New Feature — HR's Favorite Things

This month we are featuring a new column entitled, “HR’s Favorite Things.” The newsletter team asks HR colleagues to share their favorite interests or hobbies. By sharing their favorite things, the Human Resources staff not only get to know their colleagues better but can also make some fun discoveries of their own. What are your faves? Please email us to add your favorite thing to the list!

2023 Favorites:

Favorite holiday movies, recommended by Carol Kovaleski

Everyone has their own list of movies they watch every holiday season. Be sure to add Carol’s faves to your rotation this year:

• “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” – This 1987 comedy starring Steve Martin and John Candy follows a Chicago advertising man’s struggle to travel home from New York for Thanksgiving, with a lovable oaf of a shower-curtain-ring salesman as his only companion.
• “Home Alone” – This one seems to be on TV on repeat each holiday, but in case you missed it, it’s about little Macaulay Culkin who is mistakenly left home alone while his family goes on vacation and must defend his home against a pair of burglars on Christmas Eve.
• “Home for the Holidays” – Enjoy some dysfunctional family fun! After losing her job, making out with her soon-to-be former boss, and finding out that her daughter plans to spend Thanksgiving with her boyfriend, Claudia Larson (Holly Hunter) faces spending the holiday with her family.

2022 Favorites:

Binge-worthy shows for fall, recommended by Janice Frank

There’s nothing like curling up with your favorite cast of characters at the end of the day. This fall, there are many new and returning shows to watch. Here are a few I’m looking forward to:

• “House of the Dragon” (HBO) – A prequel series to “Game of Thrones,” this new show premiered on August 21, and I’ve been watching every Sunday to learn about the Targaryen family. Dragons, magic, and fighting for the Iron Throne—this one has all the elements that made the first show so popular (fingers crossed this one has a better ending).
• “Abbott Elementary” (ABC) – I recently binged all of Season 1 just in time for Season 2, which starts September 21. This is a hilarious, Emmy-winning, new show shot in a mockumentary format similar to “The Office.” If you know anyone who works in the public school system, you can share some laughs about this comedy.
• “Hell’s Kitchen” (FOX) – If you’re a Gordon Ramsay fan like I am, you’ll definitely have room for seconds coming off the heels of “MasterChef” Season 12, which just crowned its latest champion on September 14. This competition show is a bit zanier than its prestigious “MasterChef” sibling but is equally entertaining for foodies and those who enjoy watching kitchen drama. It starts on September 29.
• “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+) – Is it ever coming back? We’ve been told the third and final season will return fall of 2022, but no release date has been announced. I miss Coach Lasso’s eternal optimism, Roy’s annoyed grumblings, Keeley’s sugary sweetness, and Rebecca’s “Iron Lady” attitude. It’s such a feel-good kind of show you will quickly binge-watch the first two seasons. By the time you’re done, it may be here! #BELIEVE
• “The Crown” (Netflix) – Last but certainly not least, this epic series is the real-life “Game of Thrones” (without the dragons, naturally). One of my favorites, I’ve been waiting for Season 5 for nearly two years.  It’s slated to release in November, but no official date has been announced. (There may be a delay in honor of the Queen’s passing.) As an Anglophile myself, I thoroughly enjoy this reimagining of British history

BONUS: “Hocus Pocus 2” (Disney+) – While it’s a movie and not a series, I thought it would still be fun to share in the excitement for those who are already sipping their pumpkin spice lattes and shopping for Halloween costumes. On September 30, this fun and spooky sequel brings back the original Sanderson sisters: Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker. It’ll be campy, but so are pumpkin spice lattes—and we love those.

Letterboxing, recommended by Kim Massores

My family and I enjoy hiking, but we like to take it a step further and incorporate letterboxing. We started letterboxing about ten years ago; it is hiking but also requires the hikers to follow clues to find a hidden rubber stamp. The clues and locations are found on the letterboxing website, and the degree of difficulty varies. Our favorite hike/hunt to date was in 2013 at Black Rock State Park in Thomaston, Connecticut. It was a six-stamp series hunt, and we found four of the six. The rubber stamps are usually hand-carved and placed in a waterproof package, discreetly hidden without disturbing the earth, and they often tell a little story or have a theme.

When our family goes letterboxing, we carry a rubber stamp, ink pad, notebook, and pencil, so when lucky enough to find one of these hidden treasures, we use our stamp to leave our mark in the hidden notebook. Then we use the stamp we found to mark our notebook before replanting it exactly how we found it.

I usually jot a note about who we were with or something funny that happened during our hike. My kids look back at their notebooks and fondly remember finding the stamps from years past. Letterboxing is a popular hobby and the website features clues in every state. In fact, we have letterboxed while on vacation as well.

Letterboxing was a way to help me find new trails but also added some excitement for my young kids, which kept them interested in the hike and provided a sense of triumph when we would find the hidden stamp. We were just talking about trying another one: our next adventure may be in Oxford, Orange, or Seymour. Happy hiking!