Thirty years ago, we added a large cedar deck to the back of our house. I wanted cedar because I didn’t like the chemicals in pressure-treated wood. My husband, the builder, didn’t agree. We compromised. The frame is made of pressure-treated wood that should last forever, but the planks you walk on are cedar, now aged to silver. Every couple of years […]
Sticky. If you asked me one word to describe a hot Vermont summer day, I would choose “sticky.” You know, days where a dip in the lake is more like a dip into a lukewarm bathtub. Days where the walk from the kitchen to the living room can leave you dripping with sweat. Days where the skies are ripe with […]
I have been living in Vermont for about five years. I suspect everyone I have met during these years thinks of me differently from the way I think of myself. Why? I have six children. Many of you know my youngest child, who is fourteen and still in school. Some of you know my youngest son, who is 24, because […]
Slip’n Slides are great in theory. You take a run and fling yourself onto a slick, wet strip of plastic and have a thrilling ride down the pathway until you splash into a bottom bumper. The reality, of course, is that you go nowhere most of the time. You slip off into the grass some of the time. Every once […]
On Sunday, June 10, Dartmouth College held their 2018 commencement ceremony. The invited speaker was Mindy Kaling, Dartmouth alum, comedy writer and actor. She advised graduates, “You have to have insane confidence in yourself, even if it’s not real. You need to be your own cheerleader now because there isn’t a roomful of people waving pompoms to tell you ‘You […]
As I was leaving the library Friday afternoon, two young couples were perusing the books for sale in the front foyer. One of the women exclaimed to her friends as she opened the door, ” Ooh, this is a real library” She’s right, of course. I often have the same thought myself. Lots of libraries are not quite what they […]
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 & […]
