Bad Daisy, Rescue Dog

Fifteen months into owning Daisy, the Jack Russell terrier, we had a bad event in the park just now. I taught Daisy how to fetch a ball and have been playing with her in the park next to my house every day for months. The neighbor girls, ages 5 and 7, run out to meet… Continue reading Bad Daisy, Rescue Dog

A Good Dog Neighbor

(re-run) Yesterday my son and I had lunch together at the local sandwich shop. He brought his little dog — half Chihuahua, half terrier. I fed Violet scraps of lettuce under the table while we ate. She thinks she’s a vegetarian. Afterward, we followed the usual routine and came back to my house, where Violet… Continue reading A Good Dog Neighbor

First Date Red Flags

Okay, you said yes to the guy who asked you out two years ago and you turned him down. Now he has shown up at a dancing venue in Concord on the same day you wondered whatever happened to him. You see, he lives in San Francisco and you live in Suburbia. Then you agree… Continue reading First Date Red Flags

Ants, No Kitchen, and Things that Make Me Grumpy

Now on week five of no kitchen, I discovered ants running around inside my microwave oven in my spare bedroom.  I was so hungry for lunch at 3:15 in the afternoon that I decided to nuke them along with my chicken and carrots. I’d just left Bank of the West, my third attempt to get… Continue reading Ants, No Kitchen, and Things that Make Me Grumpy

A Murphy’s Law Kind of Post

I love thrift stores. I buy pretty much everything there, which is great because that way I am not paying retail and usually don’t pay sales tax, either. I don’t get the extra packaging that is so hard to get off the retail things. It sometimes takes a team of rocket scientists to figure out… Continue reading A Murphy’s Law Kind of Post

Why Not to Date your Neighbor

Julie got divorced and moved into her new townhouse with her six-year-old son.  One day, when she was out walking her dog, a guy mowing his lawn turned off the mower and said hello. They chatted about her dog, and Julie mentioned that she had just moved in. Doug rode his bike a lot while… Continue reading Why Not to Date your Neighbor

Secrets to a Successful Shop

It’s true — people shop online more and more each year. So how does a brick and mortar shop make it in today’s world? I was downtown in my town of 40,000 people (in a commuter corridor of the Bay Area) the other day, and parked on the main street in front of a little… Continue reading Secrets to a Successful Shop

The Pilot and the Petite Percussionist

He played the trumpet in community college. She played percussion. He was a sophomore; she was a freshman. He was short, she was shorter. He saw her get out of the car every day, with her boyfriend? No, it was just her brother, Jack. George was a pilot. She liked pilots. “Do you want to… Continue reading The Pilot and the Petite Percussionist