by Marlene Bumgarner | Feb 12, 2019 | Aging, Back to the Land, Community, Cooking and Eating, Family, Grandparenting, Nature
A Conversation With My Granddaughter “Grandma, why are your gloves way up there where you can’t reach them?” I was stretching high over my workbench for the long-handled pruning shears when my eight-year old granddaughter piped up. I dropped down on my heels and...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Feb 2, 2019 | Aging, Child development, Community, Family, Grandparenting, Nature, Travel
Sleepover With Grandma Like many other publicly-funded agencies, the Monterey Bay Aquarium offers a variety of programs to educate their members and to raise funds. One of the most popular is the sleepover, when children and their parents or chaperones are invited to...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Dec 29, 2018 | Cooking and Eating, Family, Health, Nature
I love persimmons, and I have planted three persimmon trees. The first one was eaten by deer before it could bear fruit. The second didn’t like where I planted it, and, after two years of minimal growth, quietly died. When I retired and bought a house in Santa Cruz, I...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Apr 26, 2018 | Cooking and Eating, Family, Health, Nature
Spring Planting Last year I missed planting season in Santa Cruz. I was in San Diego taking care of my new granddaughter. This year I started thinking about my spring garden before Christmas and purchased two metal horse watering troughs from a feed store. ...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Jan 29, 2018 | Aging, Australia, Community, Cooking and Eating, Family, Nature, Travel, Writing
Victoria The Greenhouse Backpacker’s Hostel is in a high rise building in the center of Melbourne. My first challenge, tired as I was, was hoisting my roller bag up ten steps to the elevator. A sign on the door told me that Reception was on the 6th floor. When...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Jan 22, 2018 | Cooking and Eating, Family, Health, Nature, Travel
Adelaide on Foot I was a bit confused when my driver dropped me in front of the Traveller’s Inn on Hutt Street. I knew the address of my hostel, but I was in a business district, and the storefronts didn’t have numbers on them. After waffling for a...