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 …

We’re in the dog days of summer here in Mahoosuc Mills. Sure, we’ve had our share of hot, sticky days and some wicked thunder boomers, but I don’t mind all that much. Because you know what? For every one of those scorchers, we have two or three perfect summer days. Charlie calls those “a bluebird of a day.” And when we get one, I’m savoring every minute of it. Charlie and me have been eating dinner on the deck most every night, looking out into the back yard, watching the birds and our chubby groundhog who lives under the shed. Between bites, one of us always seems to say, “We’re pretty lucky, you know that?” …

Charlie went Home Depot last week, and wrote a poem about it.  Cute Cashier Cute cashier in the check-out line Perky as heck at the start of her shift Perky’s contagious, you catch my drift? A good day, I’d say she’s begun it If she’d asked me to stand on my head, I’d have done it Or tried, anyway It wouldn’t be pretty I might have more luck If I sung her a ditty But people behind me Don’t need a song They need me to pay her And just move along Cute cashier in the check-out line Perky and cute, that’s a real gift Gives an ol’ bugger like this one a lift A …

This week, I got to see my dad in person for the first time in over a hundred days. Now that was a big deal. Luckily, they haven’t had any Covid-19 cases at Mahoosuc Green, our senior living facility. They’ve been smart about it and shut the place down early. Even packages of homemade goodies weren’t allowed. Still aren’t. And yes, I’d had a few window visits with dad, but those just made me more lonesome. Him, too, I think. I had to cat burgle myself through the shrubs to dad’s window and put my hands up to the glass so I could see him better. We weren’t allowed to open the window, of course, …

Was the Fourth of July weird for you this year? It was for us up here in Mahoosuc Mills, with no parade or fireworks. But we celebrated anyways up to Dot and Tommy’s camp. It was a great solution to the physical distancing thing. It’s easy to spread out up there. It was the usual suspects: Celeste and Bud, Rita and Smitty, Betty and Pat, Dot and Tommy (of course), Shirley and Junior, and me and Charlie. We were smart about it, and followed the game plan us girls come up with. We all took our temperatures before we went. BYOB. There was hand sanitizer on the food table. When you got near the food …

Yes, you read that right. I’m referring to Patsy down to Hair Affair. Was I ever singing hosannas the day she finally opened back up, let me tell you! Getting my hair cut and styled made me feel like myself again. Let’s just say, for me anyways, Patsy had some damage control to do. See, I’d attempted cutting my own hair while watching a tutorial on YouTube, but it wasn’t near as easy as the gal made it out to be. Or maybe I was just distracted by her lips. It looked like she’d been stung by a bee, but I think it was the kind of thing she paid money for. Yikes! I’d touched …

Maine has been slowly opening back up, with some folks cautiously returning to work and doing the “physically distancing socializing” routine. That’s a mouthful, for sure, so we just say “Maine Rules” for short. For example, “Party on my deck, Maine Rules.” That means we’ll be staying six feet apart which is easy for a Mainer. “BYOS” meaning bring your own stuff. We’ll provide the PP and SW (paper products and sanitizer wipes). See? Much simpler. Then there are some idiots who insist on partying like it’s 2019. The “19’ers,” me and my friends call ‘em. “19” referring not to the year or the virus, but to their approximate IQ. I’d like to say what …

Charlie and me have a nice rhubarb patch in our yard. My mother give us some as a house warming present. Every summer, I make one, maybe two strawberry-rhubarb pies. I intend to do more with my rhubarb, but time gets away from me and all of a sudden it’s too late. I’d cut some and give it to friends, but most everyone I know up here has their own patch of rhubarb, and those who don’t, usually aren’t real partial to the stuff. Personally, I love it! Rhubarb reminds me of when I was little. Sure, we had rhubarb pies in season, but we also always had rhubarb sauce on hand. I guess nowadays …