We had a little get together to celebrate my sister Irene’s birthday last week, just the family. If you’re not going to spring clean, the next best thing is to have a party at your house. They say you should have two a year: one in the warm weather and one in cool. That way, you’re motivated to do a couple of good, deep cleanings, and get your yard in order, to boot. The yard is Charlie’s department. He’s got one of them rider mowers that he just loves. Has a little shed with a ramp he keeps it in. I plant the annuals, take care of the potted plants, do a little weeding from …

A new gal was getting her hair done down to Hair Affair a couple weeks ago. Merry just moved to Mahoosuc Mills, and was lucky enough to get an appointment with Pasty. (She must know someone.) So we’re gabbing like you do at the hair dressers. At one point, Merry was talking about how she lost someone dear to her (she didn’t share who). “I feel sad every once and awhile, sure,” Merry says. “But I made a decision to honor her by packing as much joy as possible into my life.” Wow, I’m thinking. What a great way to look at things! I’m taking that and running with it. It’s my birthday month. I …

Since getting his new hip, Charlie’s been on half time down to the mill. Having all that free time on his hands has turned him into a poetry writing fool. Here’s his latest. I Got a New Hip I got a new hip I’m a happy guy Got the big thumbs up From a fella drivin’ by I’m walkin’ down the street Not lookin’ at my feet Shoe laces, I can tie ‘em Maybe on the second try Wear clodhoppers so I don’t slip I got a new hip I got a new hip Man, alive I can walk up stairs, hey, I can even drive! (Automatic, of course, But it’s better than a horse) …

So, I’m sitting there watching the tube with my husband, Charlie, reading the latest AARP Magazine when I think, when did this happen? When did I go from joking about this magazine to actually reading it? Not just leafing through, not scanning it, but enjoying it? I mean, finding the articles interesting and helpful. Sharing the occasional tidbit with Charlie. And me and the Women Who Run With the Moose love the “Movies for Grownups” section. The celebrities on the cover used to be old looking, you know? Now I see the latest issue and say things like, “Hey, Kathy Lee’s not looking half bad!” In fact, this month I got more excited about the …

Charlie’s on the mend from his hip replacement. Every day he gets better and better. It’s a marvel to see him bend down and put on his socks by himself. He’s doing physical therapy a couple times a day, plus he takes a short walk. Without Scamp, of course. That’s because Scamp can be a little unpredictable, especially when he sees another dog. He only weighs fourteen pounds, but that four on the floor is a powerful thing. The hardest part for Charlie is the nighttime. Especially at the beginning. He just couldn’t get comfortable. No position seemed to work, so he dreamed a lot. I’ll let him tell you all about it.  The Dreams …

Well, Charlie had his hip replacement. A week ago, today. Get this: we had to be at the hospital in Bangor at 5:45 am. I know! Had to get up before 4:00, which actually was a relief because neither one of us was doing much sleeping. I says to Charlie, “I can’t believe we’re getting up this early, driving to Bangor, and not getting on a plane to somewhere nice.” He just grunted in response. We arrived at 5:30. “French early,” is what we call that. Unlike some people, we really do think the party will start without us. So we arrived at 5:30 in the morning, and you know what? Charlie walked out of …

Charlie get’s his new hip today, and it’s been a busy week getting all our ducks in a row. This kind of thing makes you think about your life together, you know, all you’ve been through. So I thought I’d revisit the story of how Charlie and me got together. It appears in my book, The Sweet Life.  Puppy Love I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t know Charlie. Mahoosuc Mills is a small town, so he was always in the background somewheres, plowing with his Dad, stacking wood for Mrs. Thibodaux, riding his bike to Blue’s General Store to get licorice or playing hockey for Mahoosuc High. Best as I …

Here in the LeClair household, we’re counting down to Charlie’s hip replacement one week from today. We’ve had it scheduled since last fall. That’s when Charlie finally wrapped his head around the fact he had to deal with it because his bum hip was starting to get in the way of doing things he liked to do. He’s been limping for awhile, but I knew he had to come around to it on his own. So, I didn’t push. Once he mentioned it though, I made an appointment right away. You wait too long with this stuff and your whole body gets outta whack. Before you know it, your good hip is now bad hip, …

Sunday, we had a birthday brunch for our Dad, over to Irene and Jimbo’s. She made the “Egg Dish” (there’s only one) which is something our mom used to make involving about a dozen eggs, butter, bread, milk and cheese. How can you go wrong with that combination, right? You whip it up the night before, and the next morning it bakes up nice and light. I brought along some fruit salad and cranberry nut bread, and Jimbo fried up a whole mess of bacon. As far as we’re concerned, if there ever was a “the food of the Gods,” bacon is it. Charlie and me picked up Dad from Mahoosuc Green. They had already …

People were kind of spacey and tired last week, what with the time change. Me, too. We’re just all kind of…off. Why do we still do daylight savings time, anyway? Whether we’re springing forward or falling back, it’s a royal pain in the patootie! It’s amazing what screwing around with our sleep schedules can do. I mean, it’s just one hour. It shouldn’t make that much difference. But get this: on the Monday after we switch to DST, heart attacks go up by 24%. Strokes increase, too. Car accidents climb 17%. I’m reading that folks are more likely to get injured at work due to “attention lapses and micro-sleeps.” Charlie’s sitting at the kitchen table one …