Category: pandemic

The Weakest Link – my Low Back

Posted in bully, Coronavirus, Covid 19, dogs, exercise, female issues, low back pain, massage, memoir, newspaper, pandemic, relationships, shoes, Sunday Chronicle, TinnitusLeave a comment

(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

The Case of the Missing Creepy Portrait

Posted in antique store, antiques dealer, beach, bees, cleaning, closets, cupboard, eyes, memoir, Monterey Bay, pandemic, portfolio, portraitLeave a comment

When I had an antique store and people were constantly bringing me stuff to buy, I acquired some large portraits from the 1800s, the kind where the eyes follow you around the room.  I hung three of my favorites in the upstairs back hallway of the big marriage house, only to find out years later… Continue reading The Case of the Missing Creepy Portrait

Trapped Inside

Posted in allergies, Fentanyl, flowers, garden, garden designer, live music, mask, memoir, nasal spray, pandemic, pollen, rose, son, ZyrtecLeave a comment

As the roses explode in red, peach and orange colors across my two yards, I am stuck inside.  Through the window I see mounds of yellow blossoms on the Jerusalem sage plants, both front and back, red and white petals on the Hot Lips sage, purple tips on the English lavender, and every other color… Continue reading Trapped Inside

A Night with the Girls

Posted in #MeToo, Arches National Park, birthday, Brad Pitt, chick flick, chorus, girl friends, Google, movie, musicians, pandemic, rape, soundtrack, Thelma and LouiseLeave a comment

If you haven’t seen Thelma and Louise in a while or ever, it’s time to do it.  My friend rented an entire movie theater for a screening with a bunch of women last week. I usually head to my beach town every other Thursday, but the movie party was on a Thursday night, so I… Continue reading A Night with the Girls

Whole Court Shake-up

Posted in Bay Area, California, children, girls, Las Trampas Ridge, memoir, moving, neighborhood, neighbors, pandemic, party, real estateLeave a comment

Ten years ago, I moved to the best little court in my town, in the suburbs of the Bay Area.  At the time, it was a court filled with girls – two grade-school girls across the street (they moved in five months after I did), two same-aged girls next to them, a baby girl bordering… Continue reading Whole Court Shake-up

My Three-quarter Bike Ride

Posted in biking, California, children, exercise, handy woman, Iron Horse Trail, lunch, melanoma, memoir, pandemic, railroadLeave a comment

I was the one that suggested the bike ride.  My adult children don’t spend enough time outdoors or get enough exercise. They do like to ride the Iron Horse trail, an easy, shady railroad right of way that connects towns up and down the I- 680 corridor. I knew I had them when I suggested… Continue reading My Three-quarter Bike Ride

Live Music in a Virtual World

Posted in Beatles, California, chorus, Facebook, grad school, live music, livestream, memoir, musicians, neck, newspaper, pandemic, parking, physical therapy, Prius, stress, summer, weddingLeave a comment

Last weekend I watched five livestream music events on my laptop. I was out of town but didn’t feel too lonely until the last livestream guy looked right into the camera and sang Blackbird (Beatles) to me.  I had requested it in the chat feed. “This one is for you, Susan.” The next thing I… Continue reading Live Music in a Virtual World

You Know You’ve Been Alone Too Long When . . .

Posted in Barbie, beach, board and care, care giver, Coronavirus, Covid 19, dolls, flight, hot tub, humor, intervention, Ken, Medicare, memoir, neighbors, pandemic, wedding, ZoomLeave a comment

(re-run) It’s week ten or eleven of the Covid-19 lockdown — I’ve lost track. I found out in a Zoom meeting last night that two more people that I know had a nasty virus in March that caused them to lose their sense of smell and taste. They are both well over sixty, as are… Continue reading You Know You’ve Been Alone Too Long When . . .

Musical Cleaning Day (waiting for plumber)

Posted in Bill Withers, CD player, children, cleaning, dogs, Isley Brothers, memoir, music, musicians, pandemic, plumber, poem, purge, reflux diseaseLeave a comment

I am cleaning today. The plumber said he’d be by mid-morning, but it wasn’t not looking good.  I worked on a review for a new children’s book coming out next month. I watched some Dry Bar Comedy while I digested my breakfast.  That is no longer a multi-tasking feature of my aging body. Reflux. It’s… Continue reading Musical Cleaning Day (waiting for plumber)

Keeping Musicians Going During the Pandemic

Posted in Facebook, livestream, memoir, music, musicians, pandemic, Paypal, snail mail, VenMo, virtual happy hour, virtual tip jarLeave a comment

I am a dancer and a music lover. When all the summer outdoor concerts were canceled in 2020, I grieved for weeks.  Then I decided that my goal during the pandemic would be to fund the musicians, so that they wouldn’t quit playing and get a real job. Many musicians quickly learned how to livestream… Continue reading Keeping Musicians Going During the Pandemic