Saturday afternoon Harlow Yesterday, the chilly morning turned to sun as Megan and I headed to town for the Adoption Day. When we arrived at the Feed & Pet, Monica was already set up with a palapas-looking umbrella shading her table, which of course had a scented candle burning and a vase of orchids beside […]

Yesterday, I woke up to a dark, stormy day. As I watched the trees toss their heads through the skylight in my bedroom, I thought, “It’s just a matter of time until the power goes out.” I heard trees falling and things being blown over as I worked, but the power stayed on. I also […]

My sister’s car was parked in my driveway this morning, and I’m sure it wasn’t there last night. She was so stressed and sleep-deprived yesterday that Rob took her to work last night and Jonathan picked her up this morning, bright and early at 6 am, once again making him the best brother ever. So […]

What’s better than a yard sale? A yard sale which raises money for needy dogs, that’s what! On Sunday, Meg and I went to help Monica, her partner in pit bulls, at her annual “purge party”. Monica has a store in town which sells flooring, carpeting and so on, but somehow also has fabulous items […]

You know, when we left Cloverdale after the Citrus Fair, I noticed clouds of clover in the fields. Who knew? In addition to daffodils by the side of the road. In my garden, they grow right by phallic cactus and art: I wonder if Rose planted them. Right outside the glass doors in the living […]

We had a power outage yesterday evening. Megan was at my house, and we were making dinner from the Book of Dad*. I went to grudgingly throw my green bin contents into the woods (I still think it’s gross and will attract an undesirable animal element, but apparently it makes me a better person and […]

Perfectly innocent So are the cats of our lives… On Thursday night, I made yet another unnecessarily elaborate dinner at my sister’s house. My sis happens to have a much better equipped cuisine than I do, even though she – if you can believe this – has even less counter space. In fact, my very […]

Dear Readers, At the best of times, the inside of my head looks like a particularly untidy attic. And since I seem to be coming down with a cold or similar (it’s hard to tell when you have allergies; they’re like an unending cold), it’s not the best of times for my two little brain […]

As you know, I’m getting pretty tired of being the cat doorman. Well, Audrey’s doorman, especially several times in the middle of the night. As a family, we tend to sleep poorly, so being woken up multiple times by the Audrometer in addition has led to chronic sleepiness for me. Last night, I decided to […]

Harlow, “my” puppy My work ethic (such as it is) has really gone to the dogs lately. Yesterday, I bailed off work to go with Megan to meet Lu at Big River to walk the dogs, and today I delayed doing the work I should have done yesterday to walk Schatzi on the logging road […]

Orange trees at the fair. Note the blue sky! Yesterday was a girls’ day out. At the 118th annual Citrus Fair! Megan and I went to meet Lu in beautiful downtown Hooterville. While waiting for Lu, someone called out from her car, “Hey, Megan! I was never so glad to see you in my life […]

I do too fit! Last night, Megan and I had a girls’ night in. Schatzi came, too, sporting a cute new collar* which unfortunately doesn’t really show up in this picture. Also it kind of gives her demon eyes, but it was so funny I had to post it anyway. After a couple of glasses […]

For some reason, there are always pine needles in the shower. I have no idea how they get there. The floor of the shower is painted, so it’s a little slippery. I’m pretty sure that the resolution ending Calamity Suzy episode of all time is going to happen in there, sooner or later. To try […]

My former neighbor I recently learned that Gene Clark of the Byrds used to live right here in Hooterville. Not only right here, but about two miles from where I live. I have to admit to a certain amount of posthumous stalking, driving down his road to look for his house, immortalized on a record […]

Every morning, I make coffee and then clean up the cat barf. It’s quite the glamorous life. Maybe part of the reason Henry Etta is so tiny is that she pukes so much. Is bulimia popular among neurotic cats of a certain age? Feeding the cats has changed quite a bit since we moved. June […]

Yesterday, Megan met up with Lu in Mendocino. I was planning to make dinner* at Meg’s house that evening, and she called me from town to see if there were any last-minute ingredients I needed. She called me from Lu’s phone, though, because her own had decided to jump suicidally into a public toilet. Lu, […]

High surf, Mendocino I heard a strange sound. At first, I thought it was one of the kitties scrabbling around in the pots and pans, but it wasn’t. I went over to investigate, and discovered that my roof/ceiling (it’s hard to tell when your walls curve up to a central beam and it’s kind of […]

Well, the rain has made the leap from faithful companion to stalker. It’s a fine line, but after about a month of rain and gloom, I think it’s safe to say the line has been well and truly crossed. And it’s making me cross. Megan and I were thinking of going to town to run […]

Clearly, June knows how to spend a dark, rainy day. Even if her blanket of choice does clash a little with her orange fur. Here you can see her multi-colored pads, to match her multi-colored fur. One of life’s enduring mysteries is how June can keep her white fur snowy white when our house is […]

On the last day of the year, I deposited the last paycheck of the year insouciantly. Three days later, I gave my landlord the rent check. ‘Cause when I get paid, all I really do is put it other places. Rent. Amerigas. AT&T. The liquor bill. You know. It was nice almost knowing you, money! […]