Here we are, at January dark thirty, still closer to the beginning of winter than the end, the days growing longer by the tiniest of increments, the late afternoons still dark and cold. What’s a body to do? If you’re the Concord Minutemen, you get together and celebrate 50 years of hanging around together, reenacting the long-ago battle that began our fight for independence. The group celebrated last Saturday night over at the Wayside Inn in Sudbury: 50 years of dressing up and representing Massachusetts at events around the world and overseas. Jack Chisholm is one of the original members. …

  Ah, the January thaw! Isn’t it funny how fifty degrees in the middle of winter feels practically balmy, while the same temperature in June has us shivering? It’s all a matter of perspective. And while the warmish weather certainly brings more people outdoors, I’ve been really amazed at the number of people who continue to ride their bikes in the coldest weather of the season. I think I’ve seen more bikers this winter than the last three combined. I like to bike, but honestly, I like it quite a bit warmer before I’m willing to expose myself to wind chill factors and spraying ice. Good news …

  Hello, fellow Concordians, and welcome to Thursday! Just a hop, skip and a jump to Friday and the weekend, and plenty of time to get out and enjoy some lovely, warm mid-winter weather. I love a good January thaw. Back when my kids were little, I did a lot of standing around: The bus stop, waiting for them to get on and go to school; the playground, waiting for them to tire themselves out on the equipment; the library, waiting for them to pick out books to take home and read. The bonus was, other moms were usually hanging around waiting, too, and we used that time to chat about what was …

  It’s another Monday, and it looks like January 2013 has decided to step up and be the best January it can be: Cold. Not like January 2012, so I guess this really IS a new year. Before I forget, I want to add something to last week’s information on places to ice skate around town. I totally forgot to mention the two outdoor rinks being created at Rideout Playground in West Concord and Emerson Playground near Concord Center. Our very wonderful and hard-working Public Works department has diligently banked up the snow to create outer boundaries, and is making us our very own winter wonderland…

  Hello, all, and welcome to Thursday, the third day of the brand-new year! It looks remarkably like the old year, but with any luck it’s actually new and improved. The blanket of snow certainly makes it look clean and bright, and conveniently covers up any blemishes or ugliness, giving everything the appearance of being new. And oftentimes it’s really about appearances, isn’t it? But things are about to get stinky. Tthat’s right, Stink Week is coming; the fundraiser run by Decibels Foundation where you’re encouraged to wear the same shirt, no matter how stinky or funky it becomes, for a …

  Good morning, all, and welcome to the very last day of 2012! Congratulations for making it all the way through another year! I know it’s traditional to be reflective and look back at how the year went, but I’ll leave that to each of you to do on your own. Me, I’m looking forward. And what better way to usher in the New Year here in Concord than by taking a First Day Hike with Henry David Thoreau? OK, he’s really historian Richard Smith portraying Thoreau, but still, it’s iconic and it’s only here. There’s something so peaceful about taking a walk in the woods, and these woods are …

  Groucho Marx once said, “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.” Fortunately, the Concord Dog Training Club wants your dog -- you just happen to have the opposable thumbs that make paying for it possible. This is a hidden gem right in our own West Concord backyard. I had no idea the club even existed, but then I don’t own a dog, much to the dismay of my children. And apparently, it’s one of the oldest dog-training clubs around: It opened in 1948 and has been teaching dogs to heel ever since. You don’t really even need to be a member to take their classes or attend their …

  It’s Christmas Eve, for those who celebrate, and for those who don’t, well, it’s a night with nothing new on TV and stores closing early. With any luck, all your gifts are wrapped, the baking is done and cleaned up, and you’re sitting by the fire with an egg nog in one hand, cookies in the other. That’s my idea of the perfect Christmas Eve. Of course, the 24th of December also means the year is winding down, and with all the giving you’ve been doing up till now, there’s still a little time to think about more giving. Charitable giving. End-of-the year, do-it-in-time-for-your-taxes giving. …

  Hello, fellow Concordians, and welcome to the last day before either the shortest day of the year ... or the last day of ever. It would really be a shame to have our last ever day also be the shortest, but I’m feeling pretty confident that all the work I put into baking holiday treats won’t be for naught. The good news is, if we’re still here on Saturday, the days start getting longer, and that’s a happy thought. Of course, this also means a lot of days to fill next week, after the big holiday is over – everyone’s bloated with all that good food, kids are bouncing around from the letdown of…

  Good morning, people! It’s Monday, the first day of a brand-spanking-new week, full of possibility and promise of all things good. And, I have no doubt, a crazy long list of things that need to get done: Cookies that need baking, items that need wrapping, meals that need planning. It’s exhausting just thinking about it, and the week has just begun – what’s a body to do?? I’ll tell you: Take a breather and renew your energy. You know you want to, you know you need to. Just an hour or two to yourself, to recharge your batteries and take up the charge anew. But how do you squeeze that in, what…

  Good morning, all, and welcome to Thursday! We are this close to being smack in the middle of the last month of 2012. Or, as I like to think, a mere week away from the end of the Mayan calendar. I’m really hoping it’s not the end of the world, or I’ll have wasted ridiculous amounts of time mailing holiday cards and wrapping gifts. Instead, I’d rather be enjoying the vibrant tones of many voices joining together to make beautiful holiday music. Fortunately for all of us, the Concord Chorus has our collective backs, with its Holiday Concert happening this Saturday over at the Middlesex School…

  Happy Hanukkah!! Yes, it’s the eight-day festival of lights, meaning eight days of presents and latkes and dreidel games – let the partying begin! Of course, it does mean you’d better have your shopping done, without the benefit of the two extra weeks the Christians get, but then you also don’t have to decorate a tree, so I guess we’ll call it even. Over at Debra’s Natural Gourmet in West Concord, they’re celebrating the holiday in style this Thursday, Dec. 13, with musicians from Kerem Shalom, meaning everyone gets to sing and dance. Oh, and they will also be making latkes – gluten-free, …

  I love stories of people who reinvent themselves, sometimes more than once, throughout their lives. Who says you have to have just one career, really? So boring! And isn’t it great when you discover a passion for something, at a time when the world thinks you should be tapering off and moving to somewhere warm, and instead you’re learning a new skill and doing something that delights you? Well, that’s what happened to Annette Petersen. She’s the woman behind the Wee Forest Folk, tiny sculptures of mice and fairies, over at the Montague Gallery on Walden Street. Believe me, there are a slew …

  Good morning and welcome to the first full week of December – a month full of holiday cheer, unbridled present-buying, and copious nog. I have no doubt you’re all chomping at the bit to get out there and do your part to keep the economy moving. But first, a little bit on local going global. Jan Turnquist, the executive director over at Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House, recently had the opportunity to bring Louisa May and Little Women over to Japan. She spent three and a half weeks in several Japanese cities, including Concord’s sister city Nanae-Cho. Believe it or not, Little Women is very…

  So I recently bought a new car – my 12-year-old minivan finally died on me – and my new car has heated front seats, and I have to tell you, I am loving them! It is not even officially winter, and I have been using them prodigiously. My tushy is so warm and cozy, I never want to leave my car. It may have cost me a little extra, but it’s a price I’m willing to pay if it gets me through the long, cold days ahead. Speaking of paying a price, there’s a group that knows a lot about this, and it’s the Communities for Restorative Justice (C4RJ). This is a group that brings together community …

  Well, here we are, Thanksgiving behind us, and hurtling headlong into the holiday season. Gifts to buy, cookies and other goodies to bake – in our house, fudge is the goody of choice – lights to put up, dead trees to decorate. All the fun stuff that will fill our spare time over the next month. Where to start?? Good news is, we have the library’s annual Holiday Book Sale coming up at the end of this week! All year long, people drop off their used books for the library to sort and catalog; twice a year, the Friends of the Library take all those books and hold a sale, selling perfectly good …

  Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving! This has to be my favorite holiday: It’s all about the eating. No gifts to buy, no eggs to dye, just food, food, and more food! And then three days to recover. Seriously, how could anyone not love this?? Since everyone will be sacked out recovering from all that eating, I thought I would take the opportunity to congratulate the CCHS Girls’ Cross Country team. They came in second at EMASS two weekends ago, which gave them the opportunity to compete at the MIAA Eastern State Championships last weekend, where they placed 12th. This is the only team at the …

  Good morning and welcome to a brand-new week! A pretty special week, with a whole day devoted just to eating practically in the middle of it. If you’re hosting the meal at your house, my guess is you’re up to your elbows in shopping and cooking; if you’re traveling, most likely you’re packing and canceling the paper. If you’re not doing either, well, you can sit back and relax and get ready to just eat. While the rest of us have been running around and beginning the holiday prep, we have several residents who have been very busy feeding their creative soul. Artist Jean Lightman is one of …

  Hello all, and happy Thursday! I know, it feels like it should be Friday, doesn’t it? But there’s still one more day to go in the week, and that’s a good thing, because Thanksgiving is one short week away. I don’t know how that happened – it just kind of snuck up on me. Thanksgiving’s early this year, which means more time to eat holiday food, which of course means more time to think about how NOT to eat all the goodies that will parade before you. Sigh. It’s so hard to be healthy. Which brings me to Jill Block and the initiative she’s currently running on keeping Concord healthy. I had …

Hey, fun friends, welcome to Monday! For those of you who have today off in honor of Veterans Day, enjoy the lovely weather – it’s a little gift before easing back into the chill of autumn. And if you DON’T have today off, well, at least make time to take a break midday and get outside to bask in the sunshine. It’s all so fleeting. If you’ve been reading this column for any length of time, you’ve probably realized what a fan I am of our local library. In fact, I think of it more as a community center, what with all the great programs they offer, like origami for kids, or film nights. Really, …