Quarantine Cats hashtags
Hashtags in the time of COVID-19

Hashtags in the time of COVID-19

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Okay, so this made me cry. Saturday night, the hashtag #HighRiskCovid19 started trending on Twitter. I know, I know, I’ve heard over and over, “I don’t get Twitter. It’s stupid.” Well, use of hashtags is where Twitter truly shines. Trust me. Hashtags may not have taken off on Facebook, but they just work on Twitter. Reading these #HighRiskCovid-19 testimonials is heart wrenching. Only the nastiest trolls can take a look at these posts and not get choked up. This coronavirus…

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Surprise pie prep
Recipes to comfort Baby Boomers

Recipes to comfort Baby Boomers

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Fact: Baby Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. To make it easier to remember, the Boomers time frame basically started with the post-war “boom” (which had nothing to do with the Manhattan Project) and ended with the launch of Beatlemania (I made that last part up). So, yes, I’m a Boomer. We ate very differently back then. We nearly always dined at home. Slowly, as the ’60s progressed, stay-at-home moms discovered simpler recipes to make than what their mothers…

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Gary chopping silage
A farmer’s guide to Coronavirus

A farmer’s guide to Coronavirus

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Okay, so technically I’m a farmer’s wife, but after 37 years of marriage, I know a thing or two – and nearly everything about farming applies to tips for getting through this Coronavirus pandemic. (1) Wash your stinkin’ hands! Farmers get dirty. Whether it’s dirt, sweat, animal entrails, manure, or some combination of the above, your wife doesn’t want you dragging it in the house. Wash up. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says scrub for 20 seconds. That’s exactly…

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Nancy Hanks and Tom Hanks
A tale of two Hanks

A tale of two Hanks

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Last night on Twitter, a new trending term – Not Tom Hanks! – suddenly appeared. Sadly, one of our generation’s finest actors and his wife, Rita Wilson, had both tested positive for the Coronavirus. Coincidentally. I’d mentioned the Forrest Gump actor the other day to a friend. Tom Hanks has done such a good job of keeping his nose clean, so to speak, over the decades. He’s chosen great roles and, presumably, turned down crummy ones. And he’s genuinely a…

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pair of foxes in the spring
First signs of spring

First signs of spring

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Does anyone still watch for “the first robin of spring”? That was a game, of sorts, growing up in western Massachusetts. Winters were so long that even a whisper of spring gave us a real lift. Sidenote: I fondly remember the annual family activity of clearing the driveway of the half-foot or so of packed snow and ice. It was genuinely fun chipping away the giant chunks during the February thaw and again in the spring. The only other chilly…

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Bob & Ray
Recipe for laughter

Recipe for laughter

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Bill’s wife, Barbara, whipped up another batch of comfort food over the weekend. She made several loaves of Cranberry Nut Bread, using Mom’s tried-and-true recipe. Bill brought a loaf with him to this week’s visit with Dad. They chuckled about a favorite Bob & Ray comedy routine that involved a “fast-breaking news” interview with The Cranberry Man: Mom and Dad loved Bob & Ray, and delighted in all the ridiculous characters and parodies they developed over the years. My parents…

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Mom taking a nap, covered by the cherry spread
The cherry spread

The cherry spread

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With all the talk of viruses in the news lately (and a century ago), I think back to the comfort, warmth, and healing provided for many years by the cherry spread. Mom only used the cherry spread when we were ill. The cherry spread plus slowly-sipped ginger ale took care of any number of tummy aches and “bugs.” (To this day, ginger ale tastes like medicine to me.) In many hours of digging, I’ve only found one photo that includes…

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Dead Skin Eater story, with John and Tom
Gary’s grossest story

Gary’s grossest story

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Gary is never at a loss for a good story. It’s part of his charm. Thing is, as parents, you just never know who might be listening in … We got that big fluffy sheep-dog toy for John as a gift when he was seven or so. (It’s actually a puppet. And very soft.) When we asked John what he named the fluffy beast, the answer took us by surprise: His name is Dead Skin Eater. “What? Why would you…

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books by the gallon
29 days to read

29 days to read

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There are 29 days in February this year. It is nice to have an extra day to read. Especially since we have gallons of new books. My parents planned last fall to move their bedroom from upstairs to downstairs, into what was then the library. In doing so, they needed a new home for their impressive book collection. Dad says Gary and I were the natural choice, since we have room at our house. I thought it was because I…

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hurricane headline
The great wind

The great wind

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All my life, Dad has talked about what a scamp he was as a kid. Yet, there were no stories to back up his claim. Was this silence on his part due to not wanting to set a bad examples for his four children? Perhaps. It’s only now that the confessions are spilling forth. As his confessor, I am impressed, but not yet mortified. Here’s a story: Times have changed over the generations, thank heavens. Back in the 1930s, Catholics…

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