I had the extreme pleasure of interviewing Kim Inman from the most super awesome pet store right here in town, Animal House. Kim is ultra cool and gives out the best-ever treats.

As I often do with a new year, this January, I find myself reflecting on the last several whirlwind years I have had with Midcoast Humane and thinking about what our future holds. We held a town hall at the Central Lincoln County YMCA on Nov. 21 to discuss exactly that for our Edgecomb campus. The answer to its future is not straightforward and requires community input and participation to determine.

As people were want to do back in the day, Fran and Bill Russell loaded B.J. and Jill into their ’55 Oldsmobile to go for a Sunday “ride” in the early spring of 1965. They lived in North Newcastle at the time and their meanderings that day brought them through Round Pond. As they drove by the old King Ro Manor, Fran always told me that her heart stuttered and she knew that that was their future.

Winter holidays and weekends are perfect for taking a bit of extra time to prepare and enjoy breakfast, whether you are looking at a snowy scene outside your kitchen window or unseasonable rain beating against the windowpane. It is a perfect time to enjoy the warmth, comfort of home, food and people closest to you.

Once again I have the privilege and honor to welcome all my family, friends, and neighbors to share the true meaning of the Christmas season and the special day of Christmas. This past week I had the privilege to watch and see the great cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, France being rebuilt from destruction of fire to a complete and beautiful cathedral once again.

“Alright, I’ll be there then,” I heard Harry the llama saying.

Scallops, unlike other bivalves like clams and oysters, are harvested in winter months. So, from early December to March, we may expect those delicious plump bites of seafood to appear in stores and on our dinner plates. Scallops may be considered a luxury food because of their price is driven by methods of harvesting, often by hand, and each bivalve yields only a small edible muscle.

Christmas will soon be here. I already have my tree. We have a nice grove of fir trees up near our cottage and I cut one to bring home before the snow closes our road.