By Cassandra Tyndall Emotions may run high as the week begins, thanks to a Full Moon in the moodiest of the moon’s signs. Adding to the complexity of things, the Scorpio Moon is being influenced by Mars in Cancer. Combined, this could feel like a proverbial walking on eggshells moment when it comes to the…

By Melinda Myers Add a cool refreshing twist to your meals, beverages, appetizers, and snacks with cucumbers.  These popular vegetables are grown worldwide, adding anti-inflammatory vitamin K, vitamins C, B-5 and more to your meals. Take it a step further by using your own fresh-from-the-garden cucumbers. Grow cucumbers sprawled on the ground or in a…

1-year-old. Neutered male. Domestic shorthair. Brown tiger. I like to spend my time cozied up in a box to watch the world go by or take a nice nap. Rutland County Humane Society, 765 Stevens Road, Pittsford, VT • (802) 483-6700 • Tues. - Sat. 12-5p.m. Closed Sun. & Mon. • www.rchsvt.org   Crocs is a…

Happy Volunteer Appreciation Week from the Rutland County Humane Society! We would like to take this time to thank all of our volunteers who graciously dedicate their time to support our shelter and ensure that our animals cared for, safe, and loved. From shelter volunteers to foster families, and everything in-between, we couldn’t do it…

By Dom Cioffi At least once every couple of weeks, my son and I head to the music store for an activity we refer to as, “tasting the cakes.” That’s when you walk into a musical instrument store and try out everything in sight. I’ve been “tasting cakes” since I was a teenager — roughly…

By Declan McCabe One spring, following heavy rain, I visited the Saint Michael’s College Natural Area hoping to capture exciting photographs of the rushing Winooski River. Rather than raging floodwaters, however, I found the river’s floodplain was efficiently – and slowly – accommodating the onslaught of rainwater. News reports of floods typically show catastrophic events,…

By Elicia Pinsonault Members of the Rutland Young Professionals (RYP) board of directors share many things in common, including the organizations we volunteer with, the communities we live in, where we work, our favorite spot to get outside and play, being parents, and countless other things that connect us. Another common thread you’ll notice among…

By Mary Ellen Shaw When neighborhood grocery stores disappeared so did the penny candy counters. Having the opportunity to browse in front of one was a daily occurrence back in the 50s when I was a student at Christ the King School. Young’s Grocery Store was just a few feet down the street. Considering that…

By Kevin Theissen Social Security provides retirement income for many, but according to Mass. Mutual Life Insurance, most Americans fail to demonstrate basic knowledge of Social Security benefits. Mass. Mutual used a quiz to test peoples’ knowledge of Social Security retirement benefits and showed that about 35% of people age 55-65 failed and almost 20%…

By Merisa Sherman I awoke to a deafening silence. The birds of spring, so vocal in their morning song, had vanished. In fact, there was no noise at all — an eerie silence had overtaken the earth. It was almost as if a sound absorbing blanket had been spread over the earth while we had…

A good friend died recently. At the age of 80 all his life insurance had expired and his savings were spent. His family, financially, were living from week to week. His failing health along with Covid-19 put him in an intensive care unit for days apart from his family where he died. His hospitalization brought…

A week ago, I explained how I was sitting on the deck of a beautiful boutique hotel overlooking the pristine waters of the Caribbean while writing my column. This week, unfortunately, I’m back to my living room chair. It’s hard returning home after any vacation, but this one was especially difficult. The weather, people, food,…

By Kevin Theissen If you have been procrastinating on one, some or all aspects of your personal finances, why not apply the concept of spring cleaning to your money? The following are some ideas to get started or restarted: Get organized The first thing to do when organizing your finances is to collect all your…

By Cassandra Tyndall What is one area of your life that is so solid, you could never imagine it going wrong? Is it your relationship? Your career? Or maybe it’s something you’ve cultivated within yourself, such as a spiritual relationship with the divine or an unshakeable belief in yourself. The opposite can also be true.…

By Sandra Dee Owens All my life, I noticed it. The presence of a gentle, internal voice, offering helpful suggestions I mostly ignored. No, not ignored ... flicked off my shoulder like a bothersome bug. I gave my internal guidance system no respect or attention. And all my life, I noticed a collection of bold,…