This entry points out all that is wrong with blogs — it showcases even the most minute matters that matter to no one else but the blogger. That said, here goes.
My wallet ended up on the street, then at the gas station, then in the hands of the Machias police officer last night. When I […]
One of the trip’s highlights was attending the 9am-3pm “Maryland and the Civil War” seminar at Carroll County Community College in Westminster on Saturday. When it came to choosing one of three same-time breakout sessions, Frank and I headed for “Battlefield Preservation” — given by a National Park Service woman who decides on grants for […]
Long week no blogs. After the most perfect of all trips, we are back at our work. The biggest difference is that in Maryland and Virginia, everything is green and blooming. Here, everything is still winter-brown. Our crocuses popped through only on Monday morning. But there is nothing else spring-like here - no daffodils like […]
We are so very looking forward to a four-day getaway, about the same time that we took when we visited Potomac over New Year’s. Frank is enchanted by the train, but this time, we are driving all the way - with the intention of filling the back of his Isuzu Trooper with some things from […]
Frank had a practice session (see below) of sorts last Thursday, March 16, when he was the speaker at the Machias Hysterical Society - again, on “Maine in the Civil War.” The group is still struggling to pull an audience every month, so they take what they get. There were about 20 people a month […]
Frank has been asked to give a two-Saturdays course on “Maine in the Civil War”, on April 8 and 15, at the local Sunrise Senior College (a concept, not a place). The senior college - for those 50+ and spouses - has been a huge success here in Machias with about 225 members just in […]
Our lives really are more exciting than they must seem, if seen only through this blog. It’s just that I can’t exactly tell everything about Washington County, and Frank can’t talk about his current cases. So, that leaves us the mundane stuff to write about. Fair enough.
We have enjoyed corned beef the last three days in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. We had a big dinner Friday (March 17) at the Franklin Veterans Club (where we rarely get to anymore), then corned beef at Berta’s on Saturday; then a big dinner again last night, when the church scheduled its annual St. […]
Can you imagine, an entire Sunday with no Internet connections? It really happened yesterday around 7:30 am. Most of Washington County households had their Internet and phone services cut off when a logging crane took out two telephone poles and wires by mistake. The ground is still frozen here, and loggers are working seven days […]
Today, March 16, marks one year of newspaper delivery. I remember Frank’s hestitations — “Well, we’ll do it for a month and see how it goes.” I think he was hooked by the end of the first week.
We have it down to a science. We will probably bring the scooters back around April 1, […]
My personal invigoration continued right through the weekend, when I was supposed to be off. Instead on Sunday I did three things — 1) went to the Cutler Methodist Church that nearly closed for lack of interest a year ago, yet has been turned around by a temporary minister who drives up every weekend from […]
Lately - the last few months - Frank and I (me particularly) have desperately looked forward to the weekend as two days when I didn’t have to think hard and have my brain hurt by day’s end. We haven’t used the weekends so far in 2006 for anything significant, either - just flopping around the […]
I had a premonition when I woke up last Monday morning that, “This is going to be a very good week.” And it was! Honestly, I don’t know what got into me. I don’t know where this work streak came from. But it was clearly “announced” to me that last week was going to be […]
So this is March and now, after a winter without much snow at all, comes two storms within seven days. Last week we had a surprise five inches of light and fluffy - which was gone after a string of 50-degree days. But last evening we got about three inches of heavy and slushy, […]
How come we didn’t know about local spelling bees in our youth? They must have been there, as Scripps Howard Newspapers have sponsored the national spelling bee in Washington, DC, for 79 years now. Newspapers in every state sponsor the state bees, which come after school, then district, then county bees (also sponsored by a […]
Exactly one year later, I understand completely why I was unable to attend the Washington County Spelling Bee for 23 middle-school students. It would have been just an ordinary weekday evening, the first Tuesday in March.
Tonight that event comes around again - and I am hoping to make it through the day to attend. It’s […]
Forgot to report on last Tuesday evening’s big event — the appearance of the Salt Coast Sages. There had been almost zero local publicity around town, not even listed as an event in the two local papers. After hearing about it only from Unc, I made calls to get details to put something in […]
Imagine - we have dinner invitations for tonight (Sunday), Wednesday and Saturday of this week! Something must be in the weather. Seems like spring is coming and people are feeling accordingly friendlier.
We will visit with Louise and Larry West in Machiasport tonight; Liz Fauver and her group of guests on Wednesday; and Barbara Manchester and […]
Today’s Maine Public Radio news had an item about the former home of Civil War hero and General Oliver Otis Howard burning to the ground in Leeds, Maine (west of Augusta). An abolutionist, Howard founded Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1867, the year the Civil War ended. Ever so coincidentally, March 4 (yesterday) the […]
Frank has his own favorite NPR moment on Saturday mornings, and that’s when Car Talk comes on. He really has a problem, because he has memorized everything that Click and Clack say, and he says it right along with them. Such as “You’re listening to Car Talk, our number is 1-888-227-8255, hello, you’re on Car […]
I like to start my Saturdays bright and early. Well, of course I do - we deliver the papers. We have the car radio tuned to Maine Public Radio (which is National Public Radio), so Garrison Keilor comes on at 6am on the dot with The Writer’s Almanac. But then it segues right into the […]
He won, he won! Well, sort of. This court case involved three charges — OUI (operating under intoxication), driving to endanger and resisting arrest. The jury came back with not guilty on the OUI, but guilty on the other two. Frank’s client was super-worried about the OUI, but Frank beat it. The client ended up […]
We are miffed. A customer we have had for the last six months has dropped us, giving the reason as “poor service.” We think something else is going on. Okay, so maybe he got his paper three mornings ago closer to 6am than his usual pre-5am deliver, because we mistakenly overslept until 4:33am and every […]
We are no longer delivering the paper in pure winter darkness. It’s getting lighter now earlier, much to my particular relief. By 6am it’s nicely light, which I feel like I’ve been waiting months for. We begin the driving portion of the route (after we deliver 16 at first, then come home to fold and […]