Come summer, a trip to the Dairy Queen can improve your day no end. That refreshing iced milk can calm you down or cheer you up. It’s a perfect way to celebrate winning a soft ball game or mend a broken heart. But here’s the thing. Up north where we live, you have to be careful driving down country roads after dark because of the wildlife. And I’m not talking about the Purdy brothers on their way home from tying one on down to the Brew Ha Ha. I’m refer to animals jay walking across the road. I mean, they don’t seem to pay any attention whatsoever to the “Deer or Moose Crossing” signs. We …

Over the weekend, Charlie and me went to a party at Bud and Babe Delahunt’s. They’re the ones that run the Busy Bee. You know, the bakery here in town? Well, since everybody knows them, it was a biggie. I saw folks I hadn’t seen in years. Plus, the food! Absolutely to die for! The next morning at breakfast, though, Charlie seemed a little distracted. “What’s the matter, dear?” “Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about that party last night.” “Fun, wasn’t it? How about that chocolate cake with the peanut butter frosting?” “Good thing you saved me a piece.” Charlie just sat there, hands wrapped around his mug of coffee. “What’s up?” “Got cornered …

The Women Who Run With the Moose got together for our girls night on Thursday. Betty was hosting and she was serving nachos and these skinny watermelon margaritas. Oh, they were wicked tasty! Right from the get go, us girls were talking a mile a minute, per usual. Hard to get a word in edgewise, but I managed. “So last Saturday, I was at the baked bean supper down to the Congo Church,” I begin, “and who do I run into but Eleanor Purdy.” Celeste goes, “That old gal must be pushing ninety.” “Eighty-eight next week, she told me. Heck, she pretty much announced it to everyone there. Still lives at home. Well, she was …

It’s one of my favorite times of year here in Maine: yard sale season. I just love yard sales, don’t you? 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. It’s been awhile since I’ve shared my tips for having a successful yard sale. It’s too much to cover all of it in one blog post, so I’ve divided it into three parts: the basics, how to set it up, and the number one yard …

Ran into Jeanie Anderson at a yard sale over the weekend, and was reminded of an incident that happened a few years back when Charlie and me were having our yard sale. It was a beautiful day for it, too, sunny with low humidity. The early birds had already come and gone, and I’d just finished chatting with Claire Lambert, when who do I see walking up to our yard, but Jeanie. My heart literally skipped a beat. See, I thought Jeanie was going to be in Dexter that weekend, visiting her grandkids. That’s what she told me, anyways, the last time I saw her. And because I knew she wasn’t gonna to be around, …

I ran into my old friend Joan at the DQ the other day. She was ordering a banana split. “Hey there, Joan,” I says. “What are you celebrating?” (See, I knew it had to be a special occasion. I mean, you don’t order a banana split for nothing, right?) Joan goes, “I just went for a stress test. You know, to check out your heart. Make sure you’re not about to keel over.” “Oh, I’ve never had one of those. We’re you nervous?” “You betcha. Number one, I don’t like to break a sweat. Ever. And B, I’m not what you’d call real athletic.” “I hear you.” “Still, I wanted to ace the test. Mostly …

Every year about this time we seem to get ants in the house. It’s just wouldn’t be spring without them. Once summer goes into full swing, they’re gone, but gosh, they’re a nuisance while they’re here. Ants are just so busy and determined. We usually don’t get a ton of ’em, but this year they’re everywhere. Our regular ant traps were doing nothing, so we brought out the big guns, you know, those liquid ant traps. Put them out Friday evening and Saturday morning it was startling. There were lines of ants coming and going. Kind of gross. Yet, we had a hard looking away. So, me and Charlie are standing there, transfixed. “Do ants …

When is a bargain a bargain, and when is it a waste of time and money? Case in point:  What a Deal On my way home from the dump I stopped at someone’s sale I smelled a bargain lurking, and This nose, it doesn’t fail I zoomed in on some rubber boots They just jumped out at me The kind you’d wear for hunting ducks, That come up to your knee LaCrosse 800’s what they were And just as good as new They looked about my size, and fully Insulated, too “Are you a ten?” the woman asked Ten is what I wear “Then they should fit you good and snug And keep you dry …

You know how we tend to confide in our hairdresser or bartender? As a cashier down to the A&P, folks tend to confide in me, too, even if they don’t always know they’re doing it. Because checking out a person’s groceries is more intimate than you image. You know who’s drinking a little too much, who has a Doritos habit and who’s addicted to the National Inquirer. You see the same folks once a week, minimum, and you can kind of sense whether they’re feeling their oats or not. So I’m working register 3 per usual, cashing out Roberta “Bobbie” Robbins, making conversation, like you do. “How’s that cute little dog of yours? Blah, blah. …

As you know, I hang out with the greatest group of gals, Celeste, Rita, Betty, Dot and Shirley or the Women Who Run With the Moose as we call ourselves. Heck, we’ve been close since even before Charlie and me started dating, so that goes back a ways. We’ve gone through good times and bad together, and I’ve still got the bridesmaids dresses to prove it. If you were in any doubt, bridesmaids dresses attest to the fact that one style is not flattering on all body types, and there are some colors you should never wear, ever. Trust me. I got around that by dressing my bridesmaids in different color pastels. Let’s see, Celeste …