Author: Susan

I do this blog for PG audiences and another one for R audiences with Bae Bliss.

He Ain’t Heavy, He’s my Match Date

Posted in California, dating, firsts, gym, honesty, humor, online dating, weight loss, worstLeave a comment

(re-run) Ingrid had been on the online website for a little over a month. She had tried meeting a few guys but only if they were willing to email back and forth and actually pick up a phone and call. Fred had flirted and called, and now it was time for them to meet. He… Continue reading He Ain’t Heavy, He’s my Match Date

Barbies or a Boyfriend?

Posted in Barbie, boyfriend, daughter, Facebook, feminist, kindergarten, memoir, mom, Pokemon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, UkraineLeave a comment

(re-run) Facebook has done it again. When I think I have no ideas for a new blog post, a Facebook exchange with a stranger will remind me of something in my past to write about. The post was a Ukranian girl sitting in a window, holding a weapon. The caption said, “While American tweens are… Continue reading Barbies or a Boyfriend?

Hot, Hot, Hot

Posted in books, California, climate change, defensible space, dogs, fires, humidity, ice cream, Jack Russell terrier, memoir, Paradise, power outage, Santa Rosa, urban fires2 Comments

(re=run from 2019) 102 degrees outside.  Fires are burning in both Northern and Southern California. The once late-summer fire season is now happening in June. California heat is dry heat, low humidity, good for your hair, bad for fire. Four weeks ago we had rain.  Then an explosion of pollen. Then a slow start to… Continue reading Hot, Hot, Hot

The Red-tailed Hawk and the Toddler Fence

Posted in birds, California, children, humor, hunting, Lindsay Wildlife Museum, memoir, Mount Diablo State Park, nature, outdoors, relationships, toddler, worstLeave a comment

(re-run) I’m a bird lover. I feed the song birds and the finches. I have an ongoing water supply in the form of a fountain in my back yard. I’ve planted native plants for the hummingbirds. When I hike, I am thrilled to find a hawk feather to add to my hat. Twenty-odd years ago,… Continue reading The Red-tailed Hawk and the Toddler Fence

Fix Your Past Mistakes, or Get a Million Dollars?

Posted in a million dollars, California, chorus, Facebook, family, friends, memoir, relatives, retirement, The MartianLeave a comment

(re-run) A recent Facebook post asked if you’d rather go back in time and fix all of your mistakes or don’t do that and get $1,000,000 instead. That’s easy. People will take the money. What if the choice were, go back in time and fix all your mistakes or don’t (no money)?  I’d say no… Continue reading Fix Your Past Mistakes, or Get a Million Dollars?

Skipping Work for Woodstock, 1969

Posted in bands, best, helpful strangers, historic, humor, live music, Long Island, nature, outdoors, pig, postal service, rain, relationships, small town, vacation, vintageLeave a comment

(re-run) In 1969 Max Yasgur’s pig farm in upstate New York sounded like the place to be for three days and three nights. Frank had been delivering the Woodstock tickets for weeks on Long Island at his job as a summer letter carrier for the U.S. Post Office. He and the other summer carriers knew… Continue reading Skipping Work for Woodstock, 1969

Loneliest Study Abroad Ever

Posted in firsts, humor, Iowa, memoir, relationships, restaurant, roommate, Spain, Study abroad, travel, vacation, worstLeave a comment

(re-run) After three months in South America and six weeks of student teaching Catholic high school girls, I headed to Burgos, Spain, with 30 students and a handful of professors from Iowa State and the University of Iowa. It would be my way of earning the final credits of my dual degree. Linda, a high… Continue reading Loneliest Study Abroad Ever

Today I Played the Old Lady Card

Posted in aging, diet, dogs, face masks, Medicare, memoir, rabies, senior discount, stock market, teeth cleaning, veterinarianLeave a comment

(re-run) When your rescue dog needs her teeth cleaned because no one has brushed them for six years, you can bet it will be expensive. As in $650.00. Ouch! I’d put it off long enough. She’d even broken off an incisor at the gum line and didn’t want to eat. I knew it was time… Continue reading Today I Played the Old Lady Card

Home Alone in the Shower

Posted in 70s, Alfred Hitchcock, basement, bathroom, Chicago, high school, memoir, meter man, Psycho the movie, shower, teenagers1 Comment

(re-run) If you’ve never seen Alfred Hitchcock’s horror movie, Psycho, Janet Leigh gets killed while taking a shower.  It’s a creep fest, and she won awards for her convincing screams. Flash back to the 70s, when I was a teenager and home alone, taking a shower in the new basement bathroom. It was a crude… Continue reading Home Alone in the Shower