When taxis were yellow you knew who to call. When summer arrived there was time for it all. No school for the kids, and hot summer weather, Daylight ’til nine to spend time together. No ticks in the long grass, no cable TV, No blasted cell phones that ring gleefully. Pancakes for breakfast, drive-in movies at night. Playing Monopoly, flying […]
Summertime and the living is easy…. Grown-ups rarely get the long easy days they did when they were children, so ‘easy’ may not be the correct word. Summertime is still unique. The pace relaxes, but work still needs to get done. My family is an example of the modern families people are hoping to attract to the Woodstock area. My […]
Two weeks ago, my husband finally broke down and bought a laptop. He commutes back and forth from Massachusetts to Woodstock every weekend carrying two large file boxes. We have all been trying to get him to give up his old desktop and buy a laptop so he can be more portable. Finally he agreed. I spent the weekend teaching […]
A few weekends ago, my family headed over to the Experimental Balloon Festival in Post Mills, Vermont. We had never heard of Post Mills, but it turns out to be a part of Thetford. We planned to have a family volunteer experience flipping pancakes at the annual Revels North Pancake breakfast. We signed up for the second shift and needed […]
“Aging at home” has become the new catch phrase to describe the preference many senior citizens have to stay at home instead of moving to a retirement community or (even less desirable) into a nursing home. It may be a new phrase but it is not a new desire. My grandfather, Papa, fought bitterly until the very end to stay […]
Today the sun is shining and everything is green and blooming. This week the Job Bank had twenty-seven requests for garden help—a new record. Driving around, there is someone at almost every house and business, outside, either mowing or planting. Things look magical for this long anticipated kick off to summer… Salty drinks served with limes and laughter, lots. Scratchy […]
In Tobago, on the side of the road, hanging precariously off the edge of a cliff is a tiny shop, where Jaffa sells handmade chocolate. The shop is cool and dark. The smell is intoxicating. There is barely room for three of us to squeeze in. Once our eyes have adjusted to the dark interior we see a small display […]
Everybody loves spring—the promise of warmer weather. The early crocuses are cheered even as the die-hard skiers mourn the melting snow. Mud Season or not, summer is right around the corner. First we have a Season of Green—our best kept secret. “No,” you say, “I know Vermont in the spring. It’s muddy and brown. Trails are closed and there’s nothing […]
When my first child was mid-way through his first year of nursery school, my husband and I attended our first parent-teacher conference. We knew we had a great kid and couldn’t wait to hear how well he was doing at school. The teacher welcomed us into a bright, inviting classroom and asked us to take a seat in two diminutive […]
We live in an amazing time in history. Our phones can do more today than the roomful of computers NASA used when they sent men to the moon. My daughter had her first tech “really” moment last week when she learned that Facebook wasn’t around when she was born. Facebook is my platform, so it must have been around since […]
One week every spring, I leave Vermont for a pilgrimage to the Islands. For me, it is a reward for surviving another dreary almost-spring in late March and early April. Every marriage has its compromises. I am a summer girl. My husband is a hearty New Englander. Over the years, I have embraced the beauty of winter in Vermont, but […]
I am impatient. I have had enough winter and now I would like all the snow to disappear and have some spring—mud and all I am ready. Easter this year is early, April 1st. Of course, it is also April Fools’ Day. I think the joke is on us. No matter, soon enough spring will win out and on its […]
Last week, while we were getting our third snow storm in March, my son sent a text from Mammoth Mountain in California. Peter is a ski coach and was traveling on a western trip with his team. They were expecting four days of snow in Mammoth with accumulations of up to 100 inches. 100 inches! 8 feet! How is that […]
Sunday night the telephone rang. It was my daughter. “Mom, I let Kira use the toothpaste you bought for Samantha, and now Sam’s having a meltdown. Here, you talk to her.…” “What? What do you want me to do?” I heard sobbing through the phone. “Hi, Samantha. Your mom tells me you are upset because she let Kira use your […]
The Job Bank has been having a non-profit crisis. We needed something we couldn’t afford( not a big surprise) except this time we needed it immediately. There was no time to plan or fundraise. We have been focusing on getting new workers listed at the Job Bank to fill the community need for odd-jobs. We have been focusing on getting […]
When I took over here at the Job Bank, I knew one of the hurdles I would have to overcome is adapting back to Microsoft Office. Office is a great program. I used to use it, but several Macs ago I stopped purchasing Office and just started using Works which came free with the computer. If you are confused, […]
I got a call from Anne at the high school last week. She had Zack in her office. Zack needed to work off some community service hours and she was wondering if the Job Bank knew of anything that was available. It was Thursday, just a few minutes before I was done for the day. Community service wasn’t […]
There is a quote I am fond of by the late Winston Churchill: “We live in a world of ifs.” At first glance it doesn’t seem to be one of his more profound if you consider how many great speeches he gave in his long and illustrious career and yet…. If the Job Bank is going to adapt with the times […]
It’s a fact of life. People will, from time to time, disagree. Clashes occur and egos bruised. BUT it doesn’t have to be the end of a good work relationship. Consider some of these suggestions for tackling conflict on the job. It’s simply not worth working in a negative workspace, and there is a cure for it. US News & […]
Are you in your “comfort zone” at work? Maybe that isn’t the ideal place to be. Learn more about how to know when it’s time to move on. 5 Ways to Know If It’s Time to Quit Your Job
There’s a group of valuable workers out there who are being overlooked in today’s workforce. It’s the Baby Boomers, our “senior” friends out there who are now in their late 50’s or early 60’s. According to the Census Bureau there are about 76.4 million of them in the U.S. If you are a Boomer you probably don’t need us to […]
National Public Radio recently ran a story about a common scam that you may encounter. This is worth a listen as it might happen to you! (Or maybe already did?) Beware! Here’s the link to the full story Anatomy of a Scam – NPR story
Job interviews have changed and evolved over the years. Check out this article posted on Ploymint.com that provides interview tips for a new generation of workers. 10 Interview Preparation Tips For Millennials, By Millennials
Looking for ways to improve your business. Large or small, every business can benefit from this series. Check out the list of free webinars sponsored but Spectrum Consulting. My personal favorite? “Icky Sticky People Problems version 3.0” the name pretty much says it all! http://spectrum.consulting/webinars/
I hear a fascinating story on NPR on my way to work this morning. It was about training America’s workforce to with the skills needed to work in today’s factory and manufacturing setting. Today’s require higher-skilled workers who need more training to jump into the workforce. Introducing an old concept that still works – Apprenticeships! You’ve heard about it in the […]
