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. …

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 to 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 …

So, I’m at Mikey’s Meat Market on Thursday after work. I buy the basic stuff down to the A&P, of course, but when it comes to meat, I go to Mikey’s. It’s a good old fashioned meat market with red-faced butchers out back cutting meat, and guys (yup, only guys) behind the counter. These fellas really know their stuff, including how long to cook just about anything you’re buying. So anyways, I’m waiting in line. There was a pause in the action and no customers are in there except for me and Mildred Campbell. We’re standing side by side, both staring into the meat case. I’m considering how many pork chops I should buy, and …

Last weekend, we hung out with our cousins up to Claudette and Roger’s camp on Moose Megantic Lake. We try to do this once a year, just for the heck of it. Not all of us can make it, usually, but this year it was a full boat. What a hoot! Sure, some things have changed. Instead of talking about what we used to talk about (which honestly, I can’t quite remember what that was), we talk about retirement, grandchildren, and, if we’re lucky enough to still have them, our aging parents. We may even engage in an organ recital. That’s when we describe our aches and pains and replacement parts (new hip, knee or …

The 19th annual Antique Tractor and Engine Show took place up to the Bouchard Brother’s Farm last weekend. Hoo, boy! Charlie was like a kid, he was so jacked up. “Three more days ‘til the tractor show, Ida!” Both men and women love this event! Men, because there are tractors, of course, and all them old engines, “antique” tools and the like. (Me? I think “antique” is just a code word for “rusty.” But beauty’s in the eye of the beholder, right?) Women love it because the men are occupied and out of their hair all weekend. It’s a win/win situation. I go to the pancake breakfast Saturday morning (Well, who doesn’t like a pancake …