{"id":26858,"date":"2026-06-08T14:11:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T18:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/?p=26858"},"modified":"2026-06-08T14:11:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T18:11:13","slug":"blogkeeping-notes-for-summer-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/2026\/06\/blogkeeping-notes-for-summer-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Blogkeeping Notes for Summer 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"summer
image via Pixabay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hi friends,<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t a real post. It\u2019s just my every-several-months boilerplate where I post my tip jar and talk about where to find me when I\u2019m not here.<\/h3>\n

For those of you who are new: hello! I\u2019m Mary. I\u2019m a mom and an author from Steubenville, Ohio. Here on Patheos, I write about my life as a Catholic in Northern Appalachia, focusing mostly on issues like poverty, social justice, and recovery from spiritual abuse. I also write about politics, Church news, and whatever Christians have been arguing about on social media. This last few weeks, we\u2019ve talked about the pioneer cemetery<\/a> that was found near my house. We talked far more than I wanted to about Trump\u2019s threats to the Vatican<\/a> and feud with Pope Leo<\/a>, and of course the\u00a0war in Iran<\/a>. We got to take my nephew to see the Lincoln Bridge, and ended up talking about Heaven and Hell. I\u2019ve been meditating on love<\/a>. Adrienne graduated from the eighth grade. I<\/a>\u00a0got to talk about how much I admire Pope Leo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Besides my work here at Patheos, I also have a Substack<\/a> where I write about topics that aren\u2019t directly connected to my life as a Catholic: mostly politics and autism acceptance and how much I hate AI, lately. I also use that spot to record short videos. Most of what I post is free, but people who pay me a bit of money on Substack get a members-only video per week. Often, those little eight dollar payments are how I keep gas in my car.<\/p>\n

I was honored to write for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette<\/a> one more time this spring, but now they no longer have an editorial section so I\u2019ll be looking for other places to publish. Wherever I go, the very best way you can help me out is to read my work and talk about how you like it, as I do get more opportunities to write that way.<\/p>\n

And now, of course, the tip jar.<\/h3>\n

You might have noticed that life is getting unbelievably expensive lately. Gas prices have doubled since the last time I wrote one of these posts. The grocery prices are going up every week. Ohio\u2019s notorious utility bills have also added what seems like a hundred dollars extra per month in the past year or so. My husband works full time at a restaurant and tries to get overtime whenever he can, but all of my work is writing. I get paid a tiny royalty check for my books occasionally. I get another tiny check from Patheos for clicks in the United States and nothing for clicks in most other countries. I get paid when I get published in a newspaper and when I do any other writing project. The rest of my living is just gratuities from satisfied readers. And summer is a particularly bad time to depend on readers. Right at this moment, I don\u2019t see how we\u2019ll get by if we don\u2019t get a little bit more in the tip jar, particularly around the middle of the month.<\/p>\n

So, if you like what you read, leave me a tip when you can!<\/h3>\n

I have a paypal donate button<\/a> which looks like you\u2019re donating to a charity, but it\u2019s actually just to my business paypal that I pay taxes on. The reason the name that comes up when you click it is \u201cthe Little Portion\u201d is that I had an Etsy craft shop where I made Rosaries with that name years ago. I also have a Venmo<\/a>. And of course, if you subscribe to my Substack, that helps me as well.<\/p>\n

And now back to writing worth your time!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Hi friends, This isn\u2019t a real post. It\u2019s just my every-several-months boilerplate where I post my tip jar and talk about where to find me when I\u2019m not here. For those of you who are new: hello! I\u2019m Mary. I\u2019m a mom and an author from Steubenville, Ohio. Here on Patheos, I write about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2694,"featured_media":26864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1761,11810],"class_list":["post-26858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-blogkeeping","tag-tip-jar"],"yoast_head":"\nBlogkeeping Notes for Summer 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"  Hi friends, This isn't a real post. It's just my every-several-months boilerplate where I post my tip jar and talk about where to find me when I'm\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/2026\/06\/blogkeeping-notes-for-summer-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blogkeeping Notes for Summer 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"  Hi friends, This isn't a real post. It's just my every-several-months boilerplate where I post my tip jar and talk about where to find me when I'm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/2026\/06\/blogkeeping-notes-for-summer-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Steel Magnificat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-08T18:11:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/664\/2026\/06\/croisy-seashells-1337565_640-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"423\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mary Pezzulo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mary Pezzulo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/2026\/06\/blogkeeping-notes-for-summer-2026\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/2026\/06\/blogkeeping-notes-for-summer-2026\/\",\"name\":\"Blogkeeping Notes for Summer 2026\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-08T18:11:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-08T18:11:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/#\/schema\/person\/eefd606fd6f98b01cd46b38fcead458b\"},\"description\":\"  Hi friends, This isn't a real post. It's just my every-several-months boilerplate where I post my tip jar and talk about where to find me when I'm\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/2026\/06\/blogkeeping-notes-for-summer-2026\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/2026\/06\/blogkeeping-notes-for-summer-2026\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/2026\/06\/blogkeeping-notes-for-summer-2026\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Blogkeeping Notes for Summer 2026\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/\",\"name\":\"Steel Magnificat\",\"description\":\"Everything is grace\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/#\/schema\/person\/eefd606fd6f98b01cd46b38fcead458b\",\"name\":\"Mary Pezzulo\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b65a50a237f24be80481c3e40cdc1c15?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b65a50a237f24be80481c3e40cdc1c15?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mary Pezzulo\"},\"description\":\"Mary Pezzulo received her BA in English at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio. She came to Steubenville to earn a Master's degree in philosophy and Catholic bioethics from Franciscan University and had finished most of her course work before she suffered a chronic illness that derailed her university career. Since then, she's been learning from the school of hard knocks. Her essays on politics, faith, religious trauma, and life in Northern Appalachia, have been published in the Catholic Herald, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Convivium Journal, and the Feinschwarz theology blog. She has delivered lectures on the Uncanny in the field of aesthetics at the Power of Beauty Conference at Franciscan University, and the Terra Incognita Literary Gathering. Mary is the author of Stumbling into Grace: How We meet God in Tiny Works of Mercy, published by Ave Maria Press, which was awarded second place in Catholic Social Teaching from the Catholic Media Awards. She has also written Meditations on the Way of the Cross and The Sorrows and Joys of Mary for Apocryphile Press.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/author\/mpezzulo\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Blogkeeping Notes for Summer 2026","description":"  Hi friends, This isn't a real post. It's just my every-several-months boilerplate where I post my tip jar and talk about where to find me when I'm","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/2026\/06\/blogkeeping-notes-for-summer-2026\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Blogkeeping Notes for Summer 2026","og_description":"  Hi friends, This isn't a real post. It's just my every-several-months boilerplate where I post my tip jar and talk about where to find me when I'm","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/2026\/06\/blogkeeping-notes-for-summer-2026\/","og_site_name":"Steel Magnificat","article_published_time":"2026-06-08T18:11:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":423,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/664\/2026\/06\/croisy-seashells-1337565_640-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mary Pezzulo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mary Pezzulo","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/2026\/06\/blogkeeping-notes-for-summer-2026\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/2026\/06\/blogkeeping-notes-for-summer-2026\/","name":"Blogkeeping Notes for Summer 2026","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-06-08T18:11:13+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-08T18:11:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/#\/schema\/person\/eefd606fd6f98b01cd46b38fcead458b"},"description":"  Hi friends, This isn't a real post. It's just my every-several-months boilerplate where I post my tip jar and talk about where to find me when I'm","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/2026\/06\/blogkeeping-notes-for-summer-2026\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/2026\/06\/blogkeeping-notes-for-summer-2026\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/2026\/06\/blogkeeping-notes-for-summer-2026\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blogkeeping Notes for Summer 2026"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/","name":"Steel Magnificat","description":"Everything is grace","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/#\/schema\/person\/eefd606fd6f98b01cd46b38fcead458b","name":"Mary Pezzulo","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b65a50a237f24be80481c3e40cdc1c15?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b65a50a237f24be80481c3e40cdc1c15?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Mary Pezzulo"},"description":"Mary Pezzulo received her BA in English at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio. She came to Steubenville to earn a Master's degree in philosophy and Catholic bioethics from Franciscan University and had finished most of her course work before she suffered a chronic illness that derailed her university career. Since then, she's been learning from the school of hard knocks. Her essays on politics, faith, religious trauma, and life in Northern Appalachia, have been published in the Catholic Herald, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Convivium Journal, and the Feinschwarz theology blog. She has delivered lectures on the Uncanny in the field of aesthetics at the Power of Beauty Conference at Franciscan University, and the Terra Incognita Literary Gathering. Mary is the author of Stumbling into Grace: How We meet God in Tiny Works of Mercy, published by Ave Maria Press, which was awarded second place in Catholic Social Teaching from the Catholic Media Awards. She has also written Meditations on the Way of the Cross and The Sorrows and Joys of Mary for Apocryphile Press.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/author\/mpezzulo\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2694"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/steelmagnificat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}