don’t want to burn the chocolate in the microwave.

Prepare a small pan or large plate with a piece of wax paper. Dip sumo orange slices, banana, pineapple, strawberries or other types of fresh fruit in the chocolate and place them on the wax paper. Put the pan in the fridge until the chocolate hardens. It doesn’t take long.

Chocolate-covered fruit can be stored in Tupperware or ziplock bags in the fridge for a few days.

Fruit & dark chocolate is such a good combo.

Kids must leave

April 21, 2026April 21, 2026 ~ MaryG ~ 13 Comments

My son has been out of the house for a year now. He moved into his first apartment with friends, this time last year. Because he did a year of “pre-first” grade, he was 19 years old when he graduated high school, 23 when he graduated college, and 24 when he moved out on his own. I thought that was late, but many of his friends were still living at home. (“Saving money” was the usual reason.)

I gave both of my kids a nudge out the door. Not that I wasn’t going to miss them, but I just feel like you can’t fully become an adult, until you live out in the world on your own. To be clear, I did not want my kids to move to a different state. I wanted them nearby, but independent (with roommates their own age).

Being in your twenties is fun, but it’s also hard. A lot gets decided then. Career choices, romantic partnerships, work-life balance, health/fitness habits, etc. Once I left my parents’ house at age 22, I never moved back in. If I had needed to, I could have, but I’m glad I never did. In addition to independence, I think it gives people motivation. You don’t really know what you value and want most in life until you’re paying all your own bills.

I recently helped my son get a primary care doctor and he actually went to see her for a check-up. His dentist’s office bugs him to get his teeth cleaned every six months, so that’s off my list. He filed his state & federal tax returns on his own (motivated entirely by a potential refund – which he got)

I think if they can possibly afford to live on their own, give them the boot (in a nice way).

My son hit the road to the big city on April 1, 2025. First Major Adulting Hurdle: renting, driving, and parking a UHaul in Boston. ✅

Stand-up

April 19, 2026April 19, 2026 ~ MaryG ~ 15 Comments

My family of origin has been upsetting me a lot since January. (I believe it’s unintentional, but still—not fun.) Thankfully, my own family are all doing well, except that my husband has been significantly challenged by his recoveries from two total knee replacements.

On top of that, I am personally upset by the shitshow in Washington. The absolute incompetence of the people running our country right now is downright frightening, as are the real impacts on all of our lives. My son inherited my mother’s gas guzzler SUV a few years ago when she upgraded and recently paid $75 to fill his tank. These prices are not sustainable for young people just starting out. And he and his roommates all sat down together to watch one of Trump’s incoherent updates on the war with Iran because they are worried about getting drafted.

Long way of saying, I could use a laugh. Maybe you could too.

Here are three stand-up comedy specials I’ve watched recently and truly enjoyed. I laughed out loud many, many times.

Marcello Hernández: American Boy (Netflix)

Julio Torres: Color Theories (HBO Max)

Ramy Youssef: In Love (HBO Max)

They happen to all be young men, but all grew up outside mainstream, straight, white American male culture. Their perspectives are unique and in many cases, hysterical. 🤣

Budapest 1987

April 15, 2026April 16, 2026 ~ MaryG ~ 32 Comments

I’ve posted a couple times about my trip to the Soviet Union in college. I was with a group of students and history professors. It was a big deal to go “behind the iron curtain” back then, so we prepped for this trip for many months—studying Russian history and learning how to behave in a communist country. (They didn’t want any of us to end up in a Siberian prison camp.)

In addition to stopping in Helsinki (Finland) on the way into the USSR, we stopped in Budapest (Hungary) on the way out. Back then, Hungary was firmly part of the Soviet-aligned Eastern Bloc. And we happened to be there in the immediate aftermath of an epic snowstorm. Other than the snow and total paralysis of transportation on the streets, I remember kind people and one particularly delicious hot meal in a restaurant with some young musicians who gave us a cassette tape of their rock band.

In light of the recent good news that Hungarians dumped their far-right leader Viktor Orbán (a buddy of both Trump and Putin) on Sunday, I dug out my Budapest pics. Google describes Budapest in 1987 like this:

Budapest in 1987 was a city in late-communist Hungary characterized by economic scarcity, socialist architecture, and a quiet, daily struggle, yet it was on the cusp of major political change. The city experienced a historic, paralyzing snowstorm in January 1987 and was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site that same year.

I’m not in any of these photos, but I took all of them. None are particularly good, but as a group, they give you the vibe.

Fun fact: Budapest is actually two cities—Buda and Pest. In this pic, I’m standing in Buda looking over the frozen Danube River towards Pest. The large domed building on the far side is the Hungarian Parliament in Pest. (Pronounced PESHT)

The famous Fisherman’s Bastion is a fairytale-like, Neo-Romanesque lookout built between 1895 and 1902.

An Aeroflot route map in a Budapest window. (We flew sketchy Aeroflot into Russia.)

My friend Lincoln standing in an alcove in Budapest.

My friend Rob playing a balalaika at the Budapest airport.

Walking was the only option for seeing anything at all while we were there! The city was paralyzed with snow and the authorities really couldn’t deal with it.

Two of our professors at the Budapest airport. The one on the right, Dr. James West, taught Russian history and was one of the best teachers I ever had. He’s one of the reasons I majored in History.

Speaking of wonderful history professors, be sure to listen to Dr. Heather Cox Richardson’s letter from Tuesday that explains the connections between Viktor Orbán and the American right: https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/restore-america-to-its-own-people?r=j2aww&utm_medium=ios

Sign of Spring

April 14, 2026 ~ MaryG ~ 8 Comments

Spring is springing here in Greater Boston. Hallelujah!

I took a shot at drawing and painting these purple crocuses in my neighborhood.

I tried a bunch of different techniques and colors. Some worked. Some didn’t.

I’m realizing now you really just have to paint a lot to truly improve. Watercolors require a great deal of trial and error. And now that good weather has returned, I’m not sure how much I’ll keep painting outside of the class I’m taking.

Honestly, I’m still not sure what my life is actually going to look like longterm in retirement. We are still in a transitional period. My husband’s knee surgeries have been such a huge feature of the past year. We don’t know how much he’ll continue to work once he’s fully recovered.

I feel like my retirement travel budget is not going to be as significant as I had hoped (thanks Trump) but who knows…maybe we’ll become road trip people.

I’m trying to focus on Good Things today:

It’s 73 degrees F and sunny here 😎
I have a screen porch, which I just cleaned.
Hungary dumped Trump & Putin’s buddy Viktor Orbán.
I get to see my cutie 🥰 tomorrow.
Dessert – last night I had the genius idea to sprinkle flaked coconut on two Salted Caramel Mochi from Trader Joe’s. So good.

Sunshine Blogger

April 13, 2026April 13, 2026 ~ MaryG ~ 16 Comments

Thank you to my blogging friend MyGenXerLife for nominating me for this fun challenge:

mygenxerlife.com/2026/04/12/sunshine-blogger-award/

He really goes the extra mile for his readers. Not only does he share a thoughtful post, but he ties it into a good song that he then adds to a Spotify playlist, which you can listen to anytime. He has reminded me of many great tunes of my 70s and 80s youth and introduced me to some 90s (and later) music that I missed while I was busy changing diapers.

Here are my answers to his questions:

1. What inspired you to start blogging?

Turning 50

2. How did you meet your best friend?

At my local library’s story time for toddlers (our daughters are the same age)

3. What is one thing on your bucket list?

Visiting Greece

4. Which household chore do you love and which one do you hate?

I love getting rid of stuff we no longer use. I hate shoveling snow.

5. What are you most proud of?

My kids are both responsible, hardworking, independent, thoughtful, tax-paying adults. Also, my daughter is an awesome mom to my granddaughter, who is THE SINGLE CUTEST TODDLER in the world.

6. If you could be a master painter, writer or musician, which would you choose?

I’d have to go musician. I like to paint (and write) but I’d actually LOVE to be able to plunk down on any old piano bench and entertain a crowd.

7. Did you ever lose something that had personal value to you?

I left my favorite earrings–gold “huggy” hoops–on the side of a swimming pool a few years ago and they disappeared. I didn’t know how much I liked them until they were gone. (Link provided for husband, who will probably never read this post.)

8. What was the best advice you ever received?

Live in the moment

9. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Massachusetts April – December, then someplace warm and awesome January – March.

10. Who is your hero?

I admire great women of the 20th century who tried to make things fairer: Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Gloria Steinem.

11. What are you looking forward to?

Trump’s removal from office

Technically, as part of this challenge, I’m supposed to come up with 11 new questions and tag 11 other bloggers (chain letter style), but I’m lazy and I like these questions. Therefore, I’m going to tag a few folks I enjoy to see if they want to join in (no pressure!) by answering the questions above.

I’d be curious to read your answers:

Thoughts About Leadership, History and More

Taking Each Day Free

AndreaZ

Notes from the Hinterland

Project Hail Mary

April 12, 2026April 12, 2026 ~ MaryG ~ 23 Comments

We went out! For the first time since total knee replacement #2 on March 16, we went to a movie. Thanks to reclining theater seats, my husband was able to elevate his leg enough to make it through a 2+ hour film. He did have to take an oxy about halfway through, but still…he made it…and mostly enjoyed it.

For those who haven’t heard, Project Hail Mary is a blockbuster, feel good, space odyssey, based on the book by Andy Weir, which I have not read.

Here are a few thoughts:

The theater was full of people, including many families. This made the movie going experience more fun. We happened to go to a Saturday matinee the day after the Artemis 2 crew returned safely to earth. The poignancy of the film’s main message (nobody wants to be alone) was enhanced by the good vibes that our stellar astronauts evoked. As eloquent Artemis astronaut Christina Koch told the world upon her return: Planet Earth: You. Are. A. Crew.

Ryan Gosling is charming! We knew this already from Barbie, LaLa Land and other films. But this is his most charming role yet. He’s cute, he’s humble, he’s funny, he’s adorable. Give me Ryan Gosling any day of the week over Matthew McConaughey, Mark Wahlberg or any of the Chrises.

At 2 hours and 36 minutes, the film is a bit too long. I had to leave once to pee during the film and I had already left to pee during the final preview. (I should’ve been able to make it through the whole film.) The boys next to me also had to leave to pee once. But honestly, all films seem too long to me these days. Filmmakers need to edit better. If your average 60-year old woman and 10-year old boy can’t make it through the whole film without peeing, cut some stuff.

But all in all, I give it a thumbs up. It’s a good way to build on the warm vibes the astronauts gave us. Goodness knows, we need all the positivity we can get in light of the total shit show in the White House.

Watercolor Journey Update

April 7, 2026April 7, 2026 ~ MaryG ~ 13 Comments

Warning: This is likely going to be a boring post to anyone but me.

Also, don’t you hate it when people say they’re on a “journey” of any kind? My husband and I were joking that I’d much rather be on a “watercolor journey“ than a “knee replacement journey.” His journey is so much more painful than mine!

As I mentioned, I decided not to continue with another session of the paint-a-long class with Diane because it felt too prescriptive. Still, I wanted to continue learning in a class setting, so I ended up enrolling in another session of “Loosen Up With Watercolors” with Sandra (my first teacher) at the fancier, more expensive community arts center. The classrooms are much nicer there—real art studios with big tables, lots of light, and sinks.

The only problem is that Sandra gives practically no formal instruction. She considers herself your “coach” rather than your teacher, so you have to come up with your subjects yourself. She circles the room giving each person individual guidance. This is honestly hard on the total beginners. They have no idea where to start.

I spent a lot of the first class of this term struggling with my materials. I had purchased tube paints for the paint-a-long class and they’re a different brand from my old pan paints. I decided I liked working from the pan better, so tried to match up the tube colors to refill my half empty pans. Some of the colors had different names for the exact same shade.

I trashed the actual painting I worked on in favor of color identification. I think I have a better idea of what I’ve got now.

I don’t actually have “Opera Rose” in either of my sets. Sandra gave me some of hers. (That’s a color I might want to buy.)

Sandra made a big deal about investing in professional-level paints (this is new—last time she emphasized good paper), which I have not as yet done. I have two “student/hobbyist” level paint sets: Winsor & Newton Cotman pan set ($65) and Royal & Langnickel Essentials tube set ($25). I’m worried that the Royal & Langnickel paints are low quality, but whatever…I’m no Winslow Homer. I’m going to keep using them for now.

I did buy one little tube of professional-level Winsor & Newton Payne’s Grey ($15) and refilled my pan with it. It’s definitely a stronger pigment. A tiny bit goes a long way. Also, the consistency is different. It’s more like honey or syrup and takes longer to harden in your pan. Maybe my strategy will be to replace my current colors with professional-level colors, as needed.

Oh, and thank you to everyone who weighed in on my Artistic Dilemma. I decided to leave the police/ICE officers unpainted, mainly because I kind of liked them unpainted and didn’t trust myself to paint them monochromatically in a way that I liked better. (And once you’ve painted something, it’s hard to undo it.) So here’s what I submitted to the “Art for Democracy” contest: