Episode Sept 29, 2017

September 29, 2017 Kristina Stykos

Co-hosts Kristina Stykos and Emily Howe discuss the man with tan pants, stupid skinny jeans, sunset photos taken by boring people, repercussions of a dud foliage season, when to doff Victorian clothes (casual Friday), an eye makeup mistake, the new “hot” and how to affect it, salon mirror protocol, using animation to blot yourself out, personalizing the Peter Sellers look, avoiding daily reflection, how to party without others, an accusation about adopting strays, a hornet extravaganza, unpacking common misconceptions about dragons, an inexplicable rash, what to do with a bag of mildewed linens, apocalyptic microbes, the finer points of “hooking up”, the modern way to get a bad reputation, creepy dirty dancing a la from behind, surviving dating culture, questions about female bonding, the best pick up line for single Vermonters, missing out on wood-splitting, feeling like you don’t know anybody, using your time wisely as a hermit, what you do when you come home from work, the inherent inefficiencies of satins and taffetas, kids with sticky hands & poor supervision, a business opportunity for milk maids who like to sing, the abnormal popularity of Jonna Jinton, the dangers of taming something with horns, hopping the happiness train, finding the hidden beauty behind the crap, improving levels of clarity within and without, another broken lawn mower incident, the undeniable aesthetic perfection of a well oiled machine, suffering 45 minutes on the phone with AT&T, electrons and apples - and so much more!

Featuring music from Vermont musicians & friends: Robert Bryant [Learning to Cry]; Libby Kirkpatrick [Crying]; Julie James [Down to the Bottom Side].

Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes or Youtube, or tune in Fridays at 11 am to hear this show live on WFVR-FM South Royalton, Vermont 96.5 FM, streaming online or rebroadcast at Royalton Community Radio. Made possible in part by generous support from station sponsors Howvale Farm, The Tunbridge Grease Collective and the Mountain Folk Concert Series.

Episode Sept 22, 2017

September 22, 2017 Kristina Stykos

Co-hosts Kristina Stykos and Emily Howe discuss a lost hairbrush, skipping work when you can’t afford to, leaving Jon at home butchering sheep, a great young man, an odd pair of red rubber sneakers, the finer points of goulash, rebranding gypsies and Eskimos, musician albinos, a blond, tattooed horse wrangler, the nuances of sitting on draft horses, eating burritos at the harness race, parking in a favorite field, the most logical reason for failing your driving test, unpacking Suzy and her school buses, the difference between a bog and a fen, trying to understand quicksand, recreational boot buying, real non-monkey hurdy-gurdy, how to deal with sneezers, talking about the weather, some thoughts on joy, almost bringing Mary Oliver to the local library, fantasizing about famous musicians, the oozing craziness of fan mail, planning for a future expose of delusional obsession, Emily’s life-long infatuation with Sean Austin, a movie about fighting golf resort development, celebrity vs. local hero, songs & dirt roads as therapy, a clue-based adventure, visiting gnome houses during the annual road rally, more information you didn’t want to know about “the wishing well guy”, the sound of wind, winter panic mode, a journalistic spelling challenge, bad associations with the color grey, an in-depth look at shovel handles, transplanting unhappy trees, the nice men at Welch’s hardware, goats in Prospect Park, the hoggy moons of Saturn, tricks for warming up to space - and so much more!

Featuring music from Vermont musicians & friends: Robert Resnik [Copshawholme Fair]; Pete Sutherland [Hard Hearted Hills]; Michael Shaw [Raised by Wolves].

Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes or Youtube, or tune in Fridays at 11 am to hear this show live on WFVR-FM South Royalton, Vermont 96.5 FM, streaming online or rebroadcast at Royalton Community Radio and visit our website at www.11thHourRadio.com. Made possible in part by generous support from station sponsors Howvale Farm, The Tunbridge Grease Collective and the Mountain Folk Concert Series.

Episode Sept 15, 2017

September 15, 2017 Kristina Stykos

Host Kristina Stykos and guest co-host Jonathan Daitch discuss the fact that life is full of exaggerations, Emily’s absence, last year’s Fair flop, how a 29 year old took the helm of a junior high school named Markles Flats, confidence vs. arrogance, building something in the spirit of the 60s, getting revenge on a wasted youth, the power-sharing dynamics of all-school meetings, boredom as fuel, coming to consensus in Madagascar, the art of acknowledging someone else’s principles, getting to know kids from the wrong side of the tracks, the joys of making mistakes, the agonies of making mistakes, a shout-out from Richie Stearns to “the guy who taught me how to learn”, wisdom’s edge & the persistent reign of lies, having too much fun, education on a toxic waste dump, no-penalty truancy, when you might need math, a classic American sound, conquering time & space, the arc of personality over a lifetime, leaving Ithaca, living outside the square, low-judgment environments, trying to keep track of everybody, looking for Danny & Steve, a failed woodworking project, a book about contemporary Palestinian theater, culture as resistance, a horrible occupation, teaching photography in a refugee camp, not scaling your project to your budget, ambivalence about food selfies, the ingredients of an old friendship, a memorable men’s group, a chatterbox father-son reunion, abandoning your kids & re-friending them, another fun thing that we did - and so much more!

Featuring music from Vermont musicians & friends: Doug Anderson [Old Dirt Road]; Val McCallum [Digging For Gold]; Brown Trout and the Lunkers [Honor Thy Fly].

For more information:

Jon Daitch Photography

Episode Sept 8, 2017

September 8, 2017 Kristina Stykos

Co-hosts Kristina Stykos and Emily Howe discuss lice, donut crumbs, our crappy sound, changing your name, Emily’s absurd contention that people add silent letters to their kids’ names, hidden keyboard shortcuts, the epic discovery of a connector between vowels, the tragic death of a computer with nine lives, a return to the power of positive thinking, the rapid demise of the word “trump”, the truth of Gaia, a cursory analysis of Disney movies, putting down puppets, more on marionette disasters, a trip to Harrods, the complex acquisition of patience, an untimely haircut, heaven via blow-drying, home hair straightening with bricks, a dream of swapping body parts, the natural high of self acceptance, water bras, the saga of the dead baby fawn, wildlife running a-foul of the law, the best ice cream flavors, fantasizing about a difficult-to-get-to location, proposals for controlling local road deterioration, re-imagining cowboy hats in Vermont, the return of the riding lawn mower, getting ecstatic about next year, holding your pee in too long, choosing glasses frames & the sexy secretary look, reuniting with your own songs, another colonial housewife gig, an incredible dream & the intense feelings of safety and comfort that came with it, delusional dreaming, the old man who almost fell down the stairs, smelling other people’s weaknesses, a clarification regarding the Piscean moon cycle, avoiding the word “radiation”, a new technique for catching spiders and/or throwing them - and so much more!

Featuring music from Vermont musicians & friends: Larry Allen Brown [Stories That We Wrote]; Stefan Lundin [Som en andlos vag]; Terry Lee Hale [Bound, Chained, Fettered].

Episode Sept 1, 2017

September 1, 2017 Kristina Stykos

Co-hosts Kristina Stykos and Emily Howe discuss the question of how much complaining is too much, a plethora of picks, ugly kitchen flooring, resisting your birthday, some very strange spellings, a currently popular rescue animal, permission to make it “all about me”, the gifting of a very special cereal bowl, undressing in front of pets, taking your kids to a nude beach, the ups and downs of wearing clothes, gazing at a dry pond & what to do about it, leaving the water on at the barn, calling yourself out for being a “dink”, hair washing day at the International Space Station, a milk tester, a dry cleaner and a machinist, an scary analysis of what we might have eaten in a T.V. dinner, camping with Dinty Moore Stew, advertising a haunted forest 2 months before Halloween, having a messed up relationship to iTunes, an in-depth look at “grit”, how to prepare yourself for success, the money quandary and a rehash of what it means to fall in the gutter, taking stock at forty, more science about opossums, the problem with complicated sentences, telepathy as a strategy for avoiding words, getting the elderly to understand Smart phones, a shout-out to all the people who are still calling Emily, writing instead of talking, first-day-of-school rituals, a review of several Tunbridge businesses, a tale of three inverters, falling in love with old timers, bonding over a winch, a dearth of mower belts, making your lawn look “golf course perfect”, when a flirting comes to its natural end, what to wear when you’re old, taking coolness to the bank, a confusion over vitamins and Hammond organs, nerd museums, debunking the bucket list thing - and so much more!

Featuring music from Vermont musicians & friends: Mark Struhsacker [Suzy]; Jemima James [When You Get Old]; Robert Bryant [Thinking Too Much].

Episode Aug 25, 2017

August 25, 2017 Kristina Stykos

Co-hosts Kristina Stykos and Emily Howe discuss giving yourself a black eye, how a piece of hair can bring enlightenment, when our computers die, the job scramble, close encounters with sharks, a recommendation about car trunk protocol, more on bad cats, traveling with your mother-in-law in a small car, whether or not to be concerned when you start wearing sweat pants all the time, Kristina’s cool patina, pulling off a look, local store interaction phobia, an early morning trip to vegetable paradise, bonding over the repugnant odors of 14 year old boys, embracing a bad diet, party avoidance as a way of life, the indignities of being a drummer and/or a mom, an unusual song prompt, the lyrical power of a famous missing member, explaining the alteration of anatomy using diagrams, common-sense disparagement of leaf blowers, the hopes, dreams & aspirations of lawn mowers, watching freight cars go by, something pink that came in the mail, an underwhelming once-in-a-lifetime eclipse, a patriotic misnomer, the genesis of Emily’s pear-shaped face, getting on board with another time period, shopping for leather clothes, splatter pants, unnecessary meetings and the perils of advocating for yourself, why emails keep writing alive, being nice but irritating in-person, the question of whether narcissists can change how they are, the futility of trying to fix a crazy person, marriages of convenience, where not to grow, technical obstacles to being fully functional on social media, an argument about the secret space stations on the moon, being kind of interested in something - and so much more!

Featuring music from Vermont musicians & friends: Carl Goulet [Greenville Trestle; Jesus, Me and Whiskey; Prisoner of Conscience]

Episode Aug 18, 2017

August 18, 2017 Kristina Stykos

Co-hosts Kristina Stykos and Emily Howe discuss piercing babies’ ears, deleting personal information, hidden hair, why god made beds, adding a B to itchiness as needed, protecting your pets from the solar eclipse, bulk ordering glasses from NASA, a long term plan for enlightenment that cuts it close, a missed opportunity to harvest venereal diseases, the upside of snorting, early-onset vegetarianism, shaking some sense into trees, coping with your child’s wretchedness, lunch packing strategies, a breakdown on what constitutes a really bad grilled cheese sandwich, unpacking the signature smell of used clothing, permission to like who we like, slowing yourself down with bicycles, the annoyance of overly formal language, firing your sales rep, another go-round with Kendra’s name game, a manure-spraying incident, humorous displays of anger, early acts of revenge perpetrated by good children, the biological roots of selfishness, debunking good parenting, the burgeoning fall apple crop, shocking behavior from senior citizens in a blueberry patch, flower picking with toddlers, an argument about wildflowers, an unconventional & controversial use for marshmallows, a long list of thank yous including one to Bob for bringing cash, inadequate picnic table maintenance & subsequent emergency first aid, avoiding generic sofas, sending baby clothes to Italy, butchering foreign pronunciations, pouring your heart out in a six minute song, going from one thing to the next & other problematic segues, dry kindling - and so much more!

Featuring music from Vermont musicians & friends: Hunter Paye [Cloud Cover]; Nick Cowles [Stubborn Fool]; Hot Flannel [Workin’ On a Building]

Episode Aug 11, 2017

August 11, 2017 Kristina Stykos

Co-hosts Kristina Stykos and Emily Howe discuss catching hell, half the world on either side of a hoo-ha, starting a car with a push button, the fitbit on-or-off argument revisited, what to do if what you feel doesn’t match the statistics telling you how you should feel, a funny bone moment, gender-free planets, a few Mark Twain truisms, the untimely loss of a fingernail, a pledge of protection, an antiquated first aid kit, two views on the final moments of a baby bird, custom ordering large inflatable objects, the lost bull fighter’s hat, how to elongate a museum tour, an embarrassing hinge size, the stability of calendars, a plethora of grease collectives, remembering what people look like, Julian’s quest to find the optimal used transmission, altered honking habits, celebrating driveways, “destination mailbox”, checking out a giant skunk hole, the butternut tree in the cellar hole, toughening up your bare feet, sucking the moisture out of “potato hands”, applause for sister photographers, longing for summer barn dances & a fantasy version of the old Dreamland dance barn of Tunbridge, debunking various myths about falling in love, attraction as karma, looking for the right words, recognizing things that belong to you, divine intervention at the model airplane show, avoiding sad animal movies, being happy about banjos again, confusion brought on by the philosophy of live it – love it, an unfortunate fashionista misstep, Emily’s experiment with corn rows, the biggest form of flattery - and so much more!

Featuring music from Vermont musicians & friends: Rick Ceballos [Les Quatres Branles]; Chris Kleeman and Malcolm Gibson [Magnet to Steel]; Bow Thayer and the Holy Plow [Way of the Gun]

Episode Aug 4, 2017

August 4, 2017 Kristina Stykos

Co-hosts Kristina Stykos and Emily Howe discuss electric fans, layering tee shirts, white starchy aprons, a self-inflicted dearth of plumbers, looking forward to John’s gubernatorial run, a huge cabbage, condoms, cat food and fearing the judgment of cashiers, Kendra’s twist on Pig Latin, going whole hog with “totes”, homage to saying Bloody Mary 3x in the mirror at midnight, repeating a word until it becomes meaningless, the perils of calling someone “Durwood”, Kristina’s hang with hipsters, girth in its many forms, preempting your 40th birthday, how to maintain your standing as an optimist when crummy things keep happening, more details on the tractor repair, another Subaru transmission fail, breaking down in West Hartford, hating cars, the fine print behind Emily’s unlucky star, whining as a way of life, the inordinate knowledge base of large families, verbal bulldozering, mowing over apple branches, yelling for your partner, picking the color of your port-o-let, discovering “the magic hotel”, a musical instrument spelling challenge, shacking up with Sweden’s premier nyckelharpa player, true confessions of the letter “x”, a new use for the library book deposit box, the hows and whys of stealing gardening tools, a bad word band name, rockin’ the roadhouse, getting good at stuff, searching for the lost thrift store curtain, the ins and outs of dating a banjo player, Bow’s trip to Alaska, a band named Cabinet, alone-in-the-wilderness syndrome, a terrifying June bug, a make-shift toad enclosure, the demise of a red eft, healing your life with affirmations, shoe glue - and so much more!

Featuring music from Vermont musicians & friends: Nick Cowles [Sensitive New Age Redneck]; Lizzy Mandell [The Old House]; Brian Clark [The Lake]

Episode July 28, 2017

July 28, 2017 Kristina Stykos

Host Kristina Stykos and guest co-host Libby Kirkpatrick discuss Prince Edward in a can, not having a plan, conversation as a dying art, names that don’t roll off the tongue, eyes like pools, the intricacies of yawning, discovering coffee as an adult, getting more respect for doing nothing, things that were enjoyable, how to get to know somebody you already know, news from inside the raspberry patch, letting go of your lunch, breaking down flat-picking patterns in three, a hankering to play at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, possible causes for on-stage panic, disorders with the vocal cords, more on manifesting life force into physical form, wrestling with a very public disability, coping with famous parents, having a mid-life crisis in front of an audience, dancing with ghosts, the non-solution of playing louder in order to hear yourself, pretending to have fun, the self-centered singer-songwriter phenomenon, having children as a way to subvert your career goals, normal guys wearing a collar, recognizing destiny, further poetic musings on the cathartic train whistle sound, what a tolling bell really is, Tony Furtado’s softened world view, how bird calls relate to time travel, the fall crow call and other unmitigated harbingers of truth, a world-wide cranial sacral shout out, the importance of self regulation, recalibrating the practice of feeling love, cranking the door open from a closed position, contemplating a day without dreams, rusty windows and favorite lubricants, the dark doo-doo, taking the time to navel gaze - and so much more!

Featuring music from Vermont musicians & friends: Libby Kirkpatrick [Goodbye Venus; Vaulted Heart; Wake Me Up]

Episode July 21, 2017

July 21, 2017 Kristina Stykos

Co-hosts Kristina Stykos and Emily Howe discuss a short-lived entanglement, a middle-aged woman’s waning cuteness, the nuances of falling in ditches, mowing down flowers, the Zen of using scissors on lawn grass, porcupine data points, a possible woodchuck reincarnation event, opening up to the new moon in Leo, when fantasy turns into delusion, projecting onto external objects, seeing the same familiar face again and again, acting “as if”, the relationship between boredom and yawning, calling out the Vermont Agency of Transportation, bridge-repair-frustration as a way of life, the tragic effect of summer road construction on cremee purchases, powdered plastic stuff passed off as food, the continuing saga of hard-to-find tractor parts, why farming is harder than it should be, the truth about who changes light bulbs at Walmart, deconstructing the word “phubbing”, eating dinner sans devices, hankering to be home, moving lumber in a station wagon, mistaking a tint for a color, a movie about the hidden life of protein and other personified chemicals, how human happiness may be tied to gumball machines, an unusual door stop, the ongoing mystery of Butch sneaking things onto airplanes, paranoid plans for flying far in the future, making enough money to take time off, a marriage proposal on the Baltic Sea, how dementia might change your gender orientation, an unfunny case of sexual assault on Grandpa, busting churches for their lack of originality, map dowsing for fun and relaxation, looking for Killington’s town center, locating a baptismal font without GPS, putting the “whine” back in winery, losing your cumberment - and so much more!

Featuring music from Vermont musicians & friends: Will Patton [Bebop in Pastel]; Robert Resnik [Whistle Set]; Spencer Lewis [Change Is].

Episode July 14, 2017

July 14, 2017 Kristina Stykos

Co-hosts Kristina Stykos and Emily Howe discuss la la la, zoning out, full utilization of the grocery list, sardines for cats, chipmunks in the shower stall, old people acting like young people, two reactions to the Burger King crown, the art of selecting your profile pic so that it won’t scare away women, an argument about clowns, the superior aesthetics of miming, a return to our worst syntax habits, further analysis of John’s phone tics, nostalgia for the way things never were, a clarification around the word “master”, what mom found in the bottom drawer, an epic marble scramble, debunking piñata mania, the full story on plum pudding, baby cake and other cake-themed information, how to strike up unlikely friendships with telemarketers, Randy’s life-changing bike ride, what else might reroute your entire life, how the out-of-town neighbors have been introducing Emily to hard liquor, what might be wrong with thinking you’re funny, eating brie standing up, when being busy turns into an unhealthy obsession, discovering the hazards of sleeping in a new clubhouse, why rain gets us off the hook, odd ambiguity around the bridge outage, what not to say to France’s first lady, lack of discipline around sexual projection, the backwards way we look at rape, a hypothetical about the love train, Kristina’s ultimate answer for all queries regarding her musical inspirations, a gift for the shop crew that fell flat, reviewing magazine subscriptions, an atypical Harvard grad, a familial connection to olive oil, Eli’s crush on the French girl in the movie about the chimpanzee scientist, dealing with an upside box of cereal - and so much more!

Featuring music from Vermont musicians & friends: Scott Campbell [Nancy in the Mud Bog]; Bow Thayer and the Perfect Trainwreck [Got My Attention]; Susannah Blachly [All the Colors].

Episode July 7, 2017

July 7, 2017 Kristina Stykos

Co-hosts Kristina Stykos and Emily Howe discuss a stylish accessory, new info on rocks, the secret talents of an elusive mollusk, how to hide things in plain sight, a clever “go-to” for used diapers, highway-induced revelations, connecting with your inner I.Q., making a bridge between hoopla and hoo-ha, how Kristina’s mother accomplished the complete eradication of her English accent, updates on the donkey and the horse, an attempt to unpack humble-bragging, some possible motivations for posting photos to social media, the long road to connecting with yourself, babysitting as a gateway to disliking children, from synchronicity to rhinoplasty in a few easy steps, trash-talking fish, the Sayers-Ellis Syndrome, if any people are really nice, the weight of guilt as a counter balance to karma, the science behind victim-blaming, the complexity of common sounds, the thrill of lingering on a train whistle, full circle from birds to back stabbing and back again, why you might sell your land to an unscrupulous land developer, inspiring others to rip off your ideas, kleenex in the washing machine, tanning with stickers, the challenge of replacing corn-based cereals, discovering Vermont’s hippest food truck, getting a deal on jumper cables, fear of electricity, more confessions of a bad mother, Emily’s sad and painful history with the Van de Graaff generator, the humiliations of schooling, ideas for getting rid of teenage boys, Montana’s recent earthquake and the sheep takeover on Highway 200, needing a helper, a reason to get married again - and so much more!

Featuring music from Vermont musicians & friends: The Highwoods String Band [Bully of the Town]; Bow Thayer and the Perfect Trainwreck [In the Pines]; Turnip Truck [Jesus on the Mainline].

Episode June 30, 2017

June 30, 2017 Kristina Stykos

Co-hosts Kristina Stykos and Emily Howe and special guests Ira and Eli discuss frying pans & fire, the perfection of Tolkien, bees in the rain, a bear sighting or two, more questions about the planet Pluto, what to expect from the God of the Underworld, squaring off with Mars, a truck full of fireworks, dirty children, the ins and outs of putting Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream in your morning coffee, false identification as it relates to salmonella, whether or not to let your kids eat raw cookie dough, maybe not putting live chickens in the fridge, why we’re hungry all the time, tons of other stuff, remembering Billy in the Lowground, following the porta-potty truck into town, mailbox safety, accepting weird people, Ira’s five amazing piggy banks, what makes us poor, lamenting the vet bill, the mysterious “pig pasture in the sky”, posing with sheep including Jim, a “must-see” farm movie, the lava lamp as in-vitro metaphor, deconstructing Emily’s new word “tintillation”, what you get if you cross Bono with Yoko Ono, another irresistible train-high, the power of music to fuel fantasy, putting the boogey into hedgehogs, how feeling better can affect your looks, an unfortunate automobile incident behind the Department of Children and Families, why John did not take the kids to hang the art show, recapping the diaper drive, an update on Vermont’s transfer of radioactive water to Idaho, a possible solution for giant salami spills, how drunk wedding revelers set Emily’s trees on fire, being stuck to Crazy Glue, some chemical combinations to avoid, complications at the Chelsea bridge project, why the cat has been staring at the bushes, how to get some money, the big appetite of Grandpa Avery, a bad end to the whipped cream extravaganza - and so much more!

Featuring music from Vermont musicians & friends: Patrick Ross with Hot Flannel [Gentle on my Mind]; Michele Choiniere [Te Souviendras-tu de Moi?]; Lizzy Mandell [Isaac’s Song].

Episode June 23, 2017

June 23, 2017 Kristina Stykos

Co-hosts Kristina Stykos and Emily Howe discuss the ongoing happenstance of faulty plugs and cable connections in their lives, cows in a warm rain, reinvigorating the myths surrounding Bag Balm, Emily’s fear of thunder and lightning, new uses for the word “donkey”, a trick for cutting glass, the US Treasury’s preparedness for nuclear disaster and the fate of $2 bills, Kristina’s ideal vacation, visiting the parking lot at Harvey’s Lake, a terrible shirt analysis, contemplating what makes a piece of clothing look dated, a band called Farm Dogs, way more than you ever wanted to know about horizontal stripes, a refusal to look slimmer, carpenters’ butts, the end of electric guitar domination, a very communicative ferret video, a revelation about your soul, more on bad fashion choices and a possible connection to the state of Iowa, whether or not to talk about periods on the radio, the hey-day of television advertising, lesbians’ ratings of 75 Ken dolls, making sure not to cheat, a misconception about goats and sheep, eating well thanks to farmers, unpacking the functionality of the hurdy gurdy, a strange brush with Ricky Skaggs, what chocolate chips are for and what they’re not for, the short-comings of straws, the emptiness of words, where the English language comes up short, channeling previously unknown skills, the swinging doors of consciousness, talking in a natural way, the trouble with eye contact, getting free gifts at the car repair, key chains, tiny flashlights and refrigerator magnets - and so much more!

Featuring music from Vermont musicians & friends: Kristina Stykos [By the Minute]; Twist of the Wrist [Poor Old Horse]; Kristina Stykos [Tundra].

Episode June 16, 2017

June 16, 2017 Kristina Stykos

Co-hosts Kristina Stykos and Emily Howe along with her kids Eli and Ira discuss the day’s studio abnormalities, the comfort of night rain, the challenges of maintaining farm machinery, errant tractor parts & the old fixer, the timely arrival of draft horses, more on weed whacking with scissors and a bread knife, the mysterious location of West Barnet VT, counting round barns, why we say “banging a right”, the relationship between heading for the hills & cell phone reception, a rule-of-thumb involving guys in pickup trucks, sliding kids out of bed by the feet, revisiting one of Butch’s unique methods for dealing with sleepy children, avoiding browser tracking, the hazards of girly stuff like bobby pins and miniature umbrellas, homage to the oldest pair of Carhartts, John’s conversion to Arborwear pants, plotting work-arounds for the ten-day bridge repair project, late for fencing class again, the finer psychological points of pressing flowers, unpacking the orange Land Rover in the parking lot, the depressing saga of Smith & Hawken’s corporate takeover x2, being sandwiched between Ben and Jerry, getting familiar with the animals on your road, why one golden retriever is just like any other golden retriever, highlights from the last-day-of-school picnic, Vermont diversity thanks to costumes, a tradition of Conservation Camp, asking your adult children to follow you on Spotify, questioning the time and place for cancer jokes, distraction nation, being forced to claim yourself as yourself for commercial purposes, a person no matter how small, being the shortest in the class, a septic alarm debacle at the museum, wrecking the day, a choice of being beaten or neglected, sibling rivalry revisited, a tic-tac-toe losing streak - and so much more!

Featuring music from Vermont musicians & friends: Don’t Call Betty [Carbon Neutral]; Bow Thayer and the Holy Plow [Way of the Gun]; Kristina Stykos [Forgiveness].

Episode June 9, 2017

June 9, 2017 Kristina Stykos

Co-hosts Kristina Stykos and Emily Howe discuss when babies cry and when they do not, the deeper meaning of retrograde, where mythology and astrology connect, the ridiculousness of a world on steroids, learning to cope with the first amendment, how to make a good segue, another event tent on the green, an overly elaborate salad description that goes on and on, taking the pepperoni out of vegetarianism, gravitating towards good habits, a tussle over cat throw-up, the host of baffling relationship issues that come along with using tech support, a nice but useless guy named Rhys, struggling to crack the login code when things aren’t working, unequal relationship dynamics at the restaurant, pretending to listen to “the specials”, new ideas for how to order food, fantasizing about self-serving at the automat on a rainy day, the ecstasies of metaphorical travel, dealing with rubber boots all the time, a sheep give-a-way, the how and whys of free roosters, whacking chicken meat, a new hipster butcher shop in Montpelier, a really hard spelling word, the pros and cons of adults not having to go to school, eschewing the deli counter at the supermarket, a unique gift certificate for falconry, midnight telemarketing calls from China, donkeys out again, trying to match-make Studly and Uncle Roger’s draft horse, single pets, whether to pick lice over bedbugs, when you can call something a mountain, confusion over the definition of a hill - and so much more!

Featuring music from Vermont musicians & friends: Jonathan Falby & Zac Johnson [Good Folks Behind You]; Kristina Stykos [Love the Distance]; Chris Kleeman & Malkum Gibson [Big City Rag].

Episode June 2, 2017

June 2, 2017 Kristina Stykos

Co-hosts Kristina Stykos and Emily Howe discuss a failed photo op, feeling bad about looking like a pig, marginalizing other species, more on wearing costumes, turning the corner on aging, the wrong kind of compliment, losing our cuteness, the potential advantages of having your molars removed, crying until you choke, a tendency to put people in metaphorical closets, the new trend of weighted blankets, a look at paint thinner in children’s cereal, searching for one sane person among many Trump family members, monkey brains, how the world views not wearing socks, nostalgia for the old fashioned shoe store, some catch phrases to promote our show sponsors, the nuances of “calving”, free couches on Route 110, new furniture trends in Toronto, a dearth of hangovers, a timely visit from the pig farmers, a contemplation on our origins, tweaking the train emotion, bringing back the land bridges, a fantasy about driving to Europe and beyond, one person’s reason for snubbing the equator, “bury me in my Carhartts”, how astrology affects table manners, the challenges of transitioning from May to June, when summer warped time, decision-making in ticks, a comparison of fundraising websites, the vanishing middle class, the pros and cons of feeling excluded, playing it cool, loving the things that you make, a good kind of narcissism, experiencing rejection at the thrift store, the trouble with typing - and so much more!

Featuring music from Vermont musicians & friends: The Cousins Project [Jealous Girl]; Doug Perkins and Patrick Ross [Fiddle Tune Medley]; The Highwoods String Band [Roll on Buddy]

Episode May 26, 2017

May 26, 2017 Kristina Stykos

Co-hosts Kristina Stykos and Emily Howe discuss owning a new trucker hat, being cool when no one is there to see it, whether or not photo-shopping is “real”, reconstituting life, locating a bad mouse smell, eschewing flim-flammery, embracing The Grease Collective, more on cheese, unpacking the relationship between the dinner-making ritual and drinking wine, a peaceful end to the old stove, analyzing a photo of two electricians for sexual content, Gordy’s “little houses”, the mystery of the Port-o-let, deep intelligence, a tip about dogs & this year’s “Strolling of the Heifers”, forcing cows to do things they might not want to do, speed dating for entrepreneurs, celebrating the washing away of pig manure, gut reactions to different types of photos on Facebook, declarations of royal connection, the selfie-cleavage algorithm, using Pluto Square to Venus as an opportunity for personal growth, more on the contradictions of parenting, a case of local tree stump art, a visit to the baby’s dentist, tipping service providers at weddings, bumping into Frank Keene at Will’s Store & his retirement woes, looking forward to dying in a pasture, no-shows at the school dance performance, passing off the wrong zip drive, the domino effect of one person’s lateness, the difficulty of saying something twice, sharing photographs of your occupation, why to avoid using the word “rant”, being genuinely happy vs. showing off your happiness on social media - and so much more!

Featuring music from Vermont musicians & friends: Wagtail [Wagtail/Daphne’s Ramble/Meadowdance]; Doug Anderson [Dance Floor]; Rick Ceballos [Shifting Sands]

Episode May 19, 2017

May 19, 2017 Kristina Stykos

Co-hosts Kristina Stykos and Emily Howe discuss trying to make it up to Joni, a missing conniption fit, tips on how to screw up an introduction, confessions of a former bookworm, distinguishing between sneaker monograms, the sly truth of turtlenecks hung on hangers, taking Mom to a new cafeteria & other adventures at the elders facility, throwing on spandex, the practice of using non-edible ingredients in school lunches, becoming a new person in less than a month, a failed effort to shoot lightning, more ridiculous aging issues from the 40-something set, mean children taking aim at Emily’s pooch, the futility of closing Google ads, thinking positively about ticks, a disastrous spelling challenge, the problem with trying to see God, plastic bike noise, the end of the hobo days, grappling with the concept of nature’s wrath, the freedom of saying stupid things, casting a generic safety net, defining a yawning problem, the comforting sound of the dishwasher, imagining a world without snacks, avoiding worn out nick names, what the dog brought to the school picnic, John’s childhood of forced farm labor, a lengthy review of the show’s sponsors and our feelings towards them, embracing germs as an immune booster, not loving other people’s children, gardening advice with a unique recommendation concerning goutweed, barn chores vs. flower gardening, a new solution for invasive plants including Pandas, misunderstanding the autonomy of Alaska and Puerto Rico, the rightness of coffee for certain personality types, going on the deep web with TORS - and so much more!

Featuring music from Vermont musicians & friends: Mark Struhsacker [Light in the Window]; Wagtail [One Clear Moment]; Julie James [Going Home]

Show Notes