These are some of the things that I find frightful these days: 1. ignorance 2. misinformation 3. sheep mentality 4. bitterness 5. stupidity 6. greed 7. anonymous threats 8. mean spiritedness 9. “alternative facts” 10. complacency 11. narcissism  12. evangelism 13. fascism Our primary election in California is in March, less than two months away!  It astounds and disgusts me that a lot of people believe the current top GOP presidential candidate represents who they are. Shudder.  May humanity prevail. Being Thursday, I’m linking up with Thursday 13 . Come check out other bloggers with me. 

On this fourth day of the new year:   1. No resolutions did I make to break by today. 2. I figured out what the “auto sense” feature is all about on our new washing machine. The machine is sousing the clothes with water before filling up the basket. That is as high tech as this non-smart washer gets. Thank goodness. 3. Health Benefits, which is reported to be a fake insurance company, has been calling our landline at least once a day for the past couple of weeks or so. I can’t decide if the caller is a machine or a real person. Today I responded by saying nothing after the initial hello. When the voice asked, “Are you there?” I responded, “Are you there?”    Click went the other end. I did not hang up until I heard another click and a dial tone. Next time, I’ll ask the voice to verify herself. 4. I took my first dose of medicine this morning to deal with isolated systolic hypertension, which is when the top number is high while the bottom number is normal. Dr. B has been ...

Here are some of the highlights of my 69th adventure around Apo Init, aka El Sol, aka The Sun. For the wanna-knows, the first language in that sentence is Ilocano, the second, in Spanish, and the last, English, the  three languages with which I’m familiar (Spanish, a little bit, and Ilocano in memory). Without further distractions. . . . 1. Knee-haw! Sing, my left knee joint, was renewed with titanium and plastic parts. The 14th of December will mark the prosthesis’ first anniversary. The first step I took after surgery told me I made the right decision to trust Dr. G to open up my leg, saw off the bad parts, insert a new prosthesis, and close up the incision. Did I have to get so graphic?  2. For sale. Good friend L and I held two yard sales to sell our mothers’ collections of stuff. I’m already thinking about what to do differently for our next yard sale. This last one, which was on Saturday, for example, I got artsy-fartsy with the signs, one of which someone either stole...

How's everyone doing? Are you managing to keep your humor through all the natural and man made devastation right now? My gosh! 1. Thank you, dear friends, for checking in on my silence. I would be moaning up a crappy creek right now without the Husband and Molly the pinky-nosed (wild) Cat. Their sweetness and even keel help me keep my anxiety at bay. 2. Our heat wave is over, hurrah. After sweating through more than a week of 90s and triple-digit temperatures, I'm feeling chilled by the 65 F degree weather at the moment. I'm fine with that. It's easier to get warm, then to cool down.  3. We woke up this morning to thick haze and the strong smell of smoke in the air.  The burnt smell came back late yesterday afternoon, after a couple days of barely unhealthy air. It was a nice reprieve. 4. Our poor avocado tree has been shedding its fruit. The Husband says its stressed from the heat and smoke. Today I picked up a couple dozen or so of immature fruit. That's scary.  5...

I've a lot of stuff on my desk. Who hasn't, right? Here are 13 things on my desk that I double like, no, make that triple,  quadruple like. 1. Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl action figure. She was a gift from the Husband, along with Woody and his horse one Christmas or birthday. 2. My tarnished sterling silver baby cup. I put paper clips and whatever else in it. 3. A coffee mug from Calavera Coffee . That's the specialty coffee shop in town owned and run by a kind-hearted and determined young man. He recently moved into his own store front. May he have the success he wants and more. 4. The Kanger survival multi-tool. The size of a credit card, this stainless steel thing has a knife, a sharpening tool, scissors, and a magnifying glass. It also has the ability to file fingernails, fasten flathead screws, measure things, and open cans and bottles. I think the Husband gave it to me to carry in my purse, but I could be wrong. 5. A solar calculator from the early 1980s. This was Mam...

My 13 things today are books I've read that have a number in their title, except for #11. I had to refer to my Goodreads list to come up with the titles. Some of the titles are from waaaaaay back, such as the one by Thurber, which I want to re-read. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Tres Pinos—Its Colorful Past by Peter Frusetta  (Tres is Spanish for three.) Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Now We are Six by A.A. Milne Seven Dials by Anne Perry Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart Ten Little Indians (And Then There Were None) by Agatha Christie Index to Murder by Jo Dereske (This is #11 in the Miss Zukas series.) The Twelve Clues of Christmas by Rhys Bowen The 13 Clocks by James Thurber What books have you read with numbers in their title? Check out more lists of 13 at Thursday 13 .

I was seduced. To buy each of these 13 things, that is.  It may have been by a salesperson (live or in a commercial) or by someone who was with me. More than likely, it was I who persuaded myself into thinking I certainly wanted and needed something, thus bought it. 1. A mop with disposable cleaning pads and solution that sprays from the mop at a press of the button. It was ridiculous how many cleaning pads I used in one mopping. 2. A manual mini food chopper. It did not chop, mince, or dice for me like it did for the guy in the TV commercial. 3. A red woolen shawl made in Ireland. I wasn't thinking and washed it in the washing machine. Shrunk, it did. 30 years later, the threads have begun to loosen. I may still wear it yet. 4. A food dehydrator. One Christmas I desired a food dehydrator. So Mama gifted me one, as did the Husband. I returned one of them. Drying fruits and vegetables in the oven is far easier. 5. A pair of orthopedic sandals. They were the first pair of shoes that ...

Earlier this month, I listed 13 of my more memorable jobs .  Today, it's a list of jobs (and, in most instances, careers) that interested me once upon a time, pretty much in this order, from teenage me to about 10-years-ago me. 1. High School English Teacher 2. Newspaper Reporter 3. Bookstore Owner 4. Street Vendor/Artist 5. Paralegal 6. California State Superintendent of Public Instruction 7. Heavy Equipment Operator 8. Gardening Service Co-Owner with Daddy 9. Mother of Five 10. Comedy Writer 11. Airport Shuttle Bus Driver 12. Background Investigator 13. Forensic Scientist Check out other bloggers with lists of 13 for Thursday 13 .

1. Breathe. 2. Breathe, again. 3. Breathe deeper. 4. Breathe even deeper. 5. Inhale slowly. 6. Exhale slowly. 7. Close eyes. 8. Inhale slowly, exhale slowly. 9. Think of my happy place. 10. Bathwater-warm Pacific Ocean. 11. Bright, lively, colorful fish. 12. Sun bubbles. 13. Peace. Thursday 13 . Click on the link and check out other bloggers' list of 13.

1. Apricot cutter.  My first job. I was ten and I lasted three whole days before I got sick. When I got well, Mama and Daddy said I didn't have to go back. So, I didn't. 2. Babysitter. Once, I couldn't find a kid when we played hide-and-seek because he shimmied up a tree. That seven-year-old taught me to look up. 3. Newspaper columnist. I was paid 10 cents an inch to write a weekly high school column for the hometown newspaper. Even got a byline. A friend and I started the Baling Wire in our sophomore year,  and I went solo from the last half of my junior year to high school graduation. 4. Tutor. I took both paid and volunteer positions, mostly the latter. 5. Hand Pollinator. Every summer, Mama hired teenagers to hand pollinate cabbage, zucchini, cucumbers, pumpkins, corn, and other vegetables for her seed company. She finally hired me the year I graduated from high school. I actually liked the work. 6. Office Clerk.  I had several part-time jobs while go...

Doing research is one of my stronger skills, and something I truly enjoy. Here are 13 questions I looked up recently on the Internet. 1. Will the Saharan Dust cloud reach California?  This annual dust storm crosses over the Atlantic Ocean to eventually cover the Southeast.  2. Are venial and mortal sins still a thing in the Catholic Church? Yup. 3. What can I substitute for buttermilk? One tablespoon of lemon juice mixed with enough milk to make one cup. 4.  What is the COVID19 count in my county? As of yesterday, July 1, we had 239 confirmed cases. More than two weeks ago, we were hovering around 136 cases. Some people say it's because the county has been testing more. I don't think so.    5. How do I use coffee as a fertilizer? Mix 1 cup of coffee ground in a gallon of water. You can also sprinkle the grounds into the soil around a plant.  6. What kind of lemon tree do we have?  Lisbon lemon tree. 7. What's a recipe for a on...

1. In December is when I was born. "The doctor said you will be born on this day. And you were." The Mama told me, now and then, not necessarily on my birthday. 2. I was born on the Roman Catholic Church's feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, also known as Our Lady of Guadalupe.  The mother of Jesus was said to appear to a peasant named Juan Diego four times at Tepeyac, Mexico in the 16th century. 3. The same day Catholics were honoring Mary, Major Charles Yeager flew the fastest speed ever back then—about 1,650 miles per hour, a mere Mach 2.44. Shazam! 4. I was born nearly three years after Older Sister died on the same day that she was born.  5. Mama was 32 years old when she gave birth to me. Daddy was 48 years old, and Older Brother was five years old. 6. On the day I was born, Frank Sinatra and Edward G. Robinson celebrated their birthday. So did Bob Barker, Connie Francis, and Dionne Warwick. Bill Nighy turned four on the day I came out of the womb....

1. Next month the U.S. Post Office will be selling forever stamps that celebrate Hip Hop. According to the USPS website, the sheet of stamps features rapping, break dancing, DJing, and graffiti art. I don't know what floors me more -- Hip Hop commemorative stamps or that the first kids into hip hop are now in their 40s and 50s? 2. Our local library has been closed since early March due to the coronavirus pandemic. This month, the librarians decided that we, patrons, can check out books online for pick up. The pick-up process today was easy-peasy, even though I forgot to bring my library card. Nine new books to entertain me. Yippieeee! 3. A few weeks ago, the Husband painted this headboard, full of delight and whimsy, perfect for the Banana Room, once known as the Shady Room. The banana plants look to be coming back, and the bamboo, gardenia, and wongo-wongo plants seem to relish their move there. I also replanted a camelia shrub by the headboard. Does that all s...

George Floyd ought to be on every American's mind, don't you agree? I don't know anything about the man other than he died by the hands of four police officers. Brutes, really. Thugs.  As the cops knelt on his body for more than eight minutes, Floyd showed no resistance and repeatedly told them that he couldn't breathe. The death scene was disgusting. It was horrifying, and it was sad. It didn't have to be! I am glad that since Floyd's death, on May 25, 2020, systematic racism and its perpetrators have been put on notice.  1. The Minnesota Department of Human Rights (June 2, 2020) filed a civil rights charge against the Minneapolis Police Department, along with investigating the department for systemic discriminatory practices and abuse of force. 2. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison upgraded the murder charge against Chauvin from third to second degree. In addition,  Attorney General Ellison charged the three other police officers (Thao, Kueng,...