Yesterday dawned clear and sunny and very cold in central Vermont, my last time to wake up in the loft, HCB at my side. We had the big work of packing and moving ahead of us, still time for a final cup of coffee before we pushed up our sleeves. The winter storm that is … Continue reading First Day Jitters
Winter
Lit Up Like a Christmas Tree
It is an expression Handsome Chef Boyfriend uses when he trudges up the back steps to my place and throws open the door for a visit, chiding me for waste. The loft is beautiful, full of volume and warmth with its cheerful yellow walls we painted when I moved in. It was a soft spot … Continue reading Lit Up Like a Christmas Tree
The Nutcracker is here to stay.
I like to think Peter (Pyotr for purists) Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a rock star in his day, but I can’t say for sure. He certainly was an attractive man. One thing I can say is that his Nutcracker score (penned not long before his death) is tacky ballet music through and through. There, I’ve said … Continue reading The Nutcracker is here to stay.
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
Step Inside My Office, III
Slate Grey December Day in Woodstock, Vermont
Resolve
I’ve worn out this plucky little word as both noun and verb for about a week. The nor’easter that moved into New England on Tuesday stalled out right over my neighborhood, evidently right on top of my house. The snow came stealthily at times and brazenly at others, mostly in silence. It was wet and … Continue reading Resolve
Waning Summer
I have a pair of visitors who make their presence known every single morning on my front porch, expecting to be fed. I confess I have cultivated this habit in them. Handsome Chef Boyfriend chides me about this, insisting I will be the kind of old lady one day who can't afford to put food … Continue reading Waning Summer
Gracie’s Tomatoes
My great-grandmother lived 'til I was into my thirties; notably, for all but the last couple of months of her life, she was pretty dang lucid, too. Had she survived another year she'd have met her great-great-grandson. But, to quote a friend, she still won. Gracie. She lived in a tiny, vernacular cottage perched at … Continue reading Gracie’s Tomatoes
Rancor-Me-Not
This morning my Handsome Chef Boyfriend gave me a smooch on his way out the door back to his own stomping grounds, just a bit further afield than I would like. Be careful, I said; let me know when you’re there safe. Do you ever stop worrying about things, he chided? No. Never. I never, … Continue reading Rancor-Me-Not
Bump in the Road
Southern friends, this one's for you. (And it is emphatically not a metaphor for anything.) Late last winter or maybe early spring, not sure, Handsome Chef Boyfriend and I were headed across the Connecticut River to a favorite little eatery over in Lyme for a pleasant cold-grey-day lunch. I was behind the wheel of my … Continue reading Bump in the Road
Sycamore Stories 