50% Off at Shoppers' Castle

Use my code MEGJOHNSON50 for 50% off at shopperscastle.com.

#thankstoshopperscastle

Pearl Jewelry: 10% Off Entire Order at De Blancas

De Blancas is a Canadian pearl jewelry brand that uses ethically sourced pearls for all their pieces. (More on that in a bit.) 

You can get ten percent off your entire order when using checkout code MEGJOHNSONAUTHOR or the link deblancas.com/MEGJOHNSONAUTHOR.

There is a large selection of earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and more, and now, you can also create your own custom pieces with their online jewelry designer.

This custom ring was designed using the De Blancas jewelry designer.

The first thing I decided about the design was that the ring would be silver because I love silver. The De Blancas team mentioned that my name could be engraved on the ring if I wanted. I thought that was such a cool suggestion because my given name, Margaret, and its nicknames, including Meg, mean pearl or gem. (My middle name, Katherine, means pure, and my second middle name is Brosnahan for my mom's side of the family. When I was really little I was called Meggie and Meggie Kate.) Once I knew the ring would have my name on it, I decided that I wanted the ring to have an asymmetrical design. The online designer is easy to use, and the process of creating different designs felt relaxing to me.

Something that I really like about De Blancas is the brand's commitment to sustainability. All the pearls are ethically sourced. You can read more about the sustainable farms on their site. There is also a video on the site so you can watch some of the process. We are currently living through a destructive time globally, and we need to become more aware of brands that value sustainability. 

#thankyoutodeblancas

4/29/2026 (Burning the Prairie, Mark Cohen Book, Etc.)

I have poetry forthcoming in ANMLY. I'll let you know when the fall issue is out.

I also have another arts-related project that I'm going to share at some point. I'm not sure when. I can be secretive about things for no reason.

Here are a couple of photos from the end of March/early April. The photos are blurry and grainy with weird shadows, but I didn't look at the photos until later. My phone was taking slightly blurry photos for months. (Also, the poetry diffuser smells amazing.) I finally fixed it by moving about six hundred photos to online storage and updating my phone.

 

Blurry, but still proof of survival in 2026. Speaking of photos, this is so true. 

About two and a half weeks ago, I went to my parents' farm and helped them burn the prairie. It was my first time helping them with it. Other times they burned the prairie, I lived in other states. There may have been one time since being back in the state that they burned. I think that was the time my brother helped them. My job was mostly standing around and watching certain areas. I did put out some small flames with the back of a shovel, and I was even wearing bib coveralls, so I looked very official. Prairie burning is to benefit the land (conservation), but the visuals of the flames and smoke that afternoon and evening felt symbolic of the United States in its current state of crisis. Here are some photos.

Mark Cohen: Trespass, a book of Mark Cohen's photography with writing by Phillip Prodger, is a book I've been returning to many times over the last seven months.

The photos I feel most drawn to in the book change every time I go through it. Here is what I was most drawn to from the book last week.

Something I've been using lately is this EVOO Skin hand sanitizer lotion from PlaneAire. It's a lot more pleasant to use than the hand sanitizers I was using during the pandemic. It feels and smells more like lotion than hand sanitizer. As an immunocompromised person, I feel that using hand sanitizer helps me get sick less often, but a lot of hand sanitizers physically repulse me now after the stress of the pandemic. This one is nice because it kills germs without provoking feelings of impending doom.

#giftedproducts

Out Now: Poetry Reed Diffuser Set from Urban Ganges (Butter Sad by Meg Johnson, Pink Peony Scent)

The Butter Sad Diffuser is out now from Urban Ganges! The scent is Pink Peony. You can order it here.

I was asked by Rochak Agarwal at Urban Ganges if my poem "Butter Sad" could be part of their series of Poetry Reed Diffusers. I think it's a great way to get poetry into more people's lives. The diffusers feature poems by a variety of poets including Timothy Liu, Ted Kooser, Wyn Cooper, and Kelli Russell Agodon. 

The poem "Butter Sad" originally appeared in the journal Hobart and is in my second book, The Crimes of Clara Turlington. 

Cozy Night In: Play Free Online Games

It has been freezing lately in the midwest. This was the weather a week ago (December 14) where I live.

It is definitely time to have some cozy indoor activities planned. Things you can do while covered by a warm blanket and drinking hot apple cider. (Have you had cider with Red Hots candy dissolved in it? I definitely recommend it.)

Mortgage Calculator has a giant collection of free online games. You can play all the games without having to create an account, sign in, or download an app. All the games are ad-free. The games are designed to be educational for kids while also being fun for adults.

My favorite game right now is Wordmeister from the Board Games section. The night I played rounds of Wordmeister, it helped me unwind before I fell asleep. The next time I play, I hope my scores will be higher.

I think my nephews would like the Restaurant Games, so I'm saving the link for that category. I think my five-year-old nephew would like the Serve the Pizza game. It's a cute game and a fresh take on matching exercises for kids.

Even though Mortgage Calculator already has a huge number of games, they are continuing to add more. If there is an educational concept you would like to see covered in a game, you can send a message with feedback. If Mortgage Calculator likes your idea, they will create a custom game and let you test it first in the beta launch.  

Today is the Winter Solstice, so it's the perfect day (and season) to be inside playing free online games.

Stay warm!

#sponsored