Ran into Jeanie Anderson at a yard sale over the weekend, and was reminded of an incident that happened a few years back when Charlie and me were having our yard sale. It was a beautiful day for it, too, sunny with low humidity. The early birds had already come and gone, and I’d just finished chatting with Claire Lambert, when who do I see walking up to our yard, but Jeanie. My heart literally skipped a beat. See, I thought Jeanie was going to be in Dexter that weekend, visiting her grandkids. That’s what she told me, anyways, the last time I saw her. And because I knew she wasn’t gonna to be around, …

One of the best things about getting older, is you got nothing to prove. Once you realize that, it frees up a lot of time and energy. You’re no longer worrying about what folks think or going to events you don’t really care about. You get better at saying, “Oh, I’m sorry. I already have plans that night.” You don’t need to tell them that those plans are with yourself. If you’re Charlie, having nothing to prove means knowing when to take a break when he’s doing something in the yard or hiring a professional to do it right the first time. It’s not easy to admit that you just can’t do what you used …

The longer I’m married, the more I realized that sometimes, men and women have completely different ways of looking at things. Like a few years ago, out of the blue, Charlie says to me, “Ida, you know what we need?” “A complete kitchen make-over?”  “Smaller.”  “Hmm, I don’t know. A set of Fiesta ware?”  “No, a boot brush?” “A boot brush?” “You know, put it by the door? Has a brush on top? You wipe your boots on it before coming into the house.” “Oh, I’ve seen those. You mean like a little porcupine, with a brush on its back?” “Well, I don’t know about a porcupine. Just your basic boot brush.” “OK, Charlie, I’ll …

I ran into my old friend Joan at the DQ the other day. She was ordering a banana split. “Hey there, Joan,” I says. “What are you celebrating?” (See, I knew it had to be a special occasion. I mean, you don’t order a banana split for nothing, right?) Joan goes, “I just went for a stress test. You know, to check out your heart. Make sure you’re not about to keel over.” “Oh, I’ve never had one of those. We’re you nervous?” “You betcha. Number one, I don’t like to break a sweat. Ever. And B, I’m not what you’d call real athletic.” “I hear you.” “Still, I wanted to ace the test. Mostly …

Every year about this time we seem to get ants in the house. It’s just wouldn’t be spring without them. Once summer goes into full swing, they’re gone, but gosh, they’re a nuisance while they’re here. Ants are just so busy and determined. We usually don’t get a ton of ’em, but this year they’re everywhere. Our regular ant traps were doing nothing, so we brought out the big guns, you know, those liquid ant traps. Put them out Friday evening and Saturday morning it was startling. There were lines of ants coming and going. Kind of gross. Yet, we had a hard looking away. So, me and Charlie are standing there, transfixed. “Do ants …

I had a hankering for some banana bread, is how it started. So I bought three bananas when I did the grocery shopping last week. You need ripe bananas for banana bread, so I set them aside thinking, I’ll make the bread this weekend. I says to Charlie, “I’m saving these bananas for banana bread, OK?” No reply. “Charlie!” I hold up the bananas. “I’m saving these bananas for banana bread.” “Heard you the first time.” “Well, sometimes it’s hard to tell.” “What do you want to me to do? A cartwheel” “No need to get sarcastic. A simple “OK” or “yup” would be sufficient.” Again, nothing. Honest to God! It’s enough to drive a …

When is a bargain a bargain, and when is it a waste of time and money? Case in point:  What a Deal On my way home from the dump I stopped at someone’s sale I smelled a bargain lurking, and This nose, it doesn’t fail I zoomed in on some rubber boots They just jumped out at me The kind you’d wear for hunting ducks, That come up to your knee LaCrosse 800’s what they were And just as good as new They looked about my size, and fully Insulated, too “Are you a ten?” the woman asked Ten is what I wear “Then they should fit you good and snug And keep you dry …

With all that’s going on in the country, on TV, heck our town meeting right here in Mahoosuc Mills was louder and more mean spirited than ever before, it seems like we’ve forgotten some basic things we were taught as a kid. What happened to common courtesy? Good manners were drilled into me by my parents. There’s no getting around it. Not that I’d want to. Being polite is a good thing, and has served me well over the years. It was hard getting the hang of it at first, though. In our house, you had to say “please,” “thank you,” and “you’re welcome.” End of story. There was none of this, “Now what do …

Did you give up something for Lent? That used to be a big deal, didn’t it? I don’t think people do it so much, now. Seems the older I get, the harder it is to come up with something to abstain from during Lent. It’s not that I’m so pure. It’s that I’m so boring. When we were little, my sister Irene and me would give up candy, of course. But in our family there was a loop hole. Sundays during Lent didn’t count. So we’d save up our stash all week, then pig out on the Lord’s day. I remember this one Lenten Sunday in particular. (This is back in the days where you …

Who was it who said, “At fifty, you get the face that you deserve?” I don’t mind the lines around my eyes all that much, or the laugh lines around my mouth. I figure I’ve earned those. But honey, what did I do to deserve this turkey gobbler neck? I believe in the concept of aging gracefully. To me, that means accepting where you’re at, then doing the best you can with what you’ve got. Let’s face it. After a certain age, it’s all about hiding and highlighting. Throw on a colorful scarf, why don’t you, to camouflage that turkey neck. Not everyone is into makeup, but there’s something about putting on a little lipstick …