Despite everything, me and the Women Who Run With the Moose are still doing our girls night once a week. Hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right? We used to call it “Girls Night Out.” Now we refer to it as our “Girls Night Outside.” We get together on assorted decks, patios, screened in porches and the like. Truth be told, our social distancing has become a little lax, but there’s still sanitizer on the potluck table, and we mask up when we’re serving ourselves. You can find ways to have fun and still be careful, right? Like last Thursday, we got together over to Shirley’s place. She has this nice, big deck, …

The poet laureate of Mahoosuc Mills strikes again, and who could blame him. If Shakespeare had had the pleasure of partaking in one of Babes homemade, fresh from the oven, maple glazed donuts, I’m sure he’d have written a sonnet about it. Thankfully, Charlie stepped in to fill the gap. Here’s his latest. Maple Glazed Doughnut Down to the mill, If you punch in early, ‘Round about ten Your stomach gets squirrel-ly Someone’s elected To go, make it hasty And bring us all back Some coffee and pastry Muffins, of course, Are a popular pick And danish are usually Polished off quick The guys all have favorites They never outgrow, For me, it’s the Maple …

Just because we’re in the midst of a global pandemic, that don’t mean we have to let personal hygiene fly out the window. Come on, people! I have seen some sights down to the A&P, let me tell you! In March and April, maybe into May, it was kinda okay, because salons and barber shops weren’t open and we were making the best of the situation. Many of us got to experience the joy of finding out just how much gray hair we actually have. God knows, I hadn’t seen the true color of my hair in years. Ooh, wee! That was an eye-opener. Men let there hair grow too, of course. On a few, …

Where has summer gone? I mean, we’re a third of the way through August! I’m already dreading the arrival of hearty mums down to the A&P which should be in a week or so. Mums in September are a nice burst of color. In August, they make me feel the same way I do when I see Christmas decorations in October: it’s unnatural and unsettling. Anyhoo, be here now, right? Enjoy summer to the fullest. Drink in the smell of summer sweet and fresh mown grass. Feast on the color all ‘round: rose mallow, black-eyed Susans, rose of Sharon. Enjoy time outside with friends. Grill meat, eat corn on the cob and watermelon, figure out …

Well, we made it through our heat wave here in Mahoosuc Mills. Gosh, what a scorcher! There’s always at least one of those per summer. The temps are back to normal, now, which is a relief! Like I said last week, I don’t mind a hot day now and then, but four in a row? That can really wear you down. I mean, when the top of my favorite lipstick breaks off because it’s melted, that’s where I draw the line! I admit, I got kind of cranky, which isn’t like me. But if I heard one more sweaty person down to the A&P say, “Hot enough for ya?,” the top of my head was …