Sunday, March 15, 2026

     Sitting in my bedroom listening to the Sunday morning cars in my neighborhood. Sounds like a car race going on.  And airplanes fly over head unseen but loud. Everything is loud lately.  Must be me.

    My favorite artist friends come for a visit and a long conversation. I think of them as kids but they are close to getting old. We talk for two hours about our lives. He is a hospital nurse when he is not making art and I am a patient when I am not reading books.  We never run out of words. We were roommates for 9 years decades ago.

     The Tall man comes by in the morning for a cup of coffee.  He asks I need any help. Mostly I need to hear stories reminding me that I do belong to a warm kind family.

      I watch evening TV by myself. I splurge with two detective series.  MY LIFE IS MURDER, set in New Zealand and THE CLOSER set in Los Angeles. Both have strong women detectives. I finished the Welsh book RUBBERNECKER by Belinda Bauer.  It was quite compelling but I am reluctant to recommend it. I am not sure why.

 

Saturday, March 14, 2026

     I work with my fear of curbs and managed to step up to the library sidewalk.  With the help of the library courtesy walker, I return 6 books and pick up 5 more. the next task is to deal with my fear of CVS, and get a vaccination.

     There is a lot more laughter in my home lately. My roommate is working on her potato patch and thousands of potted plants. And I am moving around a lot more. Except of course, the national news is dreadful, war, bombings, a demented leader and a compliant military, and ICE raids.

     Last night I start reading RUBBERNECKER, a novel by Belinda Bauer from Wales.  I don’t remember who recommended it.  The library doesn’t have it, so I order a used copy from Amazon. It is a quite a compelling book.

     We are tired of watching detective shows on TV. Well my roommate is tired of dead bodies and the search for the killer, particularly tortured dead women. We love the ER show, THE PITT and THE LONG WAY AROUND, a documentary about two goofy guys on motorcycles traveling around the earth.

 

Friday, March 13, 2026

     I have been fusing over the new rules for handicap parking and finally write to the mayor about this problem. This is the email.

     I am an 85 year old woman who can still drive safely. I have a handicap placard. I love to go to San Carlos Beach. I used to walk around the grassy area of the park but now I am told that I have to pay to park in the handicap spot. Not only am I low income, the process of paying is difficult to understand and to use. Why did this change for handicapped people? Is there anything Monterey can do to make it easier for us seniors to go to San Carlos Beach Park and to other places in Monterey?

     I feel a little awkward about complaining. Now that I am getting stronger, I am more willing to express my concerns. I do wonder if anyone else has problems with the new handicap parking rules. I am not sure they are going to take me seriously. This is the first step in trying to stop the Iran war.

      Today I am taking back a pile of books to the library and picking up another bunch of books.  I love the library.