Norcal Gma 2

Retired rural grandma, caregiver, and dog mom to a sweet lab named Summer.
Love to bake and gift to friends and family.
Happy in my garden.
Proud Wailaki.
Living a quiet life on the north coast of California.
Please don't private message me asking for money if I don't know you. I already found the love of my life, too.
Mean comments aren't necessary or welcome.
Please be kind.

Last Notes

2026-09-23 19:29:56 UTC

So much good news today.
The VA finally started paying my medical bills after a year of me calling and begging. Our mail box was full of the payment notices. Persistence pays off almost always.
I ran to town to pick up the water sample bottles from our health department. They were very kind and will test both the well and kitchen faucet.
I stopped and bought a box of blank journals, several sketch pads, colorful beads, stickers, face paints, chalk and instant coffee to take along to The Raven Project this afternoon. Summer wants to help but I explained some people might be afraid of her.
She can't hardly believe that but agreed to stay home this time.
Our mail delivery also brought 700 postcards to prepare to send to encourage voters to vote.
I'd better get busy.
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2026-09-19 22:34:50 UTC

After our trip to the North Country Fair I took a tour of my daughter's dahlia garden.
Wowza!
She is really good at growing flowers.
I turned down a bouquet to bring home so she offered to drop it off at our Veterinary office. It will brighten up their waiting room.
I know she plans to take bouquets to some of the nonprofits we support next week.
#BloomScrolling #Dahlias
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2026-09-14 02:03:32 UTC

Every Sunday my daughter and I shop together. Our families buy Costco quantities. We split the purchase three ways so we both get what we need and a third goes to the food pantry.
Today my daughter is out of town for her dahlia business.
Our oldest grandson stood in.
We talked.
Young people are the best.
He feels that the world he grew up in has been spoiled by greed. All kinds of greed. The lust for power, for money and for control. I don't disagree.
He also said that he thinks we need a new generation of leaders. He did say that I am the one boomer he would like to see in office. He is too nice to me. He feels like my generation has not taken responsibility for the mess we made.
I assured him that lots will change in the next two years and that he shouldn't give up on humanity yet. I baked him a pie after I got home.
I wish that I had all the answers.
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2026-07-25 21:29:21 UTC

- reply

Lemon blueberry bread is ready to re-home.
#Baking
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2026-07-25 20:39:37 UTC

Second batch of blueberry goodness.
Lemon blueberry bread just out of the oven and before I drizzle with lemon icing.
These will be shared with the neighbors.
#Baking
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2026-07-04 18:23:18 UTC

I turned eighteen in 1976. Becoming an adult as opposed to an immancipated minor.
I felt like I had accomplished much. Every day since giving birth to my daughter as a fourteen year old I told myself that keeping us both safe and housed for four years was my purpose.
That goal superceded all others. Success that was mine while the rest of the country celebrated 200 years of dubious unity.
Being Wailaki I understood that America didn't want my kind of person yet we survived. I would grow up in America because America was the victor who forced my surviving family to assimilate. Sort of.
Now fifty years later I celebrate the diversity of today's America. It's clear that those who want an all white country will eventually have to accept their total fail. You only need eyes to see. There is no going back.
Overcoming this current assault will mean a new beginning. The opportunity to be a better country for all.
These flowers in our garden are a promise yet to be revealed like the new America that is coming.
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2026-06-14 18:55:48 UTC

Shopping is done.
Breakfast is served.
It's laundry time!
Not everyone gets excited about laundry but Summer isn't everyone.
She loves, loves sorting and transporting.
She is particularly fond of moving washcloths and socks from the upstairs laundry baskets to the downstairs laundry room.
She considers herself an expert at this maneuver.
I would have to agree.
#Summer #DogsOfMastodon
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2026-05-18 19:14:13 UTC

Our oldest grandson has been the only family member interested in our family history. I think his interest was sparked by our indigenous roots.
Lucky for him I knew where to access information already researched by relatives on both the native and white branches of our family.
Surprise to him my father's family has been here since pre revolutionary war and my mother's family even longer.
According to JD Vance pre civil war citizenship makes us truly American. I say BS to that.
I explained my view of our family's pursuit of the American dream.
We have managed to be blue collar, property owners of various levels of education for centuries. Two steps forward and two steps back over and over like groundhog day.
Not to say we aren't happy people.
The generations I know have been mostly hard working, generous people who were not bitter about our lot.
Probably we will be what ever passes for working folk centuries from now.
A rose from our garden today.
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2026-05-17 21:30:54 UTC

My protest jacket finally made it to a protest.
Thanks to [@955_36](https://sfba.social/@955_36 ) for taking the photo.
It was a tad windy.
I made my 86/47 hat fit as tight as I could since I didn't have Summer to chase it down.
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2024-08-26 02:48:47 UTC

Being a caregiver to an old dude who is pretty set in his ways, especially when it comes to meals, is much like parenting.
I have been trying to mix things up and prepare what he wants often enough that he doesn't feel deprived. Last night, he got his ribeye and baked potato.
Tonight is salad night.
It's not his favorite.
I had a genius idea, though.
I bought some lunch size bags of nacho cheese doritos. I crunched them up and tossed the pieces on top, and he he loved his salad.
At least he ate the good parts, too. The lettuce and some of the veggies were from our garden. Feels like a win.
Maybe it will offset the berry pie for dessert.
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2024-08-19 13:25:48 UTC

It's an early morning for us as we get my husband off to see the VA cardiologist in San Francisco.
No colorful sunrise, too dazzle us, but the moon was especially beautiful.
In a leap of faith, we are leaning into the health care available to us through the VA and letting go of our local Providence providers. With Providence, we are on our fourth different hematology oncologist in a year, and every time they switch doctors on us, they push appointments out farther. At least the VA takes a team approach, and we always have someone to call when we need them.
I am hoping the next generation figures out how to do affordable and available health care because somebody needs to.
Good morning, Mastodon.
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