Books and a Movie

Although I haven't made a regular blog post in a couple weeks, I have been keeping my 2025 Reading List page up-to-date. This is something I will continue to do until the end of this year. I will probably follow a similar idea for my 2026 reading. But I'm thinking of doing more actual posts about books, movies, entertainment, etc.  Hmmm... we'll see, won't we?

Ellen, Anne-Marie, and I went to see the Downtown Abbey movie last week. We enjoyed seeing our "old friends" on the big screen. But we missed Maggie Smith. She was the best!

Have a great weekend!

FREE - Please Leave Sign

Early this summer our friend Donna asked if she could have a yard sale at our house on Labor Day weekend.

She and Carole (Donna's mom) brought things to store in our garage over the past few weeks.

Yesterday was the big day. Lew and I had a few things in the sale, but it was mostly Donna's and Carole's stuff.  The items left at the end of the day got taken to Goodwill or put on the side of the road for free. (Lew has a "Free" sign that he puts in the ground. Please see title of this post for his instructions, LOL!)

When we got home from church today, Lew and I put the remaining free stuff on the side of the road again. I am happy to report that by 5:30pm everything was gone! That includes a headboard, a table, three boxes of books, and various other sundries. Hooray!

We really do have a good location for getting rid of stuff!

P.S. Lew's sign did not get taken. The ability to read is alive and well.

😁

A New Pizza Experience

After an early departure this past Tuesday, Kim, Joe, Kaelen, and Cocoa arrived home early Wednesday evening. That's a long two days of driving!

Last Sunday I wrote about the Olympics. It was a great two weeks of sports. Now Lew and I have been watching the Little League Baseball World Series. I would love to go to Williamsport, PA some year to experience this event. It ends next Sunday.

We went out to lunch with Matt, Emily, Eli, and Adam after church today. We had such a nice time with them, and the food was especially scrumptious. I had a Loaded Mashed Potato pizza! It's made with pizza dough topped with a cheese blend, bacon, smoked cheddar, fresh jalapeños, scallions, and sour cream. (I had them hold the fresh jalapeños.)  We all went home with leftovers, so there is more yumminess to look forward to.

We are having a yard sale Labor Day weekend with our friends Carole and Donna, so I am starting to declutter. It's going a bit slow, but I will pick up the pace as the day draws nearer. My niece Kelsey wrote the best yard sale advertisement, which went something like this: "Come buy our stuff. We don't want it anymore!"

A Mediocre Lunch Break

When I scheduled my next dental cleaning several months ago, I was not working on Mondays.

I am now working on Mondays.

My appointment was today at noon.

I refrained from munching this morning at work so that I wouldn't have to brush my teeth before leaving for the dentist's office.

After getting bitewing x-rays taken, I followed Darlene (my hygienist who is a friend from high school) to her work area to get my teeth cleaned.

I thought I was going to get scolded since I haven't done a great job flossing every night, etc.  But she said everything looked fine.  Phew!

When I got in my vehicle to head back to work, I first opened a lunch bar and took a bite. I was starving!

So my lunch break wasn't great since I had to go to the dentist. But it wasn't terrible either since I didn't get scolded. Still, it was below average as far as lunch breaks go.

My next dental appointment is on a Thursday next March at 10:00am. I don't work on Thursdays!

Miscellanea

I just googled the plural of "miscellaneous" so I hope the title of this post is the correct usage.

Lew and I watched the final round of the Women's College World Series last week. Congratulations to Oklahoma on the FOUR-peat! Over the course of four years, the seniors played 250 games together. They lost only 15 of those games, they were never run-ruled, and they were never shut out... not to mention the four national championship titles. What a great softball squad!

I did some much-needed organizing/cleaning on Friday. I still have lots more to do, but I'm tired. Plus it will still be here later, LOL!

Dad will write more about this on Wednesday, but he DID go yesterday. The weather cooperated after all.

The weather today... well... it's raining. It must have rained really hard at some point during our church service; we could hear it pounding on the roof for several minutes.

I've been reading some interesting novels. (What about you?)

We finally went for pie & fry (Bill's Pizza and Pier Fries) with some friends last week. We followed up our fine dining experience with delicious ice cream treats at Fielder's Choice.

Now I'm off to have some lunch!

Conversation With an "Old" Friend

This past Tuesday evening I stayed up until 12:30AM (into Wednesday morning) talking on the phone with one of my dearest friends. I met her when I lived in Kansas, which is still her home.

She came to Maine for a visit about four years ago, and we couldn't remember if we had spoken on the phone since then. Text messages and the like, yes.  But speaking, not so sure.

At the end of our three and a half hour phone conversation, we talked about how it hadn't seemed like a possible four years. Wasn't it only yesterday that we were sitting in the same room, drinking hot tea, and watching a chick flick?

Friends are forever. Especially "old" ones.

Prayers and More Prayers

I have dear friends that have suffered this past week.

For two friends, the tragic loss of an adult daughter/niece.

For another friend, painful side-effects from chemotherapy.

My friends know people are praying, and they are grateful.

God's peace, comfort, and love to all.

Leftovers

Breakfast out with Lew, Carole, and Donna.

The rest of today's dining:

• Lunch: Leftover Chipotle.
• Dinner: Leftover lasagna.

Yum!

A New Dining Experience

I had a late lunch with a friend today.

She suggested going to a place I had never been.

That place? Chipotle! (Yes, I am behind the times.)

I enjoyed the food and I even have leftovers for tomorrow's lunch.

When I see the commercials I now can say, "I've eaten there!"

My Recent Obsession With 0 and 1

I'm a little miffed at my friend Mary. She told me about a binary puzzle game on the internet, and now I can't stop playing it! There is something really satisfying about getting all the 0s and 1s in the right squares on the grid.

P.S. In reality I'm not upset with Mary. I just needed a catchy sentence to start this post.

P.P.S. Happy February!

Breakfast!

The last time we had Saturday breakfast with Carole and her daughter Donna was mid-December. We missed several weeks in a row due to either illness or inclement weather.

Today the circumstances were such that we could all make it. It was so nice to finally have a chance to get together and catch up.

We know Dick would be happy we are continuing our Saturday breakfast tradition. But we sure do miss him.

Ice Cream for Lunch

My friend Carmen came by after church. The Dairy Corner closes for the season tomorrow, so she took Lew and me out for a "summer-is-officially-over" ice cream treat! Yummy! Not one of us felt guilty about having ice cream for lunch.

And if that yumminess wasn't enough, Lew went to Amato's to pick up dinner for Dad, himself, and me. A few weeks ago I discovered they have a baked macaroni and cheese dinner. It is delicious, and the portion is large enough for two meals. So, so, so good.

It was a great day of eating!

Tomorrow night I am planning on having a salad.

Lew and I Host a Gathering

We are long-term subscribers to WORLD Magazine. I also get the weekly "Roundup" newsletters various WORLD writers send via e-mail.

Several months ago I wrote to Steve, the writer of one of the newsletters. He had told a story about how he and his wife had a bat in their bedroom. This reminded me of our own story, of course! You can read our story right here on Mainely Tracy:

Superkitty (July 26, 2012)

My Take on the Bat Incident (July 27, 2012)

I sent our bat tale to Steve. He thought it was hilarious, and he published part of it in his newsletter. Jerry was definitely the hero! A few weeks later I sent Steve a photo of Jerry looking at a page from WORLD Magazine — a page with a photo of Steve and his own cat.

Our subsequent correspondence led to a gathering of WORLD Magazine donors in Maine. Steve and his wife flew to Maine yesterday morning. We had a fun meetup at our house with them and 12 other donors who responded to Steve's invitation. It really was a great time....

And everyone got to meet Jerry, the "CATalyst" for how this came to be!

Jerry reads WORLD.

Saturday Summary

Lew and I have visited Dad and talked with him on the phone over the past few days. He is still in the hospital and seems to be doing well. He especially enjoys ordering his meals -- room service! -- and has a good rapport with the staff. The big "wait and see" at the moment is an MRI; it's been ordered but may not happen for another day or two. The MRI is to see if the infection has gone into the bone in his foot, and we are praying that it has not.

My employer gave me a nice raise in my hourly rate of pay. I certainly welcome that. 😀

Maine will be represented in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA! The team from Gray-New Gloucester/Raymond won the New England Regional tournament. The entire state is looking forward to watching them in the World Series.

I've had some nice visits with Mom. The room change has been hard on her, but she's slowly getting used to the new space. I do think that watching some familiar TV shows has helped, believe it or not! We've also done the puzzles she likes.

I have a big old scratch on my right index finger courtesy of Jerry. It's time to trim his claws! 😼

A week ago today Lew and I attended a get-together at Carole's house. Dick would have turned 75 last Saturday, so Carole invited family and friends to a celebration of his life — complete with cake! We will miss him always.

Saturday Breakfast

Lew and I went to breakfast this morning with Carole and her daughter Donna.

We had a lovely time, although we all knew there was an "empty place" at the table. It was our first Saturday breakfast out together since Dick passed away.

Carole and Donna gave Lew a golf ball and tee that they found in Dick's bedside table. I am going to make a LEGO display stand for the ball and tee.

We had a great conversation, catching up on the events of the past month.

We shared lots of laughter and a few tears.

It was a morning that we all needed.

We are blessed.

I Go Outside

Wow! I spent time outside on three separate occasions over the past couple days:

#1. Yesterday I asked Mom if she wanted to go outside and she said, "Yes!"  So we got her in her wheelchair and outside we went. We went three times around the small traffic circle in front of the building's main entrance before she wanted to go back inside. That's two times more than usual, so I knew she enjoyed it. 

#2. I met my friend Mary for lunch today. After we ate we sat on a bench outside of the restaurant to chat for a few more minutes. Right after we sat down, I checked my text messages. She had beat me to the restaurant and had texted, "Sitting on the bench out front." I was just seeing her text and we laughed about how her text message was true once again!

#3. Lew and I went to Eli's Little League game tonight. It was a little chilly, but we had some hot food from the snack bar and managed to "inadvertently" persevere to the end of the game. Why inadvertently? We planned to leave after five innings. Little League games are typically six innings long, but tonight's game "timed out" because another game was scheduled. So they only played five innings after all! Eli's team got beat, 7-4, but it was fun to watch them play.

All this fresh air has made me tired!  🌞

Two Celebrations

I took a bloggy-break the past few days. Just a quick post tonight to get back into it.

Sunday (two days ago) was Mother's Day. Mom and I celebrated by eating chocolate chip cookies that I brought. She ate her whole cookie and then started on mine! When she picked up the final piece of the cookie, she took a bite, looked at me, and then handed it to me as her eyes asked, "Do you want this?" I thought that was sweet, and I did eat it. 🍪 I also brought her a jello cup, which she enjoyed.

Saturday (three days ago) we celebrated the life of our friend Dick. It was a lovely service. Lew spoke for a couple minutes about their friendship, and he did a nice job. Lots of people attended the service, so we had a busy afternoon of fellowship. We were pretty tired by the end of the day. We will both miss our wonderful friend.

Today is the middle of May! Fifteen days of May before today and fifteen more days after. Enjoy!

Normalcy

I have been thinking non-stop about our friend Dick and his grieving family and friends. It's like a computer program running in the background that's taking up all of the working memory.

I was, however, able to have a couple days of "normalcy" by going to work yesterday and today. I put in a total of 17 hours and accomplished much more than I thought I would.

One day at a time.

Best Friends Forever

My husband lost his dearest friend, Dick, yesterday. His passing was unexpected and we are still feeling somewhat numb.

Dick and his wife, Carole, were our Saturday morning breakfast buddies. Dick and Lew also met with two other retired guys midweek for their "old man's breakfast."

Dick and Lew went Christmas shopping together every year, albeit in recent years their "shopping" day was more about where to eat breakfast and lunch! They played golf together. They went to movies together. They did household improvement tasks together. They cherished their status as BFFs.

We grieve for our loss, but we rejoice with Dick who is now with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So — although we will miss you for now, Dick — we WILL see you later.

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of knowing this great man.

The Penultimate Day of My 50s

I don't really have anything interesting to write about today; I just wanted to use the word "penultimate" in my post title. 😄

It is true, though. Today is the next-to-last day in my 50s.

I will be 60 years old on Monday.... Sixty!

How did that happen?!

My fellow Batgirls and I are calling this next decade, "Our Sensational Sixties."  That's the attitude to have, I guess!  I'll keep you posted on how it goes. 😏