Everyone is trying to get in as much fun as possible in these few remaining days before the school year starts up again. Few people were having as much success at it as Kristen Landolfi and Lisa Grossman.

The two Newtown girls were spending time at Lisa’s grandparents’ place on Nantucket this week. Grandpa Bob and Grandma Annamae Grossman love of have the kids around to liven things up out in the sleepy Madaket section of the island, and the girls were certainly doing that with the live blue crabs they caught in Long Pond on Nantucket.

No less lively are the fast-growing bocce leagues that play in The Pleasance through the summer. Pat Gauvain, who got the games going at The Bee’s park at 1 Main Street a few years ago, says there are three leagues now. It started out with just ladies, and they called themselves The Beautiful Bocce Bees. But now that some men have joined, Pat thinks the name should be changed to The Bocce Birds and Bees.

Everyone in town knows that when you need help, the Newtown Ambulance garage is a good place to go. And so a delightful tri-colored female long-haired cat has decided to spend her days there. While the ambulance corps members are taking good care of her, her owner must be wondering where she has gone.

George Mattegat stopped by The Bee to order a subscription for his son, SPC William Mattegat, who is serving his second tour with the US Army in Iraq. Anyone who wants to send greetings to Will can email him at William.mattegat@us.army.mil or write to him at B-Co 94th ECB (H), APO, AE 09334.

New restaurants are popping up around town. First the Red Brick Tavern moved into the brick building in the center of Sandy Hook. A little place, Burgerittoville opened in the old train station across from the teen center on Church Hill Road. There’s a pizza place moving into the former deli across from the Citgo station on South Main Street. Also on South Main, a restaurant and bar, Sal e Peppe — “salt and pepper” in Italian — is moving into the space that formerly held Compass. Owner Angelo Marini says it will be Italian “with a twist,” the twist being that his business partner, Carlos Hernandez, is from Guatamala so there will be lots of South American flavors, too.

There’s a Japanese restaurant coming to the spot on Church Hill Road where Newtown Computer & Financial Services was located before Dan and JoAnn Tannenbaum moved their business to Sandy Hook Center. And work continues at the corner of Church Hill Road and Dayton Street where Tartaglia’s plans to open a restaurant and catering operation.

About the only place that’s not slated for a food business — at least not yet — is the new plaza that is soon to be constructed at the corner of Church Hill Road and Queen Street. That shopping complex is going to have a bank, dry cleaners, gift shop, and nail spa.

Happy birthday to Millie Paproski. Millie celebrated her 75th birthday with family and friends this week. She’s lived in Newtown the whole time and knows more about this place than just about anybody — including me.

I heard a news item on the radio last week that said an inventor introduced a new product at a funeral director’s convention: a tombstone with a plasma screen that will play a DVD depicting the highlights of the person’s life. This kind of innovation should make Dan Cruson’s cemetery tours a lot easier for the town historian.

As far as I know, I will not be replaced with a plasma screen DVD anytime soon, so be sure to…

Read me again.