The longer I’m married, the more I realized that sometimes, men and women have completely different ways of looking at things. Like a few years ago, out of the blue, Charlie says to me, “Ida, you know what we need?” “A complete kitchen make-over?”  “Smaller.”  “Hmm, I don’t know. A set of Fiesta ware?”  “No, a boot brush?” “A boot brush?” “You know, put it by the door? Has a brush on top? You wipe your boots on it before coming into the house.” “Oh, I’ve seen those. You mean like a little porcupine, with a brush on its back?” “Well, I don’t know about a porcupine. Just your basic boot brush.” “OK, Charlie, I’ll …

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 …

I had a hankering for some banana bread, is how it started. So I bought three bananas when I did the grocery shopping last week. You need ripe bananas for banana bread, so I set them aside thinking, I’ll make the bread this weekend. I says to Charlie, “I’m saving these bananas for banana bread, OK?” No reply. “Charlie!” I hold up the bananas. “I’m saving these bananas for banana bread.” “Heard you the first time.” “Well, sometimes it’s hard to tell.” “What do you want to me to do? A cartwheel” “No need to get sarcastic. A simple “OK” or “yup” would be sufficient.” Again, nothing. Honest to God! It’s enough to drive a …

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 …

With all that’s going on in the country, on TV, heck our town meeting right here in Mahoosuc Mills was louder and more mean spirited than ever before, it seems like we’ve forgotten some basic things we were taught as a kid. What happened to common courtesy? Good manners were drilled into me by my parents. There’s no getting around it. Not that I’d want to. Being polite is a good thing, and has served me well over the years. It was hard getting the hang of it at first, though. In our house, you had to say “please,” “thank you,” and “you’re welcome.” End of story. There was none of this, “Now what do …

March 11 was Charlie’s birthday. Me, I always try to take my birthday off from work, but Charlie doesn’t. “Ida,” he says, “after a certain age, it’s just another day. I don’t want to think about it.” My feeling is a birthday is cause for celebration, especially after a certain age. I’m on the back nine, as my golfer friend Betty says. Meaning, I’ve lived more of my life than I have left. So I say make the most of it. Heck, why confine yourself to just one day? Celebrate the whole month! Anyhoo, Charlie doesn’t make a big deal of his birthday. Still, I like to make it special. We get up earlier than …

I love asking folks what they think is the key to a happy marriage. And I gotta tell you, some of the answers are surprising. For instance, when I asked my friend Betty, she replied, “Golf.” “Come again?” “You heard me. Golf.” “I’m gonna need a little more information.” “Well, golf is a hobby that we do together. We’re outside, having fun. We joined the couples league and have little shindigs with them every once and awhile. Sometimes we go away for a golfing weekend. It’s like a mini vacation, because we’re not thinking about anything else while we’re playing, and so we’re kinda just being ourselves.” “I feel like that when we go away …

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 …

When Charlie gets together with the boys, Bud, Smitty, Pat, Tommy and Junior, I always ask him what they talk about. And Charlie says, “Nothing.” Now, I find that hard to believe. I mean, they must talk about something, right? Every once and a while, though, he’ll come home dying to share some tidbit. And you know what? Most of the time, I wish he wouldn’t have. Here’s Charlie’s latest. Junior’s Trick That clever mouse is back, I see The one who makes a fool of me Each time I set my trap for him He runs off with the bait! Peanut butter’s what I use I set the trap before I snooze Next day, …