Category: California

He Ain’t Heavy, He’s my Match Date

Posted in California, dating, firsts, gym, honesty, humor, online dating, weight loss, worstLeave a comment

(re-run) Ingrid had been on the online website for a little over a month. She had tried meeting a few guys but only if they were willing to email back and forth and actually pick up a phone and call. Fred had flirted and called, and now it was time for them to meet. He… Continue reading He Ain’t Heavy, He’s my Match Date

Hot, Hot, Hot

Posted in books, California, climate change, defensible space, dogs, fires, humidity, ice cream, Jack Russell terrier, memoir, Paradise, power outage, Santa Rosa, urban fires2 Comments

(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 Red-tailed Hawk and the Toddler Fence

Posted in birds, California, children, humor, hunting, Lindsay Wildlife Museum, memoir, Mount Diablo State Park, nature, outdoors, relationships, toddler, worstLeave a comment

(re-run) I’m a bird lover. I feed the song birds and the finches. I have an ongoing water supply in the form of a fountain in my back yard. I’ve planted native plants for the hummingbirds. When I hike, I am thrilled to find a hawk feather to add to my hat. Twenty-odd years ago,… Continue reading The Red-tailed Hawk and the Toddler Fence

Fix Your Past Mistakes, or Get a Million Dollars?

Posted in a million dollars, California, chorus, Facebook, family, friends, memoir, relatives, retirement, The MartianLeave a comment

(re-run) A recent Facebook post asked if you’d rather go back in time and fix all of your mistakes or don’t do that and get $1,000,000 instead. That’s easy. People will take the money. What if the choice were, go back in time and fix all your mistakes or don’t (no money)?  I’d say no… Continue reading Fix Your Past Mistakes, or Get a Million Dollars?

Hat Trick

Posted in business, California, Etsy, Facebook, Facebook Marketplace, garage, hats, memoir, San Francisco, tea cups, tea room, vintageLeave a comment

(re-run) I have too many hats. Most of them were store inventory since I had a brick and mortar costume business for kids – field trips, book reports, etc. I sold on Etsy for five years until they became a corporate company with plans to streamline the buyer’s experience. Just click a button and order… Continue reading Hat Trick

Same Old Grind

Posted in bruxism, California, children, dad, dentist, dogs, family, high school, humor, husband, memoir, parking lot, physical therapy, relationships, school, sports, worstLeave a comment

(re-run) Advanced bruxism – that’s what it’s called when you clench and grind your teeth in your sleep. I didn’t know I had it until my dentist noticed my worn lower teeth at a check-up. She made me a mouth guard to save them. I know when it all started. It was in the big… Continue reading Same Old Grind

Worst Fake Friend Ever

Posted in attitude, August, babysitting co-op, birthday, California, girlfriends, humor, memoir, narcissist, parenting, play date, relationships, sewing machine, worstLeave a comment

(re-run) When I moved to suburbia in the Bay Area, I joined the town’s Newcomer’s club and then joined the babysitting co-op within the club. We were all new mothers with one or two children, and the thirty of us traded babysitting with coupons while our little families grew bigger. My two-year-old daughter bonded with… Continue reading Worst Fake Friend Ever

The Dog Whisperer

Posted in animal adoption, animal rescue, animal training, ball throwing, California, dog whisperer, dogs, fridge, HOA, leash, massage, memoir, pandemic, poop, ZoomLeave a comment

(re-run) My son moved in with me. He’s managed to get the super anxious, high-strung Jack Russell terrier to roll over onto her back when she sees him coming. She allows belly rubs to happen. This is huge. I’ve been massaging Daisy Dog ever since pandemic life went online with Zoom. She knows to sit… Continue reading The Dog Whisperer

Do You Want a Cookie, Little Girl?

Posted in beach, best, boyfriend, California, dating, firsts, Hawaii, hiking, humor, March, music, nature, park, relationships, romance, skiingLeave a comment

(re-run) She ran a personal ad in the Contra Costa Times: Single white female looking for single Asian man. Her two previous boyfriends had been Asian. James called and left a message with his phone number on a Friday night. The next morning Pam checked her phone messages. She liked his voice as she listened… Continue reading Do You Want a Cookie, Little Girl?

The Dancing Tribe

Posted in Beatles, California, community, dancing, hiking, live music, memoir, outdoors, pandemic, party, rock and roll, swing dancing, tribeLeave a comment

(re-run) Different town. Different band. Same faces. We are the tribe of dancers, mostly in our fifties, sixties, and seventies, following rock and roll music wherever it goes.  We might not know each other’s names, but we smile and wave. It’s been two years since some of us have seen each other. Last summer all… Continue reading The Dancing Tribe