(re-run) Ellen DeGeneres has a special twelve-day Christmas giveaway on her show this month. I have rearranged my schedule to be at my sister’s board and care home at 4:00 each day so that we can watch the audience go wild when they get free stuff. It seems like a nice break from the fixer-upper… Continue reading Not Your Typical Monday
Category: California
Cut Loose on a Saturday Afternoon
(re-run) “I like the way you dance,” he said to me last Saturday afternoon. Margo and I had gone to Vino Godfather, a cool little winery in an old Victorian house on Mare Island in Vallejo. The island used to be a naval base, judging from the abandoned barracks on the way to the winery.… Continue reading Cut Loose on a Saturday Afternoon
Be Careful Who You Hike With
(re-run) First of all, the title should be Be Careful with Whom You Hike, but I figured only English teachers would read the post if I did it that way. An old bf asked me to go on a hike with him. I said yes a little too quickly. Looking back, Bob (not his real… Continue reading Be Careful Who You Hike With
Lovely Rita, Meter Maid
(re-run) Yesterday I spent most of the day in overly-metered Walnut Creek. The town of walnut orchards has turned into a buzzing destination for shoppers. It boasts a Nordstrom’s, Neiman Marcus (Needless Mark-up), Tiffany, Apple, Macy’s, Gap, Coach, Tesla, Pottery Barn, and every high-end store and chain store one can think of. People come from… Continue reading Lovely Rita, Meter Maid
Queen Victoria, the Cat
(re-run) Renee already had three cats. She wasn’t looking for another. So when her daughter-in-law called and said, “Mom, you need to adopt this cat,” Renee was thinking, No way, Renee. But then she heard the kitty’s story, and she had to reconsider. Renee’s son Brian and his wife were moving to Tennessee from California… Continue reading Queen Victoria, the Cat
Three Banks, the Post Office, and a Picasso
(re-run) t’s that dreaded time of year again. April is next week and so many things are due to be paid: Estimated Federal taxes Estimated State taxes Property taxes Accountant’s bill IRA contribution I am considered self-employed, so no taxes are withheld from my pension or royalty payments. That means that four times a year,… Continue reading Three Banks, the Post Office, and a Picasso
Why I Love Saturday Mornings
(re-run) When I was a kid, cartoons made Saturday mornings great. We sat around in our pajamas and ate our cereal in front of the TV. There was never time any other day of the week. Now that I’m grown and also retired, I still love Saturday mornings. I don’t have to Zumba, I don’t… Continue reading Why I Love Saturday Mornings
The Classy Meet-up Dancing Bar
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
(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
(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
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 