Thanksgiving 2020 We tried to put on a good face, didn’t we? I think most Americans did, but it’s tough to scale an occasion we’d typically celebrate in epic proportions for just a twosome. Chef David and I resolved to go on and cook like we would for a crowd, and then to freeze what … Continue reading Thanksgiving Story: Pan-DEB-ic Edition
Vermont
Sunday Almanac: We March Inevitably Towards Winter
It is always a little sad to me when the snowplow rig assemblies start showing up on pickup trucks around town; it’s inevitable, but cold weather comes a little too soon on the heels of summer (to say nothing of ephemeral fall) in these parts, and wears out its welcome along about April, when everybody … Continue reading Sunday Almanac: We March Inevitably Towards Winter
Coping With COVID: A Lifetime of Stories in Teacups and Coffee Mugs
Mad Hatter: What’s the matter my dear, don’t you care for tea? Alice: Why, yes. I’m very fond of tea. March Hare: If you don’t care for tea, you could at least make polite conversation! —Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland cup and saucer I found a few years ago at the Adelphi Hotel estate sale, … Continue reading Coping With COVID: A Lifetime of Stories in Teacups and Coffee Mugs
Sunday Almanac: It’s Fall Foliage Time in Vermont
Kinda. Here in town, some leaves seem reluctant to let go of the summer, as am I. But the ‘peepers’ have been here in droves like they are every year, not dissuaded by The Plague, nor pestilence, famine, nor floods, it would seem. This year they’ve descended upon us not so much in tour buses, … Continue reading Sunday Almanac: It’s Fall Foliage Time in Vermont
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes: How This Pandemic Is Forcing the Evolution of Our Species
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, not the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. ―Charles Darwin from the New York Public Library Digital Collections Downtown Bennington is small, like Bennington itself, with a ‘four corners’-style crossroads at its heart, North and South … Continue reading Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes: How This Pandemic Is Forcing the Evolution of Our Species
Mid-Week Almanac, 9.23.20
It’s somehow Wednesday already, a vacation day for me because I have a little bidness to take care of later on this afternoon, and maybe I simply needed a day for myself. There’s nothing left for me to say about missing our annual travel down South that I haven’t already said, so I’ll leave it … Continue reading Mid-Week Almanac, 9.23.20
Journal Entry: Gardening Is Difficult, and Other Truths
exquisite flowers, not from our garden Early this morning I stood outside near the badminton net in our back yard, clutching a dog poop bag in my hand and waiting for Scout to do his doings. Something on the ground caught my eye; further examination revealed a half-eaten green tomato, abandoned. Dammit. Hope you enjoyed … Continue reading Journal Entry: Gardening Is Difficult, and Other Truths
Travel Story: A Vacation Lamentation
O, Plague that has stolen so much from so many, will you truly deny us our annual purgative pilgrimage? (Unmoved, Plague replies through a yawn, a pox upon your house.) Back in February we began the calculus as always, surfing for dog-friendly digs, option weighing, and atlas consulting—the old-school version with the spiral binding, a … Continue reading Travel Story: A Vacation Lamentation
Sunday Photo Essay: A Birthday Celebration
tide-me-over birthday cupcake It's annual birthday week for The Chef and me: Mine was last Monday, his is this coming Tuesday. On Monday he brought me home a single cupcake to celebrate the occasion: lemon, with lemon buttercream icing and lemon curd filling—lemony goodness, through and through. But we saved our grand celebration for yesterday, … Continue reading Sunday Photo Essay: A Birthday Celebration
Journal Entry: I Roast a Red Pepper
roasted red peppers …without burning down the house. The Chef was on an errand and I wanted to make Salade Niçoise, which calls for roasted red peppers. So I leaned on this little video by Chef Shelley Young at The Chopping Block, et, voilà! My first effort was not too bad, although my peppers were … Continue reading Journal Entry: I Roast a Red Pepper
Sycamore Stories 