Meandering up the steep hill, Chloe, my Labradoodle, dawdles, sniffing brown-green grass. I pause, enjoying early morning birdsong

My quiet journey is interrupted by sounds of cars racing to join other bleary-eyed drivers, hurtling onto jammed freeways. For many, the work day has begun.

I smile, ambling down the hill.

A New England girl transplanted to sunny San Diego after marriage, Kathleen has been an English teacher on both American coasts (and in Puerto Rico). Retired, she enjoys writing, hiking, working as a volunteer with students, and visiting Cambria, the west coast’s answer to her New England.