I’m kind of embarrassed to put this out there. It’s just not the kind of thing you talk about in public. But I need some help here. I can not get the stink out of Charlie’s washcloths. I’ve googled the hell out of this one and nothing works. I’ve soaked them in vinegar which supposedly does the trick on sports bras. (Personally, I only have a passing acquaintance with sports bras seeing as I don’t like to work out hard enough to break a sweat.) I even tried boiling the darn things, but that was just too home on the prairie for me. I’m at the point where I’m thinking about buying a stack of …

I love food. No secret about that. I love eating it, of course, but I also like looking at pictures of food in magazines, cookbooks, facebook, Pinterest, billboards, you name it. I call this food porn. You know what I’m talking about! In my humble opinion, food always tastes best when you didn’t cook it yourself. What makes book group fun? The books? No. The idle chit chat? Maybe. But where’s the food? Then there’s going out to eat. What’s not to like about that? First off, you got your cocktails and bread basket, and if you’re lucky, some herbed butter. Or in an Italian restaurant: focaccia and olive oil. Then you get to pour …

The Women Who Run With the Moose went to see the Downton Abbey movie last week. You bet we did! For some reason, Charlie had no interest in it. You might not think it’d be me and the girls cup of tea, either, but we’re big fans. Didn’t start out that way when Betty first suggested we watch it together. But you know what? Downton Abbey’s kind of like Moxie. You might not like it straight off, but hang in there long enough, and it starts to grow on you. Before you know it, you can’t get enough. We were all a little bummed out when the television show ended. I mean, the way we …

Last Tuesday, I zip home from work, change my clothes and walk Scamp twice as long as I usually do because I’m trying to put some distance between me and all those Peanut Buster Parfaits I ate this summer. I’ve been wearing a Fitbit, and wasn’t even close to my goal of 10,000 steps a day. So I put the pedal to the metal (or the New Balance on the black top, as it were). Got home and whipped together a new healthy recipe for Pork Cacciatore (made with pork tenderloin) and served on spiralized zucchini. Of course, the recipe takes longer than it says on the instructions. Am I the slowest cook in the …

Boy, we’ve had some wicked thunder boomers lately! The middle of the night kind, where that clap of thunder is so loud, you levitate out of bed. Thank goodness, our little dog Scamp is unfazed. He just sighs and rolls over. I wish Charlie and me could do the same. It’s like that thunder has breathed new life into us. Then there’s the storms that happen late in the afternoon. The kind where Mahoosuc Mills turns from Vacationland to Stephen King territory in a few ominous minutes. You look one way, and it’s fine: sunny and full of promise. Then you turn your head and see the Apocalypse bearing down on you. The wind starts …

We’re coming up on a very special anniversary, my friends. That’s right, the death of Elvis Presley. August 16, 1977, a date burned into my memory. That’s when the King relocated to heaven, taking all his talent and charisma with him. Forty-two years later, you know what? I still miss him. What a sexy man! Fat or thin, I don’t care, there was something about Elvis. When I think of him, though, I mostly think of the young Elvis. That first time on Ed Sullivan, oh mister man! We’d never seen anything like him. Even though they only showed him from the waist up, which made it even more tantalizing. Us girls were all a-flutter …

We had a little get together to celebrate my sister Irene’s birthday last week, just the family. If you’re not going to spring clean, the next best thing is to have a party at your house. They say you should have two a year: one in the warm weather and one in cool. That way, you’re motivated to do a couple of good, deep cleanings, and get your yard in order, to boot. The yard is Charlie’s department. He’s got one of them rider mowers that he just loves. Has a little shed with a ramp he keeps it in. I plant the annuals, take care of the potted plants, do a little weeding from …

Charlie’s on the mend from his hip replacement. Every day he gets better and better. It’s a marvel to see him bend down and put on his socks by himself. He’s doing physical therapy a couple times a day, plus he takes a short walk. Without Scamp, of course. That’s because Scamp can be a little unpredictable, especially when he sees another dog. He only weighs fourteen pounds, but that four on the floor is a powerful thing. The hardest part for Charlie is the nighttime. Especially at the beginning. He just couldn’t get comfortable. No position seemed to work, so he dreamed a lot. I’ll let him tell you all about it.  The Dreams …

Well, Charlie had his hip replacement. A week ago, today. Get this: we had to be at the hospital in Bangor at 5:45 am. I know! Had to get up before 4:00, which actually was a relief because neither one of us was doing much sleeping. I says to Charlie, “I can’t believe we’re getting up this early, driving to Bangor, and not getting on a plane to somewhere nice.” He just grunted in response. We arrived at 5:30. “French early,” is what we call that. Unlike some people, we really do think the party will start without us. So we arrived at 5:30 in the morning, and you know what? Charlie walked out of …

Charlie get’s his new hip today, and it’s been a busy week getting all our ducks in a row. This kind of thing makes you think about your life together, you know, all you’ve been through. So I thought I’d revisit the story of how Charlie and me got together. It appears in my book, The Sweet Life.  Puppy Love I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t know Charlie. Mahoosuc Mills is a small town, so he was always in the background somewheres, plowing with his Dad, stacking wood for Mrs. Thibodaux, riding his bike to Blue’s General Store to get licorice or playing hockey for Mahoosuc High. Best as I …