Monday, December 29, 2025 

     Suddenly the desire to shop, to buy stuff is here. I don’t give gifts this holiday, I do receive a few. I have been careful.  Reading the Sunday New York Times does it. The book reviews and the David Brooks report on best essays of the year. I have not used up my quota of book buying desires yet. There is at least ten books in the review that are calling out to me. Sigh.  I am resisting.

     My family is composed of young adults and older people thinking about retirement.  We skip the middle years. And then me at 85, the oldest of them all. They occupy lots of space and have intelligent voices, just as I am reverting back to my childhood interests and have lost my opinions. The hallways and doorways now are too small to accommodate these grown folks. The house is definitely smaller.

     I am reading the non fiction book, CALIFORNIA AGAINST THE SEA, visions for our vanishing coastlines, by Rosanna Xia. Well written and interesting.  I am glad that my house is not on the beach.

     My roommate and I watch more episodes of THE BIG “C” ON NETFLIX while the rest of the family is watching the sunset at Asilomar. Later, we watch the 49er game, rooting, of course, for the 49ers. After two hours I retreat to the quiet of my room. I hear the cheers from the living room as the 49ers win.

 

Sunday, December 28, 2025   

     The tall man arrives in the late afternoon. He says I slept through his earlier visit when he plugged in his battery and devices, cooked a meal and ate before leaving.  He was impressed that I did not wake up on the couch in the living room while he was here. I must really need my naps.  I am speechless.

     The East Coast family arrive around 2 a.m. I vaguely hear them and then I am back asleep. In the morning everyone is talkative and I don’t have time to write. So now after lunch I am writing on my computer.

     During my meals on wheels lunch I watch a two week old THE LATE SHOW with Stephen Colbert. The others are out on the town. Quiet time is a good respite.

     In the evening we watch the Netflix documentary about Seymour Hersh’s life as a journalist. THE COVER UP. Wonderful show.

 

Saturday, December 27, 2025    

     Sitting outside in the sudden sunlight, breeze, not so cold. What do I hear, a distant familiar roar, traffic sounds or maybe the wind in the trees, sounds so similar. An airplane taking off.  Bird chatter breaks through, sea gulls, small birds. I do some of my chair exercises listening in the outside world.

     Everything stops as the area is dark and cold. I live in a functioning small area of the damaged town.  Warming and charging shelters have been set up.  Family come to get warm and charge their batteries and devices here.  My home is warm and has power. This morning the sun and clouds move through the house.

      The East Coast family is supposed to arrive tonight provided there are not more delays with air travel. I wish I had something smart or clever to write about these times.

     We watch more episodes of THE BIG “C”, a funny poignant sit come about a woman who has fatal cancer. I like the show and it scares me about my own life with cancer. Time to watch another motorcycle trip series.