(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
Category: memoir
The Thrill of the Deal
Before the pandemic, I would go to a thirft store every week. I had thrift-store withdrawals in late March, but what could I do? They were shut down for the pandemic. Then in May, when many of them reopened, I was one of the hundreds of people looking for a place to donate the stuff… Continue reading The Thrill of the Deal
How to Relax for Bed
(re-run) I decided to close my online costume shop this past summer. I donated 500 dresses to a charity for 3rd world girls and sorted through my aprons, pulling out all the hostess ones, the sheer ones not for cooking. I had 150 of them. I gave them to my local thrift store, the one… Continue reading How to Relax for Bed
My Inherited Dog, Boomer
Boomer was never my dog, although he came into my care when I married his owner. I’m not sure how old he was when I got him. My dog, Tess, was two and Boomer was older. A small, part Beagle-part terrier, Boomer had not had a regular dog’s life. He had never eaten dog food… Continue reading My Inherited Dog, Boomer
Rainy Sunday Morning Surprise
I am too cheap to pay $3.00 for a newspaper carrier to deliver the San Francisco Sunday Chronicle. Yes, I am a dinosaur. I still read physical newpspapers, eight per week. When I discovered that I was being charged $6.00 for a $3.00 paper, I stopped my subscription and started picking it up myself. That… Continue reading Rainy Sunday Morning Surprise
My Crowded Park
(re-run) Yesterday I walked my dog earlier than usual. The day was sunny and a bit windy. I avoided the park and headed up my court, turned the corner and said to my black lab, “Pull me up the hill, Pepper.” And she did. A boy on an electric scooter flew by, followed by a… Continue reading My Crowded Park
How to Train your Puppy so He Won’t Bite You
(re-run) Yesterday at the natural stone store where I went to look at their granite, the guy that helped me mentioned that his friend’s German Shepherd puppy kept biting his owner. Puppies do that because they are exploring their world. They are babies using everything as their personal teething rings. When my lab mix Pepper… Continue reading How to Train your Puppy so He Won’t Bite You
Worst Neighbors Ever
(re-run) When I was twenty-eight I bought my first house, in Omaha, on 50th Avenue, south of Leavenworth. It was a cute little two bedroom, one bath with a full basement and big fenced-in backyard. Since I wanted to get a dog, it seemed perfect. I had a budget, and this house was in my… Continue reading Worst Neighbors Ever
Daisy in the Spotlight
Daisy’s favorite spot at the beach house is on the back of the couch. From there she can see the squirrels taunting her from the trees outside the window. She can see part of the street where dog walkers go by every five minutes or so. Pepper has taken over the antique silk wing chair… Continue reading Daisy in the Spotlight
Carmel Real Estate and Doris Day
Doris Day passed away, and her Carmel house is on the market. I read about it in the free Carmel magazine which comes out every other month that anyone can pick up in front of the local liquor store. I liked Doris. I liked her dog philanthropy and her hotel that allowed dogs. I am… Continue reading Carmel Real Estate and Doris Day
