We pulled the Subaru into our Vermont driveway late yesterday afternoon with another 2,200 miles on it, a couple of road-weary travelers we, still a little sugar-frosted from the beach and lightly crisped around the edges. I made it all the way to the Pennsylvania state line on Saturday before I fought back tears thinking … Continue reading Wilmington in Black and White
Author: Deb German
Wilmington Lifts Her Skirts, Just a Little
Yesterday I had the 23-y-o all to myself for several indulgent hours while Handsome Chef Boyfriend played golf, something he does exceedingly well but has far too little time to do. And wouldn't you know the instant my son and I pulled out of the golf course we met a jeep in traffic whose driver spotted our … Continue reading Wilmington Lifts Her Skirts, Just a Little
Charleston Reunions, Enough Sun in Wrightsville Beach
This morning I lamented to anybody listening it feels like we've been in the car for three days. We have, kinda. Sunday afternoon we arrived road-weary at my ex-sister-in-law's-but-still-my-sister's Mt. Pleasant home (we just call it Charleston, it's close enough) for a long overdue visit, first one in the flesh in too many years. One … Continue reading Charleston Reunions, Enough Sun in Wrightsville Beach
Way Down South Trip: Travel Days Are Difficult
Really I have so little to complain about: Handsome Chef Boyfriend did the lion's share of driving today, from the moment we pulled off our mountain all the way to somewhere-or-other just past Fredericksburg, VA, where we missed our intended exit. A few truths from the day: Three in the morning is a difficult time … Continue reading Way Down South Trip: Travel Days Are Difficult
How many Vermonters does it take…
...to change a lightbulb? Handsome Chef Boyfriend and I are T minus five days to liftoff for our Way Down South trip, part the second, with an impossible work load to accomplish ‘til then. I am a compulsive maker of lists, less compulsive in their execution. In a perfect world we’d have a vacation week … Continue reading How many Vermonters does it take…
On Writing Well: Don’t *Be* a Writer
In grad school I knew a young ninny who believed taking courses in technical writing would plug the gaping holes in his undergraduate academic experience and give him all the tools he needed to enjoy success in his anticipated professional life. I don’t know where he is now and I can’t say for sure whether … Continue reading On Writing Well: Don’t *Be* a Writer
Farm Stand and General Store: Evolved New England Institutions
The concept of the general store revealed itself to me the instant I had boots on the ground in my new home state of Vermont. Most small farming communities here have one (and so that would be most of Vermont, which is largely made of small farming communities). But their store offerings vary widely, to say … Continue reading Farm Stand and General Store: Evolved New England Institutions
Summer Reading: Some Promising Looking Fresh Hell
What fresh hell can this be? It is a line sometimes attributed to Shakespeare, but Dorothy Parker said it. Dang Shakespeare. It's one of those quips that sounds so civilized, so much better than any number of other crude things one might choose to say when a situation demands it (wtf comes to mind). I found Dorothy … Continue reading Summer Reading: Some Promising Looking Fresh Hell
Sunday Photo Essay: New Skete Monastery, Spiritual Connections
There has been a German Shepherd-shaped hole in my heart since I lost my beloved Clarence-the-Canine to Degenerative Myelopathy in January of 2014; the intervening years have marked the longest dogless period in my adult life. Yesterday Handsome Chef Boyrfriend and I attended the annual pilgrimage at the New Skete monastery in nearby Cambridge, NY. The monks … Continue reading Sunday Photo Essay: New Skete Monastery, Spiritual Connections
Mike Birbiglia, Life’s Interruptions, et al.: A True Story
In a recent interview comedian-writer-actor-director Mike Birbiglia spoke of becoming a new dad on the heels of a work project, how he timed things in a way he thought he could stay in control, and then—like all brand new babies do—his infant daughter completely upended his best-laid plans while she successfully upstaged him. He’s a … Continue reading Mike Birbiglia, Life’s Interruptions, et al.: A True Story
Sycamore Stories 