Thank you to Patti Jo Barter (Owen and Rachel's grandmother) and Ruth Bryant for knitting hats and mittens for Edgecomb Eddy students. We are grateful for your kindness!

Mitchell Boucher will have the honor of having one of his original fugues performed at the December 10 concert by the Midcoast Orchestra, conducted by the director of the DaPont String Quartet. This event will be held in the Poe Auditorium at Lincoln Academy, starting at 7 p.m.

The fugue is Mitch's audition piece for admission to the USM's School of Music. Best wishes for success in this ambitious goal, Mitch! I was amused to learn that the Merry Barn, a gingerbread rendition of the famous barn now owned by Joe and Lisa McSwain, will be a star attraction at the Opera House at Boothbay Harbor's 2013 Gingerbread Spectacular on December 14 and 15.

The show will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. those two days. Go down and admire it! (But no munching on the cupola!) "Artiste" is the snowy owl in a tree near Studio 53 in Boothbay Harbor. Created by Bob and June Rose, she will welcome strollers on Townsend Avenue from now to mid-January. Like Miss Piggy, up the road a piece, she changes costume when she feels the urge.

As expected, Tony Casella has bought the beleaguered restaurant originally known as Dodge's Inn. The auction was November 21. George and Tim Gadbois of Scarborough have bought the two condominiums,which were also for sale. For Thanksgiving, we had turkey as did nearly every other American (some serve ham, some in Maine serve lobster) but we did not stuff it.

Instead we spatchcocked it. This involves cutting out the backbone, flipping it over, pressing down on the breast bone until it breaks sufficiently to let the bird lay out straight, rather like the spread out eagle of Federal period decorations (or as someone in the household observed, "the mother of all Rorschach blots."

It cooks faster, about 1 and a half hours for a 10 to 12 pounder. Rather than cook the dressing in a casserole, we rolled it up in cheesecloth and stuck it under the turkey, thus achieving the same effect, turkey juice and fat infused stuffing, without the trouble of shoveling it out of the bird, a somewhat messy chore to do when everyone's stomach is growling, so it saves on stress, as well. The Klemme family now have a little dog named Clara, a mix of Affenpinscher and Shih Tzu, very well behaved, and, a rescue dog, very much beloved.

Frisking around with kids and pooch at 234 River Road, 207-633-2978 and jocam@tidewater.net.