Nice! I love Mt. Battie! That whole area is a nice drive on Route 1.

Can I get that on a t-shirt? That's the funniest thing I've heard in a while, hahaha.

I was awake early as well. I just laid there until the sun came up. Cozy kitty helped. Sometimes I'll get up and make tea, or hot cocoa. Putter around the house. I had roast turkey with gravy, green beans, and French fried onions, over a bowl of elbow macaroni. I love me some comfort food in the morning.

I'm trying to remember if I've been over there. Maybe a young man who is stressed out and grabbing a pizza for his pregnant woman? Just my best guess, not trying to make excuses for anyone. My late husband really was handicapped and he had the placard, but he was stubborn and refused to use the handicap spot unless he had no choice. Or his cane, for that matter. People are weird.

Motherclucker! I just posted about this on my fb account. What a hypocrite! I’m a card carrying member of the National Writers Union and he thinks he can ride on his Plastic Paddy Irish coattails and throw my fellow union sisters and brothers under the bus of filthy lucre, then he’s got another think coming. I have not yet begun to write.

I’m glad too! My Mom suffered from a very bad bout of mental illness when I turned 13, and I became the “Mother” of the family at a young age. Cooking, cleaning, and taking care of my Mom, basically. She was in and out of mental hospitals for years, until they finally got her on a decent combination of meds. I lost one brother to alcoholism 6 years ago, and I struggled with self-medicating myself for years, but after that, I began to take my health seriously. Still not perfect, but I’m not drinking myself blind and crawling into bed anymore. Legal mj helps, just need a little each night, and I don’t feel like drinking or get anxiety attacks. Good for you!

Yeah, I was pretty sheltered growing up, but I went to grade school with kids whose parents were so poor, they lived in a cement basement with a makeshift roof on top, until they could afford to build the rest of the house. On my school bus route in the 1970’s in the Winthrop area. One girl who was poor was bullied for wearing a used winter jacket. I was so mad, I made it a point to be friends with her. I really had no idea how poor some of my classmates were, because I never had to worry about a roof over my head, or having enough food to eat, and I now realize that I had a rather idyllic childhood, compared to other people. Then I lived in a large Midwestern city, where drugs and crime were ubiquitous. I’m actually more comfortable in a city like that than I am in the Maine woods, where you never know what or who you’re going to run into. I’m wondering if the mill towns closing down have contributed to this atmosphere, though the pollution came with its own price to pay. Adequate housing, access to broadband internet, and education, etc. I’m proud of my fellow Mainers who are taking on what seems like an impossible task, and I myself have struggled at times, but at least I had a solid upbringing. I could very easily be one of those folks, but for my random birth into a nice family.

Agreed 💯

I have seen a child get taken away from her mother, who was living with her 3rd abusive drug addict boyfriend. Do what you want as an adult, but don’t expose a small child to your tendency to make poor choices. Then she complained about losing her benefits. No concern for the child, who she repeatedly left under the care of a known violent offender. He’s in jail again, and she’s living with relatives and the kid’s grandparents now have custody. Guess they should’ve thought twice about doing drugs and screaming their fool heads off, while living next door to a former Statie. I’m guessing he got sick of it and made a phone call.

Listen, I’ve seen it all. If you suspect something, report it. My daughter brought home a teenage girl and she said she was being abused by her stepdad. I was shocked at first, because my daughter liked to exaggerate and tell tall tales. I sat down and talked to my daughter’s friend, and then I convinced her to go with me to the police station. This was in another state. She and I sat in a windowless room, for what seemed like forever, until they got to us. Eventually, it was found out that her pos stepdad had been abusing her, and she only confessed to my daughter because she was afraid of her little sisters being abused by her stepdad. I actually got called by CPS, asking if I could take her in for the night, until they could get ahold of her aunt. I gave her my extra nightgown and put her up on my couch. They took her away the next day. Several months later, I dropped my daughter off at a sleepover, and I stayed for a bit, talking to the mom. As I was leaving, I saw that girl. She was glowing with happiness and she and her sisters were doing very well with her aunt. Always believe a child who tells you that they are being abused.

My Great Aunt Nell, born in Canada and then the family moved to near Lincoln to work at the mills, moved to Alaska for a while and homesteaded. Her younger brother, my grandfather, was the first US citizen born in the family. Nell was probably born in the late 1800’s, and she was the type of woman who would just squat and pee by the side of the road, rather than wait until a rest stop. My paternal aunts all laugh nervously when I ask them about Aunt Nell. I’d go to Alaska in a heartbeat, just to see it.

Last winter I got lost about 50 times in New Hampshire. I kept ending up in Concord for some reason. I did get a free iced coffee from a Dunkin in the countryside outside of Franconia Notch area, along with some directions. I still got lost. My phone battery died so I was able to charge it via a plug it the yarn section at a Walmart. Which takes forever, by the way. But now I have the yarn selection at the Concord Walmart memorized.