I don’t know about anyone else, but I am just not ready for winter’s cold yet. Where’s Indian summer anyway? I think I need an electric blanket to preheat the down comforters. It just takes too long to warm up nights.

    I just love Mickey D’s. They send out coupons for fancy new coffees but the mother company doesn’t send out the equipment needed for franchises to make them. Oh, well. The coupons ran out on Oct. 5. Wonder what they’ll do next? And while I’m on Mickey D’s, why does the line take so long? I was waiting nearly 15 minutes the other afternoon just to get a Newman’s Own coffee. So much for fast food.

    So wonderful to see Dick Sleightholm riding in the fire chief’s car in Sunday’s fire truck parade in celebration of National Fire Prevention Week. And boy did he laugh when the vehicle’s driver aimed right at my car as I watched from the curbside. Dick is a retired, long-term member of the district’s Prudential Committee.

    Wish you could have seen the happy black dog running along Onset Beach Friday ahead of his owner. Watch out seagulls, here I come! He even took a dip. Brrr! I was in the car just trying to stay warm. I am resisting turning on the heat, but I know I can’t hold out much longer. Boy, am I cold. Sun shining in the car window helps warm the bones. Watching one of God’s creatures enjoying life so much warms the heart, also.

    The wind that day rocked cars parked on the pier, by the way, and carried the bay in to lap at the foundation of the bathhouse. Scary.

    Speaking of warming the heart, I think my Harry is back in the neighborhood. Clearly he was sitting in the front yard last Thursday looking at the kitchen window where his sister Lucy (his twin actually) was probably sitting. Got to find him. Those big gold eyes make his identification almost positive. Alas, when he disappeared we were living in the store, not the little house, and he probably wonders what happened to his home and family. Why are there so many trash cans on Onset Pier - as many as seven, plus two big dumpsters - when they have been removed from other beach areas?

    Doesn’t the school system have truant officers anymore? Last Thursday I watched while four teens who should have been in school romped by Rite Aid. Their language was atrocious. And they aren’t the only ones you see on the streets during school hours. If we’re paying for their education through tax dollars, shouldn’t someone see to it they are in class? Where’s someone like the late Robert McDuffy, the best truant officer the town ever had, when you need him?

    If all the "SAVE THE LIBRARY" signs growing on front lawns are any indication, I would venture a guess library supporters will be back at Town Meeting to amend the budget so they get all their funding back. Wonder which department they’ll cut to save their own hides? I’m guessing they don’t care.

    Cook’s Illustrated magazine sends out samples every so often to entice new subscribers. I was looking through the one that came this week and was intrigued by their description of garlic as "plump lusty knobs." Lusty? Must be something I’m missing here. The magazine has some great information, but not for $20 a year. My oven is still packed with pots and pans. In other words, unused.

    The impatiens in window boxes on a newly renovated home near Dudley Brown Square in Onset are luxurious. And there’s a home just past the by-pass cross over in East Wareham that has had window boxes overflowing with colorful coleus. I’ve never seen it grow so thick other than the pot on Main Street by the Chinese take-out.

    I still can’t believe that beautiful man, both inside and out, Paul Newman has died. I’m still in shock. I think I became attached because he first appeared in films when I was in high school and began to notice such manly pulchritude. He certainly lived life the way many others should aspire to.

    Dick Porter and his Thermometer Museum were in the news again on Sunday, described as "an offbeat museum" to visit. He’s located on Zarahelma Avenue in Onset and can be reached for visit at (508) 295-5504. While he’s given away most of his collection, he still has a thousand or so people can admire. He’ll be glad to explain details about each, as well.

    Do you think the blue heron stalking Little Harbor Beach at low tide recently is the same one who seems to reside near the Narrows? He always seems so quiet, but at LH he was angry at some other birds that were after the same meal he was, and boy can he squawk.

    With squirrels so busy gathering, their tails so fluffy, can it be a sign of anything else but a harsh winter? Tell me that old wives tale is not true. Please!

    When you drive through Onset on a Sunday morning, enjoy the wonderful scent of Italian food being prepared at Marc Anthony’s. If only I could indulge. Guess I’ll have to settle on just enjoying the aroma for a while. But what I wouldn’t give for a lobster calzone. Sauce on the side, please.