Memorial Day Memory

It is Memorial Day weekend, again. As usual, my thoughts turn to those I have loved with all my heart, who served our country with bravery and devotion, and are no longer with us. It is more challenging, and a bit more painful every year, because we Baby Boomers are, sadly, winding down. And so […]

To An Open Door

Discussing the state of affairs in the US has become part of my daily routine. Everyone has been profoundly affected by recent events, all of them involving guns aimed at children. Ideas for resolution range from the simple, to being almost as frightening for a child as their scariest nightmare come true. It is without […]

All Gave Some, And Some Gave All

Memorial Day. I love this annual holiday. It is the unofficial kick off of summer, and there are never too many barbecues, sunny days, and happy voices for me to tire of this oncoming hot, sweaty, shorts and sandals season. But more than the joy that accompanies evenings of winking fireflies and waves crashing on vacation […]

A Hardship That Never Was

Life has a way of wearing down what it considers my rough edges. It never seems to matter that I like me just the way I am (thank you, Mr Rogers), and would prefer to be left alone with all my quirky imperfections, intact. And how does this consistently unwelcome action occur? Easy. The things […]

Of Orchards, Smudge Pots, And Friends

If you lived near fruit groves in California or Florida way back when, you probably remember smudge pots and smudging. I believe the practice fell out of favor in the 1970s, but for any of us who grew up around orchards in the 50s, smudging was a part of our cold weather experience. It was […]

I Hope You Ate Your Black-eyed Peas

Oh my stars! It is New Year’s Day, and I realized I did not have any black-eyed peas; and I am not referring to the hip hop group. No, I mean the simple, tried and true legume. I needed to get to the grocery store, pronto, but could not until it warmed up enough for […]

Life In The Time Of Cruising

December days in California’s San Joaquin Valley are cold, overcast, and often foggy. Tule fog, foggy. That is the fog where visibility can go from 600 feet to zero feet with little or no warning; there just is no way of knowing where it is going to be at its worst, and danger is the […]

Just What She Always Never Wanted

When we look back on Christmases past, we like to remember gifts received, especially those cherished items that we have held close to our hearts for a lifetime. But there also were those gifts we remember; the ones which made us shudder, shed a disappointed tear, or for one poor woman, hide in my closet […]

The Gift Of Thirty-Seven Stars, President Grant, Little Big Horn, and More

During a conversation with my friend this morning, we meandered into observations of noticeably different characteristics between her generation and mine, especially regarding computers, social media, and information technology, in general. We both really happen to like all things electronic, and are each other’s go to person when one of our technological toys runs amok. […]