"Su-sieee!" the Mama called from the bottom of the stairs. "Su-sieeeeeeee!" She shouted two seconds later. I had only begun to get my head out of whatever I was writing. "Su-sieeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" She yelled louder. "Hold on. Hold on." I called as I stumbled down the hallway to the stairs. "What is it?" Silence. Halfway down the stairs, the Mama held up a bottle and asked, "Do we have Windex?" "Windex?"  I immediately envisioned her standing on the highest step of the tall ladder to clean the windows from outside. I peered at the label over my computer glasses. "This is Windex." "It's not blue." Oh, God, I thought. Will she ask me to go to the store now? Can I get her to use vinegar instead? "Windex comes in different colors now," I said. "This has lemon in it." "Okay," she said, taking the bottle from me. "What are you going to do?&qu

This year I decided to enter a couple of flower arrangements in our county fair. Never done it before. Entered the flower arrangement division, that is. Nor, for that matter, made a flower arrangement. So, why do it? Well, it's because I'm turning 60 soon and this year has been all about doing new stuff. My friend Jennifer challenged me on my last birthday when she thought it was my 60th birthday.  That still cracks me up. I'm glad she got it wrong. I may not have even thought about doing some of the things I already have. So, anyway, here is one of my fair entries. It's called -- appropriately -- Writer's Block .

Sixty-nine pounds of organic tomatoes. That's how many pounds of tomatoes the Husband, the Mama, and I picked at the Live Earth Farm in Watsonville yesterday.  The farm was having its last u-pick day for tomatoes, and, we were quite fortunate to learn about it just in time. I have gotten spoiled. Maybe the Husband and the Mama have, too. For the last four years, we have picked enough organic tomatoes to freeze and use until the next tomato season. Frozen organic tomatoes taste almost as if they were just picked. That's reason one for me saying I am spoiled. Reason number two is that I like seeing Mama enjoy herself as she picks tomatoes. I think it brings her back to the days of working in vegetable seed research. We bring her little green bench so that she can sit as she pick tomatoes in solitude under the warm sun. "Don't go too far," she always tells me, as I go to find my own row of solitude nearby, while the Husband walks toward the far end of the f

"I think I have 86¢," I said, when the fish lady told us the lovely looking rockfish was $5.86. Pulling out a handful of change from my purse, the fish lady said, "Yes, I think you do." I plucked out two quarters, two dimes, a nickel, and a penny from the coins in my hand and put them on the counter. My mind when blank. "How much was it again?" "86¢," said the Husband. I fished out more coins. My mind went blank again. "What was it?" "86¢," he said. I looked down at the change. Total blankness. "What?" "86¢!" I gave up. "Okay, that ought to do it." The fish lady picked up the change, laughing with the Husband and me as we chattered on. "And, to think he has to deal with me everyday," I said while the Husband rolled his eyes and threw up his hands. I noticed the fish lady counting the change. "Did I give you enough?" "More than enough," she said, handing me back tw

Today I discovered a talent -- and a natural skill -- that I have. First, let me put it all in context. I decided to enter the Country Roads Dry Flower Arrangement category at this year's County Fair. It'll be my first time. The requirement: I must make a dried flower display using a receptacle that I have found alongside the road. So, this afternoon, the Husband and I decided to walk on the street that's next to the last small open field in our neighborhood. Unfortunately, a chicken-wire-type cyclone fence blocked us from wandering in the field. Still, I lucked out. Just on the other side of the fence was a broken toy rocket and a small kinda flat rubber ball. Bingo! I was able to pull the rocket through the fence without busting it. Whoo-hooo! Now to get the ball that was further away from the fence. The Husband and I found a stronger and larger stick, but that, too, was on the other side of the fence.  That's when I learned about my talent. I was able to