The IBRRI has been caring for and rehabilitating birds injured
in the November 7th San Francisco Bay oil spill, along with birds
coming up injured and starving along Monterey Bay due to unrelated
causes.
State officials now say that funds for cleaning and rehabilitating
oil saoked birds cannot be diverted to help in caring for birds in the
Monterey Bay […]

Today we took a trip to “Grey Bears” our local recycling and
re-uses non profit for senior support. They feed some 1200
plus seniors every week in our town. Cool, huh?

I found the most gorgeous hand made blanket there! All kinds
of bright colors on a black background. And nice and big for
curling up on the couch with a good book…

And it got me to thinking of the things I love most…
Hand made blankeets and quilts, great linens… I LOVE
the fine table cloths and runners from Germany, you know.
The ones with all the hand embroidery and such beautiful
fabrics!

And I love sweaters… Cashmere, lambs wool, fleece,
angora, you name it… I love them all. And one of the best
places to find these kinds of things, at INCREDIBLE prices, is
the local thrift store. Read More

The winter weather has transformed the beaches
nearby… Great swaths of water and foam where
dry sandy beaches of summer once were…

Yesterday the fog was so thick I didn’t dare let
Doodle Boy off his leash. He just doodles off, and in
that thick fog there was no way I was goint to chance
having to spend the rest of the walk looking for him!

On our way home we again encountered our English
Setter friends, who were sporting their new Pet Blinkies
in White and Blue and Pink and Green. Very showy!

So we became DETERMINED to find these delightful and
clever LEDs with such power that you can spot them
even way down the beach… Read More about Pet Blinkies…

After such a beaufitiful Thanksgiving weekend that
seemed more like summer than late November, it seems
winter has finally begun to arrive.

The ocean tides are sweeping up high onto the beaches
leaving not a lot of room for our afternoon walks - which
keep getting earlier and earlier to avoid being caught in the
dark on the beach.

We saw a great invention the other afternoon as the sun
was setting and we began to head back to the path home.

A woman with two big dogs, all curly fur and long legs,
was heading out to walk as we came back. I thought it was
getting pretty late for her to start a walk, until I saw the
coolest thing ever: she had LED blinking lights on a switch
on the dog’s collars so she could see them in the dark!

As the dogs headed off down the beach ahead of her they
were very easy to see, even in the failing light… because their
collars were flashing away! Bight green on one, bright pink
on the other.

When I asked her about these amazingly clever flashing lights
she said “Oh yes, they’re great aren’t they? And they make
perfect stocking stuffers for any dog lover!”

Well, I had to know where to get them, then, didn’t I?
Read More…

This Thanksgiving we were in our new house-
for the first time, there is only one child living
with us… It’s so different!

But the great thing about that is, that all of them
(except for the eldest who is spending a year in Africa)
came home for Thanksgiving!

What a treat to have such interesting and engaging
young adults come to visit for the holiday! And they’re
your kids!!

The entire event went way too fast for me, but that’s
the nature of a great time, isn’t it? We spent all our
time talking and walking the beach with the dogs, (including
one of our son’s visiting dog, “Gir”) lounging in the bright
sun, and then thoroughly enjoying the great feast.

It was a kick to send everyone home with big bags of left
over turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, gravy and cranberry sauce.

But the house sure felt empty when everyone had gone home
again! Even our youngest took off to spend the weekend with
Read More…

Fresh live lobster! If ever there was an impressive gourmet food delivery, this has to be it! Lobster so fresh and sweet, it could only have come from Lobster Gram!

Imagine a live Maine lobster brought to your door this Christmas season! If you’ve never received a live lobster delivery, you have missed out on a truly top of the line gourmet food experience!

Returning home from the airport last Thursday night after seeing my now 25 year old first born son off to his flight back to the east coast; it dawned on me that my carreer as “mom” was my longest standing gig.
It’s outlasted my first marriage now by some 17 years… And while I certainly hope it won’t outlast my current marriage (a mere babe at only 8 years in the running). I can see that momdom has shaped me and my life in more ways than anything else I’ve ever been done.

It’s time for some direct communication.
There are a few rules to this great present for mom game that
you should really be aware of…
Well, I mean, you could skip it, but… You run the risk of ruining
the entire exprience.
Let me see if I can help you out.
Rule Number One:
Do NOT ask mom “What she wants […]

It’s true isn’t it?
Everyone loves stocking stuffers. Finding great stocking stuffers is an art form all its own. Some people are really great at it… others not so great!
Well, the folks at Wrapables have solved that problem for all of us…
They have a team of folks who figure it out and give us […]