(re-run) My little beach house sits on land bought back in 1929 from the railroad company. The old deed shows the purchase price of $25.00. For some reason, the original owner didn’t want to buy the land up to the railroad tracks. Now, 90 years later, the land between my back fence and the old… Continue reading The Turquoise Trailer and the Homeless Couple
Government Cheese and Pinto Beans
I was nine or ten when my mom took me and my younger siblings downtown to a place to get some free food for poor people. Our dad was out of work for six weeks. My mother was humiliated. We waited in line until it was our turn. As the worker handed Mom her block… Continue reading Government Cheese and Pinto Beans
The Sprinkler Man and the Glass Coffee Table
When my two oldest children were 5 and 2, we moved from one house in town to another. We didn’t gain any square footage, but the new house had a huge yard, front and back, and forty trees in a better neighborhood. The house had been vacant for months. The sprinklers weren’t working in the… Continue reading The Sprinkler Man and the Glass Coffee Table
Looking for Jade in Alaska
(re-run) Sophia was living in Sonoma County and took her new dog to the beach. The black lab needed a name. An old man was there looking at pebbles in the water. She struck up a conversation with him, and he told her he was looking for Jade. On the way home, Sophia decided Jade… Continue reading Looking for Jade in Alaska
Creative People Make Messes
(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 are 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
Mornings Are for Blogging
When you’re mostly retired, like I am, you find that you think best in the morning. I’ve written and published 29 children’s books, and each one was born in the a.m., and not after midnight. At night I am pretty worthless. I can usually read until 7:00 or 8:00. Then it’s Snoozeville after that, which… Continue reading Mornings Are for Blogging
Queen Victoria, the Cat
(re-run) Renee, the artist, already had three cats. She wasn’t looking for another. So when her daughter-in-law called and said, “Mom, you need to adopt this cat,” Renee was thinking, No way, Renee. But then she heard the kitty’s story, and she had to reconsider. Renee’s son Brian and his wife were moving to Tennessee… Continue reading Queen Victoria, the Cat
The ER Blues
I was supposed to drive to Monterey today. Holidays with football are good driving days. The dogs make sure I am up and at ‘em every day as their stomachs rumble for breakfast. The sun is shining, and it would have been an easy drive. But the damned Covid-19 is keeping me here. I could… Continue reading The ER Blues
No New Year’s Resolutions for Me
(re-run) Today’s the day I am supposed to resolve to do better, work harder, exercise more, and eat clean. Guess what? I learned long ago to do things in baby steps. It takes twenty-one days to form a new habit. Sometimes I can do it if I don’t think too hard about it. Like yogurt.… Continue reading No New Year’s Resolutions for Me
The Pandemic Purge Continues
They say you’re not an empty nester until the kids come claim their stuff. Therefore, these past years of living alone (one year with my sis) mean that even though my kids are grown and gone, I’m still Mom, holding onto their stuff. Some of that changed last weekend when two of my offspring came… Continue reading The Pandemic Purge Continues
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 