Here in Vermont, you may not be familiar with the mega-vine kudzu. Kudzu is an invasive plant species from Japan. It has been spreading in the South at the rate of 150,000 acres annually with devastating environmental consequences. Once established in a habitat, kudzu is able to grow up to 60 feet per season, or about one foot per day. […]
Do you remember those books that were popular a few years ago, Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten and my personal favorite Everything I Need to Know I Learned from my Dog? They were fun to read, and to some extent really did offer a life based on a few simple rules. When the books were […]
Five months ago, our 12 -year-old lab passed away. We were devastated. It wasn’t unexpected:he had been slowing down for the last couple of years. Still, it was sad and the house felt empty without him. We are a dog family even though we have always had a cat or two. Cats are cats, and if you suit them, they […]
Most of us tend to live our lives in a fairly straightforward manner, especially where our work lives are concerned. Almost thirty years ago my husband— yes, the builder— was a CPA for one of the Big Eight accounting firms in Boston. Everyone who worked for Coopers was part of the race to make partner. That meant long days, and […]
This past weekend, I watched one of the Steve Jobs movies. It wasn’t the one that glamorized his rise to fame but one that showed some of his more human flaws. In this movie, he was a tyrant, but nonetheless a very driven and successful man. The one overarching theme in the movie was his refusal to compromise and his […]
The internet is on the fritz—not unusual, lately. On Thursday, I went to the office. I had tons of work to do, all of which involved using the internet. The internet, in town hall, can be iffy. No problem! I didn’t have any set appointments scheduled, so I headed home. I could get my work done there. The internet at […]
Last week, Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati announced that 17 of its students achieved a perfect 36 on the ACT College Admissions test. Schools are on board with more aggressive preparation because they, the schools, are increasingly measured by student performance on standardized tests. Parents are on board because they hope to see the financial benefits a higher test […]
I imagine you were as shocked as I was on Tuesday morning to find my lovely spring garden covered with snow. Snow? Frost I can handle, I expect it this time of year and listen to the weather forecast to see if I need to cover any of the new flowers. I always plant some plants too early hoping to […]
Mom, Mama, Mommy, Moms, Ma, Grandma, Nana, Oma, Yaya, Grams, or whatever else they go by, Sunday is Mother’s Day. The American version was first celebrated by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official U.S. holiday in 1914. It is said, Jarvis later regretted the commercialization of the day and criticized companies like Hallmark, saying they misinterpreted and exploited […]
“No maps.” Dwayne, the friendly Bahamian at the tourist office, smiled and told us, “No maps.” “What?” Our family had just arrived on Grand Bahama Island and we were ready to start exploring. “No maps. Long time now. We order from Nassau. The government they order maps,” Dwane said, shaking his head sadly. Smiling broadly he pointed to the counter, […]
Last year, the Job Bank introduced Bit Time to the community. Bit Time was designed to answer the growing need to have an available list of workers to do odd/one-time jobs. We standardized the hourly wage to $20 per hour. The idea was that lots of people might be interested in a few hours of odd-job work at a decent […]
If you missed your chance to see YOH put on their production of Mamma Miaa few weeks ago, you really missed something special. It’s a great show and the students did an amazing job pulling it off. They had the audience dancing in the aisles. I thought the success of the movie Mamma Mia relied on the amazing scenery from […]
This week, I made the crazy decision to combine a full week at the Job Bank with a full week teaching a class of third graders to spin wool. Nuts, right? I used to do a lot of fiber arts projects with children before I became the Job Bank director. I loved it. Kids are fun and enthusiastic and full of […]
This weekend, I finally persuaded my husband to paint the tile floor in our bathroom. “Paint tile—never!” That is exactly what he said. Our house in Woodstock was built by the Bridgewater Mill at the end of World War I for returning mill managers and their families. It is sturdy and utilitarian with a great view of the river. If […]
Over vacation week, I went to my favorite thrift shop to buy two old books (books with stitching not glue) for Sadie and her friend to make art journals over February break. An art journal takes an old book, removes some of the pages and lets you paint, write or collage over the text— great project for two fifteen-year olds […]
It has finally happened. This week my words have dried up. I always have ideas for this newsletter running around in my head—lots of ideas. Not this week. This week every time I began a piece I just couldn’t get it going. Maybe it was because I am going to be a panelist for the “Bridges to Work” conversation Sunday […]
Over the weekend, we took Sadie to visit McGill University in Montreal—sort of. Actually, we went to Montreal for a much needed mid-winter break, but we walked the campus as well. Sadie is only in the eighth grade but she wants to be an engineer—dream big, I always say. We found a funky little hotel and made the short 3 1/2 […]
The remote working movement is hotter than ever. Some sources claim that more than 1.7 million people will work remotely in 2019. Vermont is jumping on the band wagon with the new 2019 “Remote Worker Grant Program”. The gist of the program is that it gives up to $10,000 to anyone who commits to living in Vermont and working remotely from […]
We have a new phenomenon in the world of meetings which I call “Talking to the Phone.” I am fully aware that businesses have been doing virtual meetings for a long time, complete with streaming interruptions and lost connections. That’s business, and if I’m in Vermont and you are in Beijing it makes sense. Smartphones and unlimited talk have opened the […]
Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho it’s off to work we go…. In the Upper Valley, not only are we heading off to work each day but we are celebrating our jobs in all kinds of fun and uplifting ways in the next few months. First Parish Players will start us off with Pieces of Work. Storytellers from all over the Upper Valley will […]
Eight weeks ago, I broke my hand. I did something stupid. I was carrying some yummy leftovers from lunch and I caught my boot on the carpet. As I went down, I made a split-second decision to roll my hand and save the soup—a conscious split-second decision that caused me to land on the side of my hand instead of on […]
Communityand connection are two of today’s hottest buzz words. Most people acknowledge that more connection between members of a community is a good thing: good for health, longevity, happiness,…you name it. But few people actually have the solution for actually creating community and connection. That’s the problem with buzz words. They become buzz words when people recognize a problem but […]
Back when I was in college, I took a semester off to live the life of a ski bum. My parents—practical people—cut off all financial support. No problem, I got a job at Sugarloaf as a ticket checker. If you don’t know what that is it’s because ski mountains today have gone electronic. Back in the 70’s, a ticket checker […]
A few months ago, everything changed for Rita and Tom. Up until October, they had been enjoying retirement— gradually slowing down. Rita didn’t drive any more, but that wasn’t a big issue because Tom did and he was happy to drive her anywhere she wanted to go. In October, Tom got cancer. The cancer was aggressive, required surgery and a […]
May your skis glide swiftly over the brilliant snow and your hot chocolate always be filled with marshmallows!
