Bad Daisy, Rescue Dog

Fifteen months into owning Daisy, the Jack Russell terrier, we had a bad event in the park just now. I taught Daisy how to fetch a ball and have been playing with her in the park next to my house every day for months. The neighbor girls, ages 5 and 7, run out to meet… Continue reading Bad Daisy, Rescue Dog

A Good Dog Neighbor

(re-run) Yesterday my son and I had lunch together at the local sandwich shop. He brought his little dog — half Chihuahua, half terrier. I fed Violet scraps of lettuce under the table while we ate. She thinks she’s a vegetarian. Afterward, we followed the usual routine and came back to my house, where Violet… Continue reading A Good Dog Neighbor

First Date Red Flags

Okay, you said yes to the guy who asked you out two years ago and you turned him down. Now he has shown up at a dancing venue in Concord on the same day you wondered whatever happened to him. You see, he lives in San Francisco and you live in Suburbia. Then you agree… Continue reading First Date Red Flags

A Murphy’s Law Kind of Post

I love thrift stores. I buy pretty much everything there, which is great because that way I am not paying retail and usually don’t pay sales tax, either. I don’t get the extra packaging that is so hard to get off the retail things. It sometimes takes a team of rocket scientists to figure out… Continue reading A Murphy’s Law Kind of Post

Why Not to Date your Neighbor

Julie got divorced and moved into her new townhouse with her six-year-old son.  One day, when she was out walking her dog, a guy mowing his lawn turned off the mower and said hello. They chatted about her dog, and Julie mentioned that she had just moved in. Doug rode his bike a lot while… Continue reading Why Not to Date your Neighbor

The Pilot and the Petite Percussionist

He played the trumpet in community college. She played percussion. He was a sophomore; she was a freshman. He was short, she was shorter. He saw her get out of the car every day, with her boyfriend? No, it was just her brother, Jack. George was a pilot. She liked pilots. “Do you want to… Continue reading The Pilot and the Petite Percussionist

The Bad Ass Eight Year Old and her Sis

Two little girls got lost in the woods in Humboldt County on Friday. They followed a deer trail into the woods that afternoon and then couldn’t find their way home. 200 people spent Saturday looking for them with no luck. Finally, on Sunday morning two volunteer firefighters followed their rain-boot tracks and found them cold… Continue reading The Bad Ass Eight Year Old and her Sis

The Remodeling Blues

How many times in the past three weeks have I left my house without my purse? A bunch of times. This never happens, except for the fact that I keep the purse in the kitchen, and right now I don’t have a kitchen.  It’s a $250 dollar ticket if I get stopped and have no driver’s… Continue reading The Remodeling Blues