S is for Scrolling (Surfing)

(re-run) It used to be when I had a few minutes of free time, I’d try to get something done, like work on  a story, clean a drawer, or do some squats. Oh, I could’ve written about squats since it starts with an S. But what can you say? Bend down, butt out. Stand up,… Continue reading S is for Scrolling (Surfing)

Do You Want a Cookie, Little Girl?

(re-run) She ran a personal ad in the Contra Costa Times: Single white female looking for single Asian man. Her two previous boyfriends had been Asian. James called and left a message with his phone number on a Friday night. The next morning Pam checked her phone messages. She liked his voice as she listened… Continue reading Do You Want a Cookie, Little Girl?

So This is What Happened While I was Gone

I can no longer use my front door. See photo, upper right. I was for 5 nights for these reasons: The foxtails have overtaken my yard, and now that it has stopped raining (probably until fall) I have a ton of weeds to pull (foxtails are bad for dogs’ eyes and noses). I wore myself… Continue reading So This is What Happened While I was Gone

The New Normal

Last night the special on TV thanked the nurses, doctors, policemen, delivery men, grocery store workers, restaurant workers, mail carriers, truckers, etc, etc. Nobody thanked the farm workers. A week ago I was driving back from Monterey in a light rain. As I passed the fields on either side of the freeway, I saw the… Continue reading The New Normal

My Two Gophers

Now before you tell me that gophers are solitary creatures and that I only have one gopher, let me explain that I have a little beach house with a gopher and my regular house with a gopher. I am an Iowa girl, living in California. So both houses were bought because of the property that… Continue reading My Two Gophers

What to Do instead of Going Online

(re-run) It’s amazing once a person takes the internet out of the daily equation, just how much she can get done. And how she doesn’t miss it all that much. And how she has time to write about not missing it. As technology goes, I could take it or leave it. I still shop at… Continue reading What to Do instead of Going Online

Roughing It in Paradise

Every two weeks I head down to Monterey to water my plants and visit my little beach house.  With 60 mph winds last weekend that toppled a decades-old tree next to my yard, I figured I’d have a hundred or so pine cones to clean up in my other front yard under an 100-year-old pine… Continue reading Roughing It in Paradise

What to Do instead of Going Online

It’s amazing once a person takes the internet out of the daily equation, just how much she can get done. And how she doesn’t miss it all that much. And how she has time to write about not missing it. As technology goes, I could take it or leave it. I still shop at real… Continue reading What to Do instead of Going Online

Tickled Pink with my New View

This is my week for antiquated language.  Here is my tickled-pink story. For you young’uns, tickled pink means you are really, really happy. OMG! Do I have some news today! For thirteen years next month, I have owned a beach house in Monterey county, at first with my husband, now by myself. It sits just… Continue reading Tickled Pink with my New View

Must Love Dogs

John had a date with a woman named Sally. She had just rescued a dog and named it Muffin. John wanted to go skim boarding at the beach, and he asked Sally to come with him. Of course she had to bring Muffin, her Golden Retriever. When they got to San Gregorio beach a park… Continue reading Must Love Dogs