Sometimes I really am a princess. I never know exactly how to behave at big, multi-generational family gatherings because they weren't part of my own childhood. It's kind of like that feeling you get when you're in somebody else's kitchen—you want to be helpful, but it's not your kitchen or your stuff and you don't … Continue reading July 27th Lake George Reunion
Family
Heavy Burdens
That's my son in the photo at age five, in his school uniform, a kindergartener, a blank canvas, full of curiosity, and loads of energy, trusting of the people around him. Something awful happened to him a few years later when he was a fourth-grader. The fallout from that incident was bigger than his dad … Continue reading Heavy Burdens
Life in Vermont, Writ Mini
Today was gorgeous, but we spent it mostly inside, organizing and spring cleaning, and weaving into an impossibly-small-and-growing-smaller-by-the-moment house another vanload of stuff we carted down from my oldish place to the newish one. It's not fun, it's a process, and that's about all you can say. As of exactly a week ago we officially … Continue reading Life in Vermont, Writ Mini
Wisdom of Generations
Last time I observed this vista it was late fall and Handsome Chef Boyfriend and I were headed to Brattleboro for a visit with his mum. Yesterday it was further afield for a celebratory sendoff in Massachusetts at the home of a sibling, whose daughter and her husband and young family will soon leave for … Continue reading Wisdom of Generations
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
Seven Dangerous Words
Hey Mom: Can I borrow your phone? When you have not had the pleasure of sharing company with your irreverent twenty-one-year-old son for a while (like, say, for TWO YEARS), it is easy to forget that this is probably a loaded question. And that you should ask why. And make it clear that your phone … Continue reading Seven Dangerous Words
Mise En Place
Today I had a huge, long list of stuff I planned to do. Some was work related, some was house related (actually most was house related), and there was the usual catching up on correspondence. Handsome Chef Boyfriend's mandate to me as he was leaving this morning: go out and pick up sticks. (Manly Vermonter … Continue reading Mise En Place
New World Order. Again.
I shot a couple of photos today on a brief outing through Shaftsbury to retrieve a particular young 'un from a day-long outdoor adventure. It is cool in Vermont and there is indiscriminate rain; a short time down the road the rain will be snow. Fall's vibrant colors abound, although the peak of the season … Continue reading New World Order. Again.
Afternoon at a Vermont Bakery: Sunday Photo Essay
Friday afternoon I had the great pleasure of looking over the shoulders of several of the staff at a particular Vermont bakery. I could not resist the design on this cakewheel, seemingly frozen in another era. Today I showed a very young friend of mine how I edit the photos I use on my blog. … Continue reading Afternoon at a Vermont Bakery: Sunday Photo Essay
Mad Tom Apples: Sunday Photo Essay
My Irish ancestors settled in the Tuckaleechee Cove area of the Great Smoky Mountains in the 19th century and made their living as apple farmers. I wonder how they would view New England's landscape, where harvesting apples in the fall is woven into the fabric of life and where the topography is at times so … Continue reading Mad Tom Apples: Sunday Photo Essay
Sycamore Stories 