1. We went into a mandatory Stay-Home-People! on March 18, under the order of the county public health head honcho. The next day, Governor Newsom decreed it for all of California.

2. Does shelter-in-place work?

3. California's population is nearly 40 million. The total of COVID-19 cases as of April 1, 2020, were 8,155 with 171 deaths. The count for our county was 23 confirmed cases, ten recoveries, hurrah! Alas, one death.

4. I'm glad we have pro-active leaders at the local and state levels.

5. A neighbor sneezed loudly and profusely in his backyard. Could his droplets make its way up and through our hallway window upstairs? I hope he's healthy.

6. While working in the front yard yesterday morning, I felt a very tiny drop fall on my face. It wasn't raining nor was it foggy. Hopefully that liquid was only morning dew.



7. I've been experimenting a lot in the kitchen. That's a good thing.

8. The other day I made flour tortillas, using smushed lentils and sesame se…

Can I get a "cute"? 

How could I resist showing off that photo of Molly the pinky-nosed (wild) Cat's recent cuteness.

So, what kind of little of this, little of that have you been doing while staying at home?

This afternoon I made a delectable dish of creamy brown rice and mushed red lentils that I savored slowly, the way I do with desserts. Sure I'll combine brown rice, lentils, fresh garlic, kim chee, and eggs again, but the exquisite taste (there I go floating) won't ever get repeated, even if I knew the amounts I used.  Oh well, c'est la vie. :-)

Clackity clack clack clackity clack clack. . . . I've been sewing covers for the outside pillows. See the top two pillows. The covers were made from Mama's nightgowns that she liked but hardly wore. Must wear out the old stuff first you know. The fabric of the flowered pillow on the bottom is from the Husband's mom's stash. I wonder what she was going to do with the upholstery quality material. Th…

1. Frost! I thought we were done with it.

2. Mama called the icy stuff snow. "There was lots of snow on Marie's roof," she'd say as I stumbled into the kitchen to fix breakfast. She'd be almost done with her big bowl of different cereals mixed together.

3. Now it's me or the Husband that opens the kitchen curtains on chilly mornings to see the icy roof next door. "Lots of snow."


4. Flutter, flutter, flutter. A whole lot of tiny birds flew out of the tree on our front yard. I watched them all fly as one up into the sky, circle about, then take off to the northeast.

5. Then I noticed the light of the rising sun. Wowza!

6. And, then I wondered why everything was drippy wet. I looked up at the roof next door. Frost!

7. For once I was wise and went back into the house to fetch a shawl. And, my camera. Of course. You never know when the fish may be out.


8. This afternoon I asked the Husband, "What kind of guy are you?" Said he, "The…

"Why are you cleaning? "asked Molly the pinky-nose (wild) Cat, as she scrambled among our feet, the broom, and the vacuum cleaner. "Are we having another party?"

Nope, it's the 23rd, our monthly housecleaning date, a 2020 venture. So far, so good. With the Husband and I working together, we're done in a couple of hours. So it seemed today.

Sweep. Dust. Vacuum. Scrub. Molly made sure she was somewhere else.


This is what you see when you walk up our driveway. Sorry, I don't remember the names of anything that's not a rose, daisy, spider plant, California poppy, canna lily, jade, or uhm, I think that's it.

Geranium! How I can forget geraniums? We have pink, white, red, bi-color, vine, bush, smelly, and not smelly at all. They live in the front yard, too. They're up towards the house so you can barely see them in the photo.

I have a decent success rate of propagating geraniums for someone who goes on intuition and by hit-and-miss. The late grea…

1. Aren't those avocados gorgeous? Handsome? Ooh-la-la?

2. The middle one in the front was picked about two weeks ago. It didn't seem right to take a photo without it. They are from the same tree, after all.

3. This morning, the Husband and I went out to the avocado tree expecting to pick the last one of the season. The tree graced us with four HUGE fruits. Thank you, tree.

4. "They're as big as the ones that grow in Hawaii," said the Husband. Not really, but we can dream.

5. We saw another avocado hanging way up in the tree. Perhaps that's the last one of the season.


6. A couple days ago, our county public health officer called for a shelter-in-place until April 7. We're required to stay home unless we work for stores, companies, services, and government agencies that are necessary to stay open for the community. We can leave our houses to shop for food, see doctors, pick up prescriptions, and do other essential things. We can also go out for walks to …

I forgot what I thought I wanted to write about.

That's what happens when too much time passes between Ah-ha-I've-something-to write and turning on the computer, which may only be a matter of climbing the stairs to the office.

Obviously it wasn't anything worth saying out loud.

Ever wonder if you've said or written something that was quoted by others? Wouldn't that be cool?


Yesterday our governor (in California) urged all of us, senior citizens, to stay put in our homes so that we won't risk contracting the coronavirus. The Husband and I pretty much hunker down most of the time, so this suggested decree is not a burden. Although I did panic for a moment when I thought we might not pay our property tax bill on time because the bank and the tax office may suddenly close. Then it came to me that we can use a credit car to pay online or over the phone. I'd rather not, so I may suggest to the Husband that we go out in the world sooner rather than later.


A putte…