Living

Living story sections

Retirement Retrospective

by RDavis | Living

Retirement is a strange concept. For some people it is not something that is in their vocabulary and, for others, it is something that makes them count the days until the new phase of their life begins. If your life’s work and your passion for what you do blend perfectly then it seems likely that you don’t want the kind of life you lead to end. Working under other people’s rules tends to make many people long for a new kind of freedom.

It has been ten years since I mostly walked away from a 45 year nursing career. I enjoyed the ride and it turned out that the last job I had was the most satisfying in many ways. But working within the American health care system, no matter where, can wear you down and make you feel like you are not doing the best you can for your patients.

Last Week To Order From Leda’s Kitchen Until October!

by LedaS | Food

This week at Leda’s Kitchen: order by 8/19, pick up 8/21
I’ll be going to India for the month of September, so this is the last week to order until October.

KALA MASALA CHICKEN CURRY (GF/DF)
Dosa Kitchen’s signature chicken curry that has fed countless customers over the last ten years. Free-range chicken in a base of tomatoes, onions, ginger, garlic, and a spice mix (kala masala) created for us in India.
$26 for 24oz container (2-3 servings)

While Looking at Meteors… A Strange Sight

by cgrotke | Nature
strange thing in sky sketch

I saw something strange in the sky last night. I was out looking for Perseid meteors around 10:30 pm. It was a bit on the early side but I thought I might get lucky. And I did. After 10 minutes or so I saw some very faint little shooting stars above me. It was mostly clear, with a bit of high haze in the east.

I looked across a field to try a different direction. It was clear above me and to the west. Almost immediately I saw a big fiery, flaming meteor come whizzing down. It had a long streak and looked great. Whoo hoo! Mission accomplished – I saw a good one. Time to go in. Then I noticed what looked to be a small plane or satellite moving very slowly in the west. It wasn’t blinking like a plane, though, and it seemed to be moving too slowly to be a satellite. I kept watching.

Explore the Food & Culture of Oaxaca, Mexico, in Brooks Library Presentation

by roadnews | Travel

Long-time resident of Brattleboro and Oaxaca, Mimi Marchev, will lead a presentation on the unique culture and cuisine that has evolved in this ethnically diverse region of southern Mexico. The presentation will be held at Brooks Memorial Library on Wednesday, August 20, at 7:00 pm.

Oaxaca has become a leading culinary destination, both for Mexicans and for visitors from the United States. Its reputation is well deserved, and it is based on much more than a collection of top restaurants. Oaxaca’s cuisine has sprung from the area’s strong indigenous roots; notably from the Zapotec and Mixtec people. Food is not merely sustenance in Oaxaca; it is an expression of heritage, identity, and community.

Leda’s Kitchen Weekly-ish Chef-Prepared Meals (10% off first order with code ibratt)

by LedaS | Food

At Leda’s Kitchen, I draw on my adventures as a private chef, cookbook author, and co-owner of Dosa Kitchen Food Truck to offer weekly-ish gluten-free heat-and-eat meals designed to awaken your senses and fit seamlessly into your schedule. My menus feature curries, stews, nourishing soups and stews inspired by diverse food traditions. I cook with high-quality ingredients including free-range meats and focus on local and organic sourcing. You decide when to eat, as all dishes are designed to reheat beautifully, maintaining or even increasing their original deliciousness.

Deeper Insurance Cuts in Budget Bill

by RDavis | Health

Digging deeper into the 2025 budget bill reveals that Medicaid is not the only insurance that will be in jeopardy. Premiums for people insured under the Affordable Care Act, (ACA or Obamacare) will see steep rises in insurance premiums and the Medicare program will see cuts that will indirectly harm the senior population.

According to a recent article in “The American Prospect”, “The combination of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s (OBBBA) cuts to Medicaid (and, unless Congress does something about it, to Medicare) and the failure to extend enhanced ACA tax credits for exchange participants will cause roughly 15 million Americans to lose their health insurance, according to the latest estimates. Those who hang on to pay the higher rates are disproportionately likely to really need insurance due to medical conditions. This will tend to create sicker insurance pools, meaning more claims payouts by insurers.”

Brattleboro and VT COVID-19 Regional Dashboard Summary – August 2025

by cgrotke | Health

It’s the August 2025 dashboard summary. We continue semi-regular COVID-19 dashboard numbers from the Vermont Department of Health, and MA counties that surround Brattleboro, as long as they continue providing them.  New Hampshire has shut down their reporting. Numbers are low, but not zero. Scroll down the new comments for the latest.

Leda’s Kitchen Menu for 8/7

by LedaS | Food

At Leda’s Kitchen, I draw on my adventures as a private chef, cookbook author, and co-owner of Dosa Kitchen Food Truck to offer weekly-ish gluten-free heat-and-eat meals designed to awaken your senses and fit seamlessly into your schedule. My menus feature curries, stews, nourishing soups and stews inspired by diverse food traditions. I cook with high-quality ingredients including free-range meats and focus on local and organic sourcing. You decide when to eat, as all dishes are designed to reheat beautifully, maintaining or even increasing their original deliciousness.

July 2025 Precipitation

by local | Nature

The rain yesterday and overnight totaled 1.27″ at my location.  I am a CoCoRaHS volunteer and we submit our report each morning at 7am.  So that rain is my August 1st report number.  CoCoRaHS is short for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network, headquartered at Colorado State University.  There are somewhere in the area of 20,000 people reporting across the US and Canada.

Immunopsychiatry – What’s Old Is New

by RDavis | Health

There has been a movement in the psychiatric world to recognize a new medical specialty. The name has evolved from psychoneuroimmunology to immunopsychiatry. What it boils down to is recognizing a link between immune system dysfunction and psychiatric conditions.

This is not a revelation but more of a renewed recognition that there may be strong links between some autoimmune diseases, immune system dysfunction and mental health diseases. In particular, researchers have found links between psychotic disorders and autoimmune diseases. Links have been established between celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, lupus and the development of schizophrenia.

Leda’s Kitchen Weekly-ish Chef-Prepared Meals (10% off first order)

by LedaS | Food

At Leda’s Kitchen, I draw on my adventures as a private chef, cookbook author, and co-owner of Dosa Kitchen Food Truck to offer weekly-ish gluten-free heat-and-eat meals designed to awaken your senses and fit seamlessly into your schedule. My menus feature curries, stews, nourishing soups and stews inspired by diverse food traditions. I cook with high-quality ingredients including free-range meats and focus on local and organic sourcing. You decide when to eat, as all dishes are designed to reheat beautifully, maintaining or even increasing their original deliciousness.

Expanding the Lowest Class

by RDavis | Activism

The gaps between the have’s and have not’s has been widening in this country for many years. But with passage of the 2025 budget bill, that gap will not only widen but a new economy will push unprecedented numbers of people into poverty and homelessness.

The people in our country who struggle to stay above water while working two or three jobs deal with a constant threat of homelessness and social stigma. Things will be so much worse in the next few years as federal fuel assistance allotments are eliminated and thousands of people lose their Medicaid benefits. That would be bad enough, but the budget bill makes unprecedented cuts in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) that families have relied on for decades to be able to afford enough food for basic nutrition.