Havre Daily News - News you can use

I’ve been under some stress lately. I’ve written a novel, and now I have to wait to find someone who thinks it’s worth publishing. (I happen to think it is, for the record.)... — Updated 6/14/2022

I have been trying, for as long as I can remember and with limited success, to learn Spanish. My husband, Peter, says I am good, but that is because he does not speak Spanish, so if... — Updated 6/7/2022

Verne knows me too well. For the first time in our lives, my husband, Peter, and I live in a building with a front desk. It’s nice to have someone there when packages are delivere... — Updated 5/25/2022

It’s that time of year again. No, I am not talking about bikini season. I’m talking about bunion season. I did not even know I had a bunion until fairly recently and now, every... — Updated 5/18/2022

"It's a great time to get old!" That's what my husband, Peter, says. He's right. And getting old is — as the saying goes — better than the alternative. I was thinking this while... — Updated 5/4/2022

“Dress for the job you want!” was advice I heard from an early age. I took this advice to heart. I was working a lowly job in a government office while applying for jobs in... — Updated 4/27/2022

Of course, we should have known something was wrong. The nice thing about living in our new condo is that we don’t have the responsibilities of a stand-alone home. There is no... — Updated 4/20/2022

The plan was to buy everyone cake. My husband, Peter, and I are finally getting ready to leave Mexico, and we can’t say we are too happy about it. The last two months in San... — Updated 4/15/2022

I have a weakness for grouchy people. I have a couple of friends I would describe as perpetually grouchy, and I’m not quite sure why, but I think they are good for me. To... — Updated 4/6/2022

“What a sweet dog!” I said in Spanish. “She is a sweet dog,” the man walking her answered, in English. He had an Irish accent and was walking the young dog down the street... — Updated 3/30/2022

“Maybe I’m a little old for this dress?” I suggested tentatively as I made my way to the mirror in the little shop. I was in the artisans’ market in San Miguel de Allende,... — Updated 3/16/2022

My great-uncle John never buttered his bread. “I don’t have time for butter!” he insisted. I never knew how much time butter took, but apparently it was more than Uncle John... — Updated 3/2/2022

“I can always sleep in my rain jacket,” my husband, Peter, announced. Vacationing in rental homes is usually a bit of an adventure. We don’t need luxurious digs, and instead... — Updated 2/23/2022

The bells ring more or less all the time here. My husband, Peter, and I are in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, a city filled with old churches. Every old church has at least a couple... — Updated 2/16/2022

One reason to travel is to discover how things are done all over again. My husband, Peter, and I are in Mexico, and I was thinking this as we stood, confounded, in front of the... — Updated 2/9/2022

In my dream, the jungle was thick and dark. There was a river running through it and I was on a small raft, careening down it. The current was flowing fast in the center and I... — Updated 2/2/2022

“You’ll never guess what I did!” my husband, Peter, announced. “You’re right. I won’t.” “I microwaved the masking tape!” I can’t tell you how pleased he was with... — Updated 1/26/2022

“I bought more broccoli because I knew you were coming,” my mother informed me. You can never get enough broccoli; that is my belief. I am lucky in that I never had to acquire... — Updated 1/19/2022

I was excited to wear my new dress. It was slimming, I thought: all black and covered with flounces from the neckline to the hemline. I wore it with high heels — which I rarely... — Updated 1/12/2022

The New Year is when we take stock. In some cases, like my husband Peter’s, this is literal. He keeps an inventory of our canned goods and chastises me if I mess up his... — Updated 1/5/2022

My Uncle Andy recently turned 90, and it was hard to imagine what a guy would like for his 90th birthday. At 90, getting a lot of new stuff doesn’t sound very appealing. Andy is i... — Updated 12/29/2021

I walk around my neighborhood later in the evening these days, mostly so I can see the lights. There are some impressive houses just a mile or so away, and I walk down the... — Updated 12/22/2021

Yesterday I bought a Christmas tree at the hardware store. I thought it was a good day to do it both because I'd heard the rumors of Christmas tree shortages and because it would... — Updated 12/15/2021

“It’s not about luck,” my friend Andrew insists, “it’s about gratitude.” Andrew is not some sort of New Age guide, in case you were wondering. He is a slightly... — Updated 12/8/2021

My husband, Peter, is a man of few colors: black and gray, to be exact. He has always been this way, as far as I know. Peter is not opposed to color, but I think it makes him a... — Updated 12/1/2021