ok...I too was curious and found the correct spelling is maraca. I maraca is often made from a gourd, though they can be made from other things. Sue...who doesn't need any, but was just curious Here is a link that might be useful: Google images for maraca

Thank you for sharing your story, Gayle. You were very brave to get out of that relationship. It must not have been easy. What you are saying makes sense to me. Stuff has a way of exerting control; of owning its owner, if we let it. I have sometimes used the idea of the Amish as an ideal. Some of the things they do don't make sense to me, but the general idea is that they live without many of the things that we take for granted, such as telephones in the home, electric devices, and other trappings of civilization. So I have distilled down their idea. If a technology stands in the way of happiness, then I can live without it. (Your short essay has helped me to see how I have expanded the idea of "do without' to include the layer of unneeded stuff that seems to coat many people's lives in an obscure grunge.) I make little efforts to simplify my life, even if it means a bit of inconvenience. I'd rather have a little inconvenience than be at the beck and call of a technology or possession or any other inanimate object that has the potential to rule my life. My happiness is so much more important then the illusion of security created by an insulating blanket of stuff. I hope that you are able to find a new balance in your life. Like you said, you'd rather fill your mind with happy things. That is a good goal for any of us.

Hey KSWL, I've been meaning to reply since you posted but have not been able to. After your description, I don't think "old Chicago" is what your looking for either. I used to say the same thing as everyone uses that particular term but as it turns out it was actually "old St. Louis" as what I had in mind as well. I used to have brick floors in my kitchen in my former house. They were not full brick but were pavers though they did have the look of reclaimed brick (I don't think they were shaved reclaims). I loved the look and had always wanted brick flooring in my house as that is flooring staple in Louisiana. However, I don't think mine were sealed properly. They never felt clean as it always felt like the individual sands of the grout were coming out. It broke my habit of walking barefoot on the floor. But again, I think this is because mine were not sealed properly (neither was the tile countertop). I currently have brick in my den similar in looks to Lynne's. It is from the fifties and it amazingly tough. I too though like Lynn would love to find a steamer that can really handle them. Like I said above, brick flooring is ubiquitous here. It is one of the go to flooring choices. Most use reclaimed brick which is my favorite. I am not sure what the prices are for "new" old brick now but if you look on Ebay there are usually pallets of reclaimed for sale at decent prices. The main point of my ramble was that if you find the right type of brick and it is installed and sealed properly they should be no problem. Hayes Town, the famous Louisiana architect used them almost exclusively along with heart pine and bluestone. The floors in his homes still look amazing today. He had a special beeswax finish that he used on them and swore by it. I don't have a good picture of my old floors but will try to get a couple my current floors and a couple of Hayes Town brick photos uploaded so you can see them.

Good points from the linked article, regarding juxtaposing the Fall fashion issue of GL against a Boy Scout magazine: ‘The Girls' Life cover is a sample size of one. While this particular cover appears to encourage teens and tweens to focus on their looks at the expense of everything else (and to tacitly say that being pretty is the only important thing) at first glance, a closer look at the magazine's web site quickly shows that previous issues bore covers focusing on stories about body acceptance, getting jobs, and dealing with bullies (and how not to be one) tucked amid pieces on fashion and celebrity gossip.’ ‘Karen Bokram is the founding editor and publisher of Girls' Life magazine. She told us that the outcry seems to stem from adults placing their own expectations and pressure on young people. She says that by the time girls are reading her magazine, they're already receiving mixed messages about what they're supposed to be (and with additional pressure from their peers to fit in), which is in part what her magazine is trying to help them navigate: I put this stuff in there, and once I point it out, people say — okay fine, you have a lot of high quality content, but you still should have it on the cover! And I'm like, okay, so we're shaming girls for having interests that aren't aligned with what you think they should be interested in? So getting good grades and making friends — which is on my cover — isn't within your wheelhouse? ‘