(re=run) No dogs were walked, no outside balls were thrown, and no outdoor chores got done, including painting my new white locking mailbox gray to blend in the neighbors’ 45 year old boxes, and cleaning up the hedge and pine needles strewn across the greenbelt next to my property. Yes, it seems silly to have… Continue reading The Sunday After
Spitting Mad Saturday
(re-run) Before I vent here about how caregivers are underpaid and underappreciated, let me say that I’ve changed all the names to protect the people in this story. My sis lives in a care home, which is like a mini nursing home in a house. Right now, there are only two residents with a 24-hour-a-day,… Continue reading Spitting Mad Saturday
Purple Friday
(re-run) If it’s Friday, that means Yuko is teaching aerobics. And if Yuko is teaching aerobics, you are going to have a good work-out and stretch. I still had my five-day-old headache but didn’t want to miss the class. When I got there and took my spot in the front row side (since I am… Continue reading Purple Friday
The Road Not Taken
(re-run) GPS is a wonderful thing. I didn’t choose it; it chose me, being included with the 2014 Prius close-out car that I bought in November of that year. It was time to make way for the 2015 models. It was marked down. I bought it. If I’m coming back from a new place with… Continue reading The Road Not Taken
We Need a Lemon Law, Mr. Trump
(re-run from 2018) When a person buys a new or used car, and it gives the new owner nothing but problems in its first year, in many states, after three attempts to repair it, the owner can return the vehicle. Consumers everywhere are protected by the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, the Federal Lemon Law which applies… Continue reading We Need a Lemon Law, Mr. Trump
Where’s the Beef?
(re-run) My sister fell out of her recliner at her nursing home (board and care home, actually) and landed on her face and glasses. The glasses were badly bent, so I needed to go to Costco on the DAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING to see if they would bend them back into shape with their magical optical… Continue reading Where’s the Beef?
Julie Takes a Ride
(the post that started it all) Julie and her friend, Denise, went to The Rusty Pelican on a Friday night. It was their go-to hang-out. But lately it had been heavy on girls’ night-out groups and light on eligible men. Would it be the same old, same old kind of night, or would Julie finally… Continue reading Julie Takes a Ride
The Bad-date Picnic
(re-run) Laurie graduated college and had boomeranged back home to Seattle. She met a cute guy with horn-rimmed glasses. He invited her on a picnic at the beach. She said yes. “Have fun,” her mom said when Greg came to the house. Greg drove to a sandy spot with a view of the city. They… Continue reading The Bad-date Picnic
My Republican Beach Town
A thrift store in Carmel had a half-off sale yesterday and today. I paid cash for my stack of books at the book store. I mentioned that cash is important, especially for people who don’t have bank accounts or credit cards. “Without cash, what would those people do?” I commented. “Those people always find a… Continue reading My Republican Beach Town
Neighborhood Pack Rat
(re-run) You know our kind. We save everything, just in case. I might need that someday. I’m going to wear that size again. That thing on the side of the road still has use left in it, and it’s free. That has a good memory for me. Who keeps stuff that evokes bad memories? No… Continue reading Neighborhood Pack Rat
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 