Time Trade Offers Free Memberships!

Brattleboro Time Trade’s goal is to create strong networks of support by connecting people who use their energy, time and talents to help each other and their community.

The time banking model allows for the exchange of time credits, a type of community currency that anyone can earn by helping another member of the Time Trade. Each hour of service provided to another Time Trade member earns one Time Credit. You can spend your time credits on services provided by any of the other members of the Time Trade.

All services are valued equally, regardless of the market value. For example, a web designer’s hour is worth the same as an hour spent helping someone weed their garden or an hour spent preparing a meal for someone. One hour = One hour.


Local Businesses Step Up To Support the BMH Comprehensive Breast Care Program

As part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, two local businesses organized fundraising activities for the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and .

Robin White and her staff at held a Zumba dance party on October 30th, with the help of local Zumba instructors, Maribeth Fonda and Rachel Shaw. More than 30 women danced for over 2 hours to raise awareness and support for women battling breast disease. Three of the participating women, who raised over $500 each, received a free one-year membership to Curves. The event raised $3,719 and will be used to support BMH breast cancer patients by providing wigs, bras, breast prostheses, books and materials, groceries and gas cards to help women through treatment and recovery. “I wanted all the money to go to local women facing this disease head on,” said White.


Missing a Book?

Maybe we have it! We have just come across a copy of “Light as Life” by B.K.S Iyengar in our Main Street Lobby. It is currently at our Information Desk with Bernadette!


Consider Brattleboro Police & Fire Projects Separately?

In our meeting last evening, members of the Brattleboro Town Finance Committee introduced, and then tabled until a subsequent meeting, a motion to recommend to the Town administration and the Representative Town Meeting that the Police & Fire Department renovations, modifications, and additions be considered separately on their merits.

Members of the Finance Committee would appreciate public feedback and ideas. We noted that several public informational sessions are scheduled. We hope that clarity on the issue will emerge over the next few weeks.


VTC Nursing Program Open House: Tues. Nov. 17

VTC’s Nursing Program in Brattlelboro WELCOMES ALL TO THEIR OPEN HOUSE on TUES. Nov. 17

BRATTLEBORO—Vermont Technical College’s Nursing Campus, SE Region, is holding an OPEN HOUSE on Tuesday, November 17 from 4-6 PM at their campus on the second floor of the Brooks House. There will be blood pressure reading and hand-washing demonstrations. VTC Admissions counselors, nursing instructors, nurses and student nurses will be on hand to talk about nursing and the VTC program. Community College of Vermont academic advisors will also be available to talk about pre-requisite nursing courses and a program for high school students allowing them to take college-level classes for free.

VTC’s nursing program in Brattleboro, one of the nation’s first-ever practical schools of nursing, was started shortly after the Civil War and has been in continuous existence since 1907 when funds from Thomas Thompson’s estate made it possible. It has been part of Vermont Technical College since 1994.


Brattleboro Area Hospice to present Advance Care Planning: Digging into the Details

On Monday Nov. 16th from 6-8 pm, Brattleboro Area Hospice and Brattleboro Memorial Hospital will co-sponsor a free public workshop on Advance Care Planning as part of the Wellness in Windham educational series. It will be held in the Brew Barry conference room at BMH.

Many of us know we need to complete our advance directives, but we keep putting it off. If a serious illness or accident leaves you unable to communicate, an advance directive becomes your voice. It tells those you love and your healthcare providers what you would want them to do for you. An advance directive is a gift to your loved ones—preventing them from the heart-rending burden of having to second-guess your wishes.

In this workshop you will:


Qigong for Healing and Living Fully – Healing Sounds

You are your best healer! Come learn how each and everyone of us is born with the innate gift to heal ourselves. In this half-day intensive, you will experience simple and profound ways to awaken your body’s innate healing ability while deepening your capacity to relax and enjoy your life more completely.

Qigong is an ancient form of meditative movement that is over 5,000 years old. In China, qigong is one of the secrets to living a long and healthy life. The simple movements and breathing practices help relax the physical body, calm the mind and raise the spirit. It is an excellent form of preventative healthcare, and also used in treating major illnesses and minor ailments.


Dummerston Cares Luncheon and Program for Seniors

Join us for the Dummerston Cares Luncheon and Program for Seniors on Monday, Nov.16th, 11 am -12:30 pm at the Dummerston Community Center, 150 West St. in the West Dummerston Village.

Free light lunch at 11 am, program at 11:30 am. Priscilla Svec, Dummerston resident and Physical Therapist, will speak on exercises for Seniors that can be done at home during the winter months, keeping us healthy. Janice Duke will talk about the current Bone Builders program held in the Dummerston Congregational Church, twice a week, Monday and Thursday morning from 9:30-10:30.


BSL Requires My Mobile Device Number Or Else

Today my online banking site told me I had just three chances to give them my mobile device or I would be cut off from electronic access to my funds. What the HECK?? Is this happening to other people at other banks?

I will pull my money out if they insist. This is the message I get:
“You are required to provide your mobile device phone number below. If you do not complete this requirement within the maximum number of opportunities allowed by your financial institution (3), your log in will be blocked. If you are prompted for text authentication, your screen will display a button to send a passcode to your device and an entry field into which the code must be typed. Once authentication has been completed, the transaction will process.”


Very Old Vinyl Records

I have 3 boxes of very old (1920’s 78’s and forward) vinyl records that are in unknown condition, though likely not the greatest.  Before I throw them out, I thought I would make one final inquiry, to the great minds of ibrattleboro, as to whether or not there might be some possible use for them.  I have been assured by several pretty reliable sources that they are not aware of any people or places that would want them.  It seems just wrong to me that there is not a use for them, either through some creative recycling purpose or as records, but it appears that is the probably case.  Please, if anyone has any possible ideas, let me know here. Thanks so much!!


Does Your Loved One Have a Diagnosis of Dementia?

As a caregiver, are you finding it difficult to meet your own needs while caring for your loved one?

Senior Solutions (Council on Aging for Southeastern Vermont) has respite funding available through the Dementia Respite Grant. This grant, funded by the State of Vermont, supports paid respite opportunities for primary, unpaid caregivers in Windsor and Windham counties.  The elder’s income eligibility limit is $2,917.00 per month for an individual or $3,932.00 per month for a couple.

For more information please call the Senior Helpline at 1-800-642-5119 and ask to speak to our Grant Manager.


Holistic Expo – A Complementary Trail to Wellness

Holistic Expo ~ A Complementary Trail to Wellness

Come out to the HOLISTIC EXPO this Friday, November 13th!  This event, free and open to the public, is a chance to experience many complementary
options offered to improve your health and wellness. Experience mini
sessions, as well as 30-minute educational discussions. Reiki, Medicinal
Herbal Remedies, Bowenwork, Reflexology, Massage, Shiatsu, Astrology,
Expressive Arts Therapy, Clinical Hypnosis, Dowsing, Spiritual Soul
Readings & Counseling, Somatic Breath Therapy.

November 13, 2015, 11am – 4pm

The River Garden

157 Main Street

Brattleboro, VT 05301


The Compassionate Friends – New Bereavement Group Remembers Children Who Died

Brattleboro, VT—Bereaved families that have experienced the death of a child now have an opportunity to meet with others on a regular basis who have endured similar tragedies.

The Compassionate Friends (TCF) of Brattleboro, a national self-help organization for families that have had a child die, will hold its next monthly meeting Sunday, November 15th, at 2:00 PM at 541 Black Mountain Road, Brattleboro, VT. Meetings will be held each month the third Sunday of the week at the same time and location.

“A bereavement organization like TCF where families could talk about their loss publicly without feeling out-of-place is invaluable to those of us whose children have died,” said new chapter leader Beverly Miller. “After your child dies, most people do not want to talk with you about your child probably because they are afraid of making you feel bad. The irony is that talking about your child helps you–no one wants their child forgotten. And studies have proven that sharing our stories and tears is an emotional release that helps us.”


Retreat Woods Showing Signs Of Wear

We took a walk in the Retreat Woods recently as a way to get back into nature without having to go too far.  It had been a while since we last went — probably in the early summer sometime.  The trails were already too wide then, but this last time, it was obvious they had seen some hard wear.

In most places, the main paths were down to hard-packed bare earth, with lots of trippy rocks and tree roots pushing up that I don’t remember being quite so much in evidence before.  The softer, smoother top layer of earth seems to have been worn away.