‘Tis the season for wild blueberry pickin’ in New England. The smaller, sweeter, snappier cousins of the farm-raised summer staple are great for muffins and jams because of their lower water content. Unlike those you might find in a local grocery store, wild blueberries are free, if you ...
We’re especially proud right now to be parents and grandparents. The Trump administration has finally gotten so out of hand, a Wall of Moms had to “stop this car” to intervene in Portland, Oregon. When they got tear gassed, PDX Dad Pod got busy and organized its members to show up with ...
When the COVOID-19 pandemic first struck the state this spring, the Judicial Branch acted to protect the safety of our citizens by suspending all jury trials. Following several weeks of careful planning and preparation, as well as instituting significant measures to protect the health of ...
Zoom meetings are a relatively new concept to people who are now living and working in a virtual world. Some people have easily gotten the hang of it, and they understand how etiquette works and what to have or not have sitting in the background. Others aren’t so technologically advanced. I ...
It’s a jungle out there. I should clarify. My back yard, which is mostly occupied by a pool and too many arborvitae shrubs, now has to share any remaining space with Lady Baba’s veggie garden this summer. Since there is no room to turn the soil due to an overpopulated collection of ...
It often doesn’t take much to make yourself happy. Spending time with people you care about, eating delicious food or buying something for yourself “just because” can all go a long way toward lifting your spirits and improving your mood. But sometimes, it’s all too easy for that ...
In the race against COVID-19, biopharmaceutical firms Regeneron and Sanofi have launched clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy of their drug, Kevzara, in treating the virus' life-threatening immune complications. Interestingly, Kevzara isn't new; it was initially approved by the FDA in ...
The quirky 1970 Mungo Jerry classic, “In the Summertime” says it best: “We’re always happy, Life’s for livin’ yeah, that’s our philosophy…” That song puts us back into a simpler time when summer was indeed for living and having fun. Any one of us who hails from this era may ...
I have always been in awe of how New Hampshire’s caregivers work tirelessly to care for our seniors, especially now during the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to devastate our communities and our economy. Truly, they are heroes. Despite the many challenges of the pandemic health crisis, our ...
Cabin fever is running rampant. Claustrophobia, panic attacks and manic behavior abounds. And that’s just when I’m taking a shower. People are waving their feral freak flags as we continue to cope with COVID-19. I cope by wearing a mask when I’m out. That way I can mutter dirty things ...
Of course we’re all familiar with that great July heat wave that rewrote record books, felled at random folks who dared venture out on foot during the day, claimed too many lives regardless of age or physical condition, and literally drove some of us insane, right? Indeed, who could forget ...
Local control was a phrase heard frequently last week regarding the opening of public schools this fall while the coronavirus continues to ravage much of the country. Local control is a bit of a misnomer in New Hampshire because we are not a “home rule” state. What does that ...
Can it be just over four months since the world came to a screeching halt? I think we all remember the early days of March when the pandemic came screaming down the road. Schools shut down. Restaurants and retailers closed for business. Lines at the supermarket. Shortages of toilet paper, hand ...
On January 29, 2020, long before the public was aware of COVID-19, the Department of Education provided its first Health Alert to school leaders about a developing health concern. Of course at that time, we could not have known the devastating effects of COVID, but school systems always need to ...
The nation’s eyes are on our criminal justice system following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the subsequent protests in response. Here in New Hampshire, our cities and towns have spoken up through peaceful protest to elevate the problems of systemic racism. We ...
As best as I can determine, after fairly exhaustive research “big-dig” style that involved a fair amount of dust and a few episodes of bleary eyes, Americans didn’t stoop to pointing fingers or slinging poison arrows back and forth when faced with another kind of epidemic, or pandemic, ...
It is American showman Phineas Taylor Barnum who is widely attributed with saying, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” It’s that all-American mentality that the “As Seen On TV” brand was made for, marketing such wonderous pieces of pop culture crap as the Snuggie (a blanket with ...
Hello, dear readers! I hope you’re all staying cool and finding some fun this summer, despite the strange circumstances we find ourselves in. I am grateful to have been able to partake in what summer has offered this season, but it has required intentional thought and planning to keep the ...
I’m a bit late on a New Year’s resolution for 2020, but here goes. I’ve decided that I want to have a mortgage until my 100th birthday. Looks like it’s going to be close. I’m 69. With refi rates at 2.75% or less, Lady Baba and I are dancing the refinance rhumba on the house we ...
When you have a hands-off approach to gardening, an unexpected harvest is cause for great celebration. That sense of joy can quickly fade, however, once you realize what an overwhelming amount of work it is to use that harvest appropriately. For the first time since it was planted nearly 25 ...
