Category: Hartford Courant

  • Six Affordable Ski Spots in New England

    It’s wintertime and the skiing is easy, except for on your wallet. Lift tickets, gear rental, dining, and post-skiing imbibing (perhaps the best part) don’t come cheap. Fortunately there are plenty of affordable places to get your ski on without breaking the bank. [Lead Photo: Deanna Kersey] Blue Hills Ski Area With 16 trails and…

  • Have We All Gone to The Dogs?

    Wearing a fabulous pink sweater, a diamond choker and perfectly coiffed white hair, she was among the best-dressed on the plane. Surprisingly, she didn’t even seem to mind when the attendant came around and requested she remain stowed securely beneath the seat for the remainder of the flight. In fact, Roxy never once complained about…

  • It’s The Little Things That Make A Holiday Gathering Unforgettable

    So you’re hosting a holiday gathering. Whether you’re a newbie or an experienced pro, having guests requires planning, work and a certain je ne sais quoi if you want the occasion to be a success. After all, gatherings are about more than just serving the right appetizers. They’re opportunities to create meaningful memories with friends…

  • Last Word: Good Boy

    Recently I received a notification that my cell phone storage was full and if I hoped to avoid some kind of nuclear catastrophe where I couldn’t play Solitaire or check the forecast on The Weather Channel app, I needed to delete some pictures. Dutifully obliging, I began sorting through 3,000 saved images, only to discover…

  • Reconnecting With Your Creative Side

    It’s no secret that jobs, raising kids and life in general often prevent us from pursuing artistic and personal interests. But once children are grown and work demands begin to slow, it frees up time to explore those interests or rekindle forgotten passions. And one of the benefits, according to Glastonbury-based psychologist Dr. Eve Marie…

  • Redefining Yourself After Retirement

    Life after work isn’t always an easy transition

  • Last Word: Happiest Place On Earth

    My dad likes to recount the time we took a family vacation to Disneyland when my brother was 13, and I was 8. After shelling out a small fortune for unlimited passes (not to mention roundtrip airline tickets to California), my parents dropped us off at the park and returned to our hotel to enjoy…

  • The Village Of Sleepy Hollow: A Heady October Getaway

    Ichabod cast a look behind to see if his pursuer should vanish, according to rule, in a flash of fire and brimstone. Just then he saw the goblin rising in his stirrups, and in the very act of hurling his head at him. — Washington Irving, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” It’s the kind of…

  • Last Word: Words With Friends

    I’m not really into games. Other than losing at Battleship and attempting a few rounds of Guitar Hero, where I imagine I’m Eddie Van Halen but appear as though I’m experiencing a medical emergency, I largely avoid them. Growing up, my brother and I would pass boring Midwest days by eating my dad’s hidden stash…

  • Parenting Your Adult Kids: Helicopter or Helpful?

    The kids are grown and out of the house. Or, in some cases, they’ve left but returned home for financial or other reasons. Either way, parenting adult children can be tricky business when it comes to striking the balance between being a helpful parent and a so-called “helicopter” parent. “When you have little kids, you…