Shifting Gears   Baby Boomer…Member Life 2.0…Wife, Mother, Grammie…Bicyclist…GoldWinger…Mensan…Girl Scout…Reader…Knitter…Rotarian

Twice in one month is a new record for Woman of Substance but the frequency certainly didn’t alter the quantity and quality of our stimulating conversation.  We lunch at San Francisco Oven today sharing a Blueberry Chicken Salad and a Margharita Pizza along with iced tea for all. First order of business was to plan [...]

Long, long ago in my pre-Burl days I seriously considered getting a tattoo.  I thought a small bicycle placed about 3″ below my waist in the middle of my back would allow me to be in dress code with my employer and later provide plenty of laughs for the staff at “the home” where I [...]

Happy 40th Earth Day everyone.   I’m amazed that such a great idea actually came from a politician but it did.   In 1970, Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson started Earth Day to increase public awareness about environmental and ecological issues and to light a fire about these concerns in Washington, DC.  Wow – a politician who created [...]

I had a conversation with an acquaintance recently and since we both write blogs, it was only natural that we discussed them.  We both  blog because we enjoy writing and find it a great venue for creative expression (some days better than others in my case) – it’s also a great way to journal our lives [...]

I took a friend to lunch today.  It was her wedding anniversary but instead of celebrating with her husband, she’s counting down the days until her divorce is final.  After 13 years, she discovered he didn’t take those wedding vows as seriously as she did. She has been widowed but says nothing has ever rocked [...]

A couple of years ago I read Lisa See’s “Snowflower and the Secret Fan” (A+ in my ratings!) followed by “Peony in Love” (B+).  She captured Chinese history in such an interesting way and dramatically conveyed the minimal importance attached to women by that society. Her most recent book, published in February, is “Shanghai Girls” and [...]

Women of Substance met for lunch again today.  We had chosen the new Farmers Gastropub downtown but when we arrived, discovered it’s not open for lunch on Mondays.    Daughter Tammy had mentioned a new salad place, Toss Across, near the Moxie so we ended up eating there – after also considering Lili’s Diner which also [...]

I’ve been in a non-blogging mood this week.  Had a few ideas but no incentive to actually write anything.  Finally had to send a heads-up to one of my few loyal readers, WoS Vickie, so she wouldn’t contact the Customer Service Complaint Department! With no biggie topics, I decided to serve up on blogging dim [...]

Ralph, Blair and the girls arrived Thursday evening and we’ve had non-stop adventures for the last couple of days.  We had planned a picnic at Sequiota Park yesterday but Mother Nature had other ideas – rain!  We were fortunate to get some kite-flying in yesterday morning and then after lunch, Ralph and I took the [...]