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 goin

1. Have you ever had a vacation ruined by the weather or did you just work around it? A change of weather is part of the adventure. My body still recalls the warm happy drenching from a passing rain cloud while waiting for a bus east of Waikiki. 2. What small changes do you feel people could make to give the planet a fighting chance against global warming? I would've thought after 50 years, we have this down: Plant trees and vegetation; purchase appliances, vehicles, and machinery that are environmentally friendly; conserve natural resources; recycle, reuse, repurpose. 3. Are you adversely affect by the weather, such as SAD? I'm not aware of anything.  4. How is the weather where you are and have you seen drastic changes in it during your life time? Dry. If it weren't for the coastal weather drifting through a low mountain range, probably 80s would be unbearable.  It rained more around here when I was a kid. I think the change in weather is mostly due to huma

Cheers to another year of celebrating the brave and bold actions of our country's founding fathers to sever ties with Great Britain!  Hope you all had a joyful and safe celebration. Until the fireworks started, we had a pleasant Fourth of July. Surprisingly, all was quiet with an occasional vroom of motorcycles in the distance.  Because of the pandemic, thousands of bikers haven't descended on our small community this Fourth of July for the sometimes annual biker rally commemorating the day bikers went wild downtown in 1947.  The actual bar in which a biker drove through still thrives today. The 1950s movie "The Wild One" with Marlon Brando is loosely based on the incident. Nightfall was a different story. It was a steady diet of  KAPOW, rat-a-tat-a-tat, pow-pow-pow, bang-bang-BANG, and long-whistle BOOM from 7:30 p.m. to nearly 12:30 a.m. I felt like we were on an island caught between two feuding factions. I do not want to imagine what a war z

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 one-layer chocolate cake

LeeAnna of Not Afraid of Color suggested I give Sunday Stealing a try.  It's a weekly meme, hosted by Bev Sykes, that comes up with a different list of fun questions, from elsewhere on the Internet, every Sunday. I think of it as answering surveys in magazines, once upon a time. So, here I go with this week's questions. 1. If you could be a Muppet, which would you be? The Muppets came along when I wasn't watching TV, but I did get hooked on the Muppet Babies. Among the babies, I would be Skeeter. She didn't get much play on the show, but from what I saw, the girl had a lot of gumption and moxie. 2. Why is a chicken crossing the road in the first place? To see how a cow is out standing in its field. 3. What's your favorite muscle? Heart or brain? Brain or heart? Without the heart pumping away, the brain can't live so I'll go with the heart. 4. Cheerios or Rice Krispies? Snap, crackle, pop, please. 5. Is summer ever going to get here

Beep, beep. It's summer. Be safe, Friends. Keep your humor. Over to All Seasons I go. Come along, should you please. Beep, beep.

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.