There it was on my Facebook feed. A writer friend I barely knew saying the best day of her life was the day she met her husband. And a chorus friend telling her spouse “Love you, Babe” on their 30+ anniversary. It stings a little. It used to sting a lot. While going through an… Continue reading Happily Never After
The Uses for a Nine Year Old
My Girl Friday (who works for me on Mondays) has a daughter, who sometimes comes along with her to work. Now that her daughter is nine, she is useful in many ways. 1. She entertains my dogs. 2. She entertains my sister, giving her someone to watch. 3. She brings music into the house, since… Continue reading The Uses for a Nine Year Old
The Blond-tourage
Every woman over fifty gets the same advice from her hairdresser — lighten up your hair. As our skin fades and our looks do, too, we need brighter lipstick, sparkly-er clothing and blonder locks to stay looking as young as we can. My apologies to women of color; this may not apply to you. So… Continue reading The Blond-tourage
Moon Over Lafayette
Trudy worked at an engineering firm. Joe was the visiting copy machine repair man, or as her office mates called him, the Xerox guy. One day Trudy had to make copies. Joe was at the machine, repairing away. “Oh,” she said. “No copies for me!” “Hey there,” Joe said. “We should catch dinner sometime.” “Okay.”… Continue reading Moon Over Lafayette
Time to Get your Absentee Ballot for November
It’s that bewitching hour after lunch where I need to sit and digest while I write a blog post. During the lockdown (here in California) I have learned a few things today: Our school district, along with six counties, has called off physical classes for the rest of the year. My county has 442 cases… Continue reading Time to Get your Absentee Ballot for November
Queen Victoria, the Cat
(re-run) Renee, the artist, already had three cats. She wasn’t looking for another. So when her daughter-in-law called and said, “Mom, you need to adopt this cat,” Renee was thinking, No way, Renee. But then she heard the kitty’s story, and she had to reconsider. Renee’s son Brian and his wife were moving to Tennessee… Continue reading Queen Victoria, the Cat
M is for Music
(re-run) In a stressed-out world, one of the best things I can do for myself is to relax and de-stress by either singing music or dancing to it. Once a week I go off and sing with my chorus of 130 people. During those two hours, I don’t think about world news, White House news,… Continue reading M is for Music
Neighborhood Pack Rat
You know our kind. We save everything, just in case. I might need that someday. I’m going to wear that size again. That thing on the side of the road still has use left in it, and it’s free. That has a good memory for me. Who keeps stuff that evokes bad memories? No one,… Continue reading Neighborhood Pack Rat
My Daily Work-out with Joe
Somehow I heard about a good-looking guy in England named Joe Wicks, who does exercise videos. He calls himself the Body Coach. He decided two weeks ago to post a new workout video every day as long as the lockdown is happening around the world. He calls it Body Coach PE. I used to go… Continue reading My Daily Work-out with Joe
How God Figures into the Pandemic (Coronavirus)
While scrolling through Facebook this morning and consuming my simple breakfast of a packet of Belvita cinnamon breakfast biscuits and a cup of fake coffee, I saw a post from a high school friend back in Iowa, who said that the media is out of control. I am here to say that without the media,… Continue reading How God Figures into the Pandemic (Coronavirus)
My Crowded Park
Yesterday I walked my dog earlier than usual. The day was sunny and a bit windy. I avoided the park and headed up my court, turned the corner and said to my black lab, “Pull me up the hill, Pepper.” And she did. A boy on an electric scooter flew by, followed by a mom… Continue reading My Crowded Park
