shopping – Page 2 – FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER!

Through the Tunnel

January 29, 2025January 20, 2025 Posted in Caldecott Tunnel, California, colonoscopy, Fruitvale, memoir, shopping, White Elephant saleLeave a comment

(re-run) Today I ventured through the Caldecott Tunnel that connects the East Bay with Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco. It was sunny on my side but foggy on the other side. Still, traffic wasn’t too bad, and my car almost drove itself to the warehouse sale off of Fruitvale Avenue (yes, that Fruitvale – think… Continue reading Through the Tunnel

The People I Meet When Thrifting

December 17, 2024December 16, 2024 Posted in memoir, Oakland, people, shopping, therapy, thrift store, thrift stores, White Elephant sale1 Comment

(re-run) I have a deep need to thrift. I do it at least once a week, even on vacations. I’m not talking consignment stores where people bring in items, hoping to get some money back. I’m talking about stores that take donations and sell things on the cheap because they got them for free. Last… Continue reading The People I Meet When Thrifting

Ketchup and Noodles

January 16, 2024January 15, 2024 Posted in daycare, dogs, gossip, kindergarten, memoir, shopping, toddlerLeave a comment

(re-run) When my son was two and his big sister was in kindergarten, I saw a window of opportunity to go do child-free errands, if I could just find a place to park him for two or three hours. Enter my neighbor Peggy. She didn’t have a childcare license, which limits the caregiver to six… Continue reading Ketchup and Noodles

Five Errands and a Passport Photo

November 10, 2023November 9, 2023 Posted in drugstore, errands, India, memoir, passport, raisins, shopping, thrift store, vacationLeave a comment

(re-run) My daughter is going to her college friend’s wedding in India. She discovered that her passport was about to expire, which got me to wondering if mine had expired. I hadn’t used it since I got divorced. I found it and saw the expiration date was 2019. That’s what the pandemic will do to… Continue reading Five Errands and a Passport Photo

Highway Dog

October 2, 2023October 1, 2023 Posted in back ache, Carmel, dogs, highway, memoir, Min Pin, neighbors, Orange County, sale, shopping, thrift storeLeave a comment

I’m in my little beach town, up the road a bit from Carmel. At the end of each month, the block of thrift stores in the Barnyard Shopping Center near Carmel Valley put their merchandise at 50% off for a day or two. Yellow Brick Road was on its second day of sale yesterday, so… Continue reading Highway Dog

The People I Meet When Thrifting

August 8, 2023August 7, 2023 Posted in memoir, Oakland, people, shopping, therapy, thrift store, thrift stores, White Elephant saleLeave a comment

Ketchup and Noodles

May 24, 2023May 24, 2023 Posted in daycare, dogs, gossip, kindergarten, memoir, shopping, toddlerLeave a comment

When my son was two and his big sister was in kindergarten, I saw a window of opportunity to go do child-free errands, if I could just find a place to park him for two or three hours. Enter my neighbor Peggy. She didn’t have a childcare license, which limits the caregiver to six children… Continue reading Ketchup and Noodles

Five Errands and a Passport Photo

April 10, 2023April 10, 2023 Posted in drugstore, errands, India, memoir, passport, raisins, shopping, thrift store, vacationLeave a comment

My daughter is going to her college friend’s wedding in India. She discovered that her passport was about to expire, which got me to wondering if mine had expired. I hadn’t used it since I got divorced. I found it and saw the expiration date was 2019. That’s what the pandemic will do to a… Continue reading Five Errands and a Passport Photo

The People I Meet When Thrifting

February 13, 2023February 13, 2023 Posted in memoir, Oakland, people, shopping, therapy, thrift store, thrift stores, White Elephant saleLeave a comment

I have a deep need to thrift. I do it at least once a week, even on vacations. I’m not talking consignment stores where people bring in items, hoping to get some money back. I’m talking about stores that take donations and sell things on the cheap because they got them for free. Last week… Continue reading The People I Meet When Thrifting

Shopping Maskless!

June 27, 2022June 27, 2022 Posted in beach, chorus, COVID, dentist, humor, mask, memoir, noses, shopping, singing, thrift storeLeave a comment

I managed to avoid COVID for more than two years, but it got me during a weekend of chorus performances. The director wanted us to sing maskless and asked each of us to do a COVID test the morning of our first performance so that we would all feel comfortable about it. A few older… Continue reading Shopping Maskless!