dailyprompt

Just buy it!

~ MaryG ~ Leave a comment

What’s one piece of travel advice you always follow?

I’m not a giant spender while traveling, but if something strikes my fancy and will fit in my luggage, I buy it on the spot. I’ve never regretted it.

If you hem and haw and think you’ll have a chance to return to that exact same spot and buy it later, you’re probably wrong.

If you’re in a foreign land and a locally made item beckons to you (and you can afford it), just pull the trigger. The item will always remind you of that place and of that trip. It’s special.

Bud vase I bought spontaneously while on a tour of Dingle Crystal in Ireland. Sure, I could’ve ordered this online when I got home, but I wanted that exact one.
Bonus, the artist/designer signed it for me because he was standing right there.

Full disclosure, I put this tiny crystal vase in a carryon (my only bag) and TSA thought it looked like a hand grenade or something and made me unpack my entire bag. Very annoying! Even so, I’m glad I bought it IN the factory IN Ireland.

An artisan working at Dingle Crystal, County Kerry, Ireland

Life is short. If you are fortunate enough to get to travel abroad, make the most of it. Support the places you visit by buying their wares and bring home something so much more meaningful than your next Target or Amazon purchase.

AMERICANS: History has its eyes on us.

VOTE!

Last chance

~ MaryG ~ 15 Comments

How do you manage stress?

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I don’t think it’s exaggeration to say that this midterm election is the last chance to save American democracy. We know for certain that our President and his acolytes plan to undermine it.

I hope this doesn’t seem performative, but I want my grandchildren to know which side I was on in 2026, and that I did in fact try to do something to fight back. So here are stacks of letters and postcards I wrote to voters in Ohio, Michigan and Texas, encouraging them to vote in the midterms. I’m going to mail them this week.

Democrats are far from perfect, but if you’re not getting out and voting blue in this midterm, you’re on the wrong side of history.

In the words of Yale historian Dr. Joanne Freeman, “If you are both sidesing this moment, you’ve already chosen a side.”

Read NYT gift article: Trump’s attempt to deport Ilhan Omar is another leap towards the abyss.

The Journey

~ MaryG ~ 5 Comments

What’s something you’ve done that your past self would be proud of?

I’ve set boundaries with my family of origin. As many know, this is hard to do and causes ongoing feelings of guilt. My younger self had to do this too. I guess my past self might be proud that I still have the strength for it.

If you’ve ever been moved by the poems of Mary Oliver, I highly recommend the new film on PBS—Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World.

The Journey by Mary Oliver

In the film, you learn that young Mary (age 17, I believe) left her family home and went to live in the woods. She met another young person there—Lenny—who was also “on the lam.” They were together in the woods for about a week. When they left the woods, Mary went on to determinedly pursue her life as a poet for which she eventually became greatly respected and admired in her lifetime. Towards the end of her life, she wondered what had become of Lenny. It turned out he had returned to the Ohio town (from which they had both run) and made his life there. He had children and grandchildren. He had died the day before she thought of him.

Kimmel

~ MaryG ~ 9 Comments

Which celebrity would you love to meet, and what would you talk about?

Nobody is highlighting the absolutely ludicrous, delusional, bloviating egomaniacism of the President of the United States quite like Jimmy Kimmel. The emperor has no clothes.

Long live Jimmy Kimmel.

Also, like the rest of America, I was sad to see Kimmel’s sidekick (and former parking lot security guard) Guillermo get sent home this week on Dancing with the Stars. He was a joy to watch. And so was his pregnant dance partner Whitney.

Dessert guy

~ MaryG ~ 19 Comments

What does it mean to be a good person I want to hang out with?

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I don’t feel qualified to say who is “good,” but I can tell you that one quality I appreciate in a person is the ability to enjoy dessert.

“I don’t like sweets.”

“Sugar is bad.”

“I’ve never even tried hot fudge.”

“Those are just empty calories.”

And the worst one of all:

“No birthday cake for me.”

Diabetics get a pass, but generally these are the types of statements that have me looking over your shoulder for someone else to talk to. Enjoy your marathon training or whatever. Imma go talk to the happy laughing people on the porch eating cake.

It took quite a while, but I finally turned my husband into a true dessert guy. He’s disappointed if we don’t have anything homemade on hand for dessert.

Yesterday, he spotted a 3-ingredient peanut butter cookie recipe in the NYT and then just whipped them up — all by himself. I now feel I have succeeded in life. I will not grow old eating dessert all alone, with another person sitting right there.

The three ingredients are: one egg, one cup peanut butter, and half a cup of sugar.

Here’s the recipe from New York Times Cooking:

NYT Cooking PB Cookies.pdfDownload
It only makes 9-10 cookies, but they’re big and pretty fudgy.
The recipe says you can flatten or not flatten. He flattened them a bit and baked for 15 minutes. They puffed up just a bit.
Verdict: GOOD, especially warm with milk

Greece and virtual travel

~ MaryG ~ 16 Comments

What’s a country that’s at the top of your bucket list?

I’m not sure if or when I’m ever going to make it back to Europe, but I’d like to see Greece in person before I kick the bucket. I was a history major in college. I want to see the birthplace of Western civilization. Also, I hear the food is amazing.

In the meantime, we’ve been doing some “virtual travel” through a company called Indigare. The trips are offered to us as a free benefit through our bank. At first, I thought that this was just a sad holdover from the pandemic lockdown and the “tours” would be totally lame. But I’ve actually enjoyed these virtual trips, which include a private tour of a major site, followed by live Q & A with scholars and experts. I always like it when I ask a question (in the chat) and they answer it live. It’s done through Zoom.

So far, we’ve done virtual tours of:

Machu Picchu and the lesser-known Inca ruins of Chachabamba with famed explorer Peter Frost

UNESCO’s Alhambra (Spain’s Royal Masterpiece) in Granada

Olympia, Greece: The Birthplace of the Olympic Games

India’s Architectural Masterpieces: the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Itimad-ud-Daulah (the Baby Taj)

King Tut at the newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum near the Giza pyramids in Egypt

Next up is “Japan’s most extraordinary art destination” this Thursday at noon.

Aaaaah, no airports, no jet lag, no huge bill$, just a fresh cup of coffee and expert tour guides showing me something really cool.

Alhambra (image from Pexels)

Dealing with caterwaulers

~ MaryG ~ 17 Comments

What are your strategies for SEO?

Soprano Enforcement Operations are difficult and delicate.

I’m no professional singer, but I’m a decent amateur choral singer. I’ve been singing in choirs my whole life. I’ve had voice lessons. I can sing high notes well. I can give a choir director what they want.

Also, I love to sing, as do many other people with far less experience than me. So, what to do when one of them feels very happy and confident singing soprano alongside you – very loudly with no real sense of the pitch? The term caterwauling comes to mind. Here are a few strategies:

  1. Appreciate her enthusiasm! She loves to sing, just like you do.
  2. Never, and I mean NEVER, correct another singer in your amateur church or community choir.
  3. You’ll notice the director trying to tamp down the caterwauler, who may or may not catch on. All you can do is MODEL the correct way to sing something and do exactly what the music director asks.
  4. Sing softer and with the best possible technique. The caterwauler will hopefully realize that she’s screeching like a cornered cat and pipe down on her own.
  5. If you have a good ear and a bad ear (like me), position yourself with the caterwauler near your bad ear and the rest of the choir on your good side. (It’s more important to hear them than her.)
  6. Final tip, and this one is a bit risky. Just prior to important soprano entrances, subtly block the ear near the caterwauler (you can pretend you’re scratching your head or adjusting your glasses). That way when the caterwauler blasts in with the wrong note, she won’t throw you off and you can help right the ship.

Highly recommended film for choir ladies (and gents): The Choral on Netflix, starring Ralph Fiennes. I really loved it. My husband (who is not a choir guy) liked it too.

Good People

~ MaryG ~ 15 Comments

What’s one thing you know now that would have saved your younger self a lot of pain?

Probably could have saved myself a bunch of pain by not worrying so much about what my parents thought. The guilt trips were (and are) detrimental to my mental health. I’m in my 60s FFS and I still have to brace myself to tell them I’m not going to do certain things they want (like invite a difficult relative to my home).

Now, I’m not saying my parents were anything like the Afghani immigrant parents in Good People—the new bestseller by Patmeena Sabit—but I did find certain elements of that poor girl’s story somewhat relatable. (My father is a second generation immigrant from Italy.)

Warning: spoilers ahead

If you read it, what are your thoughts? Was it an “honor killing” or not?

The most upsetting chapter to me was the medical examiner’s report. The description of what Zorah was wearing when she died was just so…poignant. I stopped and cried at that point in the book.

I guess the part I related to was the whole idea of parents being more concerned about what the community or the neighbors think rather than what is actually going on with their child. Also, siblings getting dragged into each other’s problems. You are not your brother or sister’s keeper. I don’t think that expectation is healthy. I’m not saying siblings shouldn’t care for each other, but when shit hits the fan, the actual adults in the family should deal. Don’t drag your other kids into a big mess that is not of their own making.

If Zorah’s brother did do the awful thing, do you think he was equally as guilty as her father? Or less so, because of his age and likely being pressured by the father?

And goodness, where was the mother in all of this and why was she so weak?

I know, I know…it’s the motherfucking patriarchy.

Harvest morning

~ MaryG ~ 12 Comments

Tell us about your morning routine.

My morning routine is get up, drink coffee, read stuff, write stuff, do word games, and generally live the leisurely life of the retired.

Yesterday morning (and by morning, I mean slightly before noon) I went out to the new vegetable garden with my husband and he harvested some lettuce, which we ate in a salad last night, so that was exciting.

Bibb lettuce
Swiss chard is not ready yet
We’ve had a few radishes already

This morning, I’m going to go get a flu shot at CVS. Woohoo! Exciting day 😉