A is for Air

If a bluebird ski day is one without a cloud in the sky, then a dog-bird (bird-dog?) day is one where you can open all of your windows and air the doggy smell right out of your (my) house. All that stale winter air that has been recycling through my closed-up house during rain storm… Continue reading A is for Air

The Flying Hammer and the Cleaning Lady

(re-run) Many moons ago, when I was the mother of three young children, my husband (now ex) said, “Let’s remodel the kitchen.” I stupidly agreed, not realizing that I would be the one to suffer through six weeks of no kitchen sink and six weeks of feeding my family with no way to cook anything… Continue reading The Flying Hammer and the Cleaning Lady

A Giants Date

(re-run) Tom, the contractor, was a Giants fan. He found a similar-minded woman on Match.com. Tom’s friend had given him the tickets, field level seats at the third baseline, near the players’ wives.   Tom asked his date to meet him at his place so they could drive over to the stadium in San Francisco together.… Continue reading A Giants Date

April 6th, a Popular Date

(re-run) It seems that everything is happening on April 6th.  There is a fashion show, a Beatles tribute band playing, a piano concert, two big sales at my favorite thrift stores, and a girlfriend’s afternoon wedding. Guess which one I am going to do. She is thrilled to be getting married to her guy, two… Continue reading April 6th, a Popular Date

My Two Gophers

(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

New Bathroom 2.0

Eight years ago, I added 300 square feet to my house of 1800 square feet. The best parts were the new back porch, the big laundry room (instead of a closet with hardwood floors), the added bathroom, and the extra door to the yard. I upgraded the shower, the shower floor, had a nice granite… Continue reading New Bathroom 2.0

The Case of the Missing Bathtub

(re-run) I had everything ready – the shower tile, floor tile, the vanity, the toilet with the round bowl, the towel bars, the shower nozzle and valve, and the bathtub (on order from Home Depot), arriving on May 1st. But it didn’t.  When I clicked the tracking button, there was no tracking available. I knew… Continue reading The Case of the Missing Bathtub

The Young Have Strength, the Old Have Cash

The stages of life are a series of polar opposites. The young are strong. The old are at their wealthiest. The young can’t afford stuff but are strong enough to lift it. The old can’t lift it, but they have the cash to buy things. This is how I got my new bathroom vanity installed… Continue reading The Young Have Strength, the Old Have Cash

Tough Wednesday

Being retired, my days are mostly eating breakfast, taking a shower, exercise, dog walks, coffee break, shopping and writing, lunch, reading, sewing and TV, sometimes dancing. Wednesday was different and tough. It started out with a contractor calling yet again to schedule the earthquake bolt and brace job under the house. Even though I loved… Continue reading Tough Wednesday