Hi friends, this isn’t a real blog post. This is my every-few-months boilerplate where I tell everyone where to find me when I’m not here and how to support my work.
This winter was a turbulent one in our country, and I’ve been documenting that by discussing white supremacists’ odd notions about immigrants including the family of Steubenville’s own Dean Martin. I have been reminding people about the Catholic Church’s Just War Doctrine and how the war in Iran doesn’t fit those criteria. I had to remind everyone far more than I wanted to that racism is a sin. I tried to write all that I could about the horrific injustices occurring in Minneapolis and all over the country. I had some sharp words for Christians excited about the end of the world. In my own personal life here in Steubenville, I’ve been continuing to deconstruct my traumatic religious upbringing and reconstruct and rediscover my relationship with Jesus. I got to continue teaching at the church outreach, and Jimmy’s boy went with me on field trips to the library and my favorite hiking spots. Keep following me here for more!
Please remember that in addition to my Patheos blog I have a Substack. Substack is where I post my videos of Gospel meditations at least once a week. I also get together with my Substack followers and read aloud a few chapters of a book as a bedtime story once a week. Last month we read Through the Looking Glass, we’re currently working on Anne of Green Gables, and I think I’m going to read The Wind in the Willows after that. I also post written articles on Substack that are only about politics or about autism, which aren’t directly related to my Catholic faith. I’ll also use Substack for articles on local politics like the library tax levy or the closing of the local homeless shelter. Most of the content on Substack is free, but I do have about one item per week behind a paywall. Those little eight-dollar-a-month subscriptions are usually how I can manage to put gas in my car, and I’m very grateful for them. Please do subscribe to me there so you can get emails when I post!
I have been writing articles for the Post-Gazette, which is now winding down and will cease operations on May 3rd. My latest article is about a local artist, and I will have at least two more articles there before they close. Be sure and read and share and comment about those articles as you can, because I’d love to be a contributor to another newspaper going forward.
If you want to look for me on social media, I’m still pretty prolific there as well.
I’ve become famous for my snarky posting on the site formerly known as Twitter, but it’s increasingly difficult to do anything on Xitter so I much prefer to post on Bluesky, and you can follow me both places. I also have a Youtube Channel, where the algorithm from Substack either cross posts my videos or breaks them up into shorts, and I’m still learning how to use that one. Bear in mind that right now, YouTube won’t post my longer live videos, so you have to look for those on Substack.
And finally, the tin cup.
I keep as much of my content free as I possibly can, but writing is how I support my family. My husband works full time in a restaurant but the other half of our income is all mine. I get paid a bit for every newspaper article, and a very small royalty check for my books once a year. I get a bit monthly from my Substack subscriptions. And the rest of my income is gratuities from satisfied readers who like what they read and want to see more of it. We were coming close to breaking even before the prices of everything started shooting up, but currently gas is four dollars a gallon and I’m afraid to look at grocery prices, and the City of Steubenville keeps jacking up the cost of utilities. It’s getting harder and harder to get through. So, if you like what you read, please do leave a tip when you can! Some of my readers subscribe to tip me every month and some just leave a contribution in the tip jar when they can.
If you would like to support me through Substack, that is extremely helpful. Just visit the Substack, hit “subscribe” and you can choose your level.
If you want to contribute through Paypal, I have a button for that. It says “donate” but it’s not a charitable donation, just a tip. I report it to the IRS as income and pay taxes on it. The name of my Paypal business account is “The Little Portion” because that’s the name of an Etsy craft shop I used to have.
If you want to contribute through Venmo, I’ve got a button for that too!
Thank you to all of my readers!
And now, back to writing worth your time!
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