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
The Blond-tourage
(re-run) Every woman over fifty gets the same advice from her hairdresser — to lighten up her 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… Continue reading The Blond-tourage
Virtual Tip Jar Fail
I love live music, and the pandemic has made it harder to find. Some of the local bands have gone online, putting out their virtual tip jar while they play for an hour or two. Sometimes they are sponsored by a business, sometimes they do it from their apartments. I love the Beatles, so when… Continue reading Virtual Tip Jar Fail
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
Spring Cleaning in February
(re-run) It started with a koala bear. A bunch of them. Some musicians were having a fundraiser for Australia, the fires, and the koalas. It was donation at the door. Two and a half hours of music, and I knew three of the performers. We got there early and sat in the third row. Two… Continue reading Spring Cleaning in February
Good Riddance to January
Talk about the month from hell, January was the worst month, so far, of 2026. So many bad things happened. On New Year’s Day, my body decided to have a pooping meltdown. I was so dizzy, then hot, then clammy, then dizzy, that I couldn’t make it out of bed, a new low for laundry… Continue reading Good Riddance to January
Through the Tunnel
(re-run, pre-pandemic) Today I ventured through the Caldecott Tunnel that connects the East Bay with Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco. It was sunny on my side but foggy on the other side. Still, traffic wasn’t too bad, and my car almost drove itself to the warehouse sale off of Fruitvale Avenue (yes, that Fruitvale –… Continue reading Through the Tunnel
Being an Older Mom
Ying Ying is the panda in Hong Kong who just gave birth to twins one day before her 19th birthday. In panda years, that’s old. She’s the oldest first-time panda mom ever, because they keep track of that kind of stuff, you know. I was an old mom, too, having my first at 31 and… Continue reading Being an Older Mom
Guardian Angels on Call
(re-run) My two-hour drive from the beach back to suburbia can become longer if there’s an accident along 101, a two-lane (on each side) highway. Once I got past Gilroy, the garlic capital of the world, where the highway grows to four lanes each way through San Jose, I felt confident that I was going… Continue reading Guardian Angels on Call
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
The Gun at Grandma’s House
(re-run) The thing was cold, black, and heavy. Even though I was just a kid, maybe nine or ten, I knew a gun when I saw it. I’d been jumping on Grandma Nellie’s bed. The pillow had fallen on the floor. The gun was under the pillow. I put everything back the way I found… Continue reading The Gun at Grandma’s House
O is for Old Words with New Meanings
As a word lover, I noticed yesterday that some words change their meanings over time. Like dude. It used to mean a gussied-up cowboy or ranch hand. Now it means wow or c’mon or I hear you or unbelievable. As I made a list of words with changed meanings I realized many of them apply… Continue reading O is for Old Words with New Meanings
Just for the Halibut
(re-run) Father’s Day has come and gone. I saw many black and white photos of men on Facebook, people my age honoring their deceased dads. I didn’t have a good photo of Dad to post, just silly ones or childhood ones. It never occurred to me 34 years ago that I would someday want a… Continue reading Just for the Halibut
P is for Promises
(re-run from 2019) On this 15th day of the monthly challenge of a blog post a day, I have reached the letter P. Everyone else is doing the letter O, but I skipped J since I couldn’t think of a post that started with J. Right now I am getting lots of promises: a date… Continue reading P is for Promises
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 