Category: California

The Classy Meet-up Dancing Bar

Posted in best, bouncer, California, dancing, friends, humor, memoir, music, outdoors, relationships, stilettos, waiter, worstLeave a comment

There’s an outdoor dancing venue behind an Italian restaurant in downtown Pleasanton, a city which sits near a major crossroads of two freeways, north/south 680 and east /west 580, a few dozen miles east of San Francisco. The people come from all over on Thursday nights from 6:00 to 10:00 in the summer for live… Continue reading The Classy Meet-up Dancing Bar

Santa Cruz Friday

Posted in army surplus, beach, bikinis, birthday, California, ceramics, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Crow's Nest, dancing, face masks, GPS, highway 1, J.J. Cale, memoir, Moss Landing, pandemic, Santa Cruz, travel, ZumbaLeave a comment

(re-run) When a dancing friend asked me to meet him in Santa Cruz yesterday, I thought it would be a great day to break up this monotonous pandemic life. We agreed to meet at 2:00. I drove through intermittent fog and sunshine all the way to Moss Landing. I had promised myself a ceramic pot… Continue reading Santa Cruz Friday

Hold the Crunch

Posted in California, college, dating, grad school, holidays, humor, marriage proposal, mom, Ohio, peanut butter, Pennsylvania, relationships, singingLeave a comment

(re-run) Jim earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He took a job with Proctor and Gamble in Cincinnati, which had just started buying up food brands, like cake mixes and peanut butter. Jim’s job was to put the crunch in the new peanut butter, Jif. One machine chopped the peanuts into… Continue reading Hold the Crunch

Ah Choo! It’s Allergy Season

Posted in aerobics, California, dancing, Daylight Savings, Flonase, leap year, memoir, pollen, Sadie Hawkins, wineryLeave a comment

(re-run) My friends post photos of themselves gallivanting through our green hills dotted with wildflowers. It’s California, we are having the driest February in 160 years, and the pollen is exploding everywhere. My nose itches by just looking at the photos of the greenery. I bought an air purifier. I dug out my Flonase. I… Continue reading Ah Choo! It’s Allergy Season

My Three-quarter Bike Ride

Posted in biking, California, children, exercise, handy woman, Iron Horse Trail, lunch, melanoma, memoir, pandemic, railroadLeave a comment

(re-run) I was the one that suggested the bike ride with two of my adult children. They don’t spend much time outdoors or get enough exercise. They like to ride the Iron Horse trail. It is an easy, shady railroad right of way that connects towns up and down the I- 680 corridor in the… Continue reading My Three-quarter Bike Ride

Say What in Santa Cruz

Posted in California, college, dating, friends, helpful strangers, high school, marriage proposal, relationships, Santa Cruz, siblings, vacationLeave a comment

(re-run) Jennifer met Brad at San Leandro High school in the Bay Area. She wasn’t allowed to date, but she was allowed to go to junior prom. The next year Brad asked Jennifer to Senior Ball. It was in San Francisco, and afterward, they went to Pier 39 with everyone else in their limo. Brad… Continue reading Say What in Santa Cruz

Checking Out the Guy Checking You Out

Posted in BART, baseball, California, chemistry, dating, Facebook, firsts, girlfriends, Hamilton, humor, Intelius, internet, LinkedIn, relationships, San Francisco1 Comment

(re-run) First of all, let’s just get this out in the open. It’s weird to be a woman of a certain age and to be hit on while waiting for a BART train. As in Bay Area Rapid Transit. He was sitting when I came up to the platform. I sat down next to him,… Continue reading Checking Out the Guy Checking You Out

Naming the Rescue Dog

Posted in relationships, humor, memoir, dogs, California, best, ARF, dog training, animal adoption, animal rescue, son, surprise, daughterLeave a comment

(re-run) The day after Christmas I bought myself a belated gift. I got an adult dog to be a buddy to my exuberant two year old dog.  I’d been to the Martinez animal services shelter the week before, since they had so many dogs (140) and were giving them away. It was cold and damp… Continue reading Naming the Rescue Dog

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, relationships1 Comment

(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

My Two Gophers

Posted in memoir, Iowa, California, birds, contractor, beach, gophers, birdfeeder, squirrels, cows, Coronavirus, Covid 19Leave a comment

(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