Halloween

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It’s Halloween and I’m dressed as…..I don’t even know what. I have struggled for months to decide on a costume and have been unsuccessful. I love Halloween and I feel like a frump. Maybe that’s my costume?

My two kids at home tried to help. #3 brought down a couple of chefs hat, and I thought with my kitchen apron that might work, but the hats were too small – perfect for a toddler head, but not for mine. #2 brought out his Indiana Jones hat. I liked that, but I don’t have a proper jacket. If I’d had time to think I could have worn my khaki shorts and a matching shirt with that hat and been Karen Gillan from Jumanji, but that won’t work. He even brought out his new Starlord helmut, but with my glasses, it would never have been comfortable.

I think I’m dressed as a Canadian. An odd choice. I tried to find a hockey stick, nothing. I have a ROOTS t-shirt with their trademarked beaver and an Elbows Up pin, along with dangly fall leaves earrings that include a maple leaf, pumpkin socks, and my hat.

It will have to do.

(c)2025
(c)2025

I’ll need to start thinking about next Halloween tomorrow. Any suggestions?

Election Connection – The Disgrace at the White House

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Not my photo. (c)2025

This is both a week early and a week late. Next Tuesday is Election Day.

A lot of people still think that off-year election days are less important that presidential or mid-term years. There are no more off-years. We need to be done with that nonsense. Just look at the past year to know the truth in that. Trump should not have won. I don’t say that as a conspiracy theorist, and I don’t know if anything untoward with Elon Musk caused the obvious change in the election, but what I do know is that if you look directly at Trump and his allies, he was losing and he knew he was losing. By the end of the campaign, he could barely stand up or string two coherent words together. And then someone “tried to kill him” in Butler, Pennsylvania. Do I think someone tried to kill him? I don’t know, but I’ll let my quotation marks speak to that. What I do know is that a man who is still whining about an escalator and toilet water has said not one word about his “assassination attempt.” So you tell me, what part of this man’s personality allows him to let this go?

My next point is that Congressional Republicans and the Supreme Court have completely shirked their responsibility and their obligation to their oath with the embarrassing failure of keeping the checks and balances on the Executive Branch. Almost none of his executive orders are legal. His tariffs most certainly aren’t. His murder of fishermen in the Caribbean is absolutely illegal and extrajudicial. His indictments of Comey and James are the pathetic cries of his own incompetence, and I swear on all that is holy that if the Justice Dept gives him one penny of the “settlement” he’s asking for, I will not be held responsible for my actions.

And if trampling over the Constitution and using its parchment to wipe his and his sycophants’ asses wasn’t enough, last week (it is hard to believe that it’s only last week) he took a bulldozer to the East Wing of the White House. No permits filed. No money disbursed by Congress. Private companies don’t get to work on an historic building, one that is one of the foundations of our capital city without the proper protocols in place: environmental impact studies, historic preservation, toxic safety. A wing of the building built in 1942 will certainly have asbestos in those walls they just ripped down. I’ve read that the company doing the destruction doesn’t have a permit or a hazardous waste certificate to clear asbestos, but what do I know. The East Wing also rests atop the secure bunker where the President goes when there’s a credible danger or threat. I guess not anymore, right?

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Reflection

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(c)2025

I had the opportunity a few days ago to spend a couple of hours at Starbucks. I don’t know if the best part was the free breakfast or the writing I got done. It may have been the moment of Zen and bonding between the barista and me when we both agreed that this day was the fifth Monday in a row.

I typed and I scribbled – keyboard and paper both. I set my alarm for PT and didn’t worry one minute about the time. Whenever my rant became too vocal inside my head, I took a metaphorical step back and people-watched for a minute and I was able to step back from the edge and regain my focus. And I wrote some more.

Since I started working full time (which I am not complaining about), I have not been able to take my writing time on the road so to speak. I miss taking myself to a quiet meal, pulling out my notebook and jotting down some thoughts that eventually expand into something else; something more.

My witchy ghost straw and I enjoyed this quiet time, and it reminded me that I need to schedule these moments into my month. It doesn’t need to be a long time; it can be on one of my lunch hours, but it is so important to recharge the creativity.

I had another wonderful day the Friday before, joining a pilgrimage at the St. Kateri Shrine in Fonda. I was able to meet new people, hear their reactions to the shrine, sit and listen and absorb the spirituality, the music, the moments in mass, and with the Sister who is part of St. Kateri’s story and miracle. The only word that comes close to describing it is glorious. It truly was that.

That one day there, and these couple of hours at the coffee shop will stay with me for the next few weeks, possibly a month or so, and carry me, push me, and let me move my book, as well as other writing, forward into the new year.

It’s a wonderful feeling.

Glorious.

Friday Food – Milestone

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My middle child turned 21 last week. Of my three kids, he is the only one who gets a homemade birthday cake. The reason for this is simple: he likes cheesecake and I can make cheesecake. Baking a regular cake, frosting it in buttercream, adding doodads on the top and words in icing is something I have never been able to do well. Baking, unlike “food cooking” is a science. It has to be measured a certain way. If it says sifted, it needs to be sifted. If it says baking powder, don’t use baking soda. It can be so complicated for those of us who do not have the talent for baking. If you’re a good baker, I am envious of you. It is a phenomenal skill.

Lucky for me (and my child), my middle son loves cheesecake and I enjoy making it. It’s the simple Philly 3-step cheesecake recipe from Kraft. However, for those special milestone birthdays, I try to do something extra.

A few of them have had raspberry swirls baked in.

Some have chocolate chips on top.

Some have fresh raspberries or raspberry syrup drizzled on top.

They all have whipped cream as the finishing touch.

For his 18th birthday, I added chocolate frosting bordering the edge with raspberries in the center.

For this birthday – his 21st – I had planned a center layer of caramel with raspberries. It was a good thing I spoke to my son and found out he doesn’t really care for caramel. Time for more improvisation.

I opted for melted chocolate and raspberries. My husband surprised us when he returned from the store with Heath bits. In the end, I put the number “21” in raspberries stuck into the melted chocolate covering the cheesecake and let it set in the fridge. When it was time to serve, I sprinkled the Heath bar bits on top and voila! Happy 21st Birthday!

(c)2025
Cheesecake with chocolate layer, red raspberries, and Heath bar bits sprinkled.
(c)2025

Indigenous Peoples’ Day

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I wanted to begin by acknowledging that I write this (and most of my writing) from the traditional, unceded land of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, primarily the Kanien’keha:ka or Mohawk people.

I have always been a student of history with a deep interest in New York and Native Iroquois since childhood and have a deeper appreciation and understanding through my research for my book about St. Kateri. It is with that basis and love that I share some resources, for reading, for music, for traveling for some of the indigenous spaces in upstate New York and southern Canada.

Haudenosaunee Flag.
(c)2025

Picture heavy below the cut.

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Inspire…October

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Third time’s the charm, right?

I’ve been writing this for about a week now, and social media made me scream.

Then screech.

Then scream again.

I tried to write about the inspiration that was my writing retreat at the end of last month.

I tried to write about our road trip to Ticonderoga to bring our friends to visit the Star Trek Original Series Set Tour.

I tried to write about the hostages being released this weekend (truly, thank G-d; I’m full of gratitude).

I tried to write about my surgical recovery (which is going well).

And all I got out was rants.

Rants about fascism.

Rants about antisemitism.

Rants about mental blocks.

Rants about why do we need to eat dinner EVERY NIGHT?!

Rants. And more rants.

I decided my October inspiration would be some of the photos I have on my phone. I hope they bring you some joy and some inspiration.

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