I was out walking Scamp the other day and run into Pearl Plaisted dead-heading geraniums in her yard. “Ida!” she says, “I haven’t seen you all summer. Why don’t you come in for some iced tea, dear?” “Sounds good!” I reply. “It’s some hot out, huh?” Pearl seemed a little stuck in the “half way up” position, so I give her an assist, and into the house we go. “Hank,” she yells, “you decent? Ida’s here.” Scamp loves going over to Hank and Pearl’s place ‘cause that means he gets to terrorize their cat Tiki, named after some football player, I guess. Sitting on the screened in porch, we got to talking about the big …

Last week, I come down with that pesky summer bug that’s been going around. Well, as a cashier down to the A&P, you run into all sorts of folks, some who really should have stayed in bed! So, off I trot to the Rite Aid to pick up some decongestant. On my way through the store to the pharmacy, a few things I didn’t know I needed mysteriously made their way into my basket ‘cause, well, it’s Rite Aid. There’s always stuff you need, right? At the counter, I ask Carrie, the pharmacy assistant, for Advil® Cold and Sinus. You never used to have to do this, but apparently, given half a chance, folks will …

Last weekend, guess what we did? Hung out with our cousins at Claudette and Roger’s camp. We try to do this once a year, just for the heck of it. What a hoot! Sure, some things have changed. Instead of talking about work, it’s all about when we plan to retire, how long we’re going to try to wait to collect Social Security. Instead of our kids, we talk about aging parents and grand kids. Instead of envelopes of loose photos, we take turns squinting at our smart phones, trying to find that great shot we just have to share. We travel more. We drink less alcohol and more decaf. But some things stay the …

A couple of weeks ago, I gave you some general tips on how to have a successful yard sale. Now that you’re up to snuff on the basics, let’s move on to something I didn’t cover in that blog, which happens to be the number one yard sale rule: once an item leaves the house, it doesn’t come back inside. Honoring the number one rule is easy if you remember the golden rule of yard sales: if it has any sentimental value, I don’t care if it’s a bottle cap, keep it. If you remember that golden rule, the rest is easy. You’ll be ready to part with everything in your yard sale. That means …

Spring has finally arrived in Mahoosuc Mills, Maine. The daffodils are in bloom, the trees are budding, and we are fast approaching my favorite time of the year: yard sale season! I just love yard sales. I love going to them and I love having them. Because the thing is, if you go to a lot of yard sales, you have to have a yard sale every once and a while to get rid of all the stuff you bought at the other yard sales. I’ve learned through experience that having a successful yard sale is about marketing and product placement. If you’re thinking about having one, it’s not too early to start getting organized. …

The other day, out of the blue, my email stopped working. I didn’t notice it at first. Heck, I didn’t think I was that into email, but you know what? I am. My routine is, I check my email right after breakfast, and read my daily inspirational quote from Martha Beck. She writes that column in O, The Oprah Magazine. I like her because she’s not too woo-woo with that New Age-y stuff. So anyways, Charlie and me eat breakfast, he leaves for work, I sit down to check my email, and her quote wasn’t there. I try not to take this personally, but I was a little miffed at Martha. I hate it when …

As many of you probably know, I work as a cashier at the A&P (actually, it’s been “Super Food World” for at least five years now, but everyone ‘round here still calls it the A&P). So anyways, I’ve been a cashier since before I graduated high school, and let me tell you, I’ve seen it all. I know who’s doing the cabbage soup diet or who’s on Weight Watchers, who has a Ben & Jerry’s habit, who’s been drinking too much Bud Light, who’s reading National Inquirer and who buys Playboy. I can’t name names, of course, because of Super Food World cashier’s code of ethics. But let’s just say, most of the time, I …

January may have been long and cold, but God, didn’t it seem like we got a lot of snow in February? Charlie and me tried to make the best of it. I don’t go in for cross country skiing. Too steep a learning curve. But, I love snowshoeing. Well, I come from a long line of snowshoers, so it’s in my blood. I still have my mother’s snowshoes from when she was a kid. They were handmade by her uncle, Octave Pease. The webbing was made from the hide of a deer he shot himself. I get them out every winter for decoration. Octave: now there was a character. He came from a big family, …

I run into Bucky Dumont down to the A&P on Friday. He’s the fella with the horses who gives sleigh rides during our Down Home Holiday Festival. I was doing a little shopping after work, and he was “picking up a few things for the Mrs.” Sure enough, there in his shopping cart were milk, sugar, and a dozen eggs. “How ‘bout that case of Pabst, Bucky. She ask you to pick that up?” “Nope. Them’s what I call my “office supplies!” I’ve seen Bucky’s “office.” It’s that shed off the barn where he fixes his farm equipment and maintains the horse tack. Oh, he’s got it all decked out: ole pot bellied stove, TV, …

Just a gentle reminder, folks: we have officially reached the cut off for all Christmas decorations. Do it now, and avoid the shame of being one of those houses where the crocuses have to nudge aside a deflated, inflatable Santa. Oh, I can get a real bee in my bonnet about this! There are some people in Mahoosuc Mills who never seem to take their decorations down. (White Hebert? I’m talking to you!) I’m sure this happens where you live, too. Folks who figure they went to all that trouble to put ‘em up, why take ‘em down, just to do it all over again next year? Thing is, as the years go by, the …