Thursday, March 28, 2024

Thursday Thirteen #354

13 items to donate to a food pantry. This is a tricky time of year for food pantries. Thanksgiving and Christmas put people in a charitable mood and donations come in. Easter? Not so much. But food insecurity is a 365 issue for many of our neighbors, and if you're inclined to help, now would be a good time to do so.

To find a food pantry near you, click here

While cash is always welcome, here are thirteen non-perishable foods they'll likely need:

1. Canned vegetables -- especially corn and carrots

2. Canned fruits

3. Canned soups -- especially cream of chicken and cream of mushroom because they can be used for casseroles

4. Canned pinto, kidney and black beans for chili

5. Canned tuna, chicken, ham or SPAM

6. Rice

7. Pasta

8. Tomato paste -- but maybe not pasta sauce, since some pantries don't accept glass containers

9. Breakfast cereals, including oatmeal

10. Peanut butter

11. Salt and pepper

12. Evaporated milk

13. Juice boxes -- many of those who visit food banks are parents and/or people with jobs trying to make ends meet, and juice boxes go well in sack lunches

Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.

 

Three Nice Things about Me -- Day 27

My blogging buddy, Kwizgiver, wrote a post that really resonated with meShe detailed how self-care helped her helped her prevail during a (ridiculously) tough month. Her tips were very wise and so doable! So she has inspired me to take one and integrate it into my own life.

Since I can be a pretty harsh self-critic, this is the one I chose. I hope I can do this every day during March. By then it should be a habit, right?

Three nice things about myself -- March 27:

1) I treated myself. At the end of each weekend, I put any leftover cash in a beer stein on my counter. Tonight, when I had dinner with Kathleen, I ordered a chocolate martini and we split a dessert, and I was able to pay with cash from stein. I like myself for working on that age-old retirement dilemma: how to enjoy today without jeopardizing tomorrow.

2) I changed up my makeup. I switched from foundation to BB cream nearly a decade ago. I haven't made any significant changes to my regime in years. I've seen ads for Jones Road and decided to give Miracle Balm a try. The look is subtle but a little brighter. Anyway, I like that I can see myself with new eyes and freshen my look.

3) I feel the love flow. Roy Hobbs was pressed up against me when I began this post. Connie Cat took his place and settled in for a tummy rub as I completed it. I like that, when I touch my cats, I appreciate the affection moving back and forth between us.


Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Three Nice Things about Myself -- Day 26

My blogging buddy, Kwizgiver, wrote a post that really resonated with meShe detailed how self-care helped her helped her prevail during a (ridiculously) tough month. Her tips were very wise and so doable! So she has inspired me to take one and integrate it into my own life.

Since I can be a pretty harsh self-critic, this is the one I chose. I hope I can do this every day during March. By then it should be a habit, right?

Three nice things about myself -- March 26:

1) I used my words. Marilyn Lands won her election for an AL State House seat today. I helped her cause by writing GOTV postcards. I celebrated by writing a few more for FL vote-by-mail access. I like that I do more than shake my fist. I am fighting for democracy and Democrats.

2) I took care of me. Started the day with yoga. Had a session with my shrink. Went for laser therapy on my heel. I've been upset about some of my relationships: Henry, John, my oldest friend ... I like that I concentrated on myself physically and emotionally, which helps me keep perspective.

3) I used the remote wisely. Some things really get under my skin and depress me. Monday I watched part one of a documentary about abuse that went on at Nickelodeon. I didn't expect it to affect me the way it did. There are more episodes in the series, but I won't be back. I'm sure it's an important story that needs to be told, but I'm not in a place to see it. I like that I'm learning to protect myself.



Tuesday, March 26, 2024

WWW.WEDNESDAY


WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here

PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.

1. What are you currently reading? Murder in the Ball Park: A Nero Wolfe Mystery by Robert Goldsborough. I love baseball. I love Nero Wolfe's assistant, Archie Goodwin. So naturally, I am loving this book.


Though I am disappointed to report that, thus far, there is little baseball. Archie and his buddy, Saul Panzer, take an afternoon off to take in a ballgame. The story is set around 1950, when New York was home to three (3!) major league teams. Our heroes are settling in their seats to see the Giants play the Dodgers when a shot rings out. A local politician is assassinated, right there in the park!


It takes Nero Wolfe -- lazy genius that he is -- a while to decide to take the case. But once he does, the action picks up. Goldsborough does right by the characters created by Rex Stout, and I'm happy to spend time with them. 

 

2. What did you recently finish reading? Camera Girl: The Coming of Age of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy by Carl Sferrazza Anthony. JBKO was one of the most famous women of the 20th century and there's an almost limitless supply of books available about her. But this one is different. It focuses on a very specific period of her life -- 1949 to 1954, ages 20 to 24. This was a transformational time for her. She went from college student to working girl to bride, from her parents' home to her own apartment to a household with her husband, from private citizen to public figure.


She toured Europe in 1949, taking pictures along the way and even getting herself detained for hours by the Russians in Vienna. Honest to shit! The Soviets didn't believe her "story" -- that she was a well-heeled American girl on holiday -- because no US debutante would be that bold and have that expensive/complicated a camera. Yet that's how serious 20-year-old Jackie Bouvier was about experiencing and chronicling the world around her. It's amusing to realize that in little more than a decade, in 1961, she would be invited to Vienna and celebrated by international diplomats as America's glamorous First Lady.

 

Jackie Bouvier thought she wanted to work in fashion but realized early that she was more interested in people than in what they wore. So instead of an internship at Vogue in New York she took a job as "The Inquiring Camera Girl" at the Washington Herald. She loved that job and took it seriously, writing more than 600 columns before she quit when she married what's-his-name.

 

Before JFK she was engaged to a stockbroker named John Husted. It wasn't so much Husted as his lifestyle that she broke up with. While she wanted a home and children, she also wanted a husband she could help and partner with. She and Kennedy fell in love as much over her help with his speeches and her translation of French texts about Indochina as they did dinner and dancing. (And yes, the formidable Kennedy clan and its money helped her escape once and for all the warfare between her divorced parents, who treated her like a football.)


As I read this book, I thought of Caroline Kennedy. What a gift this volume is to her and her children! When I think of my own mom, a woman about a decade younger than Jackie, she always glossed over the short period between when school ended and her married life began. I wish I had a glimpse like this of how she made her choices during that time.


Researched, footnoted, nuanced and sensitive, I don't think I will read another book in 2024 that I will enjoy as much as I did this one.

 

3. What will you read next? I don't know.




 

Three Nice Things about Myself -- Day 25

My blogging buddy, Kwizgiver, wrote a post that really resonated with meShe detailed how self-care helped her helped her prevail during a (ridiculously) tough month. Her tips were very wise and so doable! So she has inspired me to take one and integrate it into my own life.

Since I can be a pretty harsh self-critic, this is the one I chose. I hope I can do this every day during March. By then it should be a habit, right?

Three nice things about myself -- March 25:

1) I got my geek on. I attended a free online forum at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library called, "The East Wing: Expanding First Ladies' Impact." I learned little new about JBKO herself, but the historians spoke highly of this biography of Pat Nixon, a woman I'm curious about. I like that I take the opportunity to indulge and learn more when I can.

2) I paid cash for my pedi. I stayed home last weekend and saved enough to pay cash at the salon. I wasn't going to charge it -- I have a credit card that I use to earn miles but I pay it off every month -- but still, it felt good to peel off $5's and $10's. I like myself for paying attention to money but not depriving myself.

3) I didn't want to, but I did it. I discovered that Rachel, my usual yoga instructor, is off this week and someone named Clare is teaching her classes. I am not very good at all  but I'm comfortable with Rachel! I have no reason to believe that Clare won't be an effective teacher and I liked myself for clicking "confirm," even though "cancel" was tempting.



Sunday, March 24, 2024

Three Nice Things about Myself -- Day 24

My blogging buddy, Kwizgiver, wrote a post that really resonated with meShe detailed how self-care helped her helped her prevail during a (ridiculously) tough month. Her tips were very wise and so doable! So she has inspired me to take one and integrate it into my own life.

Since I can be a pretty harsh self-critic, this is the one I chose. I hope I can do this every day during March. By then it should be a habit, right?

Three nice things about myself -- March 24:

1) I learn and appreciate. I watched this week's movie group film today: Psycho. I've seen it literally countless times, but this is the first time I've watched it since learning how Hitchcock was influenced by Chaplin's silent films. Seeing it through that prism I noticed so much of the subliminal, silent, visual storytelling he does. Yes, the dialog is iconic ("A boy's best friend is his mother") and the famous shower scene wouldn't have been as intense without the music. But the set designs, and the way the camera lingers on the details ... I like myself for learning something over there and applying it over here.

2) I did some more research. Yesterday I mentioned I'd made an appointment with a podiatrist to get my heel twinge checked out. Today I think I'm going to cancel it and visit my chiropractor instead. I'm having oral surgery soon which will mean anesthesia and pain killers. I don't want to introduce more medications to my life right now, so I think I'll give my chiropractor a crack at it first. I like that I'm proactively looking out for myself.

3) I enjoyed the affirmation. I changed my Facebook profile pic. It got likes and a ♥ almost instantly. I liked that I allowed myself a moment to notice and smile.


Sunday Stealing

 FROM SWAT BOT

1. If you could witness any event from history, what would it be? Lincoln leaving Springfield for the last time in 1861. I've visited this depot. He was a great man and I'm enormously proud of and inspired by him. Mr. Lincoln represents the best of us.


2. What do you think about conspiracy theories? If Watergate taught us anything, it's that people can't keep secrets and the truth will out. So I suppose people who cling to conspiracy theories feel vulnerable, weak and disenfranchised and need something to help bolster their fragile belief system. I feel sorry for them.

3. Do you like cartoons? Do you have/had a favorite one? I loved Mr. Peapody and his boy Sherman.



4. What did you most dislike in school times? I was really very happy in grade school and junior high. I got to high school and my parents' marriage went south, the country was dealing with Watergate and the end of Vietnam, ongoing racism and emerging feminism and DISCO! The 70s weren't a good time for me or this nation. (It was a great time for movies, though.)

5. What sounds are in your opinion relaxing? The sound of the sea? Traffic? Vacuum cleaner? Combine harvester on the field? Some kind of music? Birds singing? ... A cat's purr.

6. What was the last thing you read? Camera Girl. A fascinating and completely charming book about young Jackie Bouvier before she married what's his name.

7. What is one thing that has stumped you so hard you won't ever forget it? Why does God imbue really crappy people with immense talent? Example: Truman Capote had little education yet wrote like angel and created masterpieces. He was also genuinely reprehensible.

8. What are you interested in that most people aren’t? Oh, good goobies, I'm such a nerd. Lately I've become fascinated by the nighttime soap opera Peyton Place and the influence it had on fashion and pop culture throughout the 60s. (See? You don't care.)


9. What’s something you really resent paying for? Toilet paper. Light bulbs. AA batteries. Utilitarian essentials that are no fun to shop for.

10. If you could choose a different time period and place to be born, when and where would it be? My stock answer to this is the 19th century but  I'd stay here in Illinois (no slavery). But summers are really hot here without air conditioning and I'm sure I'd hate wearing all those clothes.

11. What's one question you would ask Superman? What color are my underpants?

12. What's your favorite smell? What's your least favorite smell? Cinnamon = Yum. Coffee = Yuk.

13. How do you feel about cars becoming fully autonomous and having no steering wheel, breaks, or accelerators? I don't think about this much at all. Sorry.

14. What are your favorite books and authors? I loved William Goldman. His novels and his movies.

15. Have you had a reading or palm reading done? Yes. I remember little about it. My kid sister had a palm reading done when she was in her teens and it upset her and my mother tremendously. That I recall. My mom kept saying, "It was supposed to be for fun and she's CRYING!"



Saturday, March 23, 2024

Three Nice Things about Myself: Day 23

 

My blogging buddy, Kwizgiver, wrote a post that really resonated with me. She detailed how self-care helped her helped her prevail during a (ridiculously) tough month. Her tips were very wise and so doable! So she has inspired me to take one and integrate it into my own life.

Since I can be a pretty harsh self-critic, this is the one I chose. I hope I can do this every day during March. By then it should be a habit, right?

Three nice things about myself -- March 23:

1) I learned something new. I found about Rita Lakin. Her story is inspiring. A 31-year-old widow with three sons, she found herself in Los Angeles with no means of supporting her family. She taught herself to be a screenwriter and for most of the 60s and 70s wrote for network TV. No training. Just a desire to feed her boys but "not work at Woolworth's." When she retired from TV she began writing cozy mystery and had 9 "Gladdy Gold" mysteries to her credit. What a life! I'm so glad I fell down the internet rabbit hole and met her today. I like myself for my curiosity.

2) I tried something new today. My friend Elaine is into Too Good to Go, an app that allows you buy "Surprise Bags" of food from local stores/restaurants at a deep discount. It's food that likely would be disposed of otherwise. Elaine says she has a freezer filled with stew and pizza from a bistro in her neighborhood. So today I tried it. For $7.15, I got a grocery bag of bakery from Whole Foods. Two kinds of muffins, a whole loaf of wheat bread, double chocolate chip cookies and a half dozen bagels -- all for $7.15! I like that I got out of my comfort zone and saved money.

3) I did something about my left heel. At least I think I did. I made an appointment with a local podiatrist because my left heel twinges sometimes. It's not constant and it's not a pain, it's just a feeling I'm aware of. It goes away when I ice it. Anyway, I had heel spurs 25 years ago and it was awful. I don't want to experience that again. So I doctor shopped. I booked an appointment online but haven't heard back. I'll call Monday. But here's the thing: I liked that I was proactive.

 

Friday, March 22, 2024

Three Nice Things about Myself -- Day 22

My blogging buddy, Kwizgiver, wrote a post that really resonated with me. She detailed how self-care helped her helped her prevail during a (ridiculously) tough month. Her tips were very wise and so doable! So she has inspired me to take one and integrate it into my own life.

Since I can be a pretty harsh self-critic, this is the one I chose. I hope I can do this every day during March. By then it should be a habit, right?

Three nice things about myself -- March 22:

1) I made her laugh. There's a problem with my new dental insurance coverage and their website. While trying to get it ironed out with their IT, I made their rep laugh. I like that what I'm learning about customer service and translating it into being a better customer.

2) I allowed myself a lazy day. I didn't get dressed until 3:00 today. But you know what? So what! I took garbage out and scrubbed my microwave, so it's not like I was a complete slug. I like myself for giving myself the latitude to be lazy and read.

3) I waved the wand around. It's not that Roy Hobbs doesn't get daily attention, because he does. But I give him affection, not exercise. Today I waved the cat wand around and he had a grand old time, leaping in the air and making delighted little cat noises. I like myself for knowing my big guy so well and giving him what he needed today.

 

 

Saturday 9

 
Saturday 9: If You've Got the Money (1950)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this week's song, Lefty Frizzell is eager to go out on the town and hit all the night spots. What are your plans for the weekend? I have nothing special planned. Which makes me happy. I've been pretty social lately -- this week I went out twice and I have dinner plans next Wednesday -- and I'm trying to save money for my upcoming vacation. The TCM Film Festival is less than a month away!

I was at this screening in 2023. Can you see me?

2) He tells his girl he'd rather ride in her Cadillac than his old car. Back in the 1950s, Caddys were quite the status symbol. Lefty bought a white one with the profits from this record. Elvis also had a fondness for Cadillacs and preferred pink. Have you ever owned a Cadillac? Nope. My dad loved big cars and he loved the blue/white one we had when I was a little girl. But I'm not a car person, and I couldn't have cared less.

3) Lefty was a big deal in Big Spring, TX. He was a popular attraction at local bars, a favorite among oil workers who liked to unwind by listening to live music. How do you relax after a tough day? My workday ends at 2:00 in the afternoon. I like to take an afternoon nap when I get home. Just about an hour. Then I feel refreshed for the evening.

4) This was Lefty's first hit. He wrote "If You've Got the Money" and recorded a demo for producer Jim Beck to play for established singers. When no one else wanted to record it, Beck decided to give Lefty a shot. The result was a million seller that spent 22 weeks on the country charts. Tell us about someone who took a chance on you. My boss, CeeCee, at the card shop. I had no retail experience when she hired me. It's been four months and there are some things I do well, and some things I still struggle with. She has been very patient with me.

5) After this record became a hit, success came quickly to Lefty, perhaps too fast. He signed conflicting contracts with promoters and managers which resulted in lawsuits. Have you recently consulted a lawyer or had a document notarized? No, but I do need to get a form notarized. I think. When I die, I don't want to be buried or cremated. I want my leftovers put to good use by letting future doctors dissect me. I've downloaded and completed the forms that spell out my wishes but I haven't signed them yet because one needs to be witnessed and the other needs to be notarized and that's a lot of work when you're as lazy as I am.

6) This song hit number one on the country charts twice: first this version and then in 1976 by Willie Nelson. Do you have a favorite Willie Nelson song? Yes, but not by Willie.


7) In 1950, when this song was popular, Americans began using credit cards. Do you pay with a credit card to get rewards? If yes, what rewards are you accumulating (cash back, airline miles, etc.)? I am a miles junkie. I also take e-rewards surveys to earn miles.

8) Also in 1950, Sears Roebuck and Co. acknowledged a major spike in catalog sales and took the unusual move of devoting the cover of their Spring/Summer catalog to their "satisfaction guarantee." This was meant to allay the fear of customers uncomfortable with ordering by mail instead of buying in person. 74 years later, Amazon delivers more than 3 million packages every day. Would you rather check out a product yourself in a store, or do you prefer the convenience of ordering from home? Yes to both. For an expensive item, I like to see it and touch it before I buy. But for other things, I like the convenience of clicking when my online cart is full.

9) Random question -- You're singing along with the car radio to your favorite song when you reach your destination. Do you wait until your song is over to get out of the car? I don't have a car. But I do listen to my shower radio every day and sometimes I'll enjoy the water a little longer to hear the end of a song.


 

 

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Three Nice Things about Me -- Day 21

 

My blogging buddy, Kwizgiver, wrote a post that really resonated with me. She detailed how self-care helped her helped her prevail during a (ridiculously) tough month. Her tips were very wise and so doable! So she has inspired me to take one and integrate it into my own life.

Since I can be a pretty harsh self-critic, this is the one I chose. I hope I can do this every day during March. By then it should be a habit, right?

Three nice things about myself -- March 21:

1) I redeemed myself. I distressed a card shop customer today (see post below) but I also did well. Two 20-somethings wandered into the store while my bosses (Jen and CeeCee) and I were having a lively conversation about which items we wanted to buy for ourselves. We said "hi" to the girls, told them to ask if they needed help finding anything, and went back to yakking. There was something tentative about the way they were browsing, so I peeled away and approached them. Turns out they were foreign tourists who were overwhelmed by our store, which I think appears cluttered. In heavily-accented, broken English, one of them asked for our "leathers." I still don't know what word she was trying to say, but she mimed opening a book and scribbling. JOURNALS! I took them over to that bookshelf and introduced them to our prettiest hardcover journals. They each chose one. I made a sale of about $65 and they left smiling. Best of all, Jen and CeeCee saw I could take the initiative and do good.

2) I'm trying to accentuate the positive. I know I should think more about my success at the card shop today and not my fuck up. So that's what I'm trying to do. Positive self-talk! I like that I realize I'm a work in progress.

3) I had the green beans. I ate a lot of crap today, but I did have a bowl of green beans while I was watching TV. Not a conventional snack, but I like that I'm making gut-healthy choices.

 

"Has no one ever redeemed a gift card before?"

I messed up. One of the downsides to only working 2 days/week is that I don't do the same things over and over often enough to build muscle memory. Consequently the cash register still feels like my adversary, and today I pissed a customer off.

She came in today with a store gift card. I have not checked the value on a card since right after Christmas. I admit it: I forgot how. I had to call Jen over. I apologized to the customer and she said it was OK. That was then.

When she was done shopping, I rang her up and her total was $118. The value on her gift card was $75. I asked her if she wanted me to take some of the items off her total. I said I'd be happy to go it with her item by item to get her back down to $75.

"No," she said, she wanted to split the payment between gift card and credit card. She added that she was in a hurry.

I have never done this before. Once again, I had to ask Jen. It was humbling to watch her manicured nails dance across the register. Then, wouldn't you know it, the customer's credit card was rejected. Now that was not my fault, but still, she was in a hurry and every part of her transaction was going wrong.

"Has no one ever redeemed a gift card before?" she asked, clearly pissed.

I told her the problem was likely with the credit card terminal and I had to ring her up at the other register. I apologized. I acknowledged she was in a hurry and took responsibility as we had to go through the whole thing again. 

As I finally handed over her purchase, I again thanked her for being patient with me. She softened a bit and thanked me for helping her, which was gracious under the circumstances.

I was in the break room when my boss CeeCee got in. When she came back to hang up her jacket, I told her all about it. "I heard," she said. "Don't worry about it. You're doing great."

Yeah, well, the fact that Jen told her about it right away makes me think I'm not doing great.

I am lucky in that I work at a card shop, not a grocery store or drug store. Nothing is a matter of life or death and our customers are generally in a good mood. Even when I fuck up.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

 

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Thursday Thirteen #353

  


13 reasons not to squeeze zits.
 It's sad but true: I still get pimples. 66 years old, and red bumps still appear beside my nose and on my chin. Not with the regularity of my teens and twenties or even thirties -- thank God! -- but dammit, they still show up.

I have, for the most part, replaced pimple popping with pimple patches. (I'm glad this is a blog and not a podcast, because "replaced pimple popping with pimple patches" would be very difficult to say.) But I admit the temptation is still there. And here are 13 reasons to resist it.

1. Inflammation. Guess what: your skin doesn't like you squeezing and poking at it and that annoying red spot will just get redder.

2. Pain. Squeezing hurts. Pimple patches may not deliver immediate results, but they don't hurt. Be nice to yourself. Don't squeeze.

3. Infection. Anytime you break the skin, you give bacteria a chance to enter and make things worse. 

4. Spread. When you pop a pimple, the pus will just naturally touch nearby pores, which puts you at risk for another zit. 

5. Cysts. If your attempt to pop goes wrong, you may just force the infection deeper and instead of a pimple you may find yourself with hard, really icky cyst.

6. Bruising. Pressing your fingers forcefully into your skin can cause bruising. 

7. Scabbing. Know what looks worse than a zit? A scab. Why risk it?

8. Delayed healing. After you break the skin, it takes longer to heal than if you'd just left it alone. 

9. Scarring. The popped pimple may leave you with a reminder for the rest of your life.

10. Broken blood vessels. After your pimple fades, you may find yourself with a network of little veins near the skin's surface.

11. Discoloration, or "postinflammatory hyperpigmentation." This is what can happen when skin experiences trauma. It can take years for the discoloration to fade completely.

12. Cosmetic reaction. After you pop a zit, you have to be very careful applying moisturizer and foundation. These products were not created for broken skin.

13. I close with my personal endorsement. (At least one of these 13 shouldn't be cringey, right?) I order these patches from Amazon. They're affordable and efficient.

Please join us for THURSDAY THIRTEEN. Click here to play along, and to see other interesting compilations of 13 things.

 


Three Nice Things about Myself -- Day 20

My blogging buddy, Kwizgiver, wrote a post that really resonated with me. She detailed how self-care helped her helped her prevail during a (ridiculously) tough month. Her tips were very wise and so doable! So she has inspired me to take one and integrate it into my own life.

Since I can be a pretty harsh self-critic, this is the one I chose. I hope I can do this every day during March. By then it should be a habit, right?

Three nice things about myself -- March 20:

1) It was only $1.75. I have been more careful with my money in 2024 but today I did something stupid. I bought a train ticket I couldn't use. In years gone by, tickets were good for 90 days, but as of February 1, they're only good for 3 hours on the day of sale.  I should have familiarized myself with the new rules before I bought it. I felt like a ninny. And then I put the brakes on: it was only $1.75. I realized how the negative self-talk begins and I stopped it.

2) I walked instead of taking a rideshare.  I met Elaine and Will for lunch at Shake Shack, about a mile from the train station. I allowed myself enough time to walk it instead of taking an Uber. I'm glad I gave myself the exercise, saved myself the money, and got in touch with The Loop again.

3) I remembered to say thank you. At Christmastime, Elaine gave me body butter. I recently started using it because my skin is so FREAKING DRY! I told her about the relief it provides. I liked myself for remembering to tell her that her gift continues to be appreciated.

 

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

WWW.WEDNESDAY


WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here

PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.

1. What are you currently reading? Camera Girl: The Coming of Age of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy by Carl Sferrazza Anthony. This book shines a spotlight on 4 years of Jackie's life -- 1949 to 1954, ages 20 to 24. She goes from coed to career girl to bride. There is special emphasis on her job at the Washington Herald as "The Inquiring Camera Girl." Jackie Bouvier, who as Jackie Kennedy Onassis was wary (at best) of reporters and photographers, wrote more than 600 columns that had her snapping photos of people on the street. 


While one of the more recent and buzzier books about Jackie was written by a glorified gossip columnist, Carl Sferrazza Anthony is a historian who has published serious books about our First Ladies. So I'm excited about this one. He writes sensitively about Jackie Bouvier as a young woman trying to find her way in post-war, pre-feminist America.

 

2. What did you recently finish reading? Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist by MC Beaton. In this book, we take off for Cyprus with our heroine, 60-something Agatha Raisin. She's retired, having sold her PR business, so she has the money and the time. But this redoubtable Brit is set in her ways, and the Cypriots confound her. So do the disparate British tourists she meets. They have nothing in common, except for being Brits, and she doesn't understand why they seem to want to do everything together ... and with her. When one of them gets dead, Agatha is eager to find the killer. After all, she's one of the suspects.

 

While I'm not sorry I read this, I admit it's not the strongest in the series. The setting is different and interesting, but there are too many characters, too weakly drawn. This made it hard to guess the murderer.

 

3. What will you read next? I don't know.



Three Nice Things about Myself -- Day 19

My blogging buddy, Kwizgiver, wrote a post that really resonated with me. She detailed how self-care helped her helped her prevail during a (ridiculously) tough month. Her tips were very wise and so doable! So she has inspired me to take one and integrate it into my own life.

Since I can be a pretty harsh self-critic, this is the one I chose. I hope I can do this every day during March. By then it should be a habit, right?

Three nice things about myself -- March 19:

1) I said "thank you" again. Two years ago, I had just hired Rita. She was aware that mid-March was my work anniversary and sent me a fruit-and-chocolate bouquet, saying she was "forever grateful" that I took her under my wing. The photo of her gift showed up today on my Facebook memories. I took a moment to shoot her an email and let her know again how much her kind gesture had meant to me. There's a lot of bitching about Facebook out there, but if it wasn't for the platform, I wouldn't have remembered exactly when this happened and I wouldn't have been spurred to act. I'm glad I did.

2) I was the hub. Tomorrow I'm having lunch downtown with Elaine. I invited Will, the man who brought us together with movie group, to join us. I'm usually pretty passive about social gatherings, so I like myself for taking the initiative.

3) My wallet stayed in my purse. Today's lunch was leftover pizza and dinner was the chicken I had defrosting. I like that I'm being more thoughtful about my spending.

 

Trust, but verify

It's not like me to quote Ronald Reagan, but those are wise words. And they represent the way I feel about my boss at the card shop today. 

She told me last week that, while she couldn't guarantee me 2 days/week anymore for awhile, I was still part of the team. She said that, as opportunities for more hours presented themselves, she'd keep me in mind. I wanted to believe her and intellectually I did. But I've had crappy bosses in the past and I wasn't sure I could trust her.

Then this morning I got a text from her. She needed coverage today and asked me if I could put in a few hours this morning. I did so happily.

Not because of the money, though I like money. Not because I didn't have anything better to do, because working this morning meant I had to miss yoga.

I did so happily because it meant I could trust Ceecee. I trusted her, sure, but this affirmation felt good.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash