The Infamous Three Balls

It all started about 30 years ago at the Renaissance Faire in San Bernardino. One of the vendors was a juggler and for a fee, he would teach you how to juggle plus you get to keep the juggling balls. I can’t remember how long I stayed, but I will admit that the failure was totally on my end, not his.

All these years I held on to the balls, photo above, with the hope that one day I would somehow magically learn how to juggle. I have watched dozens of YouTube videos on how to juggle but alas, none worked. In desperation I prayed to the juggling god.

And then, as if by magic, something wonderful happened. My daughter fell in love with a world-famous juggler – Sean Blue. He will be out here in March to perform in the opera Akhnaten, so my goal is to learn how to juggle by time he gets here.

Of course, if that fails, I am going to ask him to teach me. Wish me luck. Or better yet, wish him luck!

 

My New T-Shirt

Growing up I never dreamed of becoming a tap dancer. It wasn’t until I retired, that I decided “now” was the perfect time to learn how to tap. Excited for a new adventure I bought a pair of tap shoes and went to the local Senior Community Center for my first tap class. I entered with joyful anticipation; I left with tears.

The instructor told me that even though it was called Beginner Tap, all the ladies were advanced tappers, and I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the class. Heartbroken, I told her to keep my new tap shoes and give them to someone who needed them.

Fast forward to December 2025. Twelve years had passed and I was ready for the second coming. I told my daughter and she bought me new tap shoes for my birthday. Then, I went on YouTube and watched video after video on how to tap.

Found it! The channel is Beginner Dance Tutorials by Carrie Mitchell, and it was the holy grail for me. Her lessons are fun and her instruction is easy to understand. The only difficult part for me is memorizing the routine.

I am taking 2 lessons a week. The routine I’m learning is “Time Warp” from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I’m giving myself 3 months to learn and memorize the routine and then I’ll be ready for my first official performance. 

Lots of tickets still available!

 

Page 84

When I was in my senior year at college, majoring in Interior Design, there was a nationwide furniture design contest sponsored by the luggage company Samsonite. I designed a child’s bed and was gobsmacked to win Honorable mention – which was 4th place, but who’s counting? I won $75 and although I have no idea what I bought with my prize money, the money was secondary. I was acknowledged for my talent and that was truly a Mastercard moment.

Months after winning, I was told that the magazine Redbook, which has since ceased printing, would be featuring some of the winner’s furniture. Although I didn’t think Honorable Mention would make the cut, I was excited to hunt down the magazine.

I remember the moment clearly. I went to the local supermarket and picked up the new Redbook. On the cover it stated, Three beds to build.

I turned to page 84 and there it was. The bed I designed in a 2-page spread. I literally screamed with joy and a woman passing by stopped and asked if I was okay. With tears of joy running down my face, I just shook my head and grabbed every Redbook on the stand – about a dozen. At $.60 each it was a bargain.

PS. I just checked eBay and that exact Redbook is listed at $21.94. In retrospect I guess I should have bought more!

A Tragic Love Story...of Sorts

Even though my husband Tony and I are vegetarians, I had long wanted to buy a BBQ grill. During the lockdown I took the plunge and purchased a small electric BBQ grill with all the bells and whistles.

My favorite thing to cook on it was cabbage. Trust me, it's delicious.

1. Use about 1/2 cabbage and cut into 4 pieces. Place each quarter on a separate piece of aluminum foil.

2. Sprinkle about 2 tbsp of soy sauce and 1 tbsp of butter over each cabbage piece. Season with freshly ground pepper.

3. Fold the sides of the foil over each cabbage quarter, sealing to form a packet.

4. Place on the grill and cook until tender - about 15 to 20 minutes.

I loved my little BBQ grill and often wondered why it had taken me so long to buy it. But then disaster struck. I remember the day as if it was yesterday. I had the cabbage packs ready for grilling. Tony plugged in the grill and turned up the heat. But, instead of grilling veggie burgers, my husband grilled the BBQ brush that he had left inside the grill. It smoked, it burned and it melted all over the inside of my beloved grill.

The pictured BBQ Journal never sold on my Etsy shop. It, like my beloved grill, will R.I.P. forever. 

 

Hike

verb

1. walk for a long distance.

Tony has always been a hiker. Me, not so much. A hike for me was just a full day of shopping. But a few years ago, I heard about the Victory Trailhead. Just 4.3 miles from our house, door to door in just 11 minutes.

Yesterday was our first hike of the year. Tony, Alex - our dear friend and Hair Stylist Extraordinaire and me. The weather was perfect, calm and cool. The trail was green with thousands of wildflowers yawning as they awakened from their winters nap.

The trail is considered moderate and there are hills to climb, but Tony and I have hiked this trail many times. A mile in and a mile out.

We were all having a lovely time with lots of chatting and laughter. Time and the miles just flew by. And then reality hit. We walked too far. What should have been a 2-mile hike became a nearly 4-mile trek.

I can honestly say that this 79-year-old really felt her age! The walk back was brutal. The hills seemed to multiply but I walked…one step at a time. The only thing that kept me going was the thought of a hot shower, but the only way out was to keep on walking. Which I did.

PS. As soon as I heal, I’m ready for another hike.

 

Love it or Hate it?

Within a 4-mile radius of our house there are 6 Dollar Trees. Not enough you say? Well obviously, Dollar Tree agreed because last week they opened a 7th DT just 1.2 miles from my house.

Years ago, when everything was $1.00 and I was working, I would treat myself with a weekly visit. One day I checked my bank account and realized I was spending between $40 and $60 a month on things that I didn’t need, didn’t use or that eventually ended up in the trash.

Now I only shop every 6 weeks or so and rarely spend more than $10.00. There are a few things that I love like Strawberry & Cream Alberto V05 leave-in-conditioner. It’s great for my curly hair and it’s a steal at $1.25 when it sells on Amazon for $8.96. Other things I love are garden gloves, lemon hand sanitizer and poster board for protest signs – all of which are $1.25.

There is only one thing I wished I had purchased from DT. A "Day of the Dead" melamine dinner set. I saw it 3 or 4 years ago, stared at it and kept on saying to myself, you don’t need it, you don’t need it, you don’t need it. And so now, every October I go to 6 Dollar Trees searching for the set. This year it will be 7 stores I visit.

 

Lydia Maria Child, Abolitionist

Today is an important day in history, but I write this to honor not only the great MLK, but also a woman whose name you might not know - Lydia Maria Child.

Let me start at the beginning. I recently read an entire book about the history of onions. (Don’t. Ask. Why.) It included a few historical recipes, but one caught my attention. The author of the recipe was a woman who lived in the 1800’s and her name was Lydia Maria Child. I was curious as to whether she was related to the famous Chef Julia Child, so I did a little research.

No relation, but what I did discover about Lydia was that she was an amazing woman who made a difference. Yes, she was a brilliant writer and a poet – she wrote the poem “Over the River and Through the Woods” - but much more than that, she spent her life fighting for Women’s Rights, Native American Rights and African American Rights. Her contributions were so vital to the emancipation of Slaves that in 2007, she was inducted into the National Abolition Hall of Fame, in Peterboro, New York.

Happy Birthday Martin Luther King Jr. And an early Happy Birthday to Lydia Maria Child born on Feb 11, 1802.