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

1. Who remembers the days of the manual typewriters? Clack, clack, clack. And, if you were a proficient typist, clack clack clackity clickclack clickity. . . ! 2. Anyone else glad he or she took typing in high school? Friends tell me we learned on electric typewriters. I remember the manual typewriters in journalism class. Yup, I felt like a real reporter when I composed my stories on a typewriter. 3. During the days of electric typewriters, a few of my friends typed 100+ words per minute and more with hardly any mistakes.  I dilly-dallied around half that speed with several mistakes. (I hated typing documents that required carbon copies.) 4. The fastest I could type was in the high 70s. I remember coming out of a job interview all psyched about that high score. I thought that I ought to insure my hands. They were, after all, necessary for my livelihood. hahahaha. 5. The other day the husband and I talked with friends over the phone for a couple of hours. That's al

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

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 l

1. I got to the DMV office around 8:10 this morning. I was number 005. Yippieee! 2. In 10 minutes or less, my number was called. I didn't hear it because I was talking with the woman next to me who was a friend of Mama's. 3. I could barely see the first line on the eye chart with my right eye covered. "I'm getting cataract surgery on this eye." Thankfully, the young lady gave me a pass on the vision test. 4. No written test. I skimmed the handbook and took all the online practice tests earlier this week, just in case. It's still a win for me because I now know some new rules. 5. Did you know that in California you can pass on the right if there are multiple lanes, such as on the freeway? Now the Husband can't growl at people who pass on the right. "In my day. . . ." I also learned that you won't be criminally charged if you refuse to undergo a DUI test. Not that I foresee myself ever being in such a situation. 6. I couldn't g

Warning, warning, Will Robinson. I'm musing about the state of our union today. Don't read any further than this paragraph, if that stuff gives you the hiccups.  For you, I have instead the above crazy photo that I painted with Photoshop art filters.  Can you find the face in the tree trunk? Onward. . . Craziness is in the air. A lot of it today, if we are to believe the old-fashioned press, not subjective media (left or right).  And, I do believe the honest reporting that is out there. What do you think: The guy who is supposed to be the President of the United States, a Putin puppet? Did it bug you that trump believes Putin didn't fiddle with the 2016 presidential election because Putin said he didn't? What about all the contrary findings in Robert Mueller's investigation? Is trump a Traitor? Also, do you still have faith that the Republican leaders in Congress are for us little guys? Do you ever think that trump's MAGA is really Make America