Book: Painting the Light
Painting the Light By Sally Cabot Gunning (351 pages, fiction, 2021) In 1893 Ida Russell is a young woman living in Boston, finding her way as an artist. She is enrolled in Boston’s Museum School and has a comfortable life living with her family. She’s looking forward to becoming a known artist in watercolors. But tragedy strikes her family and Ida is left alone in the world. She is grief-stricken and can barely get through the day. A...
City newsletter: Tree collection, wreaths dispersed
The city manager’s office sent out the City Manager’s Newsletter last Wednesday. The full newsletter can be found by going to concordnh.gov and clicking the “Newsletter” button. Here are some highlights: Tree collection Christmas tree collection starts on Monday, January 4 and will continue for two weeks in coordination with residential curbside trash and recycling collection. Residents can place Christmas trees curbside for disposal...
A look back at 2020
The year 2020 started much the same as the rest, but soon shifted in dramatic ways. The Black Ice Hockey was postponed, but then brought back. In February, we cast ballots in the primary. Executive orders limited Maple Month visitors to sugar shacks. Town meetings were changed or delayed by many. We stockpiled toilet paper. Our restaurants delivered. We sewed thousands of masks. And healthcare workers rose to the task. We rallied...
Poem: The New Year
The new year does approach, as we cast the last aside, we seek the road to a better place, to simply feel better inside. It is not riches or fame, that we seek as time does proceed, but the peace and contentment, that all of us do need. There have been sad times, some good but only a few, optimism one year ago, forsaken but nobody knew. We look within during trying times, seeking better we try to find, for...
Looking back: My grandfather’s final story
Life can be fleeting at times. When you have the time, the will is not always presented. When your moments are limited each and every story will flow like the most powerful river. Such was the case many years ago as my grandfather neared the end of his journey. He had the time, as well as the desire, to finish his story with class. His stories became very detailed as he articulated each and every event so vividly. When one is focused...
Novel blends history and dark fantasy
The Witches of New York By Ami McKay (560 pages, historical fiction, 2017, available on Hoopla) Ami McKay’s The Witches of New York is the perfect antidote to dreary winter days and long, cold nights. Fans of the television series Penny Dreadful will relish this dark historical fantasy with feminist themes, set in Gilded-Age New York City. It’s a suspenseful gothic tale, best savored with a steaming mug of herbal tea and an...
Book of the Week: Focus on happiness
The Self-Care Solution: A Year of Becoming Happier, Healthier, and Fitter: One Month at a Time By Jennifer Ashton (275 pages, nonfiction, 2019) Are you happy? Want to get your life together? This quick read will get you started. Self-care tends to take a backseat these days. We just don’t have time for it. We’ll do it tomorrow. This book will help you kick your excuses to the curb. It details Ashton’s year of self-care...
This week in Concord history
Dec. 31, 1999: Despite a bomb threat, First Night celebrations wrap up without incident. Enthusiasm, however, is hard to find. “It doesn’t feel like New Year’s Eve,” one would-be Concord reveler laments. “There’s not a lot going on,” another adds. “And with no snow, it’s even worse.” Dec. 31, 1866: Fire burns the roof and destroys machinery at the Penacook Mill. Though it is so cold that the firemen’s clothing freezes, a...
