Category: memoir

Daisy Gets a Rap Sheet

Posted in animal adoption, animal shelter, animal training, dentist, fences, insurance, medications, memoir, Prozac, veterinarianLeave a comment

(re-run) Jack Russell Terriers get a bad rap for being hyper, alpha, and prey driven. Sometimes the reputation is earned. The last two weeks have been anything but easy. Two friends and a neighbor died. I hosted a party, lost a crown, had a $1300 dentist bill, took one dog to the vet for chewing… Continue reading Daisy Gets a Rap Sheet

Biggest Scavenger Day Ever

Posted in California, ceramics, dog food, friends, garden club, gardening, handy woman, hiking, low back pain, memoir, moving, pots, succulents, truckLeave a comment

A friend of mine in a garden club knows that I like pots and plants. She called to say that one member was moving and offering her many potted plants to the club.  Nancy drove over to the woman’s house with me on Tuesday. I filled up my car with lots of little pots and… Continue reading Biggest Scavenger Day Ever

The Power of Nature

Posted in act of God, aging, best, California, car accident, care giver, caregiver, hiking, humor, memoir, nature, outdoors, trees, turtles1 Comment

(re-run) Sun, trees, dirt, flowers.  My nose is filled with the smell of Eucalyptus leaves. I used to hike twice a month with my senior hiking group called DASH. Then my sis moved in with me so that I could be her care giver. My hiking days stopped except for once last summer when I… Continue reading The Power of Nature

Creative People Make Messes

Posted in art, children, computer, creativity, directors, doll house, dolls, illustrators, memoir, relationships, sewing, sewing machine, writers

(re-run) If you’re an orderly person like Monk on the TV show of the same name, this column is not for you. You crave things in place, all the time. Otherwise, you get agitated. The other side of the coin is the person who is so busy creating that he/she doesn’t notice the mess. When… Continue reading Creative People Make Messes

The Best Ten Dollars Ever

Posted in allowance, babysitting, beer, biking, Campfire Girls, car, dad, memoir, newspaper, siblings, Spain, want adsLeave a comment

(re-run) When I was a kid, I walked everywhere. I went to a Bluebird or Campfire Girls meeting a few blocks away from home, and one day, on the way back, I saw a pale green leaf fluttering on the street. I picked it up, un-wadded it and discovered it was money. A ten-dollar bill.… Continue reading The Best Ten Dollars Ever

Writing It Down

Posted in blog, boy, dancing, exercise, female issues, gender, gender roles, high school, humor, Iowa, memoir, relationshipsLeave a comment

(re-run) Yesterday, as I drove up the freeway to BART, where I would meet two girlfriends and one of their daughters to go to the city to see Hamilton again, I was composing my blog post, out loud, in the slow lane. I was on a roll, phrasing each sentence to perfection as other drivers… Continue reading Writing It Down

The Hill That Would Not Hold

Posted in California, erosion, home value, flood, HOA, memoir, neighborhood, real estateLeave a comment

(re-run from 2024) My neighbors’ hill collapsed fifteen months ago in the crazy January rains of 2023. For months nothing was happening, and I concluded that a lot of guys had looked at the hill and had either refused to bid the job or had bid it way too high. A bulldozer appeared in November,… Continue reading The Hill That Would Not Hold

Turning the Other Cheek

Posted in antique store, antiques dealer, chorus, dresser, Girl Scout leader, Girl Scouts, inheritance, memoirLeave a comment

(re-run) This isn’t a Bible story. This is me telling you that seventeen years ago, I agreed to take a large antique dresser as a consignment piece from a Girl Scout leader friend.  I sent my helper dude to her house to have him load it up and deliver it to my store. I paid… Continue reading Turning the Other Cheek