July 27, 2024   8:29am
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On Harriett's Mind

How to make the most of snoety

You’re among the first to visit snoetyâ„¢. Here’s how to make the most of it:
Subscribe. It’s free. You’ll get discounts and other benefits, and your info will remain private
Add your input. It’s easy; type in the comment boxes at the bottom of most pages
Smile. Scroll down to “Male Chromosomal Disorder”
Grimace. See what they’re really doing in “College Crowd”
Think about friends. See Giving and Getting Advice (home page)
Learn something new.
See “our experts’ secrets
Avoid bugging your kids.
Instead ask Jeff in “Computer Skills”
Add your finds. Tell us your “Travel” discovery or “Time Saver,” we’ll share it
Check out one of our finds: If you’ve got travel plans for a great city, read about “City Walks” (home page)
Lend a little back. Find a unique way to “lend” at Kiva in “Saving, Spending & Giving”
Enjoy yourself.

Think of this as our “beta” site. That means we’ll be adding and changing things over the next few of weeks as we take your advice to heart. Be sure to check back in and continue to give us your thoughts frequently.

Harriett Levin Balkind, Founder & Director

PS:
Our web address — snoetyâ„¢ –is pronounced sn – oy – T. That’s short for Secrets no one ever told youâ„¢. Yes, we know snoetyâ„¢ reminds you of snotty or snooty — but we’re thinking positive> we’ve coined a new word to describe people with valuable experience to share!

xxxxx
Photo of Harriett: Lucien Bonnafoux, San Diego, 760-805-8182, lucien@wamagazine.com

Have a comment, thought or question? Contact harriettbalkind@snoety.com or type it into the “comment” box below and press the submit button.

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Wine

Serve two favorites right – wine with chocolate – what could be more decadent and delicious . . .

Chocolate and wine are two of life’s greatest pleasures, but pairing them can be tricky – either can overpower the other with its distinct flavors and aromas.

Wine with chocolate

Here are some guidelines:

  • When chocolate is combined with a fruit such as cherries, berries, raisins or dates, consider wines or spirits that have similar flavors, like Framboise for a chocolate dessert with raspberries.
  • White and milk chocolate desserts pair well with a spritzy Moscato d’Asti, Orange Muscat (especially if the dessert contains orange), ice wine, Tokaji, Gewurztraminer, late-harvest Riesling, sweet sake, and dry or rosé Champagne.
  • Dark chocolate demands a richer and fuller wine, such as a Black Muscat, Banyuls (especially creamier, richer desserts), Ruby or Tawny Port, Madeira, Pedro Ximenez sherry or Cognac. If it’s bittersweet chocolate, try Cabernet Sauvignon or a ripe or late-harvest Zinfandel.

Enjoy!
Contact Michele via michele@snoety.com

xxx

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Cindy on Leadership Featured

Cindy shares insights she’s gained while figuring it out for herself . . .

We are all born with a great dream for our lives, a dream that may have been derailed along the way by family, career responsibilities or submerged by our own choices. In the second half of life, after your roots have gone deeply into the world, it is time to resurrect the dream.
– Angeles Arrien, cultural anthropologist, author and educator

In June 2005, I walked out of a midtown Manhattan office building and into the rest of my life. After a 24-year banking career, I had negotiated an early retirement and was “leaving to pursue new interests” according to the announcement. I intended to feel liberated, energized, hopeful about the future. Instead I felt listless, confused, even paralyzed.

Friends and family tried to help. They would ask “What will you do with all your free time?”… “What are your interests?”… “What are your passions?” Not only did I have no answers, I wasn’t even sure I understood the questions.

Now it is two years later. Cliché or not, it HAS been quite a journey. I feel a creative energy brewing and have found at least one passion:  Giving voice – my voice – to this rich phenomenon we call mid-life transition and helping other women find their own voices as well.

So welcome to “What’s Next?” – a forum for offering resources, ideas and perspectives as you explore transitioning your life. As we launch, consider this:

Observation 1: Individual change IS good. We’re capable of it; we crave it. But, it’s also hard. Having assumed prescribed roles for much of our adult lives (including yours truly), change can feel radical and disorienting. And that’s OK – both the confusing, frightening part, and certainly the empowering rush when it actually arrives > that energizing breakthrough to a new behavior, a new attitude, a new interest.

Observation 2: Women can do a better job being there for one another. “What’s Next?” provides an opportunity for us to experiment with becoming a stronger community — even a virtual one — supporting and sharing resources with each other. I will try to keep it real as a means to encourage you to comment with your specific experiences, resources, and inspirations, too — anonymously or otherwise — so genuine thanks in advance!

Cindy

Contact Cindy via cindy@snoety.com

xxx

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Saving, Spending & Giving

You can “lend” help directly

Many charitable causes seem impersonal because they’re so huge with so many layers of bureaucracy.  You send in the money and never have a clue as to how your $$$ have directly helped anyone.

Kiva.org is different.  To quote from their website: “Kiva lets you lend to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world — empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty.”  Note the word “lend.”  Whomever you lend money to, repays your loan.  Then you can re-contribute the amount you put in to them again if they need it, loan the funds to others or withdraw the funds.  Your money can do good over and over again.

And because Kiva’s so in-scale, you feel as if you’re really helping someone out directly.  Maybe that’s because, in fact, you really are.  For example, my son chose to “lend” money to Kiva for me for Mother’s Day.  The criteria he used for selecting who he wanted the money to go to was that they be moms.  Now, I can read all about the recipients and keep up with their progress — even email them if I choose to do so.

Check out www.kiva.org

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