Wow, we made it through January! It’s always a long, dark, cold month, and this year it gave us a humungous dumping of snow on the way out. What a kick in the pants! We usually get more snow in February, but it’s a short month, with a candy holiday smack dab in the middle. That’s doable. And if June, July and August are summer months, that means March, April and May are technically spring, right? In other words, we’ve only got one short month left of winter. Hey, that works for me! I know I should spring clean in January, but it’s a hard enough month as it is. I don’t want to add …

We were hanging out with our niece Caitlin and her boyfriend, Adam, last week. It was a typical January day, cold and blustery, with an occasionally flurry thrown in for good measure. But it was warm inside, and we were having breakfast for supper. This is something we used to do all the time when we Caitlin was little and we were babysitting. French toast and bacon were on the menu. Caitlin and Adam are vegetarian, so they usually bring along some veggie bacon for me to cook up for them. Personally, I don’t get the point of veggie bacon. It just seems kind of unnatural. But we humor ‘em. Could have knock me over …

I went to see my Dad the other day. Afterwards, my sister Irene texted me. She asked, “How’s the old guy?” I answered, “Do you mean our dad, my husband, or the dog?” I told Charlie what I said, and he didn’t think my snappy remark was as funny as Irene and me did. Actually, Dad is in a little bounce right now. I think they must have gotten his blood sugar more under control. All of a sudden, he’s talking in complete sentences and is a little more with it. He’s even laughing a bit. Sure, Dad still thinks the trellis is a truck, and a typical visit is basically the same conversation three …

On New Year’s Eve day, I had an Aha moment. Yup, I’m giving Oprah a run for her money. I was working down to the A&P, wishing folks “Happy New Year,” like you do. And I thought, How many times am I gonna say “Happy New Year” in the next few weeks? It’s just something you do without thinking, right? Well, what if I put some mojo behind it? What if, when I say “Happy New Year” I do it with intention, as my niece Caitlin says. What if I really wish that person happiness in the new year, and at the same time, for myself, too. Kind of an affirmation (Caitlin, again). “I am …

Wow! I can’t believe Christmas is already behind us. Covid time is like one of them Slinkys. It’s hard to keep hold of. So’s the current Covid situation. Right now, get this: Maine is a national Covid hotspot. Hard to believe, but it’s true. We did so good for so long up here, and overnight that all went up in smoke. Frankly, I think Santa should be fired. For the second year in a row, what did he bring us? The ultimate stocking stuffer: Covid. I’m vaxed and boosted, of course. As are all my friends and family. Still, we did those rapid tests before getting together in person, Christmas Eve. The Women Who Run …

Yup, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. The Phinneys got their crèche set up across the street, and Whitey Hebert’s plugged in his tree. ‘Course, it’s easy for him because he leaves the lights up all year ‘round, and that middle strand is still out. Don’t get me started! Mahoosuc Mills is gearing up for our Down Home Holiday Festival. Used to be the Down Home Christmas Festival, but we are now politically correct. The St. Hyacinth’s Christmas Bazaar is part of the Festival. I guess we should change it to “Holiday Bazaar,” but hey, we’re Catholics. Who are we kidding? The Women Who Run With the Moose have a table down to …

Wahoo! My new electric toothbrush has arrived! My old one had been acting wonky for months. It got harder and harder to turn on. And once it was on, it was hard to turn off. It’s amazing when I think about how long I put up with that. Then, it stopped working altogether. So on Cyber Monday, I ordered a new one. Got a great deal on it, too. But at that point, it didn’t matter; I would have gone to Walgreens and bought one anyways. The incident reminded of last summer when we got together with my cousins at Claudette and Roger’s camp. We all stayed over a couple of nights. The last morning, …

The first frost of the season always takes me by surprise. I’m ready for work, right? Wouldn’t say I’m running late, but I’m not early either. I head out to the car and darn, frost on the windshield. ‘Course we haven’t put the scrappers and winter stuff in the vehicles yet. That would be too sensible. Charlie’s already left for work, and I don’t want to take time to hunt around in the shed for where he hid ‘em last spring. So, I fumble in my purse for my wallet, get out a credit card (usually Victoria’s Secret because I don’t use it that often) and proceed to scrape the window with it. I hope …

I don’t really have anything to add to this little ditty Charlie wrote for me. Thanks, honey, you made my day! Stick With Stuff You Do the Best For every nest up in the trees Each bird’s got their specialties Same as us, down below Some of these you prob’ly know: I’m the one who mows the lawn And rakes ’til every leaf is gone But without her, doing laundry, Boy, would I be in a quan’dry! While she lets me hunt for mice She keeps the whole place looking nice Bathroom is all spic ‘n span (Count on me to plunge the can) Trash is not an irritation Haul it to the transfer station …

Saturday afternoon, I was out walking Scamp around the neighborhood when I heard this little girl shriek with delight. I turned my head, like you do, and that’s when I saw it: a young Dad, holding his daughter over his head, helping her fly. And just like that, I was her, that little girl, looking down at my strong Dad, laughing eyes filled with love. Then, in a blink of an eye, I remembered back to that morning, me sitting with my dad, now a confused old man with sad eyes. I’m holding his hand, and he’s saying, “I don’t know. I just don’t know what’s going on.” And I’m thinking, Neither do I Dad. …