Category: Vermont

Autumn, Chef David, Home, Hotel Chains, Journaling, Non-Fiction, Photo Essay, Photography, The South, Travel, Vermont, Writers

Travelogue: There and Back Again, Vermont Style

Vermont’s namesake Green Mountains, resplendent on a late summer day There were no orcs, dwarves, or elves on this trip. Just one exceptionally bad hotel (the balance exceptionally good) and mainly smooth sailing. We traveled to Vermont chiefly so Chef David and I could visit his adult kids. Mission accomplished, fair to say. The conditions in New England were gorgeous, couldn’t have asked for any … Continue reading Travelogue: There and Back Again, Vermont Style

Unknown's avatarDeb German1 Comment
Dogs, Essays, Home, Non-Fiction, North Carolina, Running, Running With Dogs, Scout-the-Goldapeake-Retriever, The South, Vermont, Writing

Reflection: Scout-the-Goldapeake-Retriever at 11½

Some 900-plus days into our tenure in coastal North Carolina, and I believe this dog has finally made his peace with the sometimes-oppressive humidity, the stormy nights, rambunctious neighborhood kids, the unpredictable action of the ocean on a good beach day, and all the rest. And while he may not have whole-heartedly embraced all these conditions in his life, like most dogs living their best … Continue reading Reflection: Scout-the-Goldapeake-Retriever at 11½

Unknown's avatarDeb German1 Comment
Chef David, Descriptive Writing, Essays, Memoirs, Non-Fiction, North Carolina, Running Injuries, Storytelling, The South, Vermont, Writing

Reflection: Piloting Through Chapter and Verse

Memories that pop up in social feeds can be cruel, but as often they’re so beautiful. Once in a while, images surface as reminders Chef David and I somehow found time to do things together, a lot of things, in the chapter that was life in Vermont. But leisure time seems so elusive somehow in this chapter. We’ve been in our new house for a … Continue reading Reflection: Piloting Through Chapter and Verse

Unknown's avatarDeb German3 Comments
Ballet, Essays, Home, Journaling, Memoirs, Vermont, Writing

Reflection: I Have Stories to Tell

The last two things I remember about the day I left Knoxville forever were gripping fear and a cameo of my ex-husband’s backside as he stood before the kitchen sink with the tap open. He was washing his hands (metaphorically too, I suppose) while the morning sunlight filtered through the stained-glass window framing him; I hoped with all my might he was bawling, but I … Continue reading Reflection: I Have Stories to Tell

Unknown's avatarDeb German3 Comments
Descriptive Writing, Family, Home, Journaling, Knoxville, Tennessee, Memoirs, Non-Fiction, North Carolina, Reflections, The South, Vermont

Reflection: The Places That Mark Us Indelibly

What is it about permanence that is so alluring on the one hand, and so vexing on the other. When my kiddo was tiny, he developed an appetite for drawing and coloring with permanent markers because they were forbidden. If his tiny fingers found their way around a Sharpie, in short order I’d have to pry it loose and then replace it with a less-desirable … Continue reading Reflection: The Places That Mark Us Indelibly

Unknown's avatarDeb German3 Comments
Chef David, Family, Food, Hotel Chains, Journaling, Scout-the-Goldapeake-Retriever, Travel, Vermont, Wilmington, North Carolina, Writing

April 2023 Travelogue: Road Trip

In Which We Visit New England to Celebrate the Life of a Family Matriarch Only a few days home from our ambitious travels, and we’ve concluded the sacred institution that is The American Road Trip is in a perilous state at a moment the world is still emerging from COVID, a moment we hoped things might have changed for the better since traveling (moving!) when … Continue reading April 2023 Travelogue: Road Trip

Unknown's avatarDeb German2 Comments
Baking, Bread Baking, Chef David, Dogs, Family, Journaling, Scout-the-Goldapeake-Retriever, The South, Vermont, Writing

Sunday Almanac: Life’s Been Pretty Good Lately

But it has been a bad season for pollen, even the locals say so. And even though we’re now locals too, we’re still too green (or yellow, as the case may be) to know what qualifies as “bad” for spring pollen in coastal North Carolina. Evidently this does. Our new home has a screened porch adjacent to the open interior living space on the first … Continue reading Sunday Almanac: Life’s Been Pretty Good Lately

Unknown's avatarDeb German1 Comment
Chef David, Christmas, Cuisine, Essays, Family, Home, Non-Fiction, Reflections, Vermont, Wilmington, North Carolina, Writing

Lies, Damn Lies, and Fake Christmas Trees

We finally did it, gentle reader, bought our first (and last?) artificial Christmas tree. There she stands at an impressive nine-point-five feet, all aglow with baked-in lights, and strewn with garland and all our favorite ornaments. Right off the bat, let me just say we miss that fragrance, you know the one. Thus far we’ve tried burning a scented candle to compensate, but because we … Continue reading Lies, Damn Lies, and Fake Christmas Trees

Unknown's avatarDeb German1 Comment
Baking, Chef David, Cuisine, Essays, Family, Food, Journaling, Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Reflections, Vermont, Wilmington, North Carolina

Sunday Almanac: We Have No Snow But We Do Have Eleanor

It’s almost like a luge track,” The Chef observed during the winter of 2014. I had been in Vermont for only about a year and a half but was already in my second place there. My first place had been an idyllic cottage on picturesque Lake Morey, where I damn near ran out of cash owing to an errant ex who failed to honor the … Continue reading Sunday Almanac: We Have No Snow But We Do Have Eleanor

Unknown's avatarDeb German5 Comments
Aging, Baking, Bread Baking, Cuisine, Family, Food, Food Photography, Home, Journaling, Music, Non-Fiction, Photo Essay, Photography, Scout-the-Goldapeake-Retriever, Vermont, Wilmington, North Carolina, Writing

Almanac: Labor Day 2022

Well, the sun’s not so hot in the sky today and you know I can see summertime slipping on away. James Taylor, September Grass Another birthday week has come and gone with relatively little fanfare (although it was a significant year for one of us), but it included plenty of inspired cuisine as always. The Chef has returned to pastry, not professionally yet in this … Continue reading Almanac: Labor Day 2022

Unknown's avatarDeb German5 Comments