A rainy day. This morning, my cat Sherlock deposited a mouse on my bed, and I spent a merry hour chasing the little creature around the bedroom and finally out into the hall, where I was able to sweep it into the blue bucket. All right. It wasn’t such a merry hour. In fact, it was a downright irritating hour. But the mouse was caught, and with the rain dripping over my black umbrella, I took the mouse way down the road and let him or her go. Now, let’s hope the mouse finds a happy home in the woods and stays outside. 

The whole chase left me unsettled, a feeling compounded by the rainy day. During the summer, I want to be out as much as possible—gardening, walking, and biking. Reading and writing on the patio. And a rainy day, while necessary, always makes me feel cooped up. 

However, tomorrow promises to be a sunny day, and this is true in more ways than one. Tubby’s will be opening in Winthrop. Oh, happy day! Initially, only the ice cream window will be opening, but according to an ad in the Advertiser, a little local paper, “A restaurant and candy store are under construction.” More details were promised in the next issue of the Advertiser. A candy store as well as an ice cream shop and restaurant? It just keeps getting sweeter. Somehow, although I no longer go for Smarties or SweeTarts, I have never lost my childish love of candy, and I am exremely keen to see what kind of candy Tubby’s will be offering. If their ice cream in any indication, then the candy should be very good and thus hard to resist. 

Fortunately, I have gotten better at having just one cheat day each week where I indulge my sweet tooth with such delicacies as whoopie pies, ice cream, and candy. (Well, maybe I do allow myself a small portion of ice cream on noncheat days.) For the other six days, it’s fruit, vegetables, and other healthy food, delicious in their own right. (That’s how it is when you’re a foodie; you pretty much love it all.) 

The ad in the Advertiser proclaims in bold headlines “Tubby’s Ice Cream Makes Winthrop a Destination.” That might be somewhat of a stretch, but there is no denying that the residents of Winthrop and Manchester are eagerly anticipating Tubby’s arrival. Only time will tell if Tubby’s has a larger draw, say, from Augusta or Gardiner or Litchfield. If people come from quaint little Hallowell, with its wealth of good places to eat, then Tubby’s can proclaim itself a real success. Who knows? If that happens, customers from as far away as Lewiston—twenty miles away—might flock to Winthrop. And if from Lewiston, then why not from Portland? 

Teasing aside, it will be a fine day for Winthrop tomorrow, and I sincerely hope that Tubby’s brings some more people to our little main street, which is usually pretty quiet. My husband, Clif, and I will be visiting Tubby’s tomorrow, and Clif will be sure to bring his camera so that we can record the big event and post it on the blog. 

Stay tuned.