The President of the United States is a corrupt and treasonous criminal. He does not care about you – at all. His promise to send you $5,000 if his party wins the midterms is a lie. He is in the office only to stay out of jail and enrich himself and his family. On Tuesday, vote to save the country.
I sure would love to see every American WordPress blogger who agrees post a similar message for the midterms. These are not normal times. “I don’t do politics” is a bit of a cop out at this point.
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.
It’s 28 degrees Fahrenheit at 7am here in eastern Massachusetts. The sun is just coming up.
Crockpot season has begun.
Last night was the second time my husband made this NYT recipe. It was better this time, because he dumped out the extra bacon fat before frying the mushrooms in it.
It was my idea to serve it over polenta, which we happened to have on hand. It was excellent that way.
The US midterms are NINE days away. Americans should vote as if their lives depend on it, because they literally do. The current regime is wildly corrupt and incompetent in a way that defies comprehension. I believe the entire world is on the brink of a truly terrible time if it is not stopped.
Donald Trump should be impeached and tried for treason.
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.”
As of yesterday morning around 10am, our new solar panels are ON and doing their thing.
There’s an app that shows us exactly how much energy our panels are producing in real time.
Also, we voted. Our ballots are in the mail. Massachusetts had a record nine ballot questions this time, which is ridiculous. The single most ridiculous question was about repealing our wildly popular recreational marijuana law, which passed in 2016.
This article from the Washington Post focuses on better listening, which is an important life skill. But I feel like everyone knows that listening is important. (That doesn’t mean they do it well, but they know they should.) The main tip in the article comes from therapists, but it works for everyone: “If someone is upset, try to listen to what they’re saying and paraphrase it back to them.” It’s called reflective listening.
In terms of underrated skills, I feel like math gets overlooked. And by math, I don’t mean calculus or geometry or even algebra…I mean arithmetic. You know…adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing and doing percentages in your head. You really shouldn’t need a calculator to figure out what 20% of your bill is in order to tip your hairdresser or server.
For a year or so, I was doing a daily brain-enhancing app that had both language and math exercises, but it wasn’t free and I didn’t renew it. Still, I’m surprised how much of the math stuck with me.
I worked the jewelry table last Saturday at my church’s country fair. Although we had Venmo set up, most people paid cash. I had to figure out lots of sums and then make change for lots of peoplequickly—all in my head. Honestly, not to brag or anything, but I nailed it 😉. I was just as good as the other lady working with me—and she’s a high school math teacher. I think it was the app.
I need to go find another math (arithmetic) app to keep practicing all the little tricks that make it come fast and easy, when you need it. It’s good “rip off protection” too. You’re harder to scam or take advantage of when you can do arithmetic in your aging head.
This photo is from the jewelry booth at last year’s fair. We had a lot more people this year, including many “hoverers”—women who just couldn’t pry themselves away. My sense was that this was a year to “treat yourself” to some cheap used jewelry because everything else in life is insanely expensive. And we know who to blame for that: 🍊🤡 & his GOP enablers.
If you’re American, for the love of GAWD, make sure you’re registered to vote in the midterms: IWillVote.com
I gotta say, this whole situation with the midterm election (and Trump’s plan to undermine it), the mess in the Middle East, inflation, AI coming for us…and on and on…is…STRESSFUL.
Baking with fruit from our own trees is a good counterbalance to the news.
A friend’s trip to Germany inspired me to try making apple strudel for the first time. My husband cut-up the last of our Winesap apples and we used a recipe I found online.
I have very little experience baking with puff pastry. It turns out the timing of when you take it out of the freezer is a key.
There were dots of butter under the top sheet of puff pastry, which I brushed with milk.
After 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven
Amazing. No ice cream needed.
The midterm elections have begun. VOTE like your life depends on it, because it does. VOTE early if you can.
For what it’s worth, I think very old people should retire, especially from Congress.
At age 80, Ed Markey is too old to be elected to a six-year term as a Massachusetts senator. I voted for his 47-year old primary opponent Seth Moulton—a Harvard graduate (Physics Major), multi-term U.S. Representative, decorated Marine Corps veteran, and married father of two daughters.
The main objection to Moulton seems to be that he once said something along the lines of “I don’t want my daughters to have to play contact sports with formerly male athletes.” This seems like a ridiculous reason for Massachusetts “progressives” to throw him under the bus, but that’s exactly what they’re doing, including many of the activists from my church.
So now, I keep my mouth shut. I’m obviously going to vote for Markey over any Republican in the general election.
Markey is a tall old white man (not a known member of the LGBTQ community). He has no children. I believe he served in the Army Reserves during the Vietnam War. My favorite thing that he’s done as Senator was to speak out against the TikTok ban.
Here’s what the New York Times had to say about this race.
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