I was so bemused last week I neglected to report on the wonderful Cameron Christmas week! Bruce and I drove down to Northford, Conn. on Dec. 25, feasted on turkey that night and smelts the next night. Tuesday we and the Klemmes came north in convoy, getting home with time enough to rest before going out for pizza and a look at Jake Day's fabulous windows! Ben was keeping a journal as a school assignment. You can bet they got written up for it! Next day we visited River Road neighbor Evelin Brown where Ben traded tv-gaming tips with James, while Kate led teenaged Karen and her friend Caitlin a merry chase! Took Ben to "Narnia" that night. After much debate, Kate, only three, settled for an evening with Grampa, but when we came back, we found them both chortling over Tom and Jerry on the cartoon channel. Thursday we visited the Morris Farm and met Christmas Matty in person! Or should I say, in bovine?

Then the K's all swept off to Bristol Mills to see Aunt June Ricker and on to Pemaquid to visit Uncle Duncan, Aunt Donna and Cousin Chelsea Cameron, now a freshman at U.M. Orono, studying broadcast journalism. They arrived back in time to partake of roast goose and chocolate mousse! We waved them au revoir Friday morning. They certainly had a grand day for the drive south. Bruce notes that for the duration of their stay, the temperatures never went below 32 degrees. Since they left, we've been at subfreezing. Go figure.

You can still enroll in three of the four Boothbay Region Community College courses starting this month. College Writing starts Tuesday, Jan. 17, from 6 to 8:55 p.m. at the Boothbay Region High School; same location and times for Intermediate Algebra, starting Monday, Jan. 23. Art, taught by local artist and writer Sandy Dutton, will meet two evenings a week at the YMCA, starting Wed., Jan. 18, and Thurs., Jan. 19 from 6 to 8:55 p.m.

The Boat Building class is at capacity. Students will meet at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard, formerly Sample's, starting Wed., Jan. 18, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The instructor for this course will be Will West of the Shipyard staff, an experienced boat builder and teacher.

For more information on any or all of these courses, call Charles Collins, Dean of Students at Central Maine Community College, 755-5253, or e-mail ccollins@ cmcc.edu. To register, call 800-891-2002, ext. 292, or on-line at www.cmcc.edu.

Making these classes possible has been the work of a volunteer group, the Community College Development Board, who have made the arrangements with hosts Central Maine Community College and Washington County Community College. This group meets monthly, and will soon begin planning for next fall's course offerings. To help out or joint the group, call Bruce MacDonald at 633-0570.

Chat-N-Check will meet Monday, Jan. 16, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., always weather permitting. Come to the Edgecomb Congregational Church vestry to get your blood pressure checked, and participate in friendly gossip, a light lunch, and a special speaker. Gail Boudin has more information, 882-7972.

And you will coincide with the winter hours of the Thrift Shop, which are: Mondays, 1 to 4 p.m. and Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. During January, all clothing, shoes and coats are 50 percent off! Call Louise Hardina for more about this, at 563-5236. Donations of winter clothing, particularly for men and children, always welcome!

Further health news: You can get a flu shot at the St. Andrew's Occupational Health office on Davis Island for $24. Call 882-9858 for an appointment.

Do you know people who are in particular need? Check out the website for Boothbay Region Community Resources: www.booth bayregioncommunityresources.org. This is a group of volunteers gathering information about local social services, to inform the citizens of Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Southport, and Edgecomb about help available. Madeline Olney and Bob Hardina have been representing the Edgecomb Eddy School and our Congregational Church. Jo Cameron represents the Edgecomb Selectmen, as General Assistance administrator.

Does anyone skate anymore? I raise this question because of a Maine Sunday Telegram article on the dangers of pond skating. Dandy diagrams showing how ice heaves on frozen or under-frozen water surfaces. I marvel at all these cautionary messages. Have we become so ignorant of common sense? I don't recommend skating during this period of wildly fluctuating temperatures, but I can't help but conjure up memories of nights gliding around on the pond now part of the Co-Housers' territory, with neighbors young and old and a blazing bonfire on the far shore, and being warned to keep away from the sluice gate at the south end of the pond that led away under the road. My mother always astonished me by her ability to skate backward, with her big beaver coat billowing out around her. Whenever I tried it, Sitzplatz City!

I still have that coat, but its skins have become unsewn from the lining and one another. What does one do with old fur coats these days of ecological correctness? I am thinking of separating the skins all the way and making Daniel Boone style hats out of them, but Boone's hats were raccoon skins. I don't have any beaver tails, nor would I want one flapping down the back of my neck. Although baseball caps worn backwards have the same effect. Maybe better, Astrakhan-type hats, like the Russians wear? How about a revival of the "Pillbox?"

Plotting Edgecomb Chic at 234 River Road, 633-2978, bonesukl@ midcoast.com.

This column appears in the Boothbay Register, The Lincoln County News, the Wiscasset News paper, and at www.Edgecomb.org.