Yesterday Handsome Chef Boyfriend and I made our final run to Vermont's beautiful Upper Valley to collect the last of my things from the loft I called home for about a year and a half. It was a grind; there was still some heavy stuff he missed last week because he could not get to … Continue reading Closing a Chapter
Dogs
Balance: Saturday Photo Essay
Winter stubbornly hangs on up here in these parts long after spring has sprung elsewhere. I'm getting used to it. I think a sure sign of that is worrying less about weather and lately thinking more about finding balance. Not to get all philosophical about it, but I really do try: work, play, food, exercise, … Continue reading Balance: Saturday Photo Essay
When It Rains…
...it pours Siberian Huskies. Yesterday Handsome Chef Boyfriend and I paid a visit to a couple he has called friends for a long time. They are dog mushers, among other things. It is no secret that I have been pining for dog companionship since I lost my canine friend in late January. Yesterday I got … Continue reading When It Rains…
Knowing When
Not long ago during an afternoon break between job one and job two I sat in a quirky White River Junction coffee shop thinking about my Clarence-the-Canine, reflecting on images in my mind's eye of the unmistakable changes in his gait over the last few weeks. Then I did what you're not supposed to do: … Continue reading Knowing When
It takes all the running you can do…
...to keep in the same place.--Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland On a gorgeous summer morning several years ago my now-ex and I sat at a small sidewalk café in downtown Knoxville, our family’s Shiloh Shepherd Teddy Blue resting comfortably under the table. (A Shiloh, in case you wondered, is a giant breed with ties to the … Continue reading It takes all the running you can do…
A Very Good Day
Today began badly. Clarence-the-Canine and I struck out for an early morning run that was supposed to be perfect, crisp, and beautiful. What happened instead is that I continued to ignore the gathering tightness I have sensed in my right calf and Achilles during our last two or three runs, hoping it would work itself … Continue reading A Very Good Day
Achilles Heel
Today Clarence and I walked. Again. I have taken a break from running because the pain from a chronic Achilles injury has been too bad to push, and until today, the weather has not inspired me to run. But we reached a soaring 87 degrees in my part of Vermont today--lots of grumbling from locals … Continue reading Achilles Heel
Back in the Saddle
I have been sick for almost a solid month, with only a teeny window of wellness timed fortuitously during my Aunt Jane's recent visit; on her last day with me I felt something insinuating itself into an otherwise good time and sure enough I had a taken on a new and improved upper respiratory bug … Continue reading Back in the Saddle
Angel, Second Class
I regularly get letters from irate MacNeil-Lehrer-watching readers who ask: ''With all the serious problems facing the world, how come you write about your dogs?” To which I answer: Because I don't know anything about your dogs. —Dave Barry, 1988 November of 2011 was second only to October in its unimaginable rock-bottom misery on … Continue reading Angel, Second Class
Greetings from Vermont
Wintry chores, indoors. Ballet classes, reading glasses. Ice skate, bread bake. Lake run, too much fun. Work-play, lazy day. Valentines, canines. Pot-au-feu, boyfriend, too. Crossword puzzle, doggy muzzle. Foot rubs, lots of snug-gles. Heavy sighs, long goodbyes. Greetings from Vermont.
Sycamore Stories 