October 4th, 2021















Back in 2002 I was trying to think of a name for my new Yahoo email address and my new website. It was hard because every combination of linda and barclay was already taken. I still wanted something easy that people could remember. Then I had an "Ah ha!" moment and I came up with lindawithasmile because as I looked in the mirror, that was me. Twenty years later, it's more me than ever. I have the sweetest husband, a wonderful family, a lovable kitty and two lovable dogs, and we now live in a beautiful home in a beautiful community on the central coast of California. Every morning I wake up with smile and every night I fall asleep content. I'm a lucky lady.

People these days ask where I've come from from so here's a thumbnail sketch. I was born in 1950 in St. Paul, Minnesota. My dad worked for the St. Paul Saints, the AA farm team for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Over the years Dad got promoted and transferred within the Dodger organization from St. Paul to Omaha to Albuquerque to Spokane, and from Spokane I moved to Hollywood. (In 1971 Dad Left the Dodger organization and became the VP Operations for the newly formed San Diego Padres where he remained until he retired in 1989.) In Hollywood I worked for a movie company and married a rock musician, after 10 years we got divorced, and in 1985 I met Bill at work, moved to Dallas, Texas  and we got married on New Years Eve in 1986.

I had a happy Father Knows Best childhood and loved moving all over the country and making new friends. Good thing because Bill and I moved across the country to Amherst, New Hampshire, then to Dublin, Ireland for a year. From there we moved to Thousand Oaks in southern California for 22 years. Then in 2011, Bill retired and we bought a 36-foot motorhome and traveled up and down the west coast of the United States. In 2013, on one of our motorhome trips, we landed in Grants Pass, Oregon. Bill had always wanted to live in the woods, so we made a life-changing decision and bought a spectacular craftsman-style home on 5 thickly forested acres. After four years we realized it was way too much to maintain so in 2017, we sold our home and sold our motorhome and moved back to the sunny central coast of California. And that brings you up to today.

I hadn't updated this page since 2017 and I'm still in the process of updating it so some of what's written below isn't quite right any longer.

I have a kitty named Boo Boo who belonged to the owner of our Grants Pass house. When I was outside looking at the property, I picked her up and she settled in my arms like a hen settling in a nest. I carried her around for a good 15 minutes as I looked at the property and when I tried to put her down to go back in the house, Boo clung on for dear life as if to say, "Don't put me down! I like it here!" I told the owner what a sweet kitty she had, and the owner said she wasn't taking Boo when they moved because she was allergic to her. Little did I know that Boo had never been held before! I said to the owner, "I love your kitty!" The owner said, "Do you want her?" I said, "Can have her?" The owner said, "She's yours!" And that was that. Now I say we bought a kitty and the house came with it. Now Boo's mine and she's still the sweetest kitty I've ever known. She loves to be held right up on your chest next to your heart and never wants to be put down, even with people she doesn't know. Last year she started sleeping on my pillow, preferably tucked right under my chin, and now I can't imagine anything better than burying my face in her warm sweet-smelling fur. It's like being sprinkled with fairy dust. In an instant, I'm out like a light.

And my Andi Pandi, my little cockapoo pup who's 9 years old on February 8th. From the day we got her, she never left my side and she's still the same today, always my shadow, always wants to be in sight of me. And she couldn't be an ounce sweeter. She loves you the moment she sees you, her little wiggle butt always in motion, and if we're out and about and she's on a leash, she stands up and waves as if to say, "Come see me! Come see me!" With her fluffy little pompom ears, as Robert Palmer would say, she's simply irresistible!

Then last July, my sister got sick and wasn't able to take care of her dog, Murphy, any longer so Bill and I adopted him and Murphy changed everyone's lives. — Our days now start when Murphy stands on the bed and quietly says, "Woof, woof, woof! Get up, get up, get up!" and they only end when Andi and Murphy know we're going to bed and they race into the bedroom to see who can jump up and be first in line to get bedtime treats. In between, with all the deer and turkeys and squirrels only feet from the house, Andi or Murphy hears or sees something and starts barking, then the other one starts barking as if to say, WHAT? WHAT? That goes on all day long so our nice quiet house isn't quiet any longer, but there's a lot more happy healthy energy now. — Murphy also changed Andi's life in a way we never expected. Andi was diagnosed a year ago with Cushing's disease which causes excessive hunger and thirst, panting, a pot belly, and other internal issues. Altho she still has Cushing's, all of Andi's symptoms disappeared in less than two months. Our vet wasn't surprised, she said another dog can sometimes have a miraculous effect, but Bill and I were amazed. Who knew we needed another dog? — Unfortunately, Murphy's also had a big effect on Boo. Boo hates him. Not because Murphy wants to chase her or hurt her, but because Murphy's fascinated by "what's a cat?" He wants to be in her face all of the time, and Boo wants her space, so Boo lives upstairs where Murphy can't go and she's very content.

And that's a little bit about me and my family. I hope your house has a lot of happy healthy energy and that you, too, wake up with a smile and fall asleep content!




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