Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.—Groucho Marx Mind you, this is not too profound. After last weekend's disappointing discovery of the incipient decline of many, many of my books I am feeling better about them tonight. I'm lucky to live with somebody … Continue reading Reflections: Loss, Life’s Frailty, & Gratitude
Friends
(Dis)Comfort and Joy
Handsome Chef Boyfriend and I spent yesterday Christmas shopping over in Saratoga Springs. We had fun, observed people, marveled at humanity, privately assessed it as we are wont to do for amusement. We ate lunch and dinner out, rare for us, and arrived home content if a little weary, with a bargain Christmas tree tied to the … Continue reading (Dis)Comfort and Joy
Carpe Diem, and All That
When you discover two of your favorite people are performing in the same weekend in separate but (kinda) nearby venues, albeit in completely different kinds of shows, and you think you can somehow make it to see them both, you tell them, Heck yeah, I'll be there. Every opportunity to go to the the theatre for a performance of merit … Continue reading Carpe Diem, and All That
Homecoming, Part the Third
Before we pulled out of Chattanooga on a hazy Tuesday afternoon, my dad reported he'd seen a burgeoning praying mantis and stick bug population this summer. And evidently my son is a praying mantis whisperer. I could not capture the kind of image he did, a challenge I threw his way. And what it lacks … Continue reading Homecoming, Part the Third
Bedlam Farm Takeaways: The Katz Effect
The spring open house at Bedlam Farm was a couple of weeks ago, Jon Katz and Maria Wulf’s generous semi-annual sharing of their farm and lifestyle with fans, animal lovers, other artisans, and curiosity seekers. I’ve been to three of these now, with gathering interest and meaning, and what I think you could fairly call … Continue reading Bedlam Farm Takeaways: The Katz Effect
Promise, Renewal
Friday was stunning, Saturday overcast, and today cold, rainy, and windy as hell. So windy in fact that a big whoosh felled a tree near the house (good-sized maple), bouncing off Handsome Chef Boyfriend's new car—big damage—and hitting the ground next to mine, but not before completely taking out a tail light on my Subi … Continue reading Promise, Renewal
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
Taproot
Friday was one of those intoxicating Vermont spring days where you think there must be some mistake in the landscape: nature's greens can't possibly be that, well, green. But there they are. More than once in recent days I have wanted to press pause and hang on to the neons betraying new foliage for just a … Continue reading Taproot
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
Finding Community
Tom and Deb Yesterday Handsome Chef Boyfriend and I headed just over the state line to Cambridge, NY for a planned lunch with friends. They are varied folks from varied walks of life, united by a creative group that writer Jon Katz started for artsy people to show off their work without fear of reprisal: … Continue reading Finding Community
Sycamore Stories 