Have a Happy Chris'mas!

Stella here.
Oh, golly, it's a fine thing t' not have a cold anymore! Me an' Harvey had us a real corker o' one lately and I AM SO GLAD t' get outta th' house again an' see folks and feel (almost) human again once more!!!

I been runnin' around tryin' t' catch up on gettin' ready f'r Christmas! Th' girls're comin' an' th' grandkids, an' later on Molly an' Webb're comin' over f'r Chris'mas supper.
At least Webb'll be here if Molly can get him t' put in his new choppers. After th' dog ate his old ones he was one sad fella. Now he's got a new set only he says they feel "odd" an' Molly says he ain't been out in 'em in public yet. (Y' don't gotta have teeth t' run a snow plow, so I guess that don't count as Out In Public.)

It's mighty pretty here in Moose Cove, now that we got some real snow. Wish I c'd send along some pictures, only there ain't no way t hook up a cam'ra t' th' computer over here t' th' library. So y'll just have t' imagine.

Th' water in th' cove looks all slatey gray an' th' trees look like somebody slung cotton all over 'em. Things here is pretty much at a standstill. There ain't nobody from away around... guess they're all down t' LL Bean 'r else mebbe Portland whoopin' it up an' spendin' their dough there.

As f'r me an' Harvey, we're just glad not t' be honkin' an' blowin' an' sneezin' non-stop!
We was one sorry lookin' outfit last week!

T'morra bein' Chris'mas Eve an' all, th' library ain't gonna be open, so I gotta get in my good wishes t' ev'rybody t'day. An' since they ain't open again till after New Years, we're stockin' up on readin' matter an' then headin' home. Harvey's bringin' in th' tree this afternoon. We only got a little one this year, cuz we're experiencin' low money just like just about ev'rybody else here. Still, 't wouldn't be Chris'mas without a tree.

We both wish all o' our friends lots o' joy an' good times. Hope th' jolly ol' fella in th' red suit brings us all what we want most, an' that y'r fam'y an' friends 're as fine as ours.
See y' in 2011!
Love,
Stella

Teeth

Stella here.
Only got but a second to report that Molly an' Webb got themselves a dog... an' last night that dog ate Webb's teeth!
I'll tell y' more when I got more time t' do it justice.
:-)
Love,
Stella

Stella here.
My, wasn't it nippy this mornin'!
This here's just a quick note t' say that Pat G's gonna be tellin' somethin' about Harvey an' me over t' Auburn, ME at the UU coffee house there t'night. She says it's about th' time Harvey plowed snow back when th' girls was little.

I gotta run... Harvey's waitin' in th' car with th' engine runnin'. What with th' price o' gas I better not keep him waitin'!
Love,
Stella

Stella here.
I'm gettin' th' hang o' this library computer. Glad t' be back online.
Smells like snow... but I been wrong b'fore.
Goin' home t' turkey soup when I'm done here. Hadda stock up on some readin' material.
Moose Cove's gettin' all decked out f'r th' holidays an' I love an ex-cuse t' come out'n see th' sights. Over t' Th' Bait Barrel they got a giant lobster outlined in red lights on th' roof up over th' dinin' room. Guess they thought it'd look Christmas-y. Only trouble is - every seagull f'r miles around seems t' think it's th' biggest lobster feed they ever seen, an' they're dive bombin' th' place like nobody's business.
Remember that movie, "The Birds"?
I'll keep y' posted.
Love,
Stella

Harvey talkin'

This here's Harvey. Just sayin' hi. Been restackin' wood an' lookin' forward t' some turkey hash f'r supper t'night. Stell hadda come down here t' th' library so I thought I'd drop my 2 cents in.

Day after Thanksgivin'

Hi there... Stella here.
It's been such a long time since our last postin' - I expect you're wonderin' where we been!
Somebody just t' other day suggested that mebbe me an' Harvey'd fallen overboard. But here we be, hale an' hearty as ever.
Hope y' had a dandy Thanksgivin'!

Up here t' Moose Cove we was wicked busy. Th' girls come with one hubby an' one kid (t' other grandkid bein' indisposed with a case o' th' teenage sulks an' grounded f'r th' rest of his life).
Don't ask.

I cooked th' turkey in th' brown paper sack just like I always do - an' t'was just as fine as 't always is. Some things just don't never change, thank goodness!
I ain't gonna try t' catch y' up on all th' time that's gone by. I'll just say that I'm writin' from th' Moose Cove library cuz our ol' dependable laptop give out on us a ways back and we ain't got around t' replacin' it.
Ev'rybody here's fine. There's been lots goin' on.

Molly an' Webb're doin' OK. Still married. Webb's been out in th' truck with his snow plow already. We had a mite o' snow last night an' he was out at th' crack o' dawn pushin' what little we had around.
Molly said she guesses some women have t' bear up bein' football widdows durin' that season - she's gonna be a plow widda.

Harvey's been out tinkerin' in his shed. I think he's workin' on stuff f'r Christmas but he's bein' awful close-mouthed about it.
We had one humongous load o' wood dropped off back in October an' he's got it all stacked b'tween house an' shed. Y' gotta wind y'r way through a regular MAZE t' get from one t' th' other. He says it's a windbreak.

Well, I gotta go. Library's fixin' t' close an' I gotta get home an' think about how I'm gonna use up all o' th' leftovers. Even with Jeannie an' Deb takin' some home, there's still an awful lot t' consider!

I'm startin' t' count days till (less'n a month now) the days start gettin' longer again. This early dark ain't exactly my fav'rite!

Special "Hi's" t' Sylver, an' t' Steve W. Thanks f'r hangin' in there an' askin' about us.
Love,
Stella

Catchin' up.

Stella here.
Geezum it's been a long time since I wrote anything. Bet you're wonderin' what's new up here t' Moose Cove!
Well, we had Molly an' Webb's weddin' back in May. May 1st it t'was, and if you'da been down t' th' North Star Cafe in Portland t'other night you'da heard Pat G tell some about it.
They had this shindig, some o' them MOOSE folks an' some other wicked good enter-tainers, t' hear Pat G tell of it. 'Twas a fund-raiser f'r th' Cafe in case they up run on hard times come winter. It's a good Maine tradition t' lay up stores in case o' in-clement weather, an' I s'pose in-clement money times is about th' same. It don't never hurt t' have a little somethin' saved up, jest in case.

Well, Pat G had some fun watchin' them other performers! She said she was wicked glad she was there. Said she went stage on right after a couple o' dandy musicians and right before th' belly dancer! When Harvey heard that, he about had connipitions! Said if he'da known there'd be a belly dancer he'da hopped a bus an' been in th' front row!
(He ain't never seen one, near's I know... although he did usta love t' sneak off with some o' th' fellas t' see th' hoochie coochie dancers over t' th' fair, back when they had 'em. But them days is long past.)

Webb Grant, Molly's now-husband's got him a belly, but I don't think he dances much. In fact, I'm pretty sure th' only dancin' Webb's ever done was when Molly hauled him up t' dance th' first dance after th' weddin'. His feet was a-goin' ev'ry which-way, but he was a good sport an' looked as if he was en-joyin' himself.
That happened right after th' flock o' seagulls flew overhead ('twas an outdoor reception) an' one of 'em dropped half a fish inta th' cut glass punch bowl full o' sparklin' punch. Couple o' th' church ladies who'd made that punch, an' set out th' lace tablecloth an' all, an' all them little finger sandwiches... they 'bout fainted dead away t' see that ol' fish head a-bobbin' up an' down there in th' punch, its one eye starin' up at th' sky.
I guess folks around here'll think twice b'fore they have another outdoor re-ception down t' th' Bait Barrel!

Well, I jest wanted t' check in so's y'd know me an' Harvey was still among th' livin'. Next time I write I'll try t' say more.
Hope y're well an' all.
Love,
Stella

wedding tomorrow

This here's Harvey talkin'.
Webb 'n Molly're gettin' hitched tomorra. Stell's over at Molly's again. I'll be some glad when it's over. Women're all nuts!

Mighty raw today!

Stella here.
Molly called me up a bit ago.
Said maybe she oughta consider a red union suit (long johns) under her weddin' dress if we get a May 1 that's a raw as 'tis t'day! And in Moose Cove, it's surely possible.
I laughed, but I don't think she was foolin'. She ain't never been a fan o' chilly, damp weather.
Guess Webb'd be some surprised!
:-)
Love,
Stella

The latest doings

Stella here.
Wicked sorry about it being SO long since th' last postin'. One o' our friends fin'lly called us up an' said she thought maybe Moose Cove'd slid inta th' ocean an' me an' Harvey was livin' underwater!
So I figured I oughta get th' ball rollin' again.

Reason we disappeared this time was that I got all caught up helpin' Molly Eldredge get ready f'r her weddin'! An' o' course Harvey ain't much o' one f'r takin' pen in hand (laptop in hand) an' fillin' folks in on th' latest doin's up here. He's been helpin' our son-in-law with his boat an' traps, so he ain't had much energy t' spare neither.

Th' weddin's comin' up May 1, so I been right out straight gettin' Molly outfitted! She's been nervous-er than I dunno what. You'da thought she'd never been wed before!

An' we took her whole house apart, top t' bottom, cleaned it an' put it back t'gether again. There was corners hadn't seen th' light o' day f'r a long time, but we lit 'em up an' scrubbed 'em down, an' then checked 'em over with a fine tooth comb! Why, we even took her kitchen stove apart, scoured th' whole thing, an' put 'er back t'gether again!
Since they're gonna be livin' there (it's a whole lot bigger'n his house) she says she wants ev'rything t' be perfect right from th' get-go!
I tell ya, I thought I was tired out last summer when I helped out waitressin' over t' th' Bait Barrel, but that was a piece o' cake compared t' this!!! At our age, we shoulda hired somebody t' come in an' clean but Molly, she said she wouldn't trust no young half-baked cleaners t' do a proper job... she'n me know how to CLEAN... an' clean we did!
Harvey said if our house was that clean, he'd be scared t' set foot in th' door!
--- No chance o' THAT happ'nin', I guess. :-)

So I hope we're about ready f'r th' "showdown" (as Harvey calls it) on May 1. He says he'll be some glad when th' whole thing's over an' done an' I c'n get back t' fussin' (Hah!) over him again.

Well, that's all f'r now.
If y're readin' this blog f'r th' first time, maybe y' oughta read back a ways an' catch up on things. Harvey'n me's been writin' on it f'r over a year now, if y' c'n believe that!
If y're one o' our old readers, thanks f'r hangin' in there!
Love,
Stella

Hibernatin'

Stella here.

I guess you could say me an' Harvey's been hibernatin'. Got over that bug we had an' neither one o' us had a speck o' energy f'r th' longest time!

O' course, there weren't nothin' much t' write about... so we just holed up f'r a spell an' took it easy.

But it's startin' t' look as if we might be gonna get us an early Spring - see th' picture o' th' maple sap buckets already in action!

I ain't seen such easy weather this time o' year in ages. Both o' us feel we oughta mistrust th' whole thing, but at th' same time we're en-joyin' th' heck outta not havin' to shovel out ev'ry time we open th' door.

Ol' Webb (Grant), Molly's fi-ance's about fit t' be tied, though. What with no snow t' plow f'r s' long, his income's dropped off somethin' wicked! I think he's afraid they're gonna come along an' re-possess that ring he got Molly. I'd like t' see 'em try... Molly's just as pleased as punch with it an' she ain't about t' part with it no how, no way!

But that's just Webb, havin' a mite o' groom-t'-be jitters, I'm sure.

An' if that stand o' old maples out back o' his place keeps fillin' buckets with sap th' way they are of late, they'll be able t' honeymoon in th' Carr-i-bein' instead o' Portland like they're plannin'!

Oh... almost forgot... Y' remember that jigsaw puzzle Harvey started on back in January? Well, I was right - he's pickin' away at it still. Blames th' cat f'r knockin' it off th' table that once, but th' cat ain't t blame - she's just an ex-cuse. I'll be some surprised if he gets it done before June! (But don't tell him I said so.)

Hope y're havin' a dandy March. She sure come in like a lamb!

Gotta go set th' clock ahead now. Daylight savin's come again!

Love,

Stella

Drippin' an' blowin' an' all

Stella here.
Well, all I c'n say's that both me an' Harvey musta had one o' them boomerang colds! We wuz feelin' just about fine... when the blamed thing snuck back an' hit us again... worse'n before!
This time we're good and over it, though. Least we'd better be. I don't think I coulda taken much more o' Harvey's honkin' an' blowin' an' hackin' an' coughin'! An' I weren't no better!
Only now th' blasted weather's got it!!! Drippin' an' blowin' an' all... I ain't seen rain like this in longer'n I can remember! Mother Nature's got one HECK of a head cold!!
:-)
Harvey says he'druther 'twas snow. I guess I gotta agree with him on that. What a dreary day! Only, if 'twas snow we'd be up to our bustles in it, an' glory only knows WHEN we'd get dug out!
He wuz so mad at all th' rain, he went an' hove a Vicks jar out offa the end o' th' pier. Said when he come back in maybe THAT'd cure what ails her (Mother Nature)!
He always DID get cranky when he wuz "under th' weather"!

Well, that's all f'r now. It's been SOME week, I tell ya.
Love,
Stella

This an' that

Stella here.
Cold's all gone. An' good riddance, I say.
Harvey's about over it, too.

Molly's been runnin' back an' forth 'tween her house an' Webb's. He's only had it mild... but she's been carryin' on like he had th' plague 'r somethin'! I hope she's gonna settle down some once they're married. I can't remember her bein' like that with Frank... but then he jest keeled over one day with no warnin' s' mebbe she's worried it'll happen again.
Still an' all, I bet ol' Webb's soakin' up all th' attention, him havin' been a bachelor f'r so long. An' since there ain't been no snow worth mentionin' f'r some time, he c'n just hole up an' let her bring him soup 20 times a day - there bein' no call f'r snowplowin' at th' moment.

If y're gonna be lookin' f'r somethin' t' do t'morra night, Pat G's gonna be tellin' one o' those stories she's got about me an' Harvey over t' th' Side Door Coffee House there in Brunswick.
An' on Sat'day she's gonna be tellin' one o' Ruth Moore's poems at someplace called the Theater Project, also in Brunswick. Said she might even slip in a story 'bout Harvey an' me if there's time.

Well, that's all f'r now.
Love,
Stella

Big news!

Stella here.
Well, 'twasn't th' best Valentine's Day I've ever spent... what with my nose drippin' an' Harvey snufflin' an' snortin' like a beached whale.
On th' other hand though, I guess it coulda been worse. One Valentine's Day we both musta et somethin' that was a mite "off" an' spent th' whole night tradin' places in th' bathroom.
Everything's relative, I guess.

On th' other hand, even though there's a nasty cold's been makin' th' rounds o' Moose Cove folks, it seems th' course o' true love ain't about t' be put off by a few sniffles. Molly Eldridge, our neighbor down th' road, an' Webb Grant, th' snow plow guy's en-gaged!

She called me up Monday mornin' - Sunday havin' been Valentine's Day an' all - an' informed me that Webb'd come by with a bunch o' posies an' while they was settin' in her kitchen drinkin' tea an' she was tryin' her darndest, she said, not t' hack an' cough, ol' Webb takes her hand an' pops th' question!
Molly said she about fell off her chair.
An' then she sneezed right on him.
Not one o' them little ladylike "achoo's", neither, but a honkin' great SNEEZE!!
I guess he was took aback f'r a second but he just reached in his pocket an' pulled out a kerchief an' handed it to her.
She said she was some glad t' see 'twas a clean one.
So she gave a great blow an' wiped her eyes - which had all teared up - took as deep a breath as she was capable of... an' said Yes.

They was gonna go lookin' f'r a ring t'day, but now Webb's come down with th' cold an' so they're gonna wait till he's feelin' better. She's makin' him some chicken soup an' stoppin' by th' store t' stock up on Kleenex 'fore she takes him th' soup.

Me an' Harvey're feelin' lots better (Thanks, Sylver, f'r the get-well wishes) actually. I guess we'll be back t' normal in a day 'r so.
I'll let y' know how things're goin' here on th' Pier Rd. soon's I get any more news.
Love,
Stella

Colds

Stella here.
This is gonna be short. Me an' Harvey's both got wicked colds. A couple minutes ago Harvey sneezed s' hard his glasses flew off an' 'bout scared th' cat outta whatever's left o' her nine lives!
Ev'rybody in Moose Cove seems t' be gettin' it.
'Nuff said. Where's th' Vicks?
Love,
Stella

Up??

Stella here.
OK, we gotta come clean... Couple'o folks asked why Harvey said UP in th' last postin' when he mentioned Lubec, him havin' run a lobster boat f'r s' many years.
Well, it's like this...
Me an' H.'ve been writin' on this blog f'r almost a year now. We fin'lly "got it" that some folks who're readin' it are FROM AWAY.
That bein' said, we try t' keep in mind that sayin' "down" confuses th' heck outta most of 'em, so most o' th' time we try t' write so's they won't get too flummoxed. ("Course, with Harvey y' c'n usually tell what kinda mood he's in by whether or not he worries about such things.)
So f'r those who don't know Maine... It's UP if y're lookin' at a map and y're from away, but it's DOWN if y're used t' readin' charts. That's why it ain't Up East.
Hope that's clear!

OK, that's all I got right now. It's one heck of a nice day an' me an' Molly's goin' off on a "toot" in her car just t' get out an' make sure things're still holdin' t'gether around here.
(F'r th' new folks: a toot's when y' just get up an' go off drivin' an' see where y' end up. There ain't no purpose to a toot 'cept t' get outta th' house f'r a bit.)
Mebbe we'll go UP or mebbe we'll go DOWN. It just depends...
:-)
Love,
Stella

So where IS Moose Cove?

This here's Harvey talkin'.
One o' our friends made a comment on Stella's last postin' about th' whereabouts o' Moose Cove.
THAT Moose Cove ain't us.
There's been some contro-versy over th' years about there bein' 2 Moose Coves, but we ain't th' one up by Lubec.
That's all I got t' say.
H.

Disappointed

Stella here.
Well, me an' Harvey was some disappointed. That Kendall Morse fella didn't win in th' Grammy awards. We was hopin', him bein' a Maine man an' all. Still, even bein' nominated's kinda a big honor.
'Course, Marty Engstrom's book didn't win no Pulitzer prize, neither. There just ain't no justice!

Pat G was mentionin' recently she was hopin' to put out a CD o' some o' th' stories she tells about us an' Moose Cove. Mebbe then we'll fin'lly get put on th' map! Wouldn't THAT be a hoot an' a half!
Love,
Stella

Bakin' scones

Stella here.
Well, we got some more snow an' now it's turned cold again. So much f'r th' January thaw. 'Twas nice while it lasted.
I'm settin' here waitin' f'r th' scones t' bake. I ain't made scones f'r some time an' last night Havery was hintin' that they'd be awful good on a chilly end-o'-January mornin'.
I had some o' them dried cranberries an' some raisins, so I just dumped 'em inta th' flour 'fore I mixed in th' milk.

2 cups o' flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 Tablespoons o' bakin' powder
a couple Tablespoons o' sugar - however sweet y' want 'em
1 cup o' milk
(and any dried fruit ya got - if ya like that sort o' thing)

Just mix th' dry stuff t'gether in a bowl an' add th' fruit till it's floury.
Stir in th' milk. It'll make a sticky dough.
I bake on a teflon pizza pan an' just turn th' lump o' dough out onta th' pan an' flatten it out inta a circle with my hands. Then I cut th' circle in 4 parts an' separate 'em a bit an' flatten 'em down a mite more.
I bake 'em at 275 f'r about half an' hour or until a paper clip (unbent) that I stick in comes out clean.
This makes 4 nice scones. I don't like t' keep 'em over. That's why I only make four.
But you could double th' recipe if y' got more'n two or three t' feed.

That's all f'r now. I'm gonna scrub down th' kitchen t'day an' I gotta get busy.
Love,
Stella

Rough weather

Stella here... just barely!
Jeezum, I actually thought we was gonna blow out inta th' bay last night!

That ol' wind was just howlin' like a banshee an' th' rain actually come in under th' door f'r a time. I hadta put down a couple towels t' keep it back!
All I c'd think of was one o' Ruth Moore's poems. "...I thought the lighthouse was poundin' down, the sea made so and it blew such a gale."

It's a good thing Harvey's got nerves o' steel. Me an' th' cat was some spooked, I tell ya! She went an' hid in th' closet... an' I come pretty close t' goin' in with her - 'cept f'r Harvey just settin' in his chair grinnin'. He kep' sayin' this ol' house has been through many a storm an' would last through many a more.

Guess he was right, though. We're still here this mornin'.
Love,
Stella

Jeezum, it's a crow.

Stella here.
Darn! I was con-vinced it was a raven! Harvey's usually right, though, when it come t' birds.
One o' our Faithful Readers sent us a comment sayin' it's most likely a crow, cuz raven's beaks is thicker an' their tails is diff'rent from th' bird in th' picture. Guess I'd better look in a bird book next time th' library's open... not that I'm dis-putin' her, mind ya.
Sure looked t' ME like a raven.

I missed th' library t'day cuz Harvey'n me had some errands t' run... since it's s' nice out - blue blue sky an' th' bay's awful pretty. Nippy, though.
Anyways, th' library's only open Sat'day mornin' an' Wed. afternoon, so I gotta wait now.

I was kinda hopin' me an' Molly c'd go out f'r a spin while th' roads're clear, but she'n Webb was goin' out f'r dinner (lunch - if y're from away) an' so she's tied up f'r th' time bein'. I was sorta thinkin' she'n me might run over t' th' knittin' store... but that c'n wait, I guess.
Hope y're havin' a sunny day wherever y're readin' this.
Love,
Stella

Raven... or crow? and NARFE

Stella here.
Well, Harvey says it's a plain old crow.
I say it's a raven (in th' pictures I posted yest'day).
Anybody out there got an opinion?

Had a nice chat with Pat G a bit ago. She said she spent some time t'day with a group o' awful nice folks from th' Active an' Re-tired Fed'ral Employees Association. Guess she told 'em about Harvey's snowplowin' adventure back when th' girls was little, an' th' time I cut off m' long hair. Gosh, all that seems about a million years ago now!
I still dunno why Pat G wants t' go borin' folks about Harvey an' me when there's much more interestin' things t' talk about... but she's per-sistant, I'll say that for her.
Anyways, she had a nice time meetin' them re-tired (but active) folks, an' said I'da en-joyed 'em, too, if I'd been there.
'Course me an' Harvey don't go galavantin' off outta Moose Cove very often, 'specially in th' "Wintah". It's just too far t' go t' haul th' car out an' then have t' deal with snowy roads an' all. 'Bout all we're good for this time o' year's a run t' th' IGA once a week! Guess y' could say we're a couple o' homebodies.

Well, that's all I got t' say f'r now. Gonna go look over Harvey's shoulder... he's workin' on that jigsaw puzzle again. (He keeps all th' loose pieces in a Tupperware con-tainer now, since th' cat keeps knockin' 'em off th' table.)
Love,
Stella

Tree rat and raven

Stella here.

Bakin's done but it's still snowin'.

Here's what I was watchin' while th' Anadama was in th' oven... one o' th' "tree rats" an' a raven.

Cat about had a fit cuz I wouldn't let her out!

Molly called an' said Webb'd been by a couple three times t' plow out her drive. Funny, he only come by here once.

Must be true love.

:-)

Love,

Stella

Snow

Snowin' again.
Stell's bakin'.
H.

Picture: A mite o' snow

Stella here.

This here's a picture o' my birdfeeder after th' snow let up.

Awful pretty, but I'm some glad we keep a stack o' canned goods in th' pantry.

:-)

Webb went by on th' town plow a while ago, so it ain't s'bad as it might be. Still though, we got us some shovelin' to do.

Love,

Stella

Snowin'

Snowin'.
Comin' down like a son of a gun.
H.

See the pumpkin

Stella here.

Thought I'd better take a picture o' th' punkin that the squirrels're eatin' into... 'fore it snows... or Harvey tosses th' whole thing out onta th' compost.

Now that I see it like this, mebbe th' compost's where it oughta be... 'cept then what'll th' cat do f'r recreation? She's got so's she perks right up an' sets in th' winda above watchin' f'r squirrels most o' th' day.

Them white spots up near th' stem're where they chewed some but left off in favor o' th' lower down place where they tunnelled in all th' way. Mebbe it tasted better there.

Speakin' o' orange colored things,... we was listnin' t' Stuart McLean talkin' t'day on th' Vinyl Cafe about Clementines - them little oranges that come in wooden crates. Me an' Harvey got t' rememberin' th' time we both come down with some kinda stomach flu an' couldn't hold nothin' down but Clementines. Th' girls'd given us a box of 'em that year f'r Christmas (I think mebbe they gave us th' flu, too, but it ain't never been proven), an' we purely lived on those things till we got better.

Funny, ain't it, how somethin'll remind ya of somethin' else.

Some folks say that there's lots o' ways y' c'n tell if a marriage is gonna hold t'gether. I say havin' th' flu t'gether both at th' same time's gotta be one o' th' best tests there is.

Well, I gotta go. Just wanted ya t' see th' picture.

Love,

Stella

January thaw

Stella here.
We got us a January thaw goin'. Th' ice along th' edges o' things is meltin' an' I fin'lly got th' path t' th' bird feeder so's I ain't riskin' life n' limb ev'ry time I go out t' fill it.

Don't think I mentioned that th' punkin we had left out on th' back steps was froze right up solid after Thanksgivin'. Looked kinda pretty, so we just left it. Well, there's a couple o' squirrels livin' acrost th' road an' they discovered that punkin an' now that it's softened up a bit they've tunnelled into it an' are picnickin' on th' seeds. Looks kinda disgustin' but I tol' Harvey squirrels got a right t' eat, too, so it's gonna stay where 'tis f'r now.
If I c'n get th' cam'ra goin' I'll take a picture an' post it.

Harvey calls squirrels "tree rats" an' says if we run low on protein we c'n just have a pot o' squirrel stew.
Now that's about enough t' gag me (as th' kids usta say). If we was reduced t' eatin' squirrel I think I'd turn vegetarian like our daughter Jeannie did after th' time she went deer huntin' back when she was a teenager. She's th' reason I make two kinds o' mincemeat at Thanksgivin' - one with deer meat and one with just apples an' raisins an' such.

Th' cat went out this mornin' an' ran smack inta one o' th' "tree rats" backin' outta th' punkin! I happened t' see it happen an' I dunno who was more surprised, th' cat or th' squirrel. I brought th' cat back inside an' she got up in th' winda an' just set there with her chin quiverin'. Back when she had teeth she usta be a dandy mouser, an' I guess she thinks squirrels is big mice. Tol' Harvey about it an' we had a good laugh.

Well, There ain't nothin' much else goin' on. Molly 'n Webb're goin' out t' dinner again t'morra, so th' big ro-mance is still progressin'. She was actually sportin' nail polish last time I saw her. Harvey's buildin' somethin' out in his shed, takin' ad-vantage o' th' warm snap. Me, I'm just bakin' an' en-joyin' th' sun comin' in through th' windas. Like I said when we started this blog... ain't nothin' much t' get too ex-cited about up here in Moose Cove.
So I'll sign off f'r now.
En-joy th' thaw!
Love,
Stella

An item

Stella here.
Quiet weekend. Th' most ex-citin' thing happened was when th' cat knocked Harvey's jigsaw puzzle all t' heck after he'd got it partway done.
I warned him (Harvey), but y' know how cats are. Now he's gotta start all over again "from scratch"! :-)
Cat ddn't seem at all upset.

News on th' ro-mance front... Molly an' Webb had - so she tells me - a dandy time goin' out t' eat t'gether. Looks as if this is gonna become a regular thing.
Seems Molly havin' that fella from away come visit kinda jump-started Webb. I guess he was afraid Molly might get swept up by some other fella an' he (Webb)'d better make a move.
Anyways, seems like we got us an "item".
I kinda wish ol' Hettie Gooch was still around runnin' th' Moose Cove Gazette. She'da been writin' up Webb an' Molly in her social column like a house afire! Hettie never was one t' miss out on a bit o' gossip! ('Course, this is pretty tame stuff, two old folks goin' out f'r Sunday dinner... but Hettie could make even somethin' simple as that sound like big news!)

Oh... I almost forgot... Molly told me she was SO embarassed... Seems when she was takin' out th' pincurls from her new hairdo b'fore Webb picked her up, she missed a couple o' them metal clips she uses an' they sat there, right b'side her ear th' whole time they was orderin' their meal.
She says she didn't spot 'em until she went off t' th' ladies room while they was waitin' f'r dessert. Says she like t' died when she found 'em!
But ol' Webb, when she come out an' asked him why he didn't say nothin', he said he just thought they was some kind o' fashion accessory.
Men! What d' they know?
But I guess they had a good laugh about it, fin'lly. Molly's a pretty good sport, after all.

OK, that's it from here f'r now. It's cold, but that ain't nothin' new. An' it ain't really even all that cold. Maybe we're gonna get off easy this winter.
Love,
Stella

"Nice"

Stella here.
Well, I guess th "coffee date" went OK. Molly called me up soon's she got home an' filled me in. Ol' Webb didn't say nothin' 'bout her new hair-do (ain't that just like a man) but he told her she looked "nice", an' I guess Molly was some tickled! F'r someone as close-mouthed as Webb, "nice" is pretty high praises!
Anyway, they're goin' out t' dinner Sunday afternoon, so I expect t' have more t' re-port come Monday.

Harvey's been tryin' his hand at doin' a jigsaw puzzle. The grandkids gave him one f'r Christmas an' although he's never been one f'r such things, this one's got a scene of a beach an' palm trees an' a ocean that looks like somethin' y'd paint in a picture. So he's got all th' pieces sorted an' laid out accordin' t' color and/or edges. Says he'll work on it some after supper when he's of a mind to.
I'm bettin' he'll still be fussin' with it come Easter!
:-)
Well, that's all th' ex-citement around here f'r now.
Talk to y' later.
Love,
Stella

Molly's datin' saga

Stella here.
No grass growin' under their feet! Molly phoned me up... she'n Webb're goin' out f'r coffee t'morra. Roads're clear, so there's no danger o' him havin' t' work plowin'.
She says she feels like she's 16 all over again.
Imagine! Gettin' all worked up over goin' out f'r a cup o' coffee.

Other fella got back home OK. She said he emailed her an' said he was glad they got t' visit but his business is pretty busy right now an' she should ex-cuse him if he don't write "f'r a while". Mebbe he read th' writin' on th' wall - so t' speak. Molly was nice t' him, but there weren't no sparks flyin'.
Sounds like a brush-off t' me, but Molly, she don't seem t' give a hoot. She's phoned me twice t' ask what I think she oughta wear when she an' Webb go out t'morra.
F'r goodness sakes, they're only goin' over t' the Bait Barrell!

I asked Harvey when he was gonna take ME out on a date? He didn't say nothin'... just looked at me over th' top o' his glasses an' snorted.
Maybe I oughta get somethin' "allurin' " from Avon an' dose up good. (Just kiddin'.)

Molly'n me ain't been off on a "toot" t'gether in some time. Things is kinda froze up around here an' there ain't as much fun in sightseein' in th' wintertime. We often go f'r a drive on Wed. when th' weather's good, but she's got an appointment t' get her hair frizzled over t' Bessie's Trim 'n Tint "Saloon" (as Harvey calls it) this afternoon. So I guess th' toot'll just have t' wait.
I'll send ya th' next in-stallment when I hear how th' "date" went.
Love,
Stella

A surprise

Stella here.
Well, if that don't beat all! Molly Eldridge just phoned me up with some surprise news.
Seems her friend from away got off OK after all, left this mornin'. Th' roads was clear enough f'r him t' get t' Portland an' catch his plane back home. THAT wasn't so surprisin'.
Molly said she didin't have no illusions about her an' him strikin' up any kind o' ro-mance... said there' just wasn't no "chemistry" - least as far as she was concerned. THAT wasn't much of a surprise, neither, from what she'd already told me.

What the surprise was was that she told me that Webb Grant, who's been plowin' her drive for her ev'ry winter storm since Frank passed away, stopped by t'day. 'Stead o' just drivin' in an' plowin' th' last o' th' new snow, seems Webb got outta his truck an' come t' th' door an' stumbled through askin' Molly f'r a DATE. THAT was th' surprise!

Now that I think on it, I expect mebbe he's been sweet on her f'r some time but never got up th' nerve t' say nothin'. Mebbe findin' out she had a gentleman visitor from away woke ol' Webb up some an' he figured he'd better fish or cut bait.
Anyways, Molly says they're gonna go f'r coffee one o' these days. She sounded mighty tickled about it, too.

I guess y' just never know. Life is full o' surprises.
I'll keep y' posted if anything develops.
Love,
Stella

Blizzard an' a disappointment

Stella here.

Well, we had us a blizzard. Gonna take some time 'fore we're dug out but that's OK. We didn't have no plans.

Molly's gentleman friend, though, he was "freakin' out"! Guess he was worried he'll be marooned at th' Moose Cove Inn f'rever!

I suspect that didn't set too well with Molly, as she loves th' snow an' don't see that a liitle thing like a blizzard's much t' worry about.

I don't think this ad-venture o' hers is gonna go much further. When that fella goes back home t' Philadelphia I expect Molly ain't gonna be writin' back, 'cept maybe t' thank him f'r a nice visit catchin' up on ol' times when they was young.

Me an' Harvey sat up a bit last night, lis'nin' t' th' wind an' peekin' out now'n again t' see how high th' snow'd become. Since it's drifted some, I ain't sure what we got f'r actual footage.

But this mornin' when I peeked outta inta th' dooryard, it was so still an' calm I c'd hear th' bell on th' bouy out in th' harbor just as clear as if it'd been right next t' me.

Prettiest thing' y' ever saw, all that perfect whiteness.

I wager there won't be none o' th' fellas goin' out checkin' traps t'day.

Harvey an' me's stayin' indoors an' en-joyin' one another's comp'ny. We'll be lis'nin' t' Stuart McLean doin' th' Vinyl Cafe on public radio, an' far's I'm concerned, that's about as good entertainment as goin' out t' a show!

Well, that's all th' news from here f'r now. I'm gonna go start a chowder.

Love,

Stella

Molly's fella

Stella here.
Snow's comin' down at a pretty good clip.

Molly E and her fella was here yest'day an' we fin'lly got a gander at him. He ain't too bad, I guess. Seems kinda smitten with Molly - although I ain't sure she feels th' same.
He's a little bitty guy, a whole lot shorter'n she is, an' shaped like a bait barrel. Comes from outside o' Philadelphia, where he an' Molly went t' school t'gether. She moved up here when she married Frank.
I ain't s' sure much'll come o' this. Molly seems kinda re-served, but mebbe she's just thinkin' over if she wants t' get attached again.

If I was t' lose Harvey, I ain't s' sure I'd want t' hitch up f'r a second time. Him 'n me's so set in our ways t'gether, I dunno if I could abide gettin' used t' a new way o' gettin' along. But Molly, she's been on her own f'r some years now, s' mebbe it's diff'rent with her. I'll hafta ask her.

Anyways, he's gotta go back home t' Philadelphia on Monday t' see t' his business, so he'll be gone an' Molly an' me c'n have a good heart-t'-heart talk.

Guess I ain't gotta worry none about havin' t' re-place Harvey, though, not f'r some time, anyways. He's outside shovelin' a path out t' his shed so's he c'n do some woodworkin'. Healthy's a horse, 'cept f'r that touch o' arthur-itis.

Th' snow's really comin' down. I guess we ain't goin' nowhere's f'r a day 'r two. That's OK, though, we got plenty t' keep us busy.
Love,
Stella

New years visitors & soup

Stella here.
Happy New Year, it's 2010!

We was gonna in-vite some folks t' come have some Velveeta soup (one o' Harvey's favorites, I'll put in th' recipe) but what with th' snow comin' down like 'tis, we're gonna hold off.

Molly E's comin', though, since she's just down th' road... an' she's bringin' th' fella she's been emailin' to with her. He really did show up after Christmas just like he said he was gonna. He's stayin' up t' th' Moose Cove Motel (I think he's th' only payin' guest they got right now) f'r a few days so's he an' Molly c'n "get reacquainted", since they ain't laid eyes on one another since school days.
I'll let y' know how THAT goes!

Well, here's that recipe (or receipt, as Harvey's ma usta say). It's really called Golden Dream Soup, but I call it Velveeta Soup since that's one o' th' main ingredients.

3 c. cubed potatoes
1 c. water
1/2 c. chopped celery & 1/2 c/ chopped up carrot
1/4 c. chopped onion & 1 teasp. parsley flakes
1/2 teasp. salt (less if y' want) & a dash o' pepper
1 chicken bullion cube
1 & 1/2 c. milk
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 pound Velveeta cheese, diced kinda small

Simmer the vegetables and th' seasonings in th' water for about 15-20 minutes.
Make a mix outta th' flour an' milk (stir 'em together till they're good 'n smooth).
Add th' flour/milk mix to th' hot veg.
Keep stirrin' constant until it all boils and thickens.
Now add th' diced up Velveeta an' keep stirrin' till th' cheese melts.

That is some good eatin'!
They usta serve it down t' th' old Hersey Retreat in Stockton Springs back b'fore it got sold an' all gussied up. I doubt it's on th' menu these days.

Well, that's enough f'r now.
Try that soup sometime. Bet you'll en-joy it!
Love,
Stella