By Kevin Theissen Pursuing your retirement dreams is challenging enough without making some common, and very avoidable, mistakes. Here are eight big mistakes to steer clear of, if possible. No strategy: Yes, the biggest mistake is having no strategy at all. Without a strategy, you may have no goals, leaving you no way of knowing how…

The summer season officially starts for many of us on Memorial Day weekend. It seems to be the official date to plant our flower and vegetable gardens. I remember when I was first married I would buy a few annuals and plant them in my one and only flower garden. I was in the midst…

By Brett Yates Earlier this month, in anticipation of Mother’s Day, Facebook introduced a seventh reaction emoji: the controversial “purple flower,” signifying thankfulness. In fact, it was a reintroduction, this time suggesting an annual springtime rollout, like the Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg at Easter, following its first appearance in May of 2016. As you well…

By Dom Cioffi It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while I lose my temper. Most of the time it’s because of the illogical behavior of my teenage son, but on occasion, something else will set me off. Unfortunately, one of those “something else” moments happened over this past weekend. I was out…

By Cal Garrison, a.k.a. “Mother of the Skye” This week’s Horoscopes are coming out under the light of an Aries Moon, with a pile of fireworks that are due to highlight our upcoming Memorial Day rituals. With tons of incendiary energy burning up the sky, thank God we are being cradled in a Grand Trine…

By Cal Harrison, a.k.a. “Mother of the Skye” This week’s Horoscopes are coming out under the light of a Capricorn Moon. This week, let’s skip the preamble; it’s one of those days when the ‘scopes are going to have to justify my existence all by themselves. I have also come to the realization that it’s…

By Marguerite Jill Dye I considered presenting a second Russian lesson or delving into the “109 paths from Trump to Putin,” but it would take a dissertation to investigate his Russian ties and the trail of Russian Mafia mobsters that lead to Trump Tower. Since the espionage ring and high intrigue are unraveling by the hour,…

By Declan McCabe The word “migration” conjures images of vast wildebeest or pronghorn herds crossing plains in unison, or hummingbirds traversing the Gulf of Mexico. When charismatic birds leave our New England forests, migration is typically the explanation. But how can a group of plants disappear, without discarding leaves, stems, or other evidence of their…

By Kevin Theissen U.S. markets Strong corporate earnings, results from the French presidential election, and a tax reform proposal combined to propel stock prices higher in April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.34 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.91 percent. The NASDAQ Composite picked up 2.3 percent, according to the Wall…

Two hundred days. That is how many days, as of this writing, that I have skied this year. Of those days, 192 were lift service, and eight were uphill on Superstar. Last year it took me until June 4 to get to 203 days. I am blowing by that mark and we aren’t even halfway…

By Brett Yates Do you listen to podcasts? If so, have you noticed that pretty much every advertisement-supported podcast is funded by the same set of sponsors? These, in no particular order, are Blue Apron, Squarespace, Audible, Casper Sleep, Stamps.com, and Dollar Shave Club. The podcast is that rare example of a new medium, although…

By Dom Cioffi A high-profile kidnapping case captured the country’s attention over the last few months. It involved a 50-year-old Tennessee teacher who left his wife and children (and grandchildren!) to run away with his 15-year-old student. It took authorities over a month to track the couple down in a remote California forest, thwarting his…

By Marguerite Jill Dye I instantly felt an affinity for the young man and recognized his special gift. I can’t remember how we first met, but he looked like my brother Jack at 38. Sasha lived in the world but was not of this world, and could see and comprehend different dimensions of reality. As…

By Carolyn Lorié One day last spring, I pulled into a parking lot in Thetford and saw a flash of brilliant red. Instantly, I knew it was a male scarlet tanager. He was perched in a cluster of bushes and everything around him — the fresh spring leaves, a nearby robin, the recently revived grass…

Life was certainly different back in the 50s compared to today. I recently came across some ads from that era and they prompted me to take a look back at the products customers were enticed to buy and how the manufacturers went about it. So take a trip back in time with me either to…