My continued list of screw ups while learning woodworking. When applying epoxy, when you need to pee, remember not to walk across your garage floor because the bottoms of your feet have been standing in wet epoxy. And most of all, do not go into your house and down the hall to the bathroom. You’ll […]
Voice of the Village: It’s not too late for life planning
By Judie Donaldson Until a few years ago, I never really thought about planning my life in order to be happy. Did you? I thought about things like the importance of being a good person and living a good life, creating opportunities for my children, having work that was meaningful, making a contribution to the […]
The A Cappella Handyman: Three Song Concert
All three can be found on YouTube.com: The Box Top Shop I’m gonna open up a Box Top Shop, and sell to all my friends – Maybe hustle up the neighbors for their boxtops, sides, and ends. And if I ever make it to the City Council, I’ll have to sacrifice my seat, ’cause they […]
Hiking Back in Time: Yosemite Valley
Welcome back to a monthly column focused on local day hiking destinations, that with a little imagination, will take you back in time to when our local Native Americans lived in a garden of Eden we now call home. For more hiking ideas, go to www.eastbayhillpeople.com and read the “Travelogue Blog” tab. This month we […]
The Truth About Cruising (Part 7): Favorite ports
The Benicia Fullosopher My favorite ports are those with ancient cities, folk art, glorious natural beauty, or unique architecture. For architecture: Barcelona, Spain—a showcase for the whimsical Gaudi creations. Singapore—a city that combines natural beauty with contemporary architecture and offers the ease of touring on your own. Just a short walk within the ship’s terminal […]
Write Away: Welcome, Carson!
Carson Paul Kaiser is in the world! The day he came, I started feeling contractions around noon, and I had students arriving in a couple of hours for a tutoring session. The pain wasn’t yet of the crippling, debilitating variety that I knew was looming, so I debated waiting it out and letting my students […]
Benicia Letters Once More: Evening Swim
The following “letter” is part of the continuing series from the unpublished novel by James Garrett, “Benicia Letters Once More”. He does not plan to publish the book but instead is choosing to share the letters with the readers of the Benicia Herald. The letters continue the storyline of Garrett’s first novel “Benicia and Letters […]
Mrs. B’s Blather: What kind of interaction do you prefer?
Recently I was having brunch with my friend, June Gifford. Although we live some distance from each other, she in Lodi and me in Benicia, we have managed to keep our 50-year relationship alive and intact. On this recent occasion I presented her with one of my watercolor montages, that was an overview of our […]
A Different Drummer: Moron wood
Ready for another woodworking two-parter? It’s esoteric. I hope it translates. I kept a list of every woodworking screw up I made while applying epoxy resin to a redwood slab. Epoxy is thick liquid plastic that is poured on, not brushed on. My list was going to be for personal use. Why expose my mistakes? […]
Voice of the Village: The good old days were…when?
By Lois Requist A high school graduate, speaking to his classmates about their school years, said, “You will look back on these as the good old days.” I listened to his comments from a bleacher seat as my twin grandchildren graduated from high school in Steamboat Springs, Colo. Smiling to myself, I thought of the […]