(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
Category: dogs
Ketchup and Noodles
(re-run) When my son was two and his big sister was in kindergarten, I saw a window of opportunity to go do child-free errands, if I could just find a place to park him for two or three hours. Enter my neighbor Peggy. She didn’t have a childcare license, which limits the caregiver to six… Continue reading Ketchup and Noodles
Weekend Thoughts on a Spring Day
(from 2021) I am physically exhausted. It feels good. Cleaning, sorting, weeding, dancing. I have managed to fill up my day alone. I did meet the new neighbors when we were all headed to the beach. They bought four doors down as a second home. Maria across the street chatted with me for a moment… Continue reading Weekend Thoughts on a Spring Day
Chihuahua Vs. Foxtail
(re-run) Foxtail weeds are dangerous for dogs. That’s why they make a mesh face and ear guard for dogs that venture into the open space on hikes. My adult child had taken the Chihuahua terrier mix on hikes daily since April. He never had a problem, until the other evening . . . Suddenly he… Continue reading Chihuahua Vs. Foxtail
The Turquoise Trailer and the Homeless Couple
(re-run, a pre-pandemic story) My little beach house sits on land bought back in 1929 from the railroad company. The old deed shows the purchase price of $25.00. For some reason, the original owner didn’t want to buy the land up to the railroad tracks. Now, 90 years later, the land between my back fence… Continue reading The Turquoise Trailer and the Homeless Couple
Afternoon Delight and Boater Safety
(re-run) Really, folks. You can’t make this stuff up. My fisherman friend, we’ll call him Pete, took a buddy and his boat and spent a day on the Delta (San Francisco Bay) where the Sacramento River meets the ocean, and the delta, a mixture of fresh and salt water and just as cold as the… Continue reading Afternoon Delight and Boater Safety
Reflections on a Retired Thursday
(RE-RUN) You’d think retired people have seven days a week to reflect on their past lives. Not so, Smokey Joe. There was chorus, plus a COVID booster shot on Tuesday which produced a huge headache. “Take Tylenol,” my adult child who lives down the hall said. “No, you’re supposed to let the vaccine do its… Continue reading Reflections on a Retired Thursday
Highway Dog
(re-run) I’m in my little beach town, up the road a bit from Carmel. At the end of each month, the block of thrift stores in the Barnyard Shopping Center near Carmel Valley put their merchandise at 50% off for a day or two. Yellow Brick Road was on its second day of sale yesterday,… Continue reading Highway Dog
The Weakest Link – my Low Back
(re-run from 2020) The good thing about the current Coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown is that I have a hundred projects to finish. Suddenly I have nothing but time to do it all. Everything was going along swimmingly yesterday. I exercised. I painted (spray-painted picture frames), I picked up dog poop. I did a heavy load of… Continue reading The Weakest Link – my Low Back
Naming the Rescue Dog
(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
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 