MINDFUL MOMENTS

CAN YOU GUESS WHERE AND HOW BROWNIES WERE INVENTED? In 1870, Bertha Palmer married Potter Palmer a successful businessman and Chicago millionaire who owned a vast portfolio of properties. Mr. Palmer built Palmer House (a hotel) in 1871. In 1893 Bertha Palmer chaired the Board of Lady Managers for the World's Columbian Exposition. She asked her hotel pastry chef to create a new dessert that would be easy to box and transport to the World's Columbian Exposition and he came up with a unique recipe. The new invention wasn't called brownie but its introduction in Chicago made it famous. Today the Palmer House makes their popular brownies using the same recipe from 1893 and it can be enjoyed at the restaurant Lockwood Express in Palmer House or in a to-go box tied with a ribbon.   It's winter where I live and and there's an abundance of snow and frigid temperatures. Hard to resist some comfort food, including desserts. I usually make everything from scratch but a friend ...

When I walked out of my condo and down the steps to head to the bus, the raindrops were fogging up my eyeglasses. I took off my eyeglasses and managed to walk a few yards with blurry vision. The driver Margaret saw me and opened the door. We greeted each other and I put  my wrinkled dollar bills through the payment slot. It was a cold and wet January day and I was on my way to the picturesque town of Northport. The drive along the bay was pleasant. At last I arrived in Northport. I thanked the driver and admired the large Christmas tree in the center of town. It certainly was magnificent. Feeling a bit hungry, I decided to hold off on eating and stop at a few stores before heading to the public library to do some research. An hour passed by and I decided to get a bite to eat. I knew of four places to get something to eat, the supermarket, a gasoline station that served pizza and Indian food, a bar/restaurant with a bowling alley that had a diverse menu, and a coffee cafe ...

It's been a tough year, (2025). I looked after my Mother in hospice and had to face her death on the early morning of Mother's Day 11th of May. I was dealing with some health issues and decided to quit my job and wasn't feeling well enough to work and was unemployed for a few months, than my water heater wasn't providing hot water and a friend who came to fix the issue said if I had waited any longer, that water heater could have caused a fire. Those bills certainly piled up, I had to adopt my Mother's cat Sari who got sick and almost died but fortunately an awesome veterinarian, antibiotics and tender loving care healed Sari. Despite the grieving of my Mom and health concerns, there's so much to be grateful for. The tough moments turned into positive moments because of peoples kindness. My one friend gifted me a check to pay some bills, another friend invited me to stay at his place in New York City for a month, (I lived and worked in New York City for eleven y...

  Responsibilities keep piling up, so much to do and sometimes not enough time to get everything done and that's why we as humans need "moments of bliss divine." There's nothing wrong with putting everything on hold and allowing yourself to do nothing or almost nothing.  Although the new year is still young, (only the second month of 2024) I have dealt with sinus issues that have exhausted me and given me brain fog, than shingles suddenly manifested themselves and a couple weeks later, I had a hard fall on a not so comfortable cement sidewalk.....ouch!!!! I had enough setbacks so on Sunday I booked a round trip bus ride to one of America's most beautiful places, "Glen Arbor." What an absolute gift to spend the day in nature with the scent of pine trees, the sight of an occasional deer, a crystal clean freshwater lake with crashing waves, and air so fresh that the lungs feel instantly rejuvenated. So peaceful and serene and amidst all the nature are a f...

It was a Saturday afternoon on the 15th of October and I decided to drive seven miles to my favorite town, Elk Rapids.   It felt good to walk around town and spend time at the library, local shops, and public beach. I was ready to head home but my boyfriend suggested that I bring back a pizza.  Elk Rapids has a few places for pizza but on this day I decided to try a place I'd never been to before. It was a cozy family style cafe with the word "pizza" displayed on the window. I stepped inside, walked over to the counter, and asked the employee at the counter if I could order a pizza. "You can have this pizza for free," said the female employee as she pointed to a full service pizza warmer filled with a variety of different pizza slices. I couldn't believe my ears. Did she really say free pizza? Moments later, the sweet young employee put several slices of pizza into a large pizza box and handed it to me. I was really grateful for the box of free pizza slices ...

Yesterday was a scorcher, shade is what I opted for. Later though a relative asked me to accompany him to his storage unit. Bad mistake, he stopped at McDonald's to get two big macs and an iced mocha. The service was terrible. Not only did he have to wait a long time at the drive trough but when he got his order it was a mess. His Big Macs were drenched in special sauce and the staff messed up his coffee order, giving him a hot coffee in 90 degree weather when he specially ordered an iced mocha. When we pulled out of the drive thru I was surprised that he didn't complain to the manager but he didn't. Instead his frustrations caused him to drive over the speed limit for several miles causing me a near heart attack. Through a miracle I made it safely home but I was filled with anxiety so I got on my bicycle and heading to a trail. That trail led me close to my favorite fast food restaurant "CULVER'S." Part of me knew I shouldn't splurge on a veggie burger bu...