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Moon Over Lafayette

Posted in California, dating, firsts, flirting, humor, Lafayette, relationships, restaurant, worstLeave a comment

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

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The Blond-tourage

Posted in aging, blondes, California, cocktail waitress, girlfriends, hairdresser, humor, memoir, relationships, waitressing7 Comments

(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

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Virtual Tip Jar Fail

Posted in Beatles, Facebook, live music, livestream, memoir, pandemic, Paypal, technology, tip jar, Zoom, ZumbaLeave a comment

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

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The Uses for a Nine Year Old

Posted in California, children, dogs, humor, Lafayette, math, memoir, relationshipsLeave a comment

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

How to Get your Dog to Come to You

Posted in animal rescue, animal training, California, commands, dog training, dogs, ex-husband, memoir, party, pet, praise, treatsLeave a comment

(re-run) On a hike the other day, there were four small dogs with fifteen or more people. One person was saying how hard it was to get his one-year-old dog to come to him. I remembered back to one of the many dog training sessions I’ve attended in my life – training Tess, the spaniel/heeler,… Continue reading How to Get your Dog to Come to You

2026, Loss and Change

Posted in August, bowling alley, cancer, death, gardeners, grocery store, loss, memoir, neighbors, treesLeave a comment

So much is changing, my head is spinning. My favorite grocery store of 39 years is now shuttered. The local bowling alley is being torn down today.  My sister and brother-in-law left California for Nevada. They used to be just 90 minutes away. A friend died of cancer last month. My middle daughter’s dog died. … Continue reading 2026, Loss and Change

Beware of Craigslist?

Posted in best, boat, California, Craigslist, dogs, fishing, humor, memoir, neighbors, parking lot, relationships, Santa, tea cups, texting, worstLeave a comment

I’d sold a thousand dollars’ worth of tea cups and dinner plates the year before. When Sis moved in with me, I had to let all that inventory go. It hadn’t been selling that well on Etsy anyway, and Etsy had just changed its policies and had kicked me off their site. Why? Because they… Continue reading Beware of Craigslist?

When your Dog Wants to Kill your Friend’s Dog

Posted in animal adoption, animal rescue, animal training, beach, Carmel, carpool, dogs, girl friends, humor, Jack Russell terrier, labrador, relationships, thrift store2 Comments

I invited my friend to my beach house, and she asked to bring her twelve-pound rescue dog. I was hesitant to answer. I wondered how it would work out with my two bigger dogs. Pepper, a mellow lab mix, would be fine. The wild card was Daisy, the twenty-pound Jack Russell terrier. Daisy is a… Continue reading When your Dog Wants to Kill your Friend’s Dog

Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!

Posted in church, divorce, family, Jesus, memoir, memory, religion, Sunday, Sunday school, volunteerLeave a comment

(re-run) As I was outside watering this morning, preparing my drought-resistant plants for an onslaught of high temperatures for the holiday weekend and beyond, I discovered acorns all over the back yard. As I picked up the acorns and the dog poo of a medium dog and a small dog and some neighborhood cats as… Continue reading Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!

Black Jamaicans or African Americans?

Posted in Blacks, Central Americans, Cuba, history, Jamaicans, Jeopardy, Kamala Harris, memoir, North Americans, Portuguese, slavery, South America, Spanish, teacher, textbooks3 Comments

(re-run) Someone on Facebook said that Kamala Harris isn’t really African-American because her black father was from Jamaica. Here’s a news flash. Blacks in Jamaica are descendants of slaves, just as blacks from Venezuela, Brazil, Barbados, anywhere in the Americas are, as well. Jeopardy the other night had an answer that said: 40% of all… Continue reading Black Jamaicans or African Americans?

Wasabi on a First Date

Posted in attitude, bathroom, California, chemistry, dating, dinner, flirting, hairdresser, humor, poop, relationships, restaurant, romance, waiter, worstLeave a comment

(re-run) They had the same hair dresser.  She was coming in as he was going out. He asked for her phone number. She gave it to her hairdresser to give to him. There aren’t too many eligible men in their seventies, especially one that still had his hair! Garth took Gladys to a nice Japanese… Continue reading Wasabi on a First Date