Category: books

Getting Away from all the No, No, No’s

Posted in animal adoption, bands, books, boyfriend, California, childhood, dogs, humor, memoir, outside the box, piano, relationshipsLeave a comment

My mom, bless her heart, had to keep five children in line, mostly by herself.  She did this 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 was… Continue reading Getting Away from all the No, No, No’s

It’s Not Rocket Science

Posted in antique, best, books, business, California, costumes, EBay, firsts, helpful strangers, humor, last, linens, memoir, relationships, restaurant, retail, vintage, worstLeave a comment

The woman who works for me, eleven years my junior and twice as strong, told me that when her hot tub broke, she told a man at her community pool that she needed a rocket scientist to figure out what was wrong with it. “I’m a rocket scientist,” the guy said. A good pick-up line?… Continue reading It’s Not Rocket Science

Judging from the Trends

Posted in author, best, books, California, children, children's books, dinosaurs, humor, memoir, mom, relationships, trends, worstLeave a comment

I was asked to judge a picture book contest. I am 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

Jeff Bezos Rules the World

Posted in Amazon, best, books, business, California, humor, internet, memoir, Millennials, postal service, relationships, retail, shop owner, worst, writersLeave a comment

Macy’s, Sears, J. Crew, Radio Shack, J.C. Penney, Kmart, Payless Shoe Source, Toys R Us, closed or closing stores in 2018. Borders, Barnes and Noble, and indie bookstores everywhere are closing. Mom and Pop shops are no more. What Ebay and Etsy did to antique stores, Amazon is doing to all the rest of the… Continue reading Jeff Bezos Rules the World

Wonderful White Elephant Sale

Posted in best, books, California, gardening, humor, memoir, relationships, thrift storeLeave a comment

The biggest, most organized sale I’ve ever seen is the Oakland Museum’s white elephant sale . The Oakland Museum’s Women’s Board hosts the sale in a warehouse off Fruitvale that they own outright. Parking is tough, but once you’ve found your spot, get ready to shop till you drop. The Sunday preview sale is a… Continue reading Wonderful White Elephant Sale

Jeff Bezos Rules the World

Posted in Amazon, author, books, boss, business, congress, house of representatives, internet, memoir, music, online sales, president, retail, senateLeave a comment

Macy’s, Sears, J. Crew, Radio Shack, J.C. Penney, Kmart, Payless Shoe Source, closed or closing stores in 2018. Borders, Barnes and Noble, and indie bookstores everywhere are closing. Mom and Pop shops are no more. What Ebay and Etsy did to antique stores, Amazon is doing to all the rest of the brick and mortar… Continue reading Jeff Bezos Rules the World

Scariest Student Ever

Posted in books, high school, Iowa, junior high school, memoir, middle school, Midwestern, relationships, teaching, worstsLeave a comment

During my ten years of teaching public school, I had many a student that caused me grief.  The 8th grader transfer student who called me a bitch in front of the whole class on his first day.  The brilliant 7th grade boy who lit matches in the hallway and dropped them on the… Continue reading Scariest Student Ever