A Handy Dandy Resource More Communities Could Emulate (even with online community forums): The Shoppers Guide of Great Barrington MA and other online resources

Check out the latest weekly issue of The Shopper's Guide that is based in Great Barrington MA and serves a large number of rural towns.See www.shoppersguideinc.com or to list something use ads@shoppersguideinc.com.

Other helpful online magazines about the tri-corner, MA/NY CT area, include Main Street Magazine and Our Berkshire Times. Many newspapers such as CT's The Lakeville Journal are online and offer an amazing digital archive. See talks on The Salisbury Forum too online. that is a special set of free talks sponsored by donations with timely important speakers getting their ideas, whether authors or experts in their field, out to a public audience (and are often reviewed in The Lakeville Journal.

Helpful resources for alternative healing and creativity and guidance are at Crystal Essence in Great Barrington, Sruti, Kripalu in Lenox MA and Omega in Rhinebeck. With many yoga centers (and online resources such as YogaByCandace.com) one can find many ways to regroup, center and breathe! The bees and butterflies are rooting for us.

There are still a few great fairs circling round (such as the Harwinton Fair in CT in early October) and the Garlic Festival in Bethlehem CT where they had their bigger fair last weekend in  early September.. See other posts about The Goshen Fair in CT, The Dutchess County Fair and many others. Ideally a comprehensive list is online or could be developed for each area.

Then schools could encourage each grade to find time to meet at such events or visit and report back so more people could appreciate the animals, rides, booths and networking. More high schools are doing 'decade reunions' or thereabouts, realizing there are not the high numbers of the past or so much mobility and life/work imbalance we need to shore up resources creatively. 

There are an array of events listed and programs at various facilities such as  Bard Colllege at Simon's Rock Kilpatrick Athletic Center, Berkshire South Regional Community Center (which is having its annual gala on Sept. 14th, 2019). Fundraisers for ConstructInc.org on Sept 22nd, 2019 at 12:30 (with short and long walks) to contribute to supportive housing and other programs. Lee's Founders Weekend Events from Fri. Sept 13th-Sun. Sept 15th, 2019 are listed. 

Then there are many job offerings, people who can be hired for many jobs and personal help and more. Want to write your novel? Jot down the contact info you find helpful for the future from many areas of the paper.

Often annual events come round seasonally so maybe make a list of things you like to do 'winter, spring, summer and fall' then pace yourself with going to one big and a few small events each year, and circle back in a few years after trying some other special things. That makes sense if you have kids too.

There are places like The Sharon Playhouse in Sharon CT that offer classes now in the arts (theatre, voice, dance.) OLLI and The Literacy Network, Toastmasters.org in the Berkshires of MA are open to CT and NY residents. CHP, Community Health Programs for young families also offer an array of gatherings and has a lovely space to support young families. Then there are faith and library offerings. Check out The Shakespeare and Co. offering in early October to develop one's speaking confidence with possible scholarships.

I did that program and gained a lot from it. Deciding what to do and putting it all on a calendar (ideally month to month if not for half or a full year or more, marking off 'time off' or important family or other commitments, can help one fine tune one's time when there is flexibility or even if trying to keep track of basic work or other commitments, doctor and dental and even mental health visits or support groups and so on. 

There are some exciting free programs for people to enjoy online with The Shift Network, The Broken Brain series (running free for a few days) and Jenn McLean, You Wealth Revolution.

Carolin Soldo is offering an exciting program and if someone buys a ticket through me, that makes it a 'win-win', so keep me in mind and I'll put a link on my more public FB page, Livfully (to help you find me more readily...) The event is in NYC in mid-October and it would be exciting to see some readers and network as may be helpful!

Let's work at enjoying September. See what Sharon Audubon is offering in Litchfield CT tonight at the Litchfield Community Center and on Sept 14th with a Butterfly Talk at the Route 4 Sharon CT Center! There's also a lovely Cornwall CT Agricultural Fair that can take one to a simpler time with a storybook sense of country livin'...A nice reprieve from screen time or hustle-bustle...I hope to get to that and the Butterfly Fest this weekend and to the Climate Strike in Great Barrington MA on 9/20 at the Mason Library at noon.

Now to put all of that (and going to Toastmasters at BCC on Main St in GB in MA at 11:30 am on Tuesday for enjoying that meeting and talks that are prepared by a few members of the club. Won't you be my guest?) Enjoy the new Berkshire Co-op as well where there are some tables to enjoy a simple meal and make a new friend or two. Find out about more women's circles forming such as at Walking Our Talk (WOT) online and in the Berkshires. All the best and now 'time to take a rest...!"

PS While I was typing this out I was listening to a talk by Dr. Mark Hyman from the Broken Brain Syndrome about autisms and how there are many causes and kinds of that. Much can be linked to digestion, pre-birth exposure to chemicals and foods, early in life foods and so on. Some youth have epilepsy that causes autism. Some have synapse challenges, deficiencies in nutrients (such as folate, serotonin, dopamine and so on.)

Mark Hyman shares that the symptoms are too often labelled as the total situation, not the beginning of inquiry. Many cases can be greatly improved especially the earlier one is addressed if having delays or some form of autism. Wanted to share that and the idea that we all likely are 'on a spectrum' and the more pronounced symptoms are they become 'symptomatic.. and part of a diagnosis.'