• online grocery shopping

    Joy comes in the morning

    From the time I was a little girl, I was taught how important it was to always have food in the cupboard. That way, no matter how tight money becomes, you can still eat and keep going. Such a Great Depression point of view was very handy during the pandemic when shortages and supply-chain delays became the norm. Now that I’m unemployed, I’m even more grateful to have taken that lesson to heart.

    Due to my practice of avoiding COVID-19 whenever possible, especially when rates are on the rise, I’ve become a big fan of online food shopping. Once or twice a month, I order our groceries, usually from Instacart or directly from Hannaford, the local grocer. I like that my orders/tips help out local gig workers. Since I have them drop the bags off at my door, we both stay safe and healthy. And, all of my previous shopping trips are saved online so reordering is a breeze.

    Once the groceries are purchased, the shopper will ping my phone letting me know he or she is on the way. This is particularly helpful during warm months because you don’t want frozen items to sit outside for too long. My phone is again pinged when the bags are delivered, at which point M brings everything into the house and I put it all away. Such a divvying up of chores works in our favor; he uses his muscles to carry the heavy load and I know where everything is when I cook/bake.

    The reason I mention this is because I recently had a memorable delivery. Oh, the groceries were the same. The shopping didn’t deviate from the norm. Nor did our practice of bringing stuff inside and putting it all away. No, what made this trip so lovely was our shopper. She followed my directions to a T, managed to find everything I wanted, maintained friendly contact when required and delivered the order in a timely fashion. Also, she had the perfect name:

     

    Joy exchange from Instacart

  • stonehenge sunrise

    First suffering and then hope

    The solstice has arrived. And Summer’s big debut comes with heat, humidity, migraines, insomnia, late-night fireworks and extra loud motorcycles, bug bites, sunburns, sweat and misery.

    Yes, Summer is my least favorite of the four seasons. It is the one time when I refuse to live in the moment. Instead, I focus entirely on the future.

    For there, I see hope and I’m holding onto it. While this is the longest freakin’ day of the year, and while the temperature today is going to be a brutal 103 degrees, I just need to keep reminding myself of one simple fact. Starting tomorrow:

    THE BLESSED DARKNESS IS COMING BACK.

     

    autumn countdown

     

    I can’t wait.

  • Tombstone cat

    My latest project is ready for primetime

    Remember that blog post I wrote back in April where I said I wanted to drop the Bloggess of Death moniker in favor of the Grande Dame of Good News?

    Well, after much thought, I’ve decided that I contain multitudes. Why not be both?

    And so, this morning I launched a new project on Substack. The End Files is a weekly newsletter featuring curated stories about death, grief, funerals, graveyards, mourning and, of course, obituaries. There will be interviews with people connected to the death industry as well as interesting quotes and lots of cemetery- and death-related art.

    Check out the debut issue here. And if you like it — which I hope you will — let me know. Also, subscribe!

  • Steak and cheese sandwich

    To bite or not to bite

    When is a sandwich not a sandwich? Are two slices of bread required? Is a bun allowed? What about tortillas? Well, last week, an Indiana judge ruled that tacos and burritos are, in fact, “Mexican-style sandwiches.”

    The ruling was in direct contrast to one made by a Massachusetts judge, who in 2006, determined that burritos, quesadillas and tacos were not sandwiches. That case inspired the brilliant headline in the Cape Cod Times: “Panera’s battle vs. burrito is toast.”

    Thanks to my 2020 fainting spell — and the damage it caused to my face — I haven’t been able to bite into many foods for three and a half years. Now that the extensive, painful and expensive dental work is nearly complete, I’ll soon be able to do so. Apples, cheeseburgers, bananas, tacos, corn on the cob, pizza, ribs, chicken and, of course, sandwiches are all going to be featured prominently on my future menus.

    As for sandwiches, here are my top 10s:

    Hot:

    Steak and tons of mozzarella cheese
    Grilled cheese (American or cheddar, sometimes with ham)
    Moon over my hammy
    French dip
    Breakfast sandwich (egg, cheese and either sausage or bacon on a roll or croissant)
    Meatball and tons of mozzarella cheese
    Montreal smoked meat and cheddar cheese
    Pulled pork
    Subway melt (turkey, ham, bacon, extra cheese and extra lettuce)
    Patty melt

    Cold:

    Ice cream sandwich (h/t Ryan Gosling)
    TLC (tuna, lettuce and cheese)
    PBJ (Peter Pan creamy and apple jelly or grape jam)
    Hard salami with cheddar with lettuce
    Roasted turkey with cheddar and lettuce
    Black forest ham with cheddar and lettuce
    Peanut butter with banana and cinnamon
    Egg salad
    Ham, cheddar and apple
    Victoria sandwich

    What are your favorite sandwiches?

  • Skeleton at a typewriter

    Quote of the Day

    “Tuesday. The day you realize that nothing can stop you, because you are a magic skeleton packed with meat and animated with electricity and imagination. You have a cave in your face full of sharp bones and five tentacles at the end of each arm. You can do anything, magic skeleton.” –Chuck Wendig