No More Renters

I own a very old house in Monterey County, where everybody wants to go on vacation. For ten years I rented it out to friends, way under market value, although the price has been creeping up these last few years. During the pandemic, I rented it one time, and my mom, sis, and brother-in-law spent… Continue reading No More Renters

Memories Light the Corners of my Mind

(re-run) I used to be good at remembering people’s names and remembering to use coupons before they expired. Now I am lucky if I can find the coupon when I am at the store. (re-run) Today, at CVS, I checked out and was given a long receipt with $6.00 of extra bucks on it. My… Continue reading Memories Light the Corners of my Mind

The Weakest Link – my Low Back

(re-run) 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 laundry.  I… Continue reading The Weakest Link – my Low Back

Ungrateful Daisy Dog

(re-run) I was sick today, and my plans to walk the dogs with my girlfriend were dashed. To my surprise, she offered to walk them for me. “You can’t walk them together,” I said. “It’s too hard.” “That’s okay. I’ll come walk each of them separately.” “Okay . .. ?” I had the pinch collar… Continue reading Ungrateful Daisy Dog

Not your Normal Fishing Trip

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 ocean,… Continue reading Not your Normal Fishing Trip

Pavlov’s Perfume

(re-run) My girlfriend, who shall remain nameless, lest someone recognize her on this page, has a three-time rescue dog like mine. Hers also started out as a voluntary surrender puppy after his owner first lost a home in the Redding fire. Or possibly he was at the Redding shelter and got shipped out to make… Continue reading Pavlov’s Perfume

The Bonus Daisy Post

(re-run from 2018) Normally I write about my rescue dog on a monthly basis, on her adoption anniversary date, the 26th of October. Consider this a bonus post, since she has been making news these past two days. Every morning I get into the hot tub with my cup of black tea, and Daisy perches… Continue reading The Bonus Daisy Post

The Whole-house Shake-up

My son is moving in.  I offered him the bedroom furthest from mine, so that he can make a sandwich at midnight, and I can sleep through it. It was my sewing room, filled to the brim. On Monday my helper woman took the twin bed apart in the bedroom closest to mine.  Then she… Continue reading The Whole-house Shake-up