webster on the web

I decided to put up my house Christmas decorations yesterday. It was about two weeks earlier than I normally decorate every year, but of course this is far from a normal year. I rationalized that now more than ever we need something uplifting in our lives, and looking at Christmas decorations always brightens my heart.

It’s obvious I’m not the only one who’s thinking this way. On our regular walks through the neighborhood, my husband and I are seeing more and more lights and decorations going up. He likened the early displays to the rainbows everyone was chalking on their sidewalks or posting in their windows in the spring. “It helps mark the beginning of the end of this dumpster fire of a year,” was I think the way he put it (although he used a more appropriate term instead of “dumpster fire.”)

I would love to help spread the happiness by highlighting some of the best holiday displays here in my blog. Perhaps it could be the “12 Days of Holiday Happiness” series or something like that.

But to do that, I need your help. If you know of a particularly nice display in your neighborhood, please drop me an email. Or perhaps you’re proud of what you’ve done at your own home. Send me an email! I’ll come out and take a photo, then tell everyone about it.

And don’t forget that the Webster Museum is looking for great holiday photos for their gallery.

They explain on their website,

What brings you joy? Do you dress up your pets? Make your own ornaments or special treats? Decorate your house or yard? Have family traditions? If it makes you happy, it will make others happy too!

Take a photo, then share it with all of Webster in one of two ways. You can email your photo to photos@webstermuseum.org or upload them (on the website).

I sent one in, picturing my family’s unusual tradition of stripping our shoes and socks off and walking barefoot in the snow. If you’re interested in seeing that weirdness, check it out on the museum website.

* * *

email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

Halloween, like life in general this year, is going to look very different.

This awful virus is throwing a monkey wrench into plans to take the kids out trick-or-treating; there are real concerns about maintaining social distancing, staying masked, handling candy that a lot of others have handled … basically all the issues we’ve been living with for the past 7 months.

But of course, if you’re a kid, Halloween ranks up there with Christmas as the best holiday of the entire year. So I’m sure there are going to be a lot of trick-or-treaters out there Saturday, hand-in-hand with parents who’ll be making sure they stay safe and healthy.

I also know there will be a lot of homeowners ready to welcome them. Some have come with very creative candy-delivery systems to help make the whole experience safer.

Like this downspout-turned-candy-chute created by my friend David Peter:

I’m not quite that clever. But I will be taking advantage of Saturday evening’s not-necessary-warm-but-also-not-raining weather to sit outside in my driveway to welcome any trick-or-treaters who decide to come out.

I’ve been looking forward to this night for a whole year. Last year, my first one in our new village home, I felt like I really got cheated. We were told to expect several hundred visitors, and that often homeowners would set up tents and fire pits outside to hand out candy. So I was prepared with both the candy and the fire pit.

But as you may recall, the weather last year was awful: rainy, cold and very windy. So we retreated to our enclosed front porch, which was OK, but was not the village Halloween experience we’d been promised.

This year we’re looking forward to trying again.

I certainly understand if you’ve decided to do something else for Halloween in lieu of trick-or-treating. But anyone who comes down Fuller Ave. will be welcomed at our fire pit, and invited to take a few pieces of candy off the table we’ll set up at an appropriate social distance.

* * *

email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

There’s a group of folks in our school district who are hyper-focused on keeping our kids safe and substance-free.

They’re called WHEN, the Webster Health and Education Network, and they’re a team of Webster community members including businesses, parents, teachers, law enforcement and healthcare providers who have come together to educate our community about substance abuse.

I recently got a press release from WHEN announcing their newly redesigned website and suggesting some important signs parents should watch for in these COVID-19 days. I wanted to pass some of that information along today.

Here’s some of what that release said:

WHEN:DFCC, Webster Health and Education Network: A Drug Free Community Coalition, has launched a new, more robust website to further their efforts to “Empower Webster kids to grow up strong and substance-free.” The website features prevention information and current activities, along with opportunities for community members to get involved.

There are several COVID-19-related factors WHEN:DFCC would like to make Webster families aware of as kids return to school this month:

COVID-19 is associated with youth use of e-cigarettes. Encourage kids to quit and not to share Juuls, vape pens or cigarettes with others.

Be aware of the poisoning hazard that both liquid nicotine and hand sanitizer can present, and store these away from children and pets.

COVID-19 has raised levels of stress and anxiety for many, which can prompt negative coping strategies like misuse of prescription drugs, drinking, or smoking/vaping. Encourage positive coping strategies instead.

Mental health resources are available to those struggling to cope, or experiencing distress or depression. Please call the NY COVID-19 Emotional Support Hotline for free emotional support, consultations and referrals: 1-844-863-9314.

One of the best ways to protect your children is to make sure that all of your medications and alcohol are secured, and unused medications promptly and properly disposed of. WHEN:DFCC has made free drug disposal bags and medication lock boxes available to Webster residents while supplies last. You can pick them up at the Webster Chamber of Commerce at 1110 Crosspointe Lane Suite C, Webster during their regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. And remember that there’s a pharmaceutical waste drop-box at Town Hall, just inside the doors to the police department. 

* * *

email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

I wanted to send a quick shout-out and thank you this morning to Jake Swingley, Webster’s Supervisor of Public Works, and his crew for making our village look beautiful these days.

I took a moment on my recent walk to really notice all of the flowers and growing things that line our downtown streets. When those big planters were originally introduced, I admit I was skeptical about how nice they would look, but have been pleasantly surprised by how lush and beautiful they are every year. The flower beds are bursting with color, and the hanging baskets are so artistically overflowing that I want to take one home — but I think it would be missed.

Maintaining all of these plantings takes a lot of time and effort; for example, I often notice the watering guy puttering around town in his golf cart in the morning when I walk, diligently poking a watering wand up into each and every planter.

If you haven’t been in the village recently, or just haven’t taken a moment to look around, make a point to do so soon, and really try to notice the beauty all around you.

* * *

email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

Friday marked the 19th anniversary of the awful events of Sept. 11, 2001, the day when the world changed forever.

On that day, 2,977 people lost their lives, including 412 first responders. Among them were 343 firefighters from the New York City Fire Department.

Every year since that awful day, the Village of Webster has held a remembrance ceremony on Sept. 11 at Veterans Memorial Park. But like pretty much everything these days, that ceremony was canceled this year. But there was no way that Chief Robert Boutillier was going to let the occasion pass unnoticed.

So he organized a small event of his own, asking all of his WVFD firefighters to gather at the Enderlin Station on South Ave. last night for a short ceremony.

The occasion was not about “pats on the back, speeches, etc.,” he said. “It’s about the sacrifice that was made responding to an alarm as we do each and every day.”

The Chief reiterated those thoughts last night at the station. It was “appropriate and necessary” that we continue to recognize the sacrifice those 343 firefighters made that day.

“We’re not here for speeches or to look sharp in our class A (uniform)s,” or “for people to say ‘thank you for your service,'” he said. They gathered simply to honor those who lost their lives and to offer a moment of silence in respect.

The event was not widely advertised, so only a handful of community members attended. But the fact there were no large crowds did not minimize the evening’s significance. It was just an opportunity for our local firefighting brothers and sisters to honor their own: dedicated New York City firefighters who went to work that morning. not knowing they would not make it home that night.

* * *

email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.