Homegrown or farmstand tomatoes are an August delight in New England—and maybe in other places too—but we wait all year for them here.
My Caprese salad recipe:
Put some extra virgin olive oil on a large plate
Top with heirloom tomato wedges and mozzarella chunks or slices
Sprinkle with Kosher salt, if desired
Drizzle with balsamic glaze
Top with fresh basil
Fascinating or Fraud? – Part I
As we walked back through the first floor of The Red Lion Inn to the elevator, I finally could speak to my friend Gail openly. “Do we believe this lady or what?” I should have known that a 251-year old hotel has only one elevator and that our new friend was headed to the exact same place we were. Although she had taken a slightly different route, she ended up right behind us. Hopefully she didn’t hear me say that!
She got into the elevator with us and we all smiled broadly and said how much we’d enjoyed our time together on the porch. The elevator stopped on the second floor and we said goodnight again as she got out. Gail and I rode up to the third floor and opened our antique door with the old key.
Before we were even inside our double room, we began plotting our Google searches. We figured it would take us about 60 seconds (2 minutes tops) to figure out if this woman was truly fascinating or full of shit. You see, Gail and I are advanced sleuths. She has a Master’s Degree in Journalism and I spent 30+ years in fundraising. Figuring out who people are, who they know, and how much money they have was all part of the job. (Private trusts and family foundations were my specialty.)
We jumped into our side-by-side beds and began checking her out. This was going to be fun! Well, two minutes went by and we hadn’t made much progress. We found one woman who looked a bit like her on Instagram and Gail sent a friend request.
We finally found the antique store owning daughter. She looked just like her mom in the photo. There was a bio of the daughter that said she’d been raised in western Massachusetts and Belgium by a British mother and German father. So all that was true!
We still couldn’t find anything on our new friend herself. What the heck? Were we spelling her last name wrong? It was a common-sounding last name, but spelled “the German way” she had said. (Neither of us studied German.) Finally, I found the daughter on Facebook. She had her maiden name in parentheses. A HA! We had been missing an S.
Then we found her. LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. There were videos of her on the land where she’s building her solar farm, on the Miami condo balcony, on her recent trip to Lake Como. It was all checking out. I even found the 990 (tax return) of her pediatric cancer foundation. It’s a legitimate charity.
Her bio on her Instagram profile says, “Entrepreneur, Life Coach, Neuroencoding Specialist, Sport Fanatik 🏀🔥🏈, Cruising 🛳️ addicted, Childhood Cancer Advocate 🎗️” and includes links to her foundation and her life coaching website.
So, it was all true. What a fascinating woman!
One mystery remained. The out-of-the-picture German engineer husband. Who was he and what happened to him? The next day Gail figured out his name and I learned that he had died four years ago. He was clearly older than her and a very big deal in plastics. One LinkedIn commenter described him as the “alpha one” of the industry. So…that explains where the money comes from, although we think they split up before he died.
We both followed our new friend on Instagram and Gail sent her a private message to which she responded, “It was such wonderful surprise and highlight of my trip meeting you and Mary too!! I hope we get to meet again!!”
So maybe we’ll see her again someday. Who knows? Life is short and fascinating people are hard to come by.
Watch the scene: One Word: Plastics
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We met a woman on the porch of The Red Lion Inn.
“How’s the chicken pot pie?”
“It’s good!” she said.
I detected a British accent, but she said she was from Miami. Polite smiles. Back to our menus.
Later, while we were discussing the meaning of “agender” vs “non-binary” with some delightfully open GenZs, she jumped back in.
Here’s what we learned:
She’s building a solar farm business in western Massachusetts for which she had to undertake complex government permitting and state house lobbying.
She owns a home in Miami, but had been raised in the UK where she went to “college.” (Oxford was mentioned.)
She lived in western Massachusetts for many years, had two daughters, but then moved to Belgium with her German engineer husband (no longer in the picture) who was a high-level executive with General Electric.
She had a home in Newport, Rhode Island for many years.
She was a realtor and avid home renovator.
She just returned from a trip to Northern Italy where she met George Clooney’s driver.
One of the daughters left marketing and opened a successful antique store in northeastern Massachusetts. The other daughter lives in Austin, Texas, where she’s considering moving to from Miami.
She is a fan/follower of a certain self-help guru which led her to her passion for neuroencoding.
She is a grandmother.
She is a professional life coach.
At this point, I needed to vape a little weed…I mean, it was a lot.
Now, slightly high, I listened to more things being relayed.
She’s a BIG sports fan, especially basketball and football, and her Miami condo overlooks the Miami Heat home arena.
At one point, she purchased and successfully overhauled some sort of professional American football club.
In the past, she worked at the Miami port herding passengers onto various cruise ships, including swinger cruises for which “codes of conduct” contracts were required from passengers.
And this is the one that finally put me over the edge into doubting everything:
She founded and runs of charity dedicated to improving the lives of pediatric cancer patients.
I mean, very admirable, but how on earth does she find time! Does this woman ever just watch TV?
I made a joke about her having a multiple personality disorder. She did not seem offended. We said goodnight, after getting her name so we could connect online.
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Tanglewood Music Center, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra is an iconic location in New England. Over the years, I’ve heard many musically-inclined people describe it as their “happy place.” Located in the picturesque Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. Tanglewood hosts a variety of concerts, performances, and events featuring world-class musicians and artists. The grounds also include beautiful gardens, walking paths, and vast picnic areas. Purchasing “lawn seats” for a symphonic performance at Tanglewood and picnicking on the grounds has long been on my bucket list. (Tanglewood picnics have a legacy all their own.) Well, yesterday I checked this one off in absolutely spectacular weather.
The first half of the program included a modern piece by a living composer, Anna Clyne, who was there to introduce her work, as well as two gorgeous Mozart arias sung by an ethereal young soprano—Elena Villalón. The second half of the program was Mahler’s Symphony No. 4. The entire program was conducted by James Gaffigan—a young (cute) GenX American.
Besides the fact that we absolutely lucked out with one of the most stellar days of the summer (sunny, not too hot, low humidity), the sumptuous 4-course picnic lunch (provided by gourmet chefs from my church) made yesterday an over-the-top delight. My lifelong friend Gail and I didn’t have to bring a thing other than our lawn chairs. (The picnic lunch was something I won in a church auction last year.)
Holy wow! From the majestic setting, to the history of the hallowed grounds traversed by the greatest American musicians of the 20th century—from Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland to John Williams and Renée Fleming—I truly felt the Tanglewood magic.
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The idea of “girl dinner” came up in a recent post by Singing Gecko and it stuck in my head to the point where I ordered “cheese and charcuterie” as my meal in a restaurant which had many normal/traditional entree options.
It was $38 and it was huge! My husband had some of it, but he had a steak on the way, so it was mostly up to me. Having recently doubled my cholesterol medication dosage, I felt I was up to the task.
Obviously, I got a cocktail too, followed by a glass of Prosecco. (Girl dinner includes alcohol.)
We had a table on an exterior deck and the weather was perfect.
But the best part was the view. I would describe it as “bucolic New England farm.” The landscape was dotted with wildlife including sheep, finches, butterflies, and the occasional soaring bird of prey.
And as the sun set over this beautiful landscape, and they boxed up my leftover cheeses, I felt that my expensive appetizer (a.k.a. girl dinner) was a great choice and was definitely worth the money.
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I drove about an hour yesterday to visit a dear old friend from work. It was great to see Dina. She made me lunch and then we took a short ride to her church. Like me, Dina sings in her church choir and I’ve been hearing about her church community for many years. I wanted to see the building so I could picture what she’d been talking about all these years.
It was a lovely, well-maintained, stone church dating back to the 1890s. Inside was dark wood throughout with many stained glass windows. There was one new window, which was dedicated to the women of the church. I really liked it. Instead of biblical scenes, it featured New England flora and fauna including an owl, a squirrel, a cardinal, a blue jay, a chickadee, a rabbit (or two), a fawn, and a big old turkey.
I met the minister (referred to as the “rector” in Episcopalian churches) and he explained that a large part of the window was intentionally left clear so that people could see out into the memorial garden.
Describe one of your favorite moments.
We were lucky to have close friends with a beautiful beach house while my kids were growing up. It’s near the loveliest beach. The water gets really warm in August. One year, my daughter had a waterproof/underwater camera. Photos from that visit always make me happy.
Ocean, Sun, Joy, Love, Floating Happiness
Who would you like to talk to soon?
Not who, what.
Summer.
And the wait is over. It’s here. It starts today. It’s the Friday of Memorial Day weekend and it’s going to be in the 80s.
I’m registered for an afternoon slot at my outdoor pool. I’ll get to swim laps and read my book outside today.
I cleaned (really scrubbed!) my porch yesterday. It’s looking good and is temporarily pollen-free.
Oh, and it’s Gemini season. My time has come.
Hello Summer.
😄 💓 ♊️ ☀️ 🏊 🌸 😎
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#1) ME! I pay attention to my instincts and tend to value my own wisdom. I’ve got 58 years worth of life experience. Sometimes great revelations hit me late at night, frequently after smoking marijuana. Weed and writing both help me gain clarity.
I was recently honored to be nominated for my church’s Standing Committee. It’s the 6-member executive team that is responsible for all of the organization’s business affairs, including the annual budget and managing the staff. It’s validating, because it shows that other people respect my wisdom and judgment too.
#2) MY HUSBAND. He’s smart and he doesn’t panic. He’s very good at giving advice on medical concerns (i.e. it’s fine; you’ll be fine; I’ve had that; it’s nothing, etc) and occasionally gives good input on fashion (i.e. I like the red one better). It took him awhile to learn this, but he usually knows when the best advice is just to listen and not give any advice. IF I wanted advice on how to get physically stronger, I would ask him, because he knows a lot about it, but I’m way too lazy for lifting weights. He’s also a reader. In my opinion, people who read books tend to give good advice.
Some years ago, I would’ve put my parents on this list, but I don’t typically seek their advice these days.
My kids are getting better at advice-giving as they get older, especially my daughter who is basically a professional advice-giver through her astrology business.
My son is good for one-off tech tips like “try turning it off and on.”
Inside is an absolutely stunning, classic New England sanctuary in the Greek Revival architectural style. Services are online every Sunday at 10am (EST) here. Check us out, especially if you’re not “religious” and think traditional church is not for you. Atheists welcomed. We are a member congregation of the UUA. 🌈 ☮️ 💓 🌎 🎶
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