I was all excited because a couple of companies make what they call women's "plus size" chest waders.  It's an illusion: the plus size waders are only like a size fourteen, tops.  So I went ahead and ordered the lightest weight men's extra large breathable stockingfooot chest waders I could find. They turned out to be L L Bean's "emergent" -- not ( Read more... )

I'm already sick. The usual, I won't bore you with the reiteration of upper respiratory symptoms, but damn. It's not even November. The rainy season hasn't even started (yes, it rained once, but that was about a centimeter and it didn't make it even as far south as Monterey, and it hasn't rained again in two weeks, so you can't say the season ( Read more... )

Went to the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments dinner tonight. I didn't know that's what it was. I thought it was just the watershed people. I got to see John Laird, our Assemblyman, and tell him how much I adore him (he's also an old acquaintance from school days). Got to see Sam Farr say "I remember when none of the counties talked ( Read more... )

Okay: the "unsuitable lover" is named Skip (as in Christopher). The person he's talking to is Cary, his best friend for the last three or four years. Cary is a reference librarian: Skip is a library clerk. Other people of interest are Simon, who Skip had a disastrous affair with five years before, and Russell, who Skip meets at the baths ( Read more... )

So Sunday was my greatniece's first birthday party. Emma made her a sweater:

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So, I had this attack story which fit no guidelines I knew about. I saw a set of guidelines which was remotely like the story, but different in significant ways (including length). Knowing this to be a longshot, I queried the length requirement and the publisher graciously invited me to send the story along. Very soon after I received a polite ( Read more... )

Today is Snapshot Day. We go out in little teams and sample the water in creeks and culverts and sloughs up and down the coast from Pacifica to Morro Bay -- three hundred miles of the Central Coast. My team went to Corralitos Creek and Harkins Slough. It was more fun than I can say. It's like hiking and chemistry sets and girl talk all at once -- ( Read more... )

I worked really har
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