September 2019 – I Am Writing

Today has been cancelled

September 30, 2019 Mary C

This is my 30th blog post of the month. It was a challenge I put to myself to get my creative juices flowing again and I would say it worked pretty well. I found I looked forward to writing each day and words were flowing better than usual. The results were a nice lift in stats and followers but now I’m questioning everything.

It all began while digging into my stats, particularly the search terms that got people to my site. And then it occurred to me I have never tried Googling my site to see how it comes up in the result. Maybe that was a mistake or maybe it was a sign to take a step back and reconsider what I’m doing here. What am I doing here?

So what happened is I saw the title of this intriguing item just two results above the one for my blog and being an inquisitive person, I clicked.

The author listed out several reasons why not to have a personal blog and the first one is it’s a time waster. Personally, I don’t think working on my blog for the past three years has been a waste of time because I was writing, something I have been drawn to do for many, many years. But maybe I’m at the what’s next phase. Do I want to keep writing a blog about my life which admittedly tends to get boring? Should I find a niche and write about something I’m passionate about? Should I give up blogging altogether and start writing something I can hopefully one day publish?

I don’t know the answers to any of these questions. I’m also feeling the beginnings of a cold or something and my body just wants to go back to bed and cancel today. I have appointments (of course) but the urge is strong to reschedule them. While I’ve been blogging a lot, I have not been reading as much and I’m missing that too. My bed and a book might be my date for today.

Life

Writing a Palanca Letter

September 29, 2019 Mary C

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What is a palanca letter I asked myself as a woman from our congregation passed out a flyer asking parishioners to write one. Oh course, I turned to Google for assistance. Palanca is a spanish word that means lever, an instrument that helps lift something up. The palanca letter is a personal note to someone attending a spiritual retreat and as with many things in life, I was coincidentally being asked from two separate corners of my life to write these letters on the same weekend. One for a stranger, an inmate at a nearby prison and one to my aunt who lives in Texas.

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travel

Going home

September 28, 2019 Mary C

It would not be a complete travelogue if I didn’t mention that this was the most amazing birthday week of my life. I am not a huge “celebrate my birthday” person and I prefer not to note it on social media in general. That is not to say I don’t embrace my day of birth because I do like to spend the day doing things I’ve always wanted to do. When I turned fifty, it was mid-week and I took the day off work to cross off a long-time bucket list item to visit the home Edith Wharton lived in in Lenox, Massachusetts. That day was pretty cool too. But back to Greece.

0E488860-221F-4B8F-AAD9-DC8D3832F1E4 — A praying mantis outside the Namaste Shala

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travel

Yoga for beginners

September 27, 2019September 27, 2019 Mary C

It was infertility that first attracted me to yoga many years ago. A flyer in my doctor’s office promoted a class for people struggling to get pregnant. I would have tried just about anything back then so I timidly showed up to the home-like studio with nothing but a brand new mat and worries about the myriad problems keeping me from conceiving. It was gentle and peaceful and I felt better for going but I was pretty sure it wasn’t going to help me get pregnant so I stopped going after a few sessions. I eventually became pregnant and he’s about to turn thirteen! It wasn’t easy but that’s a story for another day.

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travel

Free Time Fun in Amorgos

September 26, 2019 Mary C

You might find it curious that I’m on my fifth day of blogging about a yoga retreat I attended in Greece and I have yet to mention much about the actual retreat. This would be the main event of the trip and I don’t feel equipped yet to tackle it. I’m also in Florida right now and the journal I kept for the week is in New York and it’s crucial to retelling the story. The retreat is the star of the show.

So today lets talk about the extras: what we were up to in our free time. The Spa at Aegialis was pretty darn amazing and Lana and I decided to make a visit on our second day there. I made my massage appointment for the following day and Lana was interested in trying out the silk-like ropes that were hanging over the indoor pool. One of the brochures showed a woman balancing while completing some kind of impossible (to me) acrobatic move and Lana was determined to give it a try. I volunteered to be her cheerleader and videographer. She gave it her best and I think she did pretty awesome but we found it was going to be impossible to immitate the maneuver.

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travel

Greek Food

September 25, 2019September 25, 2019 Mary C

Yesterday I mentioned the absolute badassery of the morning buffet at the yoga retreat, but food in general is a serious endevour for the Greeks, or at least that was my impression from my brief time there. Meals are far from the fast food culture of America where 20 to 60 minutes might go into the preparation of a meal which is then devoured in 10 minutes. Food was a celebration on this trip and meals lasted between two and three hours (except for the breakfast buffet where you could linger as long or short a time as you wanted). And Aegialis went a step beyond by growing much of their fresh produce which was offered at each meal. Continue reading “Greek Food” →

travel

On the Island

September 24, 2019 Mary C

The balcony of our temporary suite

Amorgos is breathtaking. We didn’t realize the extent until we woke to the bright sunshine and gentle Aegean breeze the next morning. Having arrived in the wee hours of the morning and after taking turns showering, (there were now four of us sharing a suite until our regular rooms would be ready later that day) we selected our beds and were ready for some serious sleep. The other two girls, like us, were college friends and we were immediately comfortable in each other’s presence. We had all suffered through a long day of travel and it proved to be bonding.

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travel

Getting to Greece

September 23, 2019 Mary C

Tired but happy upon arriving at the Rafina port

On July 17th I left my family in Dewey Beach, Delaware and drove 6 hours to my home in upstate New York. I had been on the road for a week and a half, first stopping in Williamsburg, Virginia for a week at a resort we had bid on in a live auction a few months earlier (before my plans for Greece were made). There were only a few hours in between to do my laundry and pack for Greece and I was certainly cursing myself for not leaving Delaware sooner. But I wanted to squeeze every minute out of our annual family beach trip.

After a few hours of sleep, I was back on the road, this time north to Montreal. My friend and co-pilot by my side, the tune’s of XM’s Yacht Rock radio bringing us back to the memories of our youth. The three plus hour ride passed in a blink as we reminisced and talked excitedly about the trip ahead of us. There were still many hours between us and the promised views at our resort in Amorgos, Greece, one of the furthest islands from the mainland of Athens where we were flying into. It was actually closer to Turkey.

Continue reading “Getting to Greece” →

Life

Dreams you don’t know you have

September 22, 2019 Mary C

Greece was never on my bucket list and I’m not even sure why. Maybe it’s because I heard about their economy which had imploded. Maybe it’s that the language seemed scary and so foreign. It was nearly half a world away and the flight would be long. But, alas, when my friend mentioned she was going there for a yoga retreat every ounce of my being was aching to be there too. More for the yoga retreat than anything else.

When she asked me to go, I was elated but I never imagined I’d be able to go. I have my family and I’m unemployed – how selfish would it be to ask if I could do this. When I arrived home from the bruch where I heard about the retreat, I casually mentioned it to my husband. My brother-in-law was there and can vouch that I never outright asked to go, but within minutes it was happening. I was texting my friend- I’m in!!!!!! Yes, I’m pretty sure I used all those exclamation points. Greece. Yoga. Meditation. I can remember the joy I felt the moment I realized it was going to happen.

This was in March of this past year and the retreat was slated for the end of July. It seemed like an eternity away. I wanted to lose some stubborn weight that had been sitting and growing in my belly area for a few years. I had stopped going to yoga because our Saturdays were filled with other activities and I needed to get back at it. Life kept chugging along. I got on a nutrition program, upped my workouts and rekindled my love for Saturday yoga.

The day to leave for Greece finally came. All the work to get there was about to pay off. With a suitcase full of new clothes and my longtime friend by my side we started the trip of a lifetime. I didn’t know that it would be more than I ever imagined.

travel

Oh, The places you’ll eat

September 21, 2019 Mary C

What more is there to look forward to on vacation than all the places you’ll eat while you’re away? Usually when I am in Florida on my own, I’ll eat most of my meals at home, but this time I’m with a friend so it’s been fun planning where we’ll eat. Solo vs. friend trips are very different but both are awesome.

On our first day here, we decided to go with Thai food since that is what we do 90% of the time when we get together at home. It’s usually healthy and good and they have gluten free options for her. Most places these days do so it’s easy to eat just about anywhere. We were also both starving when we arrived on Thursday afternoon and decided it would be best to have a decent meal before heading to get groceries. This is always a good idea!

We ended up loading the cart with a mix of fruit, breakfast items, chips and ice cream. I am totally addicted to Popcorners Kettle Corn chips and could probably live on them for the duration of this trip but I restrained myself by buying just two bags. We are only on day three and they are just about gone. I’ve also discovered mini Klondike bars which I will eat two at a time since they are small.

Yesterday I introduced my friend to the yumminess of Zaxby’s which is a fast food chicken wing place. I was a little nervous (you know how you want someone to like something you are crazy about) but she ended up loving them too – plus wings are gluten-free. So maybe another trip before we head home?

I think today is the day to introduce her to my favorite breakfast place. They have the most amazing buttermilk biscuits, fruit plates and corned beef hash. My mouth is watering thinking about it. OK, time to get up and ready to go! Have a wonderful Saturday wherever you are and whatever you do!