I don’t know about where you live, but up here in Mahoosuc Mills, seems like the minute Turkey Day was over, folks were flying into Christmas. Big time! Well, Thanksgiving was so late this year. It’s starting to look mightly festive, and you can’t help but being swept up in it. Across the street, the Phinney’s put out their crèche, and it’s beautiful as ever. And Hank and Pearl Plaisted have really gone to town with them icicle lights. Ever since Hank took that header while hanging lights a few years back, they let their son-in-law do all the ladder work. Hank stays earth bound, thank goodness, and keeps busy throwing net lights over their …

I run into my cousin Ronnie’s daughter, Shannon, down to the Wally Mart the other day. She was there with her friend, Emily. They’re cute girls, both in their mid-twenties, unattached. You should have seen their shopping cart loaded to the gills with paper towels, toilet paper, feminine products and about twenty bottles of Oil of Olay. “Wow,” I says, “would you look at that haul!” “We’ve been couponing!” Shannon says. “Got some wicked good deals, too.” “I’ll bet.” Now, working at the A&P, I know my way around coupons. And since the economy went south, I’ve seen more and more people using them. Why not save money where you can, right? Heck, growing up, …

I’m feeling a little out of sorts this morning. I didn’t get enough sleep. See, Charlie went hunting with the boys (Bud, Smitty, Pat, Tommy and Junior) this weekend. They stayed up to an old hunting camp that’s been in Smitty’s family for generations. I can’t tell you where it is, because the boys swore a “blood oath” never to reveal it’s location, even, or especially to their wives. Honest to God! With all six of those boys packed in together, you can just imagine the snoring. It’s enough to scare off any predator within half a mile. My husband’s no light sleeper, and it even kept him awake. Combine that with being outside all …

I was at Jo-Ann Fabric, Saturday. I needed some thread to match a button that had fallen off one of my sweaters, and the thread on the other buttons was a shade of blue I just didn’t have in my sewing kit. Isn’t that always the way? “Charlie,” I says, as we pull up to the front door, “this’ll only take a sec.” “Famous last words,” he mumbles. As far as he was concerned, we were at the Mall to see “The Expendables 3.” I know, do we really need another one? Wasn’t “1” and surely “2” enough? But this sort of flick makes Charlie so happy. Plus, we were gonna grab supper at the …

Man, I didn’t get enough sleep last night. I feel like I’m in a total fog this morning. I drove about eight hours yesterday, going back and forth to a book reading, which, by the way, went great. I love doing those. But Jeez, that’s a lot of time on the road. Now you’d think that when I got home at 11:00 p.m. last night, I’d be exhausted from doing all that, and you’d be right. But apparently, a little muscle in my left leg wasn’t as tired as the rest of me, and kept twitching just as I was about to doze off. Happens to me every now and then, and it’s irritating as …

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. …