(re-run) I only use my phone alarm clock for three things, now that I’m retired. Most days I sleep until either the black lab, Pepper, comes down to the bedroom to wake me up, or until the light comes into my bedroom from the eight-foot window. Even though it has black-out curtains over it, the… Continue reading The No-alarm-clock Retirement
Category: memoir
The Lost Package of Christmas Gifts
(re-run) I know, it’s almost March. I mailed one of my adult children’s Christmas gifts to her in two priority boxes after her visit for the holidays (January 10th). One box made it to the East Coast. The other one made it and then went back to Oakland. That’s what the USPS website said when… Continue reading The Lost Package of Christmas Gifts
UPS Freeway Scare
It was a day like any other day. I was late leaving the house for exercise class so decided to jump on the freeway for two exits to save time. As I was driving, thinking about all the things I had to do that day, I noticed a UPS truck merging into my lane with… Continue reading UPS Freeway Scare
Shake, Rattle and Roll
(re-run in honor of the 35th anniversary of the Loma Prieta quake in 1989) Twenty earthquakes happened under my town yesterday. The biggest one was under the posh community of Diablo, three miles from here. They are calling it a swarm of quakes. The quakes are just big enough to get your attention or wake… Continue reading Shake, Rattle and Roll
Spring Cleaning in February
(re-run) It started with a koala bear. A bunch of them. Some musicians were having a fundraiser for Australia, the fires, and the koalas. It was donation at the door. Two and a half hours of music, and I knew three of the performers. We got there early and sat in the third row. Two… Continue reading Spring Cleaning in February
Good Riddance to January
Talk about the month from hell, January was the worst month, so far, of 2026. So many bad things happened. On New Year’s Day, my body decided to have a pooping meltdown. I was so dizzy, then hot, then clammy, then dizzy, that I couldn’t make it out of bed, a new low for laundry… Continue reading Good Riddance to January
Being an Older Mom
Ying Ying is the panda in Hong Kong who just gave birth to twins one day before her 19th birthday. In panda years, that’s old. She’s the oldest first-time panda mom ever, because they keep track of that kind of stuff, you know. I was an old mom, too, having my first at 31 and… Continue reading Being an Older Mom
Guardian Angels on Call
(re-run) My two-hour drive from the beach back to suburbia can become longer if there’s an accident along 101, a two-lane (on each side) highway. Once I got past Gilroy, the garlic capital of the world, where the highway grows to four lanes each way through San Jose, I felt confident that I was going… Continue reading Guardian Angels on Call
M is for Music
(re-run) In a stressed-out world, one of the best things I can do for myself is to relax and de-stress by either singing music or dancing to it. Once a week I go off and sing with my chorus of 130 people. During those two hours, I don’t think about world news, White House news,… Continue reading M is for Music
The Gun at Grandma’s House
(re-run) The thing was cold, black, and heavy. Even though I was just a kid, maybe nine or ten, I knew a gun when I saw it. I’d been jumping on Grandma Nellie’s bed. The pillow had fallen on the floor. The gun was under the pillow. I put everything back the way I found… Continue reading The Gun at Grandma’s House
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 