By Jennie Reichman Remember The Spice Girls? The mid 1990s pop singing group from England? There was Scary Spice, Baby Spice, Ginger Spice, Posh Spice, and of course, Sporty Spice.  Although she doesn’t sing or dress in skimpy outfits, our intrepid manager Karen has acquired the...

by Jennie Reichman If only I had decided to have granola instead of cheesy toast for breakfast that morning in early December. While attempting to slice a wedge of Trader Joe’s Italian cheese with black pepper crust, my (very sharp) chef’s knife slipped and lopped off...

by Jennie Reichman I recently took myself on a mini adventure, driving the three and a half hours up to North Hero, Vermont to attend a memorial for a friend who died too young and under unfortunate circumstances.  Despite the sad reason for the trip, I...

by Jennie Reichman The garlic is planted, tucked into the cool soil for its long winter sleep. The grill is cleaned and stored on the porch, where the screens have been replaced with windows. The snow tires are on my Subaru, maybe a little early, but...

By Jennie Reichman Fall arrived this year by turning the seasonal page with a flourish. One day I’m out in the garden swatting black flies and the next I am wearing a sweater and turning up the heat in the house for the first time since...

Listening and Helping by Jennie Reichman I love it when another writer inspires me. As a songwriter, I’ve often listened to a song performed by a musician I admire and felt a switch flip inside me, like an engine starting up and being flooded with fuel. Suddenly...

How Can I Help? by Jennie Reichman When something catastrophic happens, many people remember where they were or what they were doing at that moment. When the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center happened in 2001, I was trying to call my then husband’s...

By Jennie Reichman As astrological sign personalities go, I am about as Taurus as they come.  Stubborn, quiet, relatively slow to anger (don’t push me too far, though), enamored of beauty, the outdoors, good food, art, fiercely loyal.  I do not like my feet to leave...

By Jennie Reichman It’s cliché to say that the older we get, the faster time seems to pass.  Most cliches, however, got that way by containing a kernel of truth.  Suddenly children who were toddlers only, what? Two years ago? Are headed for their first year...

By Jennie Reichman A couple of weeks ago I asked Karen if there was anything she wanted me to write about in the newsletter article for May.  She said, “Something positive! Something happy!” It’s true that Brattleboro, and the world in general, has had its share...