Opinion

It seemed to take blooming ages to get back to my life after my surgery. They say that the older you are, the slower you heal, and they are not kidding! Unfortunately for me, I had previously enquired before the surgery about the general...

What a lovely gift, I said to just myself. A weekend away for my daughter and her man and I will take care of their ranch. I will enjoy so much peace and quiet and even get time to work on my next book!...

Most of us know sunflowers. In the Salinas Valley, they are a common sight in yards and fields up and down and across the land. Many among us remember rows of the tall, large yellow blooms were spaced among the row crops as wind...

I’m not great with anniversaries, birthdays and the like. When I say I’m not great, what that means is that I have an incredible memory for what can be difficult days in the annual calendar. Days like my sister’s birthday. “Forever 48,” I wrote...

In England, the shops are now full of Christmas crackers — every shape and size and decoration of cracker can be found, lining the shelves of every grade of Christmas area — from low to high end. “Oh, you must take some crackers home!”...

I was the co-founder of South County Animal Rescue (SCAR) back in January of 2016. At the time we were filling a large hole in animal rescue services in our area, and, since then, we have done over seven years of incredible work. Sadly, there...

Have you noticed any strange looking grasshoppers around your house lately? They would be brown and they can almost fly. They are also quite a bit larger than your run-of-the-mill grasshopper, they may very well be locusts. It seems that is the only thing...

Each holiday season comes with high expectations for happy, carefree gatherings. It’s all too true, however, that once the calendar turns to November, feelings of sadness or anxiety can sometimes take hold. Beyond major depression or severe anxiety disorders (which require professional help), it’s common...

This has been a rough week. It might look different to most of you, but for me it’s just another reminder of the test of time. Many years ago I bought a car from Joanne Rodriguez. Joanne’s husband Alva had passed away and he,...

I hadn’t seen her for a while, and when I did, I realized that she was very unwell. I was doing a book signing at a King City coffee shop and she was selling her amazing pies at the same venue. She had lost...