Susan

Flat Feet

September 3, 2020September 1, 2021 Posted in Brazil, Canaima, chiropractor, flat feet, Korean War, memoir, skiing, South America, Spanish, travel, vacation, waterfallsLeave a comment

(re-run) I turned on my laptop the other day, and the ever-changing screen showed a photo of waterfalls, big wide ones somewhere in Brazil. I’ve never been to Brazil, but I have been to Canaima, Venezuela, where there are seven wide falls and a resort below them. I was student-teaching with another Iowa Stater. We… Continue reading Flat Feet

The Princeton Ploy

September 3, 2020September 3, 2020 Posted in cars, college, crush, dating, laundry, marriage, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, pick-up lines, relationships, roommate, travelLeave a comment

(re-run) It was her third day as a freshman at Temple University in Philadelphia. Sue was riding the elevator with her friends between Hardwick and Johnson Hall when he got on. He had all of his stuff. He was moving in. “School started already,” one of her friends said. “I was in San Diego,” he… Continue reading The Princeton Ploy

Shop Till You Drop

September 2, 2020September 1, 2020 Posted in best, California, Carmel, cars, dressing room, firsts, friends, girl friends, lunch, memoir, relationships, restaurant, thrift store, vintageLeave a comment

(re-run) We had already hit two thrift stores and were heading for a third. Then I remembered that Vickie wanted to go to the ones in Carmel. I turned onto Forest Avenue and took the winding highway 68 through the Monterey pines. It would lead to the new roundabout that would send the traffic north… Continue reading Shop Till You Drop

Tattoos for You

September 1, 2020August 31, 2020 Posted in athletes, best, butterflies, California, dancing, dogs, family, friends of friends, generation, humor, memoir, mom, music, relationships, skin, tattoos, worstLeave a comment

I look around and see athletes with tattoos, ex-military people with tattoos, mothers of small children with tattoos . . .

Doing the Swedish Death Purge

August 31, 2020August 31, 2020 Posted in aging, Döstädning, death purge, evacuation, fires, memoir, moving, pandemic, purge, schedule, SwedenLeave a comment

A friend of mine is Swedish, and she told me about Döstädning. I have no idea how to say it, but it means death purge for those turning sixty. The idea is simple – clean out your house before you die so that your kids don’t have to do it. But saying it and doing… Continue reading Doing the Swedish Death Purge

Making Time to Write

August 30, 2020August 29, 2020 Posted in agent, author, contractor, dogs, empty nester, Facebook, writers, writingLeave a comment

(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

Rattlesnake Season

August 29, 2020August 29, 2020 Posted in baby rattler, cold-blooded, ER, garage, garden hose, Girl Scout camp, pool cover, rattlesnake, reptiles, snake bite, venomLeave a comment

(re-run) It’s rattlesnake season here in the West. Snakes are cold-blooded and love warm surfaces like rocks or sunny trails when they are cold, and dark and shady places when they are hot. At night they curl up in the strangest locales – in coiled-up garden hoses, under the edge of pool covers, and now… Continue reading Rattlesnake Season

As Fresh as a Daisy, Dog Story

August 28, 2020August 28, 2020 Posted in animals, bath, beach, California, dogs, memoir, Monterey Bay, swimmingLeave a comment

When you’re a dog, a rescue dog, one that has been given back twice, your world is filled with fear, loud trucks, and scary men. So when you have to share your beach house with a big guy with facial hair, another woman who kind of looks like the one that feeds you, and another… Continue reading As Fresh as a Daisy, Dog Story

Lola Meets Ricardo

August 25, 2020August 26, 2020 Posted in beer, college, fires, Iowa, marriage, military, sister, speech, women's studies2 Comments

Lola met her forever husband on the first day of college at the University of Iowa. She had signed up for a speech and composition class with an emphasis on women’s studies. When she got to the classroom, there was a note on the door that the class had been moved to another building. A… Continue reading Lola Meets Ricardo

Uncle Frank and the Jar of Coins

August 25, 2020August 24, 2021 Posted in 4th of July, antique, California, carnival, cats, cousins, Des Moines, grandfather clock, memoir, mom, money, uncleLeave a comment

I grew up with three uncles, one in Colorado, another on the other side of the state, and one near my home town in Des Moines, Iowa. Uncle Frank was older than the other uncles, but since his daughter, Nina, was my age, I hardly noticed. He was married to my grandma’s younger sister. They… Continue reading Uncle Frank and the Jar of Coins