Write a letter to your 100-year-old self.
Dang, oldie! You rockin it! Been taking breaks from memory lane to spend time learning new things from people in the moment? Don’t forget to smell some dirt and plants! They are like nature’s scratch and sniffs.
Where would you go on a shopping spree?
I’d start hitting all the clothes I can in the mall, dance e ecstatically if I find any shoes that fit me, then Lush, get lost in housewares and cooking stores, and end up at a gardening store buying so many plants that I decide it is time to purchase a house big enough to fit my dream plant home 🏡 At some point reality of my budget will probably hit in, so normally I get cut off at Lush.
My middle name “Gail” comes from a friend of my mother back when she was in university in Louisiana. I’ve never met my namesake, but I can only assume I share some fun, quirky personality traits with her! ❤
What is the last thing you learned?
For the last few days I’ve gotten curious about video making and editing, so yesterday I watched a tutorial and I’m in the process of editing a video with a newbie guitar recording while also learning how to send media from my phone to my computer. Also, I learned a couple days ago that melting butter before baking can lead to very flat, square cookies.
What is your favorite drink?
Water is amazing. It is useful for herbal teas, but stands alone as well. It pairs with everything and cures many ailments.
The best tasting water I’ve had came from an artesian well on the roadside in northern Michigan.
The most refreshing water was either the free-flowing water taps in Rome or the pure drinkable river water during the 11-mile hike at the Samaria Gorge on Crete.
Share one of the best gifts you’ve ever received.
My mom asked what I wanted for my birthday, and I said a folding handsaw. I was living in a dorm at the time so it probably wasn’t what she expected.
It was such a great gift that I must have cut down about 200 trees on their property within a few days. My mom was dubious at first, but she ended up buying herself one too! I love landscaping and gardening, plus it’s also useful for cutting firewood while backpacking.
Write about your approach to budgeting.
I developed an excel sheet which I’ve used for years to budget every month. I posted a sample on my page in the “debt, saving, and investment” section.
Additionally, every couple of years I’ll use an agenda and for three months write all my expenditures daily in red ink, noted by section as: misc., food (out), groceries, & gas/car. It is great to see what I lived on in the past and where my money has gone after pay raises.
I didn’t post the last few days, but I instead took time off from screens, did some paintings, and watched the snow pile up from my cozy abode, enjoying herbal teas and the Stormlight Archive series.
I’m sure we’ve all been there, right?
Gosh, this ginger shot burns like liquor!
At my age, my dad was self-employed in ceramic installation while working on our fixer-upper home and my mother was substitute teaching in addition to expanding the lovely garden and raising six kids. Must have been a busy time for them!
Here’s a lovely image of what we thought dad was doing vs what AI thought dad was doing!
Just joking – we were there pulling up spacers & wringing out the grout from the sponges! Learning some real life skills.
I would like to change a zoning law to allow residential and commercial businesses to coexist. I live in the urban sprawl of Detroit where walking won’t get you where you need to go, so everyone travels by car. My commute can be an hour when traffic is rough, but I have no practical alternatives. Since the automotive age took off, new areas never have walkable downtowns. I would love to have a community where people could walk or bike and actually get somewhere useful, perhaps having more human interactions and creating more collective outdoor spaces for people to gather and connect. I imagine all of us stuck renting apartments would also have additional housing options, since zoning of the past created oversized lots that do not allow for additional buildings despite having ample space. I’ve seen those homes tucked behind homes in Columbus, Ohio and found the character of region quite charming. It feels like we really tie our hands addressing community isolation & insufficient housing when it comes to zoning laws.
Mauron Kur 