The winter solstice is behind us, so each day is two minutes longer as we creep our way out of the dark nights of winter. In the meantime, I must remember to take off my sunglasses after following along the freeway sound wall and turning onto the mile-long road to my court. The ten-block drive… Continue reading Short Days, Dangerous Crosswalks, Too Many Books
Category: books
The Frazzled, Harried Shopping Day with No Money
(re-run) Yesterday I was busy, squared. I planned my whole day around running down to Dublin before 4:30 to get some free samples from my sister’s doctor. Sis is in the doughnut hole for meds with Medicare, which means they are expensive. On the way down to Pleasanton, I got a call from one of… Continue reading The Frazzled, Harried Shopping Day with No Money
Hot, Hot, Hot
(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 Not So Trivial Trivia of Paul McCartney
Years ago, Philip Norman published his book, Paul McCartney: The Life. I checked it out from the library for my Sis in large print. The book is twenty-nine pages short of 1200! Sis took one look at the book and said, “It’s too heavy.” I had it in the return pile but then decided to… Continue reading The Not So Trivial Trivia of Paul McCartney
Getting Away from all the No, No, No’s
(re-run) My mother, bless her heart, had to keep five children in line, mostly by herself. She did it by keeping everyone in his or her place, as in, “No, you can’t do that!” I just found out that my younger sister also wanted to play clarinet in the band, like I did. But I… Continue reading Getting Away from all the No, No, No’s
The Story of Dr. Seuss
(re-run) I just finished a 430-page biography about Theodor (Ted) Geisel. You might know him better as Dr. Seuss (his mother’s maiden name). When I chose the book to review, I expected a children’s biography, not an in-depth tome that chronicled his life, year by year, from birth to death at age 87. He had… Continue reading The Story of Dr. Seuss
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
Hitchhiking Story
(re-run) When I was 20, I sold books door to door that summer in Ohio for Southwestern Company. The regional boss told me at our Sunday meeting to spend a day working with one of his ace sellers. The problem was, I didn’t have a car to get to the town where he worked. The… Continue reading Hitchhiking Story
Judging from the Trends
(re-run) I was asked to judge a picture book contest. I’m a picture book author of 29 books and also a mom of past picture-book fans. Picture books are books with both words and art, usually 28 to 64 pages, and usually for young children. The gift book people have figured out how to put… Continue reading Judging from the Trends
My Past Life as a Cat Burglar
(re-run) I was fifteen hundred miles away from home. It was the summer of 1975. I had my sample case with me from Southwestern Books. I’d worn my hot pants to stay cool. I had already rung three dozen doorbells. Selling books door to door wasn’t always a cake walk. It was lunchtime. I had… Continue reading My Past Life as a Cat Burglar
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 