My extended family decided a few years back that we'd all just buy presents for the kids. So besides my own two, I buy for 4 kids and I'm done with Christmas. Thank god- it's always been such a stretch trying to figure out how to eek adequate happiness nuggets out of my paycheck and still pay the bills.
But this also means I don't get any nuggets, except for the couple my girls can afford.
So yesterday in a moment of cabin fever I headed for my favorite shopping hot spot (and Hawkeye's) an... read more

California and Japan may be the only 2 places on the planet where you can own a shack in the flood zone and still have people in bidding wars over it.
I kayaked to my "investment" property today. I took this picture yesterday at 4 p.m. The river crested at 1 a.m. or so and by some miracle, the water never made it up onto the porch. The roof line of that white building on the right is a floating garden shed that didn't fair as well...... See those liitle racks near where the water hits the st... read more

The rain has POUNDED the Northern California coast, and completely trashed my driveway.It inundated the drains and sloshed right into the garage too. The dirt road down to the house is equally ruined with a full on canyon running down one side of it. My rental in Forestville will see flooding onto the landscape (but not into the house, thank GOD!) by tomorrow morning once the Russian River jumps it's banks. SO I need someone to get over there and make sure all is secure. Who, you ask? ME! The... read more