Nature’s Prayer Moment

Posted in birds, California, church, friends, gardening, humor, memoir, nature, relationships, religion, writersLeave a comment

(re-run) Yesterday morning, I stepped up to the kitchen sink to fill the tea pot and looked out my window at the flowers exploding in my yard. I glanced over to the fountain where I saw dozens of identical birds taking drinks in a clumped up circle around the top of my round fountain. Their… Continue reading Nature’s Prayer Moment

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 are 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.… Continue reading Creative People Make Messes

Don’t Call Me Sweetheart

Posted in antique collective, antique store, antiques dealer, dentist, doctor, gynecologist, memoir, neurologist, orthotics, podiatristLeave a comment

Twenty years ago, I was a dealer in an antique collective with 35 dealers. I was 45; everyone else was 65. My prices were so low that the other dealers shopped my room, bought my stuff, marked it up and put it in their rooms. One Sunday, I was working my required 12-5 shift when… Continue reading Don’t Call Me Sweetheart

Barbies or a Boyfriend?

Posted in Barbie, boyfriend, daughter, Facebook, feminist, kindergarten, memoir, mom, Pokemon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, UkraineLeave a comment

Facebook has done it again. When I think I have no ideas for a new blog post, some Facebook exchange with a stranger will remind me of something in my past to write about. The post was a Ukranian girl sitting in a window, holding a weapon. The caption said, “While American tweens are playing… Continue reading Barbies or a Boyfriend?

Pavlov’s Perfume

Posted in animal adoption, animal rescue, animal shelter, ARF, Belgian Malinois, California, dogs, Houdini, humor, Jack Russell terrier, memoir, Pavlov, pet, pom chi, relationshipsLeave a comment

(re-run) My girlfriend, who shall remain nameless, lest someone recognize her on this page, has a three-time rescue dog like mine. Hers also started out as a voluntary surrender puppy after his owner first lost a home in the Redding fire. Or maybe the mop-top pup was at the Redding shelter and got shipped out… Continue reading Pavlov’s Perfume

Hold the Crunch

Posted in best, California, college, dating, food cravings, holidays, house party, humor, marriage proposal, New Year's Eve, Pennsylvania, phone call, relationships, singing1 Comment

(re-run) Jim’s job was to put the crunch in Jif, the new peanut butter to rival Skippy. One machine chopped the peanuts into slivers, and another machine used pistons to plug the slivers into the creamy product. Jim also had to taste test peanut butter that had been sitting on a shelf for three months… Continue reading Hold the Crunch

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 full of 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

Blame it on the Boomers?

Posted in Baby Boomer, Facebook, generation, government, homeless, house of representatives, mass shootings, Medicare, memoir, middle class, poor, rich, Ronald Reagan, senator, social security, Supreme Court, Trickle Down Economics, unionsLeave a comment

I saw a post on Facebook that Boomers ruined the country. I responded back that the government ruined the country. I got a response that the government was all Boomers, right? Excuse me?  Baby Boomers were born after the end of World War II when the soldiers/fighters/wounded came home and produced a plethora of babies.… Continue reading Blame it on the Boomers?

The Crack in my Face

Posted in bathroom, California, Central America, children, citizenship, clenching, DACA, doctor, Dreamers, drugs, ENT, forehead, furrowed brow, gangs, Guatemala, Honduras, immigrants, jaw therapist, memoir, mothers, mouthguard, welfareLeave a comment

(re-run) Because my adult child moved in, I changed bathrooms. They get the new one at the other end of the house, and I get the hallway one with the skylight and window (the master bathroom is a cave). I was putting on my make-up the other day with daylight coming in. There it was,… Continue reading The Crack in my Face