Spring is in the Air

We trust that you are ready to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow from our last letter and are having fun.

Now that we have sprung ahead - here are some of our favorite things to do in the spring.

How to Find Joy in Your Sisyphean Existence

Life is full of boring, futile, absurd tasks. You’ll be happier if you can laugh at it all.

www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2023/03/finding-joy-happiness-in-absurd-boredom-stress/673248/?utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

Grow Microgreens & Start your Herbs Indoors - Click on the Links Below

ZestiGreens

zestigreens.com

As simple as spreading seeds on a wet hemp pad -no special light required. We don’t have a crowd to make a salad for anymore, so we use microgreens instead of lettuce on sandwiches and to make mini salads. We also grow basil, arugula and cilantro

Basil Blend Microgreens Seeds from Botanical Interests.

Basil microgreens can be grown indoors at any time of year and are a nutrient-packed way to get your "green fix" in the dead of winter.

www.botanicalinterests.com/product/Ciao-Bella-Basil-Blend-Microgreens-Seeds

Get outside! - Click on the Links Below

‎PictureThis - Plant Identifier

‎PictureThis® identifies 1,000,000+ plants every day with 98% accuracy. Wonder the name of the bplant encountered during your walk or coming up in your garden? There’s an app for that.

apps.apple.com/us/app/picturethis-plant-identifier/id1252497129

Merlin Bird ID - Home

Bird ID Wizard—Step-by-step -Answer three simple questions about a bird you are trying to identify and Merlin will give you a list of possible matches. Merlin offers quick identification help for all levels of bird watchers to help you learn about the birds as well as identify bird calls.

merlin.allaboutbirds.org

We used to trudge around with field guides, but these phone apps are game changers. Take a photo with “picture this” to identify, trees, shrubs, flowers and more. With Merlin ID - record and id bird sounds anywhere - It’s fun just to use the Sound ID feature and then discover what birds are around you. Both are educational and fun for all ages and a great assist for when you spot a plant or bird you know but can’t come up with the name of.

Picnic Time Sports Chair

It's a beach chair for grownups and a camp chair for adults - Perfect for sidelines and bird watching. Picnic ready director’s chair with fold out table.

www.picnictime.com/products/sports-chair

Our favorite outdoor chair - lightweight - with shoulder carrying strap - pockets for your phone or notebook - fold up table for your books or beverages

Anyone Can Make a Difference - Two Great Stories Click on the Links Below

The Bread Lady - She gives away bread & produce from her front porch

From The Washington Post

wapo.st/3kQ6zJa

'Giving Fridge' in Middlebury Provides Free Meals, Business for Restaurants

A once-vacant storefront on Middlebury's Merchants Row is now a plant-filled retail space that's home to something known as the Giving Fridge. Customers can buy...

www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/giving-fridge-in-middlebury-provides-free-meals-business-for-restaurants/Content?oid=32294216

Easter Preview - April 9th - Click on Links Below

White House Easter Egg Roll 2023 - Free Ticket Lottery Starts Today!

All you need to know about the 2023 White House Easter Egg Roll

whitehouse.gov1.info/easter-egg-roll

PEEPS® | Build-A-Bear Workshop

Design your own plush Peep

https://www.buildabear.com/peeps-party-cake-bunny/031441.html?cgid=characters-brands-and-characters-peeps

German Easter Egg Candle, 6 Candles

Decorate by the Half Dozen With These Festive Egg-Shaped Candles that come in an egg carton

www.vermontcountrystore.com/german-easter-egg-candle-6-candles/product/82379

Panoramic Easter Egg

We loved these as kids - they weren’t edible, but a wonder and now apparently a lost art - we can’t find them anywhere :(

Let us know if you know where to find them!

WORD OF THE WEEK

Definition of GUMPTION

enterprise, initiative; common sense, horse sense… See the full definition

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gumption

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

44 B.C. Ides of March

Beware the Ides of March. (But Why?) - JSTOR Daily

Everybody remembers that the Ides of March was the day Julius Caesar was assassinated. But what does it mean, and why that day?

daily.jstor.org/beware-the-ides-of-march-wait-what

1972 - The Premier of The Godfather

What we are Watching

The Banker (2020) - IMDb

The Banker: Directed by George Nolfi. With Anthony Mackie, Samuel L. Jackson, Nicholas Hoult, Nia Long. In the 1960s, two African-American entrepreneurs hire a working-class white man to pretend to be the head of their business empire while they pose as a janitor and chauffeur.

www.imdb.com/title/tt6285944/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Jerry and Marge Go Large (2022) - IMDb

Jerry and Marge Go Large: Directed by David Frankel. With Bryan Cranston, Annette Bening, Rainn Wilson, Larry Wilmore. Based on the true story about long-married couple Jerry and Marge Selbee, who win the lottery and use the money to revive their small town.

www.imdb.com/title/tt8323668/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

What we are Reading

Hotel Splendide

In this uproariously funny memoir, Ludwig Bemelmans uncovers the fabulous world of Hotel Splendide, the luxury New York Hotel where he worked as a waiter

www.goodreads.com/book/show/6627090-hotel-splendide

From our Readers

Beet and Goat Cheese Pasta - Wishbone Kitchen

Pink and pasta, my two favorite things!!!! Everyone knows that beets and goat cheese make a perfect pair. Turns out, they also make a perfect pasta sauce. The vibrant hue from the beets gives this dish a real wow factor, while the creamy and tangy goat cheese provide a complex depth of the flavor.

wishbonekitchen.com/beet-and-goat-chee

Bragg Sprinkle for Everything

Made with a special blend of 24 herbs and spices, Bragg® Organic Sprinkle is Paul C. Bragg's original 1930 seasoning mix. Sprinkle it on to spice up any dish.

www.bragg.com/collections/seasonings/products/organic-sprinkle?variant=39436563480672