It’s that time of year again where squirrels and drivers do si do. You have to keep an eagle eye out because an excited squirrel and a distracted driver is not a good combo. Not for the squirrel, certainly, but not you, either. Remember back in 2018 (I looked it up) where it was crazy how many dead squirrels were on the road? I guess there was a bumper crop of acorns the year before, so there were more little squirrels that year. All the young squirrels were leaving the nest about the same time, and apparently they weren’t taught to look both ways before crossing the road. This year’s squirrel population seems about normal, …
The summer holidays are here, and you know what that means, don’t you? Men down to Mikey’s Meat Market buying meat. I was in there on Saturday getting some pork chops for supper, and it was a friggin’ mad house. Now, you don’t get this for your winter holidays. Thanksgiving, Christmas, even Easter, I go into the meat market and it’s mostly exhausted women trying to do higher math. You know, if we’ve got 14 people coming for dinner, how big’s the turkey got to be? Or if the rump roast weighs such and such, how long should I cook it and at what temperature? Man, they don’t ask questions like that on the SAT’s! Your …
The other day, I noticed I had a missed call on my iphone from my sister Irene. So, I unlock the phone, see if she left a message, when I accidentally facetime her. Oops! I hang up before she answers because it’s first thing in the morning, and frankly, I’m not exactly looking my best. You know those movies where the woman wakes up all tousled and sexy? She rolls over and looks at the guy next to her. “Hi,” he says and flashes that killer grin. And she smiles back and murmurs, “Hi.” Not high on the scale of witty comebacks, but he seems to like it because guess who’s late for work that …
My birthday was last week, though to be honest I celebrate all month. I always take the day off from work and do what I want to do. That includes bacon for breakfast and going out of supper (which we could actually do this year) with popcorn, candy, and binge watching something in between. Throw in a sunshine-y walk with Scamp and a little cuddling with my guys, and it’s a perfect day. As if that wasn’t enough, the best thing happened on Saturday. I got together with the Women Who Run With the Moose: inside with hugs. Yes! We’re all fully vaccinated! So we had a birthday party, not just for me, but for …
The day morning, I was walking Scamp. We’d had rain the night before, but the morning was crisp and bright, about 50 degrees out. We’re strolling around a little neighborhood nearby, and Scamp is sniffing things more than usual. A rain like that really brings out the smells, doesn’t it? Even I’m grooving on it, the grass, the flowers. Coming towards us is a mom with her two sons, probably about 8 and 10. She’s doing some sort of season averaging with her clothing. She has on this polar fleece pullover and a down vest and cropped leggings and flip flops. Winter + Summer = Spring, right? Meanwhile, I’m in LL Bean pants with a …
Have you had these weird thick, white rain events? (I refuse to call it snow.) They’ve stopped now, I hope. But I got caught in one a couple weeks ago. I was driving to see dad and all of a sudden, I’m in a white, whirling mess and can hardly see. Only lasted about two minutes. Still, it left me feeling strange and unsettled. I hate seeing white stuff on the daffodils and forsythia. ‘Course it’s spring in Maine. Anything can happen. Spring, winter, spring all in one day (or even one hour) is par for the course. Happened to Charlie last week while he was walking Scamp. Snow Squall Snow squall bearing down on …
“Do ants sleep?” I wondered out loud. Charlie and me had just sat down to lunch Saturday (grilled cheese and tomato soup), and there was another one, grabbing our attention by crawling behind the salt shaker. See, every year about this time we seem to get ants in the house. It 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. We can never figure out where they’re getting in. The screen door? Some window? Who knows? Now if Scamp was more diligent about eating all his food when it’s served, like other dogs, that would help. Instead, he seems to put all …
This week, my sister Irene and me were able to visit Dad together down to Mahoosuc Green. That hasn’t been allowed since this whole Covid thing began. Up until now, it’s been only two people at a time, and both from the same household. Because his roommate was in the dining room with his own visitors, we got to visit Dad in his room. Dad is always telling me he needs nail clippers. But when they give him some, he loses them. The nurses have a lot to do, and they don’t always have time to cut his nails the way he likes ‘em. So this time, I decided to bring some clippers, emery boards, …
You know you’re old when: you go to bed fine, wake up the next morning, and your back is out. you stand up after sitting for a while, and you have a little Walter Brennan thing going. (If you don’t know who Walter Brennan is, this probably doesn’t apply to you. Yet.) you bend your knees a bit when you sneeze to “protect your back.” you sustain a napping related injury. You know, you wake up, stretch real big, and pull something in your neck. you take a car ride and stop somewhere to go the bathroom, and it takes you all the way to the door to stand up straight. Along with fat migrating …
Well, we just had our second Covid-Easter, but this one was more hopeful, right? It’s hard to believe that in a little over a year, we’d have a vaccine for this thing. (Three, actually, last I heard.) And more good news: Charlie and me are over halfway to being fully vaccinated. We get our second shot this Friday, and then two weeks later…well, I don’t know exactly what happens. I guess you could say we’ll be baked and ready to come out of the oven, gas gauges on full, our force fields up and lasers set to “stun!” Take that Covid-19! The regulations have changed some down to Mahoosuc Green, so yesterday Charlie and me …