There’s something about spring that makes you feel hopeful, you know? It stays light later, the weather’s warmer and our clothes aren’t so cumbersome. The birds are chattering away, and every day on our walk with Scamp, Charlie and me see nature waking up. There are buds on the trees, the forsythia is in bloom, and the lawn (dare I say it) is tinged with green. After winter, the sights, sounds and smells of spring are like a balm to my soul. Exploding color: fresh, bright and unapologetic. Charlie’s feeling it, too. In fact, he wrote a poem about it. Daffodils Did you finish rakin’ leaves Last fall? Me, not at all But soon the …

It’s finally spring here in Mahoosuc Mills, and you know what that means? Spring cleaning, of course. I’m not saying I go hog wild like my mother and grandmother, taking apart each room of the house, but it’s good to do a deep cleaning every now and then. In preparation for this ritual, I bought a new vacuum cleaner head. The old one had seen better days. Finally, the lever that switches back and forth from “carpet” to “floor” broke, and it was permanently stuck on “carpet.” Hard to get good suction going on a wood floor, I’ll tell ya. It’s sad how excited I was about getting my new vacuum cleaner head, but hey, …

Having a dog is the best! They’re all about unconditional love. And just about everything they do is they’re favorite thing. “We’re going into the other room. That’s my favorite thing!” “Time to take a nap. That’s my favorite thing!” “A treat, oh, boy! That’s my favorite thing.” “Time for a walk? Get out of town. That’s my favorite thing.” Baths are not one of Scamp’s favorite things, but running around the house like a crazy dog after is. Scamp is more attached to me than he is to Charlie. If Charlie goes out, Scamp hardly looks up. But when I leave the house, Scamp always gives me this look, like “I can’t believe you’re …

Okay, so I got together with the Women Who Run with the Moose a few weeks back for our usual girls’ night. We went over to Pat’s Pizza in Dover Foxcroft. Ordered a couple of salads to split like we usually do, so we can say we ate something healthy. But really, we were there for the pizza and beer. We’re at that point were you’re thinking, I’m full, but I’d really like another slice because it taste so good. Well, maybe just half a slice. When Betty goes, “I hope none of us made a new year’s resolution to lose weight. Pass me another piece of the sausage and bacon, would you?” Celeste jumps …

Have you ever met someone new, or maybe reconnected with an old friend, and you think, Wow, they’re the nicest person? I mean, you really like them, really connect with them. So you become facebook friends, and oops, now you have to deal with their politics! I mean, the two of you couldn’t be more different. Oil and water. Not only that, they feel compelled to post the most nasty, mean-spirited, in-your-face stuff on a daily basis. Stuff you have to skim over, because it’s just so upsetting. It doesn’t have to be on facebook, either. You could be going to a bean supper or a party. You park your car near a truck that’s …

All and all, we haven’t really had that bad a winter. The brunt of it happened during one week in February. You know, the one where we had a snow storm every other day. Then we had some spring-like weather, even up here in the north country. Temperatures soared (meaning it got up in the fifties on one day) and so did our moods. What a tease ‘cause, honey, snow and single digit temps in March are just nasty! Sure it’s not going to last. But that’s what folks said about the cold I’ve just gotten over (fingers crossed). You know, the one that’s lasted for over two weeks. It’s the third one I’ve gotten …

An incident happened this weekend I’m not proud of. In fact, I’m a little embarrassed to share it with you. But hey, it’s just us, right?   So, picture this: it’s late Sunday morning. Charlie’s snorin’ in his Barcalounger. Scamp’s with me in the kitchen, dozin’ on his doggie bed. I’m putterin’ around, minding my own business, when all of a sudden, I feel one comin’ on. You know what I mean. Nobody ‘cept the dog is near, so I just let ‘er rip: long, loud and unapologetic. A real twenty-one gun salute. “What’s that?” Charlie yelps, nearly fallin’ out of his chair. “Don’t know,” I yell. “Must be a car backfiring.” Could have been …

On our morning walk around our neighborhood, Charlie and me see lots of birds: sparrow, blue jays, crows, chickadees, of course, a few hawks and even a robin or two. Canada geese, in season. But every once in a while we’ll see a Pileated Woodpecker. Not one of them little guys, but the Woody Woodpecker ones? That’s always a treat because they are spectacular looking. I mean, that red! The Pileated is a big bird and, boy, it makes a racket hammering away. You think they’d be easy to see, but they’re not. Most of the time you hear them, but can’t find where they are. Charlie and me must look like idiots, stopped in the …

We sure have had some snow up here in the north country. Well, it’s February. In Maine. What do we expect, right? January is cold and dry and February is a snowy mess. The worse is if you get on one of them “a snow storm every thirty-six hours” cycles, which we had a week or two ago, I think. It’s just a freezing, white blur, so it’s hard to remember. Snow storms are tough on Charlie’s back, my expectations, and both our waistlines. Charlie’s back because even with a plow on the truck, there are still paths to shovel and roofs to rake. My expectations because I’m the kind of person who looks forward …

When my sister Irene and me were kids, we had these little wooden snow scoops with our names painted on them that were made special just for us by our uncle, Octave Pease. They were just like our Dad’s, only a third the size, and we used to help him shovel the driveway. Which means we just got in the way, and made more of a mess for him to clean up! Octave: now there was a character. He come from a big family, I don’t know how many brothers and sisters. Octave never set foot in a school room, but he was smart as a whip. The kind of fella that could do anything …