Phew! New Years, the last of our three big holiday hurdles. Frankly, I’m partied out, and am feeling about as stuffed as a Thanksgiving turkey. So tomorrow night, Charlie and me are taking a time out, doing a quiet evening at home. I’m gonna broil a couple of steaks, whip up some twice-baked potatoes (with blue cheese and bacon, of course) and make maple-glazed carrots. For dessert, I’ve made one of Charlie’s favorites: cream puffs with chocolate icing. Don’t tell him. It’s a surprise! For post dinner recreation, we plan on kicking back in our Barcalounger love seat with Scamp between us, watching “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest.” Kind of trips …

Wow! Christmas is here! I cleaned the house good over the weekend, but I still have so much to do! You know, those things you can’t do until last minute: pick up a pork pie from Lebreque’s Bakery and pork chops from Mikey’s Meat Market, because, as Mikey says and I have to agree with him, “You can’t have too much pork!” Our big deal is Christmas Eve. I’m doing dinner this time, and my sister Irene is bringing the appetizers and dessert. Each year we rotate, which is a good way to do it. So, here’s the plan: we’re having our center cut, boneless pork chops broiled and served with homemade apple sauce, new …

This weekend was our Mahoosuc Mills Down Home Holiday Festival. It’s always the second weekend of December, and people come from all over to experience our down home holiday fun. The St. Hyacinth’s Christmas Bazaar is part of the festival, and The Women Who Run With the Moose have a table down there where we sell crafts. It’s the second most popular booth at the Christmas Bazaar, if I do say so myself. The first is still the Blessed Bling Boutique. They rake it in. For some reason, the whole thing crept up on us this year. I think it’s because Thanksgiving was so late, and then we had that storm last week. Usually we …

This week, winter arrived in Mahoosuc Mills, and not in a good way. The bad news is we got a major dumping of snow. The good news? You don’t have to finish raking your yard. Poor Charlie, one day he was rushing to put the garden to bed and two days later he was snow blowing. But that’s life, right? It’s darn near impossible to get it all done, and that’s okay. Blow It Off ‘Til Spring Got the deck chairs in And the table put away Never brushed the grill But that’s OK I’m afraid I couldn’t Get to everything Gonna have to just Blow it off ‘til spring I never quite finished Rakin’ …

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone again. I had a hard time wrapping my head around it this year. See, Thanksgiving was always my mom’s favorite holiday, so it’s not the same without her fussing around the kitchen, getting everything just right. It’s been fifteen years since she passed, and lately I’ve been really missing her. Don’t know why. Maybe because dad’s pushing 87 and fading. He’s still with us, sure, but his world is getting smaller by the day and with it, his interest in, well, life, too. He’s no longer the guy with the stories and the quick come back at the table. To be honest, nowadays Thanksgiving just seems like a problem …

The poet of Mahoosuc Mills strikes again. Boots Need Waxing Boots need waxin’ once a year ‘Specially if you’re hunting deer Any decent goo will do “Moose snot” is what we call it, here It kind of looks like that to us. To use it, you don’t have to fuss: Brush your boots off to begin, Then gob it on and rub it in Your huntin’ day will not be blotted If your boots are good and snotted Mine were not when we set out And I went on my own to scout  These tracks that started leading me Around this big, blown-over tree On down a hill with rocks and such And through this …

All of a sudden, I’m hearing this commotion in the bathroom. Sounds like Charlie’s trying to find something. “Hey, Ida!” “Yeah?” “You seen my nose hair clipper?” “Your what?” “You know, that thing I use to trim my nose hair.” “Where is it usually?” “Top drawer.” Nose hair clipper. I can kind of see it in my mind, this heavy, pewter-colored thing, looks kind of like a medieval torture device. “You mean that industrial strength roto-rooter I bought you a few years back?” “Yeah, that. Can’t find it.” Oh, no, I’m thinking. I can picture the thing now, in a plastic tray nestled between five or six lipsticks, all in crap colors, make you look …

As I talked about in my blog from a while back, my dad finds that one of the hardest parts of being in Mahoosuc Green (our senior living facility here in Mahoosuc Mills) is that the women won’t leave the men alone. Dad had a real bee in his bonnet about this when we visited him on Sunday. So much so, it inspired Charlie to write a poem. Down to The Home Sunday, we went and we saw Ida’s dad Down to the Home, and though he was glad One little matter did not make him cheerful Boy, did we ever get us an earful! “Why,” he asked, “do women insist On taking things over? …

Sad to say, yard sale season is just about at an end for this year, but there are still bargains to be had. I was out browsing around the area with Dottie last weekend, seeing if we could score some last minute deals. She’s always looking for stuff for up to their camp. “You mind if I bring Scamp?” I ask. Scamp’s our little dog. Cute as a button, if I do say so myself. “Nah, bring him along.” Scamp just loves being part of the pack. He’s happy to go anywhere, anytime. And you know what? The little bugger is a great negotiating tool. Softens up even the most tight fisted seller. If I’m …

I’m kind of embarrassed to put this out there. It’s just not the kind of thing you talk about in public. But I need some help here. I can not get the stink out of Charlie’s washcloths. I’ve googled the hell out of this one and nothing works. I’ve soaked them in vinegar which supposedly does the trick on sports bras. (Personally, I only have a passing acquaintance with sports bras seeing as I don’t like to work out hard enough to break a sweat.) I even tried boiling the darn things, but that was just too home on the prairie for me. I’m at the point where I’m thinking about buying a stack of …