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
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
Abortion, High School Pregnancies and Memories
It amazes me how one memory leads to the next and so on and so forth. Our brains are a beehive of memories, each one stashed in its own little honey-comb hexagon that doesn’t break out until something triggers it. Today it was talk of abortion and how a friend told of hers at 24… Continue reading Abortion, High School Pregnancies and Memories
The Invention of Wings and BLM
(re-run) Okay, maybe not stars, but three things happened today that are related enough to fashion a blog post from them. I was only ten pages away from finishing The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd when I closed it to go have lunch with two of my adult children. On the way back… Continue reading The Invention of Wings and BLM
Making Time to Write
(re-run) I used to write every day. That was back when I had sleeping babies and pre-schoolers that went to school on a regular schedule. Now that I’m an empty nester I think I am going to write every day, but then stuff happens. Like exercise classes and long hikes. Dog walks. Contractors. A sister… Continue reading Making Time to Write
Having his Cake
(re-run) We sat at the bar at Il Vecchio’s next to the guy with the shaved head. My girlfriend chatted him up while we waited for a table. We decided to have dinner at the bar. Adam was cute enough but not too tall. He seemed interested in my petite girlfriend, so at the end… Continue reading Having his Cake
Asinine Aspenite
Pam was living in Aspen Colorado, being a ski bum by day and working as a waitress by night. It was her early twenties, and life was an adventure. She met a nice guy on the chairlift. He was a part-time construction worker and a part-time ski instructor. He asked her out that night, to… Continue reading Asinine Aspenite
Grandma’s Basement
My grandfather and his dad built a house into the side of a hill. The main floor had three small bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room and stairs to the kitchen below. The kitchen looked out over the hill down to the creek and had windows and a back door with a screen door. The… Continue reading Grandma’s Basement
Almost Toast
(re-run) Marlene and her friend Beth came out to California from New Hampshire after college to work for Bank of America. They each made a new friend, and each new friend brought another friend to the party (plus one more) until they were a group of seven recent college graduates, living in the city of… Continue reading Almost Toast
I Dreamed about my Hair Salon Last Night
(re-run) As you know, there is a virus going around. All non-essential businesses have been shut down in the entire state of California. I texted my hair person yesterday since my appointment was supposed to be this week My stylist? Hair dresser? What do I call her? The woman who does my hair. Are you… Continue reading I Dreamed about my Hair Salon Last Night
Pavlov’s Perfume
(re-run) My girlfriend, who shall remain nameless, lest someone recognize her on this page, has a three-time rescue dog like mine. Hers also started out as a voluntary surrender puppy after his owner first lost a home in the Redding fire. Or possibly he was at the Redding shelter and got shipped out to make… Continue reading Pavlov’s Perfume
When CPR Class Pays Off
Long ago, in my previous married life, I was a Girl Scout leader for my youngest child and the girls her age at her elementary school. I was supposed to get CPR training, so I went to the classes and got certified. Maybe someday I’ll need it while doing a scout activity. As it turned… Continue reading When CPR Class Pays Off
