Today’s adventure takes us to San Jose, California. Years ago, before Silicon Valley took off, I visited that fair city. Return with me to stroll through the Winchester Mystery House, premier San Jose tourist destination. Climb staircases to nowhere. Look through Tiffany glass windows with a view of absolutely nothing. Learn what you can do
Articles Tagged Sandra Wagner-Wright
NO HOUSEWORK DAY & OTHER APRIL CELEBRATIONS
I subscribe to Darcy Pattison’s blog. Today’s entry announced that tomorrow, April 8, is Draw a Bird Day. Never heard of it? Neither had I. The day honors Dorie Cooper. In 1943 Dorie, aged 7, visited her wounded uncle in the hospital. Trying to cheer up a man who’d just lost his leg to a
I AM RAPUNZEL, HUNTRESS
My son took one of those silly “who are you?” tests, and posted the results on Facebook. On the question of “What is Your Medieval Profession?” (http://www.playbuzz.com/gregs/what-is-your-medieval-profession), my son placed as a Hunter. This seemed strange, because he’s not the sort who goes around with bows and arrows trying to kill Bambi’s mother. But he
IN PRAISE OF APPLE TECH SUPPORT, or, How the Lost was Found
I use the MacBook Air and once had over 1,000 photos stored on the hard drive. The Handsome Bloke kept telling me to transfer them to an external drive. But you know how it is. I hadn’t gotten around to it. Then, for the past several weeks I’ve been getting a message saying that my
ARIZONA IN MY MIND
Seattle Mariners Spring Training (the subject of last week’s blog) took the Handsome Bloke and I to Phoenix, Arizona. It was the second time I’d been to Arizona. The first time was when I was in middle school – a family trip with the cousins. We visited the Grand Canyon, though at the time we
BASEBALL – Symbol of Summer
“Baseball, it is said, is only a game” – George F. Will Baseball has teams of nine players. The playing field has a diamond shape. There are nine innings and numerous time outs, but no maximum time. Baseball players don’t wear spandex. In comparison to other athletes, they appear modest. The game itself is straightforward.
SOME PROPERTIES OF GLITTER
Ever had the urge to assemble of bowl of multi-colored glitter and just throw it in the air while you ran around the room? Ever curbed that urge by thinking about how you’d never get the glitter out of the carpet? If you answered yes to the first question, you are either a water sprite
LEARNED A NEW LANGUAGE LATELY?
Are you old enough to remember foreign language laboratories where students strained to hear a question in, for example, German, and answer it correctly in the microphone, all the while desperately hoping the instructor wasn’t listening to you? Yeah, me too. When I was fourteen, my mother decided I would take Latin. It wasn’t a
WRITERLY EXCUSES
“My sore throats are always worse than anyone’s.” Jane Austin, timeless observer of human foibles, hit the nail on the head (or should it be the tissue in the hand) when she pointed out that her sore throats were worse than anyone else’s. I think we all feel that way. Today’s featured image is a
HANDSOME BLOKE CHECKS SUPER BOWL OFF BUCKET LIST
NFL Super Bowl XLVIII is history. Super Bowl 48 – the Seattle Seahawks vs. the Denver Broncos (or should I say, Peyton Manning?) Or, as some say, a diversion from the Bruno Mars Half Time Show. But that’s not today’s story. This is a personal story about a man, a dog, a wife, a daughter,
GODDESS GANGA
There I was, trying to write a scene in my fictionalized biography of the Pandita Ramabai, and failing. At this point in the story, Rama is nine years old. It’s hard to write from a child’s perspective. The family is in Varanasi, the holiest city in India. Pilgrims and tourists daily arrive in great numbers.
SLOW COOKERS, MICROWAVES, & AFTERNOON DELIGHTS
A couple days ago I decided to cook a whole chicken in the slow cooker. Being inordinately pleased with myself, I posted my mundane accomplishment on Facebook. And then posed a question. What did my friends think was the better kitchen appliance – the slow cooker or the microwave? Results at the end of this
KUNG HEE FAT CHOY!
In case you missed the New Year Celebrations on December 31st, you have another opportunity on January 31, day of the lunar new year. Decorate with Red Chinese Lanterns. Gift your friends with red money envelopes. Welcome the Year of the Horse which, according to astrologer Susan Levitt, will be a time of high energy
NEW YEAR DREAMS
I’m writing this on December 30 – exactly mid-way between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Time to take a deep breath before rushing to those New Year’s Eve parties – If you aren’t rushing already. Americans, especially the ones involved in retail, are always rushing. I’m picking a bit on retailers, because on Friday
LET US COMMENCE OUR CELEBRATIONS!
Not everyone enjoys December holidays. For every memory of joyful family traditions, there are other memories. Life does not stop – which is why the holidays can never be as perfect as we imagine. Holidays are about the past. They remind us of something important to an individual, family, or group. The month of December
WHY SEND HOLIDAY CARDS?
The year-end holiday season brings joy to children looking forward to school vacation and lots of “stuff.” Adults, drowning in a deluge of tasks, find joyful anticipation transforming into what I call “the season of eating and drinking” – all calorie free, of course. By this time, organized veterans of the season have put up