Most women are more loyal to their hairdresser than they are to their gynecologist. I’ve been going to Pasty down to Hair Affair every Saturday morning since Moby Dick was a minnow. For the record, Patsy is a good solid hairdresser. Sure, occasionally she gets a little distracted and I’m forced to do a “Hairdresser Smackdown,” but all in all, she’s a keeper. As a rule, Charlie doesn’t fuss much with his hair, or what’s left of it anyway. He’d been going to the barber shop downtown forever. But when Alfie Pinette retired, no one stepped in to take his place. So, Charlie’s started dropping into Ol’ Yankee Clippers in Dover-Foxcroft whenever he’s over there …
Got together with the Women Who Run With the Moose last week for our usual girls night. Dottie was hosting. The menu consisted of a big salad, mac and cheese, and for dessert leftover Halloween candy (We had a ton of it!), and Pumpkin Spice Martinis. Yowza! Have you noticed that kids just don’t trick or treat like they used to? Well, it’s probably hard to wear a helmet with a mask on. ‘Cause kids nowadays seem to do everything with a helmet on, don’t they? Shirley made one of them kitty litter cakes for her Halloween party at work. What a hoot! You ever seen one? Well, check out Shirley’s picture. Anyways, it’s this …
One day a while back, I was at the Rite Aid picking up a few things. Seems like I’m in there every other day. I mean, if they didn’t see me for a week, they’d probably send me a get well card. Anyhoo, I have a little list of things to get, and on that list, second from the bottom, was “L-Glutamine.” Yes, I thought, that’s definitely my handwriting. But I had no recollection whatsoever of writing it, and no idea what the hell it does. I must have read about L-Glutamine somewhere in a magazine and thought it would be good for me, so I bought it. When I got home, I searched through …
Candy Corn is not a vegetable. I know. It doesn’t seem fair. If it was, let me tell you, Doctor Oz would be very proud of me right now because I’ve been managing to squeeze in at least five servings of candy corn per day. And that’s before lunch. The thing is, I don’t even like candy corn that much. I mean, what is it really? Well, I looked it up, and candy corn is made up of sugar, water, corn syrup and marshmallow, so it’s just packed with nutrients. Get this: a “serving size” is supposed to be 19 pieces. Seriously? We have a bottomless bowl of candy corn in our break room at …
I finally switched over my clothes. We usually get a hot snap after I pack away my summer stuff, but that don’t look like it’s going to happen this year. It always feels so good to get the closet and drawers in order. Toward the end of the season, they get a little messy, you know, with all that digging around in my fall/winter clothes for sweaters and such. I even put the flannel sheets on the bed, and have started making soup for our lunches. These are my yearly rituals that mark the changing of the season. Here’s one of Charlie’s: How’d it Get to be October? How’d it get to be October? Mowin’ …
When I see folks splitting and stacking wood this time of year, it always makes me think of my dad. Back when he was a kid, they did all their cooking and heating with wood, and he spent most of his childhood splitting, stacking and hauling wood, to hear him tell it. He swore he’d never do it again, so we didn’t have wood stove growing up. And Charlie and me don’t either, though we have a generator, in case the power goes out. Dad is almost eighty, and still has recurring dreams of stacking wood with his dad, my grandfather, George. Now, there was a true, old school woodsman. George meticulously split wood into …
One of the things I love most about Charlie is he sees what needs to be done and does it. No need to form a committee, and discuss it to death. No ignoring it and hope someone else will step up to the plate. (Okay, to be honest, there were a few incidents where he left a scrap of toilet paper on the roll instead of replacing it. Hey, no one’s perfect.) But all in all, my Charlie’s a doer, and that includes writing poetry about what he’s doing. Here’s the latest. Happy to Have Done My Bit Today I saw a scary sight Drivin’ back to my abode Something dark was sitting right In …
Have you ever been driving around, pass a house and think, I wonder if they’re having a yard sale, or if that’s just how they live? Or someone walks by you at the mall and you’re like, Geez, Louise, are they wearing perfume or is that bug dope? There are entire days where I just wondering around in my head. I wonder what I’ll make for supper? I wonder if I have time to clean the bathroom before I leave for work? I look at Scamp, and he’s staring off into space and I wonder what he’s thinking. I wonder if that’s a look of concentration on his furry, little face, or is it just …
September’s one of my favorite months here in Maine. For one, the tourists have thinned out, so it’s not so crowded downtown. We still get ‘em, of course, but instead of families exhausted and cranky from spending too much time together, you mostly see mature couples. You know, people who get to bed early and aren’t in such a rush. Folks who know how much a cup of coffee costs at McDonalds with the senior discount.
Big goings on here in Mahoosuc Mills. Some builders from up to Bangor tried to pull a fast one. They bought the old Johnson place over on Front Street, tore it down and we’re getting ready to slap up one of them McMansions, but first they decided to basically clear cut the lot, like they do. All systems were go, ‘til Esther Higgins intervened.
