Author Archives: Susanna J. Sturgis

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About Susanna J. Sturgis

Susanna edits for a living and writes to survive. Having been preoccupied with electoral politics since 2016, she is now getting back to writing -- and she's got plenty to write about. Her blog "The T-Shirt Chronicles," started at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, is a meandering memoir based on her out-of-control T-shirt collection. Her other blogs include "From the Seasonally Occupied Territories," about being a year-round resident of Martha's Vineyard, and "Write Through It," about writing, editing, and how to keep going.

Henri, Meet Uncle Bob

As I write, we’re on the fringes of Tropical Storm Henri. The wind is blowing, there’s been some rain, but so far, so good. The electricity flickered a couple of times before 7 but I went ahead and made the … Continue reading

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Tam Gets Bit by a Fence

The late Rhodry and Travvy both spent time around horse barns so they learned about electric fences early on. Rhodry in particular didn’t even trust rope lying on the ground: if he couldn’t detour around it, he’d clear it by … Continue reading

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Evening Walk

So Tuesday night Tam Lin and I are approaching the worst stretch of the Dr. Fisher Road. It’s not quite pitch-dark but close. Up ahead are red brake lights. They aren’t moving. This is unusual. When we come up next … Continue reading

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July License Plate Report

Three western states showed up in July — a pretty good catch. New Mexico got in just under the wire: I spotted it at up-island Cronig’s yesterday. Earlier in the month, Nevada was just leaving downtown Vineyard Haven as I … Continue reading

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I’m Not Jogging

I hate jogging. Don’t even talk about running. I do love to walk. I walk a lot. I walk about four miles on an average day. (Read on and you’ll learn how I know this.) Some people walk because they … Continue reading

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Privacy? Muwahahaha . . .

The other day I came across a clever aphorism so of course I did it up pretty and posted it on my Facebook timeline as “Quote of the Day: “Dance like nobody’s watching. Email like it may one day be … Continue reading

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Laundry Musings

I don’t need a calendar to tell me what season it is. My laundry line makes it clear. Guess what? It’s summer! Saturday’s laundry line included lots of T-shirts and no long pants. What prompted this particular laundry day wasn’t … Continue reading

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Bread Baking in Summer

Hot, humid weather — which is to say “summer” — can be challenging for a bread baker. This bread baker uses sourdough almost exclusively. Most of the year, my loaves rise in a leisurely fashion. In winter they rise so … Continue reading

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Happy Fifth of July

In 1852, Frederick Douglass declined to address a Fourth of July celebration. On July 5th he explained why, in one of the greatest speeches of all time: “What to the Slave Is Your Fourth of July?” That speech sparked a … Continue reading

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Flunking Inspection

In Massachusetts, non-commercial motor vehicles get inspected once a year. When I learned to drive, in the mid/late 1960s, it was twice, spring and fall. Now it’s once, and the year is, sensibly enough, broken into months; probably some effort … Continue reading

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