A Bad Trifecta

 Today is August 22, 2025. When I got to work yesterday, I was told that a good friend of mine had died the day before. His name was Bob, and he was a good man. We became friends when I started working at my second position at the school. He was down to earth, funny, had a good heart and a lovely family. After we became friends, I would always get him a lovely tin of Swiss Colony Milk Chocolate Covered Butter Toffee for Christmas. I knew that was his favorite candy. Every time I would give it to him he would say, "You didn't have to do this!" Nope: but I wanted to. He said that I was nice to the support staff that are generally overlooked. I told him no one gets overlooked on my watch! What hurts the most about his death is that he only just retired in April; and didn't have time to do all the things he wanted to do. I just hope he got a couple of things done before he got sick and went into the hospital. Rest in Paradise Bob: I will miss our chats.

Also yesterday, right after I heard about Bob, Brie IM'd me to say that her good friend Patty Mayonnaise (not her real last name) had died that morning! Patty had fought the good fight for 10 years but cancer finally got the upper hand. The amazing news was she felt well enough to go to the Goo Goo Dolls concert on July 30th. Sadly, afterwards she had in-home hospice and went peacefully, surrounded by her loving family. She was an amazing spitfire of a Colombian woman and she and Brie had bonded as soon as they met in a training class at our prior job. I knew she was "family" when we allowed her to join us on one of our Super Secret Saturdays in Albany. It was a great day and she didn't reveal to a soul all of what we do on those days. Rest in Paradise Patty: you will truly be missed.

Today, I was talking to my coworker Shane about candy. He mentioned how he likes Whoppers, and I told him that I love the dark chocolate malted milk balls from Joann's Candy store in Saratoga. I then went back to my desk and a few minutes later: Kitty texted me and said that Gene the owner died! He owned the candy store with his wife, and we had become friends over the years. We would talk about soul music and disco and clubs...and candy! He knew just what i liked. He was sad with me when he found out my sister died; and one day i went there when I was feeling lonely and his daughter talked with me for half an hour about Robin, as it was a slow day. What a kindness! She of course remembered her from our numerous visits; and she had wondered why she hadn't seen us in so long. Gene has a lovely family and I will go down to see them soon to extend my condolences: hopefully on a day his wife is there. Rest in Paradise Gene. You will be missed by this Disco diva.

So there you have it: a really crappy trifecta. My thoughts are with their respective families and loved ones. I am thankful that I have wonderful memories of the three of them.

"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." Matthew 5:4 KJV

That Was Quick!

Time has just flown by where this blog is concerned. Life got in the way, so I've been remiss in updating you on my progress. I had to go back to some notes and a former Facebook post to get the info, but here it is!

On December 2, 2024, my little blog hit 50,000 lifetime reads. I was so thrilled! Then, shockingly, on May 9, 2025 at 9:30 a.m. I hit 60,000 lifetime reads! For me, that's HUGE in just five months.  

But then, on June 30, 2025 I hit 71,259 reads! Can you imagine my excitement? But hold on to your hats: on July 28, 2025 (drumroll please) I reached 80,444 lifetime reads! Poor Brie probably heard me shrieking all the way in the other work building. Not bad for my Little Blog That Could.

I keep you updated on this not because I'm a bragger: but because it lets you know what you can accomplish with the little seed of a dream. I've wanted to be an author (or writer, if you will) since I was in the 3rd grade. I may not be famous, but I'm sure with some people I'm infamous, haha. None of this happened overnight but as the tortoise said, "Slow and steady wins the race." And I'm only racing against myself. 

I am so happy and humbled by my dedicated friends and readers because without you: this upward trajectory wouldn't be possible. I am also grateful to my public readers who just happen to stumble upon my blog. And for my international unknown friends, thank you for finding me! I have a few new ones: people in Paraguay, Uruguay, South Africa, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Egypt, Tunisia, Nepal, Morocco, Iran, Albania and Kenya. I am most grateful for you all.

Here is something I've been thinking about: publishing a little book of the best of Welcome to My World. I'll keep you posted on if this comes to fruition. If it does: it will probably happen sooner than my Saratoga Springs book! 

Again, thank you for your faithfulness to my little blog post. Feel free to share it: I would love to have even more people read (and hopefully!) enjoy the things that go on in my life.

God bless you and have a wonderful day. Remember: READ!

Much love,

Rita

Hearts of Space

On Sunday nights I listen to a radio program called "Music From the Hearts of Space". I've been listening to this since the mid-eighties, when I first stumbled upon it by accident. However, I was hooked from the beginning! It comes on twice: different stations back to back from 10p - 12a. There is a website where you can listen: and also become a paid subscriber for the full benefits of the website. I haven't done that yet. 

Anyhoo, Hearts of Space is ambient music, or as Clancy calls it 'underwater fish music'. "Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm." I believe it was created by Brian Eno (feel free to google him). It's very peaceful and soothing, although sometimes it can be too spacy and a little frightening (or maybe it's just me!). Regardless, I really enjoy it.

The advantage of it being on twice was so if I really liked the episode I could record it (that's right: on my boom box's cassette recorder!) so I could hear it over and over. The two episodes that I enjoyed the most back then were "Space Guitar" and "When Rock Meets Space".

Normally you wouldn't consider rock music as ambient, but the song that stands out the most is "Roads" by Portishead. They are a group that was an offshoot of the band Radiohead. Neither of  these bands were ever on my radar until I heard this song on Hearts of Space. And it fit the criteria: spacy, ethereal and otherworldly. Loved it!

As for the "Space Guitar" episode: it encompassed guitar players that you wouldn't imagine in this genre, such as Hoyt Axton. I was amazed when I heard this; and was heartbroken when I lost the cassette tape during a move. Well: if I pay for a subscription I can listen to it all I want in their archives! Side note: one year the only thing I asked for, for my birthday, was a subscription for Hearts of Space. I didn't get it 😕

I have been introduced to musicians and artists that I never would have come across. And with the Shazam app I can find out who the artists are in order to  purchase their music or a particular song. That is how I discovered Max Richter. His jam is contemporary classical and he plays the piano, organ and synthesizer. His music is mostly used in movies, but he is also a recording artist who has sold over a million albums and has surpassed one billion streams. Kudos to you Mr. Richter!

The song that had me riveted one recent night is called "Mercy" and is just piano and violin. It is ethereal and absolutely beautiful: so haunting and sad, yet also evoking a yearning for something that you don't even recognize. Yeah...it hits you where you live; and leaves you a little bit breathless.

That's what is on my mind today: that indescribable something that is just out of reach. But someday...I know it will be within my grasp. And when I reach it, I will hold on with both hands for as long as God allows me.

Thank you for reading.  👫

It Can't Just Be Me

Like most women, I get a lot of emails from my favorite retailers. I'm not a shopaholic by any means, but I do enjoy looking! Sometimes I even put stuff in my "cart" to wait for later, when there's a good sale going on. Sure this is like Russian roulette because stuff could sell out before the sale, but it's the chance you take.

Now that warm weather is imminent (not this week though!) I've become more cognizant of a real trend with some women retailers where dresses are concerned. I'm sure you've noticed it too. It seems like they are telling their designers to do whatever they can to really emphasize the plus-size shape. Is it because they want to make sure people see them coming? Is it because they don't want the women to feel good about themselves? Or is it because they want them to seem devil-may-care and breezy and loud and proud about themselves?

Here's what I mean: if you are a double-digit size, why are they trying to sell you dresses that have a belt around the waist that is placed right above your stomach and below your boobs? That isn't comfortable, and can give you an expectant mother look. Fit and flare: you have the flare part right but it looks wrong! Or: why are there big splashy flowers, a la Claude Monet, all over your dress so you appear to be the size of a small garden? That isn't subtle. What's with the ruching? You know: where one side is gathered or pleated, creating a textured or folded look that adds more emphasis to your already generous waist and hip area? That isn't attractive. Or like me: why do the pants and shorts have a drawstring waist when I'm not even sure where my waist actually is? That isn't helpful at all. 

We larger ladies want to have attractive clothes too! Plus-size fashion is a big moneymaker and if you put the same attention into our clothes: you can break the bank. However: don't make us have to break our banks by then jacking up the prices because you need to add a little more fabric. Trust me: the volume of nice-looking clothes sold will more than make up for it. Give us the great-looking styles and patterns that our little sisters get! 

Ladies, I will tell you who has realized this: Loft. Their prints are geometric, delicate, and tasteful. They specialize in shift dresses, which fit straight and relaxed. I have a closetful of these and they are very flattering by not hugging anything you don't want emphasized. Monochromatic is a good slenderizing look. Loft runs great sales, and the prices are the same whether tiny or plus!

Old Navy is another dress winner. Accentuating the positive, and with nice prints at some really great prices.  And now that they have an "Occasion" line, you can even get formal / wedding guest dresses at a fair price: small or large! I have a closet full of their dresses too. But stay away from the baby-doll ones: these are a fail in the larger sizes.

Runner-up goes to Maurices which also has a plus section. Just be wary of the elasticized waists which could hit in a wrong spot, or ride up. On the plus side: a lot of their dresses have pockets. Win!

The extra good news for me where these stores are concerned is once you've been to the store to try on, and now know your size, you can confidently order online without fear of a bad fit.  Another win!

So there's your food for thought for today. Hopefully the weather here will warm up again soon so I can wear my dresses!

A Pretzel Memory

 Usually I like to have a nice beverage in the morning as I start my workday. This means I go to either Dunkies or Starbucks. I'm feeling a little under the weather this morning, so I decided to go to Starbucks to see if they had English Breakfast tea, which I really like. And they did! So I ordered a medium and was on my way. I got to work and wow: their English Breakfast tea is terrible. Not like my Twining's, which I have at home and a couple of bags here at work. Ugh.  But I will power through! Thankfully I have some Dot's seasoned pretzels with me. In case you haven't tried them yet: they are AMAZING! No wonder the guy in the commercial orders a truckload!

So as I am drinking the terrible tea with the delicious pretzels, it took me back to when I was a kid in elementary school. As you already know, I was a strange kid but had a lot of compassion. Sometimes when I would go to a friend's house, they would be going to visit elderly relatives so I would go with them. I didn't mind. These were new people to me and I didn't mind listening to their stories and such. And they didn't seem to find it at all strange that a little brown girl was with their family. Oh, the olden days!

My best friend at the time was Susie Nolan, who lived around the corner from me. I would go with her to visit her two aunts, who were maybe 3 blocks away so we could walk or ride our bikes. The ladies had this big blue house filled with antiques and knick knacks. And maybe it smelled a bit like a museum but they let us play with the knick knacks and at the end of the visit they always gave us two quarters to go to Stewart's. We loved that!

Now to the crux of the memory. Susie's parents had a friend who lived a block or two away from them named Mrs. Hazelton. Sometimes we would visit her. She would always make us a cup of hot tea, and give us pretzel rods to go with it. It was the first time I had been introduced to pretzel rods, and I thought they were great! Sometimes in the summer I would go over without Susie, and we still would have a hot cup of tea and pretzel rods. 

I really miss those days of such simple pleasures. I don't eat pretzel rods anymore, but I still enjoy hot tea. When Marie was in rehab and later the nursing home: I would also visit other elderly patients there. Sometimes old habits die hard! And I don't regret a single minute. 

And just for the record: I miss the twenty-five cent ice cream cones from Stewart's too! But not as much as I miss Susie. We caught up on Facebook messenger when her brother Jack died a few years ago. That was heartbreaking, but it was good she is doing well.

Have a good Monday!

Is It Real?

When I was growing up, there was this great little store called the Main Street Grocery. As the name suggests, it was on Main Street, they did sell a few grocery items but mainly it was a convenience store, conveniently located by a school bus stop, that sold a lot of great candy, ice cream treats and different newspapers. You know the type: the local paper but also the National Enquirer, Globe, World News and the like. The store was only two blocks from our house so I was allowed to walk there.

But that isn't what this post is about.

One summer day I was heading to a friend's house who lived one street over from the store. As I walked past I looked at the 'porch' that had the newspaper racks, and a picture caught my eye: even from that distance. I walked up the steps and stood in front of the rack with the World News tabloid. Riveted, I stared at that picture and then read the headline: "Is This the Face of Jesus?" Yep: it was my first time seeing a photo of the negative of the Shroud of Turin.

For those of you who may not know: the shroud is purportedly the burial cloth of Jesus. The shroud's documented history dates back to 1354 where it began to be exhibited in a church in north-central France. However, there is no record of how famed knight Geoffroi de Charney came to possess the shroud. It has had a few other religious homes since then; and of course people believe that at one point the Templar Knights had possession of it. 

It has been claimed a forgery, yet it can't be disproved. It has been dated back to the time of Christ. The bloodstains line up with a person who has been crucified, right down to the bloodstains on the forehead from the crown of thorns. The nail wounds line up. The hole in his side lines up with where the soldier pierced his side. There are lacerations like the person had been flogged. And since the cloth is like 14 feet long and was folded over the body, you have the front side and the back side. Scientists have not been able to replicate this kind of image regardless of the methods they have tried. Some believed it was a clever case of someone painting the cloth: but it has been proved that it isn't paint. It is blood. 

Sometimes it just boils down to faith. In 1898 an amateur photographer (who was also a lawyer) was given permission to photograph the shroud. He developed the negative and to his surprise: found that the negative image showed a positive image of a man, which he hadn't expected. He thought the picture would be like the faint one on the fabric. So the image on the cloth was like a photographic negative, which showed all the details, including the wounds which were like the ones inflicted on Jesus. 

Scientists have even tried to replicate how, or what kind of "flash", could have produced that image on the cloth. They haven't been able to yet. It would have taken one heck of a source to do that. So...could that source have been Jesus being resurrected? Now that would be a power source of the greatest magnitude! 

Every year during Easter week I watch every show I can find on this topic because I find it so fascinating. I never get tired of it. In my human-ness: yes, I believe it is real. I believe that God sends us signs that what is in the Bible is true. Since Jesus walked among us, I believe that He left an imprint so those of us that weren't there, could see what he looked like and what he suffered for us. And as that young girl looking at that picture on the porch of the Main Street Grocery: I could feel it. And I still do.

Please feel free to do your own research and draw your own conclusions. I just wanted to share a brief overview as we head towards Easter. And just in case, somehow, you've never seen the images, here they are so you can maybe judge for yourself.

Face: 

Shroud:

25 Realizations

I just never know what I will find when I clean out my email! Yes, this is an arduous job but someone has to do it. This is from 2008. What would I have done without my friend Amy T to alleviate boredom at work? Love you AT! Thankfully, the unhappiness isn't true.

From:   Amy Tierney 

Sent:   Tuesday, July 08, 2008 11:23 AM

Subject:        RE: FW: Twenty-five realizations

NO need to reply if too busy…just some morning entertainment.

-at

-----------------------------------
1. I've come to realize that my boobs..  do not have the ability to defy gravity.  Oh well; there are worse things in life!

2. I've come to realize that my job… Is not my life

3. I've come to realize that when I'm driving… Music is very important; but sometimes silence is truly golden

4. I've come to realize that I need… to get over myself more often!

5. I've come to realize that I'm losing…  my love for Harlequin Romances!

6. I've come to realize that I hate…  feeling like a failure

7. I've come to realize that if  I'm drunk… I must be dreaming because I don't drink!

8. I've come to realize that money… or the lack thereof can make you do things you aren't proud of

9. I've come to realize that certain people....  won't love you no matter what you do

10. I've come to realize that I'll always be.... Insecure in many ways

11. I've come to realize that I'll never be... skinny again but I'm still a MILF!

12. I've come to realize that my mom.... is very lonely and vulnerable without my father.

13. I've come to realize that my cell phone … has the best ringtone EVER!

14. I've come to realize that when I woke up this morning....I was already unhappy.

15. I've come to realize that right now I am thinking about.... Finishing writing my next book and getting published

16. I've come to realize that my dad… had his own secrets.

17. I've come to realize that today … I am lucky to have wonderful daughters, good friends, and hope...

18. I've come to realize that tonight…I will be able to pay a couple of bills!

19. I've come to realize that tomorrow … Holds options and promise

20. I've come to realize that I really want to… fall in love and have the right person in love with me, marry again and GET PUBLISHED!

21. I've come to realize that life…shouldn't be wasted…lived to the fullest, and is completely too short.  Savor each moment…each tear, each laugh, each struggle and joy.  They are all part of what makes this time so special.  (couldn't add to this Amy!)

22. I've come to realize that this weekend… Will be too short…but hopefully full of fun and laughter (especially if Brie does the "happy parade"!)

23. I've realized the best music to listen to when I am upset is…  religious music or "The Way I Are" by Timbaland!

24. I've come to realize that it's ok to… show vulnerability.

25. I've come to realize that this year… still has a chance of being great!