When I drive to the beach house from my regular house, it takes exactly two hours if there are no accidents, roadwork or bad weather. Today was not a two-hour-drive day. I pulled out of the driveway at 10:02, thinking I’d be there by noon. The dogs were in the back seat, Daisy on her… Continue reading Earthquake, Tsunami, Six Vehicle Accident Day
Category: beach
Best Album Ever, Rubber Soul
Twice a month I drive two hours to my beach town to do house maintenance, see the waves, and take a break from the day-in, day-out of retirement. Half the fun is the drive, the music, the scenery along 101, surrounded by fields and hills, trees and sky. My old car still has a CD… Continue reading Best Album Ever, Rubber Soul
Remember Kelly Dolls?
Do you remember the Kelly dolls by Mattel? They are 5 inch tall dolls in their own little plastic and cardboard boxes, Barbie’s little sister. The boxes are as colorful as the dolls. Twenty-some years ago, on my weekly run to Target with a toddler in tow, I would check out the Kelly dolls and… Continue reading Remember Kelly Dolls?
9-1-1 on 101
(re=run) As I drove to my little beach town, I was halfway there and feeling happy that my stomach had stopped erupting with nasty burps (I’d even skipped my fake coffee this morning). Suddenly a CHP car passed with lights flashing, then a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Whoa! What had happened? I immediately thought of… Continue reading 9-1-1 on 101
My Two Gophers
(re-run) 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… Continue reading My Two Gophers
Ten-year-old Girl Meets Fire
(re-run) It was a Saturday night, and the woman who works for me was extra tired from her long honey-do list. We had just put on Footloose when she said, “I’m going to bed.” “Good night,” I said, looking at her ten year old daughter who was wearing my boots from forty years ago and… Continue reading Ten-year-old Girl Meets Fire
The Dogs Have Met their Match
(re-run) When you are of a certain age, and your two young dogs wear you out on a regular basis, it can be a delight to have a ten-year-old girl for the weekend while her mom works for you. The dogs have finally met their match. The ten-year-old wakes up at dawn to go to… Continue reading The Dogs Have Met their Match
Must Love Dogs
(re-run) John had a date with a woman named Sally. She had just rescued a dog and called 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… Continue reading Must Love Dogs
A Scavenger’s Life
(re-run from 2019) I see value in things that others don’t see. It can be blessing and also a problem. That paper bag? Take it to my favorite thrift store. The plastic bag the newspaper comes in? A poop bag on a dog walk. A cracked dinner plate? A water-catch for a ceramic pot. So… Continue reading A Scavenger’s Life
Back in my Fat Pants Again
(re-run) It sounds like a country western song. “Well, my true love done left me. He mosied ‘round the bend. It makes me sad that I’m heading back to my fat pants again!” In the winter, when I can hide under many layers, I am thinnest. Maybe it’s all the no-calorie tea and hot water… Continue reading Back in my Fat Pants Again
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 