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

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

I’m Glad I Asked

The other day I went to the dermatologist for the second time in two months. The physician’s assistant from the first appointment gave me a full body skin check since I’ve had melanoma. When I pointed out the strange colorless bump above my eye, she said, “I don’t do eyes. Go see the other physician’s… Continue reading I’m Glad I Asked

It Must Be Getting Close to Summer when . . .

I am sitting in my fave chair. My adult son just told me over the phone how to unfreeze my laptop (turn it off and then back on).  I can hear the squeak, squeak, squeak of the swings in the park next to me. The windows are open just enough to let in fresh air… Continue reading It Must Be Getting Close to Summer when . . .

Help your Mood, Pull some Weeds

(re-run) Yesterday, I made the short trip to my little downtown beach town, got some cash from the ATM, picked up two newspapers, and headed back home. On the way into town, I saw two city workers spraying Roundup on the weeds in the median strip. They were still at it, in the very same… Continue reading Help your Mood, Pull some Weeds

The Club No Woman Wants to Join

A friend of mine posted on Facebook that she spoke with a young woman yesterday who didn’t know about the Supreme Court Justice confirmation hearings and didn’t know that Roe v. Wade was in jeopardy of being overturned. I am not surprised. Young people don’t watch the news, read the newspaper, or pay attention to… Continue reading The Club No Woman Wants to Join

First Dog, Lost Dog

After moving to farm country to teach high school Spanish, I watched my roommate Kristy come home one day with a German Shephard puppy. “Meet Shane!” she said. She hadn’t asked me. She hadn’t asked the landlord. When she did ask him, his response was, “Not in the house.” Kristy made Shane a bed of… Continue reading First Dog, Lost Dog

Second Time Around

(re-run) Suzanne needed a date for her Alpha Delta Phi sorority party that was being held off campus at one of the sisters’ parents’ house. She invited a guy from her old high school, Mark. When they got there, Mark knew the physician dad, because they’d been on ski patrol together one winter in Tahoe.… Continue reading Second Time Around

Hello from Beyond the Grave

This morning my dead sister said hello.  With terrible allergies in this month of May, I was rifling through catch-all baskets last night looking for my oximeter that I’d bought during the pandemic, the one that shows oxygen saturation. I thought I might have walking pneumonia.  Then I took Pepto Bismol and my throat was… Continue reading Hello from Beyond the Grave

Worst Roommate Ever

(re-run) By the time I graduated college, I’d had somewhere close to 37 roommates: the first two in the triple room my freshman year, the next two in another triple when I changed dorms after one quarter, my solo roommate all of sophomore year, then the string of roomies after I moved into the sorority… Continue reading Worst Roommate Ever

A Mother’s Day Card, a “10” and a Carcinoma

Whenever I don’t know what to write about for my daily blog post, something inspires me. Today I got my inspiration at the dermatologist’s office. I was supposed to go yesterday to see about the weird fleshy bump just above my left eye and against my eye socket. I don’t notice it too much except… Continue reading A Mother’s Day Card, a “10” and a Carcinoma