Judy Perkins put an announcement on social media advertising her skill and experience with alterations. I gave her a call and almost immediately found myself gathering a bag of back-of-the-closet clothes and heading to her home. We were greeted at the door by new faces and beckoned in, like we were old friends or weary travelers, like it was a Sunday afternoon and not a Wednesday.
Allen began chatting with my 5-year-old son, Winnie, and my 7-year-old daughter, Mable, joined Judy and I in the kitchen, where Judy had me standing in front of a mirror, pinning my vest.
She went through every article of clothing with me, and when we were done, Mable poked her head around the corner into Judy’s plentiful sewing room that was teeming with fabric. Mable, quietly looking at the floor, told Judy that she has a sewing machine and has been trying to make her own clothes.
Judy threw her hands in the air and directed Mable to another room, showering Mable with trimming lace and fabric, giving her a generous bag filled with material. Meanwhile, Allen and Winnie were bonding over nerf guns and hunting stories.
We all gathered once again in the living room, sharing stories of building a house, building cabins, raising children — a similar thread and narrative spine of many life stories in the North Country, but so uniquely our own when we sit down and share them with each other.
In a few days Judy will give me a call to let me know my alterations are done. I’m envisioning another similar visit, but this time, it will feel a little bit more like visiting an old friend.
North Central Vermont Recovery Center is offering free sewing and crochet workshops every other Tuesday from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Jenna’s House, 117 St. John’s Road, starting Jan. 10 through March 14. This class is for beginners to advanced sewers and crocheters, ages 8 and up. This class is free and open to the public.
The Johnson Community Oven Committee invites everyone to the first skate and bake of the season on Saturday, Feb. 4, from 1-3 p.m. at the ice rink at Legion Field on School Street.
There will be sweet treats coming out of the wood-fired oven, hot cocoa and tea, music, bonfires and, hopefully, good ice for skating. If you don’t have skates, there will be a bin next to the community oven for the public to use and there are lots of kids’ sizes.
The conservation commission is in the midst of planning its annual educational programing with the March Gladness series starting on Sunday, March 5. There will be a snowshoe trek co-sponsored with the Johnson Public Library.
Did you know the library doesn’t just loan books, it loans snowshoes! Lots of adult and child sizes are available. Programming for subsequent Sunday afternoons in March is being confirmed at this time.
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