Thanksgiving

This here's Harvey talkin'.
Stell's politely asked me t' stay outta her way while she's cookin' so I'm writin' t' say hope y' have a good Thanksgivin'.
Th' girls're comin' over later an' we're havin' supper with them an' Deb's husband an' kids an' Molly from down th' road.
Turkey, mashed potatoe, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, pie. Jeannie's bringin' some kinda vegetarian fake turkey since she don't eat meat.
Full house.
Got a lot t' be thankful about.
H.

Woodpile and "receipts"

Stella here.

I dunno how folks do it... th' ones that're never home cuz they're runnin' all th' time, workin' an' doin' errands an' takin' their kids t' every sort o' class an' goin' t' th' gym an' never stoppin' f'r more'n a few minutes.

Our daughter Jeannie was up t'day an' she was tellin' me about some o' her friends. Made me tired just t' hear 'bout all th' things they pack inta a day.

I'm en-closin' some pictures that are restful t' look at. Just in case y've had a tough day.

Th' first one's some o' th' wood Harvey's got in. Always makes me feel more restful when I know we got enough wood f'r th' Winter.

I had a fine day t'day list'nin' t' th' radio an' throwin' out stuff. Mostly a lot o' old papers that'd piled up. It bein' fairly mild, Harvey was out tinkerin' in his shed, so I had a grand clean-out! 'Twas gettin so's y' could hardly find space on th' kitchen table t' put down plates f'r a meal!
Much better now. Old receipts an' bills make dandy kindlin'!

I remember, Harvey told me his Ma usta call recipes "receipts". I got her "receipt" book tucked away. Now an' then I take it out an' read over some o' th' things she liked t' cook.

Makes me feel almost like I knew her. Somehow, I can't imagine readin' someone's "receipts" typed in on a computer like Jeannie's got hers. Give me an old copy book full o' handwritin' an' things cut out from magazines any day!

Pat G said she was tellin' about Harvey's an' my first Thanksgivin' t'other night at that coffee house she goes to. I'll tell ya, I'm some glad th' turkey we got this year's bigger than th' dinky little one we had back then. I seen rats bigger'n that first turkey! Still, we was glad t' have it, bein' as broke as only newly-weds back then could be. 1950! Seems hard t' believe!

Well, that's about all f'r now. Think I'll get out that ol' receipt book an' have a visit with Harvey's Ma.

Love,

Stella

Hello Hospice folks!

Stella here.
Pat G emailed us an' said it might be nice if I said hello t' th' nice folks she told th' "Tupperware" story to down in Brunswick at th' hospice volunteer appreciation night. She said some of 'em might be checkin' out this blog.
So here's a howdy from Moose Cove.

It rained t' beat th' band last night! 'Bout washed th' paint offa th' house trim!
Seems t' be about done now, but I feared f'r the roof f'r a while. Guess, though, th' last time Harvey tightened up th' shingles he did a good job. There was nary a leak.

I'll write some more soon's I can, and try t' put a couple o' pictures in th' next postin'.
Meanwhile, if y're new t' th' blog, y' can go back an' read some o' th' earlier stuff by checkin' out th' blog archive over to the left o' this page.
Y' can email us, too, if y've a mind. It's harveyandstellastories@yahoo.com
We en-joy hearin' from folks, an' we can pass along messages t' Pat G, too.
Y' can also make a comment right here on th' blog.

That's it f'r now. Harvey's just made a pot o' tea an' I'm gonna go have some.
I hope Pat G explained that this blog ain't very ex-citin', just me, an' occasionally Harvey puttin' in his two cents, writin' about what's goin' on here... which ain't usually very much, but it's what we got.
Love t' all,
Stella

Mailbox woes

Stella here.
Another week's gone by and it ain't snowed again... although we've had a couple good hard frosts.
Things in Moose Cove's slowed down plenty, now that th' leaf peepers've stopped driftin' in. We may not be on most maps cuz we're so small but I'm always amazed at th' number o' outta staters that manage t' wander offa Route One an' end up drivin' through town an' end up down here on th' Pier Rd.
'Course once they get here t' th' end where our house is, all they got left t' do's turn around an' head back t' th' highway. "Bloody lot o' nuisance," as my friend Elizabeth from England usta say.
I can't tell ya how many times Harvey's hadta put th' mailbox back up after some honkin' big SUV's busted off th' post an' driven off with nary a notice!
Harvey's said more'n once he's thought o' in-stallin' a fog horn an' puttin' flashin' lights atop th' mailbox.

One Christmas, our daughter Deb's husband made us a wicked cute mailbox that looked just like one o' th' old-time lobster traps. It lasted till Spring when somebody ripped it right off th' post an' drove off with it.
Why folks set s' much store by lobster traps is beyond me!
We had a neighbor once who had a skunk get caught in a old trap they had setting on their back porch. Had one heck of a time gettin' it out, too! I guess skunks ain't much smarter'n lobsters.

That's about all I got f'r now. I got a soup simmerin' on th' back burner. We're just gonna set back an' do nothin' this weekend.
Hope y're havin' a good day.
Love,
Stella

Weather

Stella here.
It appears some local folks wasn't too im-pressed with that little piddley bit o' snow I sent pictures of. Over t' Sydney they got six inches.
Up country a ways I guess folks was slidin' all which-way offa th' road.
Sometimes it pays t' be close t' th' coast.

Weather don't surprise me none, though. Been here long enough there ain't nothin' much I ain't seen.
Snow, fog, hurricanes, nor'easters, mosquitoes, black flies, heat waves...
It always makes me chuckle, though, t' hear folks from away gripin' about how cold / hot / buggy / or whatever it is! What'd they expect... a carbon copy o' where they come from??

Oh well, 'tain't up t' me t' critisize... bein' from away, myself. 59 years in Moose Cove still don't make me even close t' bein' a native, y' know.
But like I said t'other day, long's Harvey's got th' wood in, we're doin' OK.

That's about all f'r now.
Hope t' be talkin' to y' again soon.
Love,
Stella

Pictures o' snow!

Stella here.

Th' first two pictures're from votin' day. It was one pretty mornin', regardless o' how th' votin' went.

Th' second two are t'day... SNOW!!!

Harvey was grumblin' about his arthritis when he woke up. Soon's I looked out the winda I knew why. Who'da expected snow?!

Good thing we got th' woodpile in.

I'm bakin' bread t'day an' don't plan on goin' nowheres. I doubt th' snow'll amount t' anything but it sure put me in mind o' winter a-comin'.

'Fore I forget I wanted t' tell ya that Pat G's tellin' th' Tupperware story on th' 11th down t' th' North Star Cafe in Portland at that "Tellebration" thing those storytellers do every November. There'll be a whole slew of 'em. Y' c'n look it up at www.northstarmusiccafe.net t' get directions an' all. I think th' whole thing starts at 7:00.

Gotta go now an' punch down th' dough.

Love,

Stella

Vote response from H & S

I am some disappointed.
H.

Stella here.
We're both disappointed. Th' only good thing I can think of is that a whole lot o' folks voted th' way we did, an' that shows that there's a lot o' hope f'r another votin' time.

Th' Moose Cove votin' place was mighty busy when we was there first thing. Whatever they voted, I was mighty glad t' see s' many folks out expressin' their opinions.
Love,
Stella

Harvey's 2 cents - Vote!

This here's Harvey talkin'.

I'm goin' out t' vote in a bit, soon's th' polls're open.
My brother Raymond an' his friend Bill lived t'gether f'r nearly 40 years out in California.
They was good men.
That's all I got t' say.
H.

Hello retreat ladies!

Stella here.
Pat G down t' Brunswick asked me t' say hi t' any ladies who might be readin' this blog who was at th' women's retreat she was at over th' weekend.
She wanted me t' say that th' whole blog, all hundred n' some postin's, is available t' read - although why y'd want t' read any o' Harvey's an' my old postin's is beyond me - if y' look t' th' lefthand side o' this page where it says "blog archive". Click on that an' y' can check it out.

Pat G called up t' tell me she'd told th' story about th' time I got t' sellin' Tupperware an' all o' th' ladies here in Moose Cove got caught up in th' Tupperware craze.

Anyhow, that's all I got time t' write just now. Me an' Molly Eldredge is goin' off on a toot t' drive around an' see th' last o' th' leaves an' th' Halloween decorations. She'll be pullin' up out in front any minute now an' leanin' on th' horn.
If we get any good pictures I'll put 'em in th' next postin' in a day or so.

I hope any o' you retreat ladies that's readin' this is recovered from th' stress o' bein' fed all that good food an' havin' t' dress up in costumes (yeah, Pat G told me ALL about it) on Sat'day night.
Wish I coulda seen it!
PS - Y'r secrets is safe. I ain't told Harvey nothin'!
Love,
Stella