Evening at the historic Little River Inn I’ve been so busy with one thing and another that I totally forgot my own blog’s 12th birthday on April 20. Not to mention Star’s 5th birthday on Cinco de Mayo (5/5). Happy belated birthday to both of us! ************** On Friday, Monica texted me to suggest that [...]

But it hasn’t all been divorce and (melo)drama. A couple of weeks ago, we had a lovely Friday evening. Megan and I went to the Village to look for books for Jessica’s birthday, which, as every right-thinking person knows, is every April 15. Originally we were looking for books on Hindu mythology, but we struck [...]

Well, yesterday was not fun. It kicked off with a series of conference calls at 7 am which ran until 1:00 pm. When they ended, I headed to the Big Town to meet with the Family Law Facilitator again. She is in the Big Town one day a month; otherwise, she’s at the county seat, [...]

As always this time of year, Dad has been on my mind more than usual. Having said that, not a day goes by that I don’t think about him, and I don’t expect that to change. On Thursday, Megan and I shared a glass of wine and toasted Dad: “Here’s to the Old Bear. He [...]

At the vet’s Megan and I took the 15 year old Miss Schatzi for a check-up last week. It’s been over a year since Dr. Carl alerted us to the Swiss Cheesiness of Schatzi’s bones, and five months since she last saw Dr. Karen, so it was time for a check-up. When a dog gets [...]

Growing Up! I know you’ve all been wondering about how Jarrett and Archimedes, the World’s Cutest Puppy, are doing. The answer is: great! Archi had doubled his weight by the end of December: I think this dog is the best thing that has happened to Jarrett in a long time. They have a great routine. [...]

Farewell, 2012 It’s really fun going back and seeing what happened during the year, even if it wasn’t that great a year, like this one. Pay cuts and grand jury summons do not make for a good year. Hopefully the new one will also be improved. Power outages: 6, including one in October due to [...]

Weather’s comin’ It was a winter wonderland this morning, Northern California style: hard frost on the grass by the road; the Ridge glittering with frost and puddles frozen. The ocean was shades of pewter and lavender, and the wild, white-crested waves told of storms to come. It looks like we will get another series of [...]

Jarrett and Archimedes The day after Thanksgiving, Jarrett met his new puppy, Archimedes*. Monica met us in the Village, with the puppy, his crate, blankets, a leash, and a package of information. Everyone who adopts a dog from Daisy Davis Pit Bull Rescue gets a package of information about the breed – misconceptions, history, facts [...]

It’s a blustery day here in Hooterville – the kind where the wind chimes sing merrily of power outages, and you wake up to find that your purple honeysuckle has been swept off its feet. I will need to borrow a cup of Rob, like I did a few days ago when the sliding glass [...]

Long ago and far away I have been keeping in better touch with my former neighbor Patrisha since she lost her beloved dog Hamish, so I have recently learned more news about my old neighborhood. As you may remember, I used to live in the woodworking shop of a Victorian coffin factory. My front door [...]

Star (left) and Schatzi (right) On Friday, Megan and I went to the Farmers’ Market in the Village. I have to admit that the Farmers’ Market has become somewhat less exciting for us since Megan and Jonathan created their amazing garden. Pretty much everything they have at the Farmers’ Market, we already have, though there [...]

I woke up to a 54 degree house this morning. I’m beginning to take the birds seriously. First the migrating cranes have indicated that we will have an early winter – and unlike human weather forecasters, the cranes have never been wrong yet – and then there have been alarming reports of robins sighted locally. [...]

Well, I didn’t let the Bad Day get me down. Not completely, anyway. On Friday night, we had a BBQ at the property with my siblings’ land partners, Jennifer and Dave* and our dear friend Lu, who brought her dogs Marco and Harlow, who is Star’s BFF. Marco has suddenly gone blind, so it was [...]

There’s nothing like an unwanted trip looming on the horizon to make you appreciate your humble abode. Leaving all my doors open when I go to work! Driving to work beside the ocean! Having the adorable Digit (and my awesome co-workers) at work when I get there: My beautiful, peaceful garden! My naughty kitties! It [...]

I realize it’s almost this weekend, and I haven’t told you about last weekend yet. Let’s look back, back…a long time ago, about last Friday. It was the first farmers’ market of the year, and it was a beautiful, sunny day. The market was less crowded than it will be when summer really begins, and [...]

Exhibit A It’s only 7 am, and Clyde has already driven me crazy. Here’s how he does it: Go behind the new couch. Start clawing at the back of it. When The Girl yells at you, go under the couch and start clawing there. When the girl moves the couch out to yell at you [...]

Megan’s Boss We all have little tricks for helping us remember things. Post-Its on the mirror so we are reminded of mundanities like picking up milk while applying our DiorShow mascara. The classic string tied around the finger (though I’d probably forget why I tied the string there in the first place, and then I’d [...]

Well, Le Bug has finally begun to loosen its Vulcan death grip. Sure, I cough myself awake a couple of times a night, and am still the major Kleenex consumer on the west coast, but I was well enough to go back to the jobette this week. It was a week that reminded me just [...]

The other night, Megan and Rob were fast asleep. It was, after all, 1 am, a perfectly reasonable hour to be doing so. In fact, most of us expect most of us to be doing just that. They were yanked out of sleep by Star barking her head off. Now, neither of their dogs are [...]