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By TINKY WEISBLAT

Children’s books never age. The JoJo stories by Peter Rosnick of Conway, with illustrations by Kathryn Burke, originated decades ago, according to the author. They seem eternally fresh, however.JoJo is an extremely small person — half an inch tall at...

By TINKY WEISBLAT

Children’s books often work best when they incorporate educational messages into fun, engaging stories. This combination of fun and learning forms the center of “Fur & Feather’s Together: A Tale of the Highland Woods” by Patricia Williams, with...

By TINKY WEISBLAT

I have neighbors who are farmers and neighbors who are gardeners. Peggy and Grahame Travers merit their own category: homesteaders.The couple moved to Hawley in 2017 from Great Britain, where Grahame had worked in horticulture, and Peggy had been a...

By TINKY WEISBLAT

I wrote a couple weeks ago about my lifelong love of chamber music, particularly as offered by Mohawk Trail Concerts. I had music classes in school, too, of course, but I have learned most over the years from watching musicians perform live.In the...

By TINKY WEISBLAT

I know I have written a lot recently about dead people: my parents, my neighbor Florette, most recently Arnold Black. I do know people who are alive, I promise! And next week we’ll publish an article about one or more of them. I have one more dead...

By TINKY WEISBLAT

Food does much more than nourish us. It connects us to other people, in the present and in the past.This week I’m using it to remember Arnold Black (1923-2000) of Charlemont and New York City. Arnie was a composer, a violinist, and the founder of...

By TINKY WEISBLAT

I love being a food writer, despite the relatively low pay. I get to indulge my senses. I get to learn about people and cultures by trying their recipes. I even get to deduct the price of some of my groceries.Perhaps the thing I enjoy most about this...

By TINKY WEISBLAT

I have been meaning to write about no-bake desserts since June, but each week another dish or book or cook has grabbed my attention. With Labor Day (and fall!) looming, this is just about my last chance to feature a dessert that doesn’t require a warm...

By TINKY WEISBLAT

“When Being a Nurse Was Fun”by Ann WattStillwater River PublicationsJust about everyone comes into contact with nurses at some point, and just about everyone likes them. It’s hard not to admire people whose mission in life is to be competent and...

By TINKY WEISBLAT

The days are beginning to get shorter, but I won’t worry about that yet … because mid-summer is tomato season. I wait for this season all year long.I simply can’t bring myself to eat fresh tomatoes in the winter. (I do still consume salsa and dishes...

By TINKY WEISBLAT

This past weekend family and friends of the late Mary Kay Hoffman gathered at the Hawley home of Mary Kay and her husband, Earl Pope, to remember her. Mary Kay died in February at the age of 78.As many readers probably know, Mary Kay was a mover and...

By TINKY WEISBLAT

“Madame Monarch” by Sylvia Wetherby Haley’s, 30 pages, $12“It’s Okay to Be Sad” by Kathleen Nicoletti Haley’s, 54 pages, $12.95Haley’s Publishing recently released two appealing, colorful books for young people.“Madame Monarch,” by Sylvia Wetherby of...

By TINKY WEISBLAT

A friend who enjoyed the Tomato Soup Cake I featured in this column a couple of weeks ago presented me with a book as a gift: the just published “Baking Yesteryear” by B. Dylan Hollis (DK, 256 pages, $32).If you’re a social media fan, you may be...

By TINKY WEISBLAT

Area farmers are having a tough time. As many readers may know, Governor Healy recently announced the establishment of the Massachusetts Farm Resiliency Fund.That and other helpful resources have been identified by CISA, the local hero folks. To find...

By TINKY WEISBLAT

I’m immersed this week in the 1920s. Pianist Jerry Noble and I are getting ready for a concert on Saturday called “Fascinating Rhythm: Songs in the Air a Century Ago.” We’re trying to recreate some of the sounds of that fascinating decade.Part of my...

By TINKY WEISBLAT

Haley’s Publishing recently released two fun, colorful books for young people by the imaginative author and illustrator Elizabeth Lindgren of Orange.The first, “Curse of Cairn Castle,” follows the adventures of Beetle Beane as she battles for the...

By TINKY WEISBLAT

This year the weather seems to be waging a vendetta against farms and orchards here in western Massachusetts. Extreme cold in the winter and spring canceled many area fruits in the bud. Excessive rain in the summer has flooded quite a few...

By TINKY WEISBLAT

How do I love zucchini? Let me count the ways…I know zucchini don’t always come in for a lot of praise. In fact, I tend to think of them as the fruitcake of summer. And I rush to defend them just as I always defend fruitcake.At Christmas the fruitcake...

By TINKY WEISBLAT

I’m celebrating July 4 a little late this year… on July 5, to be exact. By July 4, I don’t mean Independence Day. I celebrated that on the weekend with the traditional flags and fireworks. I mean Caesar Salad Day.In addition to being consecrated to...

By TINKY WEISBLAT

The musical comedy “Pajama Game” always appeals to me. As far as I know, it is the only musical that revolves around a labor dispute.Adapted from the novel “7 ½ Cents” by Richard Bissell, this 1954 show revolves around the fight for an hourly pay...