When we were kids, we all had big dreams.

Today's boys and girls may dream of becoming astronauts rocketing into space to explore distant worlds, becoming respected teachers, writers,…

If 2019 has taught me anything its that change is inevitable. No matter how much you fight for or against something, at some point, something is going to shift, to give way and…

The next meeting of the Garden Club of Wiscasset is Jan. 9 at the First Congregational Church, 28 High Street in Wiscasset in Fellowship Hall. Snow date is Jan. 16.

Business meeting is at…

And before we knew it … it was New Year’s Eve, a.k.a. Dec. 31. A new decade – yes, there is a bit of controversy about this; some say because a decade is 10 years the true new year is 2021 since…

I’m hoping everyone is ready; it’s hard to believe Christmas is only a couple of days away as I write this column. My grandchildren are very excited.

We are on vacation for two weeks. The…

There was some tough news for us humans to hear in 2019. Fortunately, there was also some positive change.

First, the difficult news:

• A large international research effort…

Long ago and not too far away, around this time of year, I visited Knickercane Island one morning. During this festive time of year, I thought it might be nice to dig back in the shoe boxes under…

By the time you read this, it will be time to think about taking down the Christmas decorations and writing thank you notes. It also is time to think about what 2020 will bring – and mean.

As 2019 comes to a close, it is a good time to pause and reflect on all of the work that goes into keeping Mainers safe from scams and fraud. Over the course of this year AARP Maine has shared…

During Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Hoboken, New Jersey “literally became an island,” recalled its mayor at the time, Dawn Zimmer, during a recent talk she gave in Maine. The city was 80 percent…

Nothing reminds you of your illness more than when you’re limited by the things that you can no longer do and the places that you can no longer go. And nothing highlights those limitations more…

How many activities can you participate in which you are coordinating with 79,000 other people to achieve a common goal? Not many, we would guess. But the National Audubon Christmas Bird Count is…

There certainly are a lot of lights this time of year. An evening stroll through town or drive along our highways and byways is quite an adventure. People seem to have taken seasonal festivities…

Husbands, boyfriends, in-laws, wives or good friends, whoever you are, if you’re looking for the best, most fun gift to buy someone special who loves to cook and entertain, I have the perfect gift…

The other day, I stopped to wish Ms. Pigette a Merry Christmas.

She thanked me, returned the favor, then ordered me to fish her smartphone out of the packed ice that had imprisoned her…

I’m just going to say it — ticks are still active. They do not die off in the winter. They hibernate until temperatures warm up and then they resume seeking out their blood meals. As winter…

Last week we had the delight and honor of being part of a wonderful event at the Hawthorne-Longfellow Library at Bowdoin College. That event is the monthly Turning of the Page of the library’s…

It was a busy weekend in the Harbor with all of the festivities, including Santa and Mrs. Claus coming by boat at the Whale Park. It’s always so much fun. I saw families having horse rides to the…

It has been a while since I ventured over town to take in the seasonal festivities and the arrival of The Claus Family boat. Figured it might be time to uplift my spirits before…

The scent from the small pine tree is filling the air while being adorned with tiny white lights, sprigs of holly, pine cones, and deer, owl and bird ornaments, topped with a small pentacle sun or…

Let's turn off our TV sets and let the impeachment smackdown simmer for a minute, and take a pretend journey back in time to the early 1960s.

It was a time when our AM radios (no FM, no…

It’s the question on everyone’s minds this holiday season: Should I cut down a real Christmas tree or buy a fake one? Freshly cut evergreen trees are beautiful and make your home smell amazing,…

As we gaze out on a newly white landscape coated with the snow from our first significant winter storm of the season (and incredibly beautiful it is!), we find our minds wandering back to a short…

First off, I’m so happy Mr. Deetjen, one of my favorite schoolteachers, reads my column. He wasn’t shy about telling me that I forgot to tell you guys how long to cook last week’s Rangers cookie…

Dear friends,

If you are scouring your brain trying to think of what to give me for Christmas, forget about it. I don’t need anything, and I don’t want anything. I have too much stuff.…

Despite their competitive employers, Paul and Bobby are good friends, and I caught up with them during a lunch break recently at Capers, downtown Boothbay Harbor.

Breaking news! I learned…

On Nov. 19, Regent Audrey Miller called the monthly chapter meeting to order at 11:08 a.m. at the Lincoln Home Library in Newcastle welcoming eight members, one associate member and nine guests.…

Holidays can be a difficult time for some people because seeing what others have is a remind of what they have lost. Last week, I was in Sturbridge, MA at a Lyme conference and one of the speakers…

Hope lots of people put a dent in their Christmas shopping last Saturday … I saw so many friends that I hadn’t seen in a long time it was nice to catch up with every one of you.

…

For as long as we have lived here in Maine I have visited the small loop back road that circles beyond Hendricks Head beach along the Sheepscot River salt marsh connecting to Dogfish Head…

The Lincoln County Republican Committee held its monthly meeting on Nov. 20 at the Newcastle Fire Station. The meeting was very well attended, with many familiar faces…

Turkeys may be the bird on the minds of most people during Thanksgiving week, but we find ourselves instead considering a small, dainty gull (imagine calling any gull “dainty”!) that can be found…

Just recently we saw a social media post from a New York City birder who showed a photo of a black-capped chickadee and commented that it was the first one of the season at the Central Park…

Busy, busy, busy week.

I want to thank the downtown businesses; they look beautiful. We are fortunate to live on the best little peninsula. I want to make sure people…

When talking to people about tick-borne disease, I find myself using analogies, making comparisons to things that make it easier to understand. Like when I get asked why some…

Just hear those sleigh bells ring-a-ling, ting-ting-tingling too ... Well, maybe not just yet, but Thanksgiving is just one week away and then, before you can say Old St. Nick, it’s Black Friday,…

I’m a little embarrassed to share this week’s adventure. It wasn’t a location I came upon in my usual haphazard way. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not too self conscious, but there is…

As our nation watched the bloody political cage match between the Republicans and Democrats last week, many of us were turned off by the partisan invective, snarky quips and just plain hate that…

The scary witches, contorted monster faces, and other Halloween decorations that scaried up our yard have been packed back up in a box in the attic and the now-mushy jack-o-lanterns have been…

I’m so happy to be home. After the trip to Italy, two days later I was off to North Conway … It’s been a tradition for 12-plus years with my bestie Meg, Pal and Newbs, all from our dental office.…

“Now we don our gay apparrel, fa-la-la, fa-la-la, la-la-la …”

There I go again. Singing Christmas carols … I don’t know why … I hear Steve Edwards, downstairs in production, has…

Things are much quieter now on Monhegan Island. The summer tourists have all packed up and headed back from whence they came. The island dust is settling and the pace of life…

We always put them off as long as we can.

You all know what I am talking about, the chores we always try to avoid, but understand, in the end, we will have to do, year after year, after…

A few weeks ago I was traveling from here to there, listening to the car radio when I heard something that caught my ear.

Sarah Blakely, the founder of SPANX, was being interviewed about…

A pitfall is a hidden danger or unsuspected difficulty. Often, we are blinded by trust or our desire to just feel better and so we are not really seeing how things are, until we…

We made it out to what has become one of the best-known waterfowl hotspots in Maine—Sabattus Pond—over the weekend. It was a gorgeous fall afternoon, still reasonably warm for November as we…

Melanie Safka.

I can still remember the first time I heard her on the radio. The song was “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain).” She wrote it about the scene before her during her performance…

In October 1968, Dominic Garvey made his motion picture film debut in the movie “The Night of the Living Dead.” Fifty-one years later, this past rainy foggy Halloween morning, a…

I’ve been blessed to have spent the last 10 days in Tuscany and Dublin. We met many incredible people and soaked up many different food ideas. We ate and drank local chiantis from the region we…

On Halloween, the day the House of Representatives voted to proceed with an impeachment probe of the president, the TV experts and pundits told us what we wanted to hear.

If you like or…