(re-run) She hated Friday, the 13th. She would turn the car around if a black cat crossed the street in front of her. And mirrors? She once yelled at me when I held my baby up to one in a German restaurant. “That’s bad luck before her first birthday!” My mother-in-law, may she rest in… Continue reading Superstitions
Category: memoir
Doggy Drama
(re-run) When Violet, the Chihuahua, moved in along with my son, I was worried about how she’d get along with my two bigger dogs. Daisy, the Russell Terrier, is 20+ pounds, and Pepper, the lab mix, is 55 pounds. We have a system. Violet enjoys the added wing of the house with a child gate… Continue reading Doggy Drama
Dealing with Duff
What is duff, you ask? It’s decaying vegetable matter covering the ground under trees. It’s what burns in a wild fire. It’s especially thick under evergreen trees because those pine needles build up and don’t necessarily get raked up like obvious leaves do. Insurance companies want those of us who live in California to get… Continue reading Dealing with Duff
The Gift of Music
(re-run from 2022) Yesterday I went to a local library to hear two members of a Beatles cover band do one hour of lovely harmonies while they sang song after song. All the old people in the audience sang along. There were chairs for us, and the young people with small children, who didn’t think… Continue reading The Gift of Music
The Third Day at the Beach
(re-run) When I visit my beach house, it’s usually for two nights. One night is a no-go. It’s too much work to pack up and take the dogs, driving down one day and driving back the next. Every now and then I get an extra third night. That seems to be the difference between getting… Continue reading The Third Day at the Beach
Mammo-grammo
It was that time again, time to go get my breasts smashed between two plates of glass. I was smart enough to take Tylenol ahead of time. I planned the appointment to be on an empty stomach, since it’s not pleasant and I didn’t want to burp on the technician. The appointment was for 1:30.… Continue reading Mammo-grammo
July 13th x Three in the Obits
(re-run) Reading my Time magazine today (something I’ve been doing for 47 years), I noticed on the obits page that Shannen Doherty of 90210 fame, died on July 13th at the young age of 53 (breast cancer). I didn’t watch 90210, but everyone knows who Shannen Doherty is (was). Then I saw that exercise guru… Continue reading July 13th x Three in the Obits
My Dog Is Too Smart
(re-run) Today I put Daisy’s Prozac in a slice of banana, as I do every day. She caught it and spit it out and then ate the banana pieces, leaving the pill. Since two other dogs were right there, also getting slices of banana sans pills, I had to hurriedly pick it up before the… Continue reading My Dog Is Too Smart
Best Summer Day Camp Ever
(re-run) My two daughters were Girl Scouts and went to summer day camp at Twin Canyons in Lafayette, two towns over. In order to get them a slot, I volunteered to work the entire week. I did it for eleven years and enjoyed getting to meet every camper there (about 200 each year). I chose… Continue reading Best Summer Day Camp Ever
The Moon Landing and a Funeral
(re-run) The day we landed on the moon (July 20th, 1969), my parents took the family to a picnic/fishing spot at the Des Moines reservoir. I was going into high school in the fall, so it was a dorky thing to do on a Sunday, but hey? I couldn’t drive yet, and the food was… Continue reading The Moon Landing and a Funeral
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 