Woodstock Elementary/Middle
Everyday: Fruit. Monday: Chicken patties on buns. Tuesday: Bosco Stix, marinara sauce. Wednesday: Chicken nuggets, brown rice, black beans. Thursday: Hamburger, gravy, mashed potatoes, corn, fruit. Friday: Pizza, zucchini, fruit.
Putnam Elementary/Middle
Monday: Macaroni and cheese, chicken tenders, broccoli, fruit. Tuesday - Breakfast for Lunch: French toast sticks, scrambled eggs, hash browns. Wednesday: Chicken sandwiches on rolls, carrots, fruit. Thursday: Fiesta Nachos, corn. Friday: Stuffed-crust pizza, Caesar salad, fruit.
Putnam High
Monday: Rodeo BBQ Rib sandwiches or spicy chicken sandwiches. Tuesday: Chicken burrito power bowl or bacon cheeseburgers. Wednesday: Clipper burgers or three-cheese quesadilla. Thursday: Nachos Grande or calzone pizza boli. Friday: Big Daddy Pizza or mozzarella sticks.
Pomfret Community
Everyday: Fresh fruits and veggies and Alt. Sunbutter & Jelly. Monday: Chicken salad. Tuesday: Tex Mex Rice Bowl. Wednesday: Cheeseburgers. Thursday: Turkey and cheese sandwiches. Friday: Pizza.

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The holidays are here and, unlike 2020, there will be opportunities for families to gather all together to celebrate.  And because these holiday celebrations have been delayed a year, people will, no doubt, have even higher expectations for achieving and experiencing “Hallmark Movie Magic” moments.
I will offer that as much as I enjoy watching these G-rated, abundantly decorated, and happy depictions of family gatherings, typical holiday celebrations are usually more akin to Christmas Vacation wherein the Mom Character quotes one of my favorite holiday lines “It’s Christmas and we’re all in misery!” Although I cannot say that spending time with my family is misery, trying to satisfy the needs of everyone in a large, opinionated family, is not for the faint of heart …
You begin decorating early so that you can have time to shop and place beautifully wrapped packages under the tree, but of course, then someone will, no doubt, riffle through these presents and notice that you bought something for Uncle So And So and remark that they didn’t get the ‘gift list exchange memo’ and now, rather than looking unthoughtful and cheap, needs to go out and buy some silly gift…
You also plan the perfect meal, perhaps attempting to cook a turducken (stuffed chicken breast stuffed into a duck which is then stuffed into a turkey breast), but you can’t find plain duck breast and so you buy the whole thing and debone it yourself, watching a You-tube video and spending about 3 hours and twice as many Band-Aids in achieving your goal. And when you present your masterpiece to the table, Aunt So and So comments that the chicken tastes dry, little Cindy-Loo ‘doesn’t eat anything with bread in it and Cousin It prefers red meat and didn’t I cook a steak somewhere?
In the end, no one really cares if my strands of lights all match because they only notice the one bulb on the tree outside that isn’t lit.  No one cares if I purchased fresh coffee beans made from an organic and self-sustaining farm in the doldrums of the Amazon because really, they just want decaf as caffeine after 2 p.m. will give them ‘the jitters all night and where is the regular milk and ‘none of that fufu coffee creamer stuff?’… It doesn’t matter how hard we try to replicate an unattainable experience, we cannot. In the end, it is easier to be real.
Holiday stress comes in all shapes and sizes.  And since we can’t eliminate these stressors, we need to eliminate the stress we impose on ourselves in trying to attain these unrealistic moments by staying real and just letting them happen naturally.
Remember, we tend to give more meaning to the moments when something went wrong rather than when it went right. And when you are feeling down because you are lonely on the holiday, maybe…pop a TV dinner in the microwave, put on your favorite movie and enjoy the peace and quiet...
Wink! Wink!
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!

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Sweeten Your Shopping Trip!
PUTNAM — The Putnam Business Association has this knack — coming up with fun, creative ways to tickle shoppers’ taste buds.
This Holiday Season is no different. What’s better than cookies and special drinks?
The first annual Cookie Crawl is set for Saturday, December 4.
After you’ve signed up, you can stop by any three participating businesses and sample their Cookie Crawl specials.
If that sounds like fun, sign up online at:
https://pbadiscoverputnam.wufoo.com/forms/cookie-crawl-tickets
For $25 you can go to three of the places listed below for a special cookie and drink. And go to the Putnam Business Association’s FB page for updates right up until Dec. 4.
Please go to the Putnam Business Association FB page or Discover Putnam for more updates.
Chubby Dog Coffee Co.
9 to noon.
Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie. “Chubby Santa” Christmas Blend Coffee.
(164 Main St.)
Bill’s Bread and Breakfast
8 a.m. to noon
Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie. Large coffee.
(149 Providence St.)
Bear Hands Brewery
noon to 5 p.m.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout and Peanut Butter Cookies.
85 Main
“We’re working on something very special.”
(85 Main St.)
Courthouse Bar and Grille
Noon to 5 p.m.
Gingerbread Cookie. Gingerbread Martini
(121 Main St.)
Renee’s Bistro & Catering Service
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Caramel Cookie Bar. Zero Proof Hot Buttered “Rum”
(142 School St.)
Little Falls Nutrition
9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
A Small Cookie Dough Shake, A Winger Hydration Tea.
(6 Pomfret St.)