San Diego Reader

Stories | Best Buys

Junk Removal

Junk Removal

"This isn’t a garage,” complained my husband Patrick. “This is a landfill. Let’s get rid of this junk.” Fred Siegel of San Diego Junk Removal and Disposal (aka Fred’s Hauling Service, 619-245-9957, junk80.com) was happy to ...

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Monogram Embroidery

Monogram Embroidery

“The old guard is passing away,” sighed Aunt Azelda. “Nobody wants monogrammed shirts anymore. Except my brother Wilfred, bless his heart. Help me out, won’t you, Evie?” The first lady I called — a veteran embroiderer ...

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Graham Crackers

Graham Crackers

Our camping trip was near perfection. Long hikes in the backcountry, bird-watching, warm days followed by cool nights gathered around the campfire singing songs… The only wrinkle was the much-anticipated s’mores. On the way out of ...

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Marshmallows

Marshmallows

The family is off to another camping excursion this weekend, and the kids’ only concern is that marshmallows are packed. They’re really all you need ... More Comment (1)

Paintless Dent Repair

Paintless Dent Repair

Crunch. Uh-oh. Patrick backed into my best friend’s car. I rang up Eddie Martin, owner and master technician at the Dent Devils (619-726-6767, thedentdevils.com), a ... More Comment (1)

Crock-Pot Cooking

Crock-Pot Cooking

“You are Crocktastic!” “Well, they don’t call me Crockalicious for nothing.” This back-and-forth at our family reunion happened between hubby Pat and sis Meg, aka ... More Comment (1)

Image Consultants

Image Consultants

Remember when I helped my nephew Freddy find a résumé service? Now, he’s getting called for interviews but still not landing the job. “Help me, ... More Post a comment

Mammograms

Mammograms

I’m 38 years old now, and my mother has been after me to get a mammogram for three years. So, me being me, I started ... More Comments (2)

Fishing Equipment

Fishing Equipment

The Kelly children are hooked on fishing. All it took was a morning with Dad at the Crystal Pier Kids’ Classic Fishing Derby. They returned ... More Post a comment

Résumés

Résumés

"Is there a Résumés for Dummies?” asked my nephew Freddy. “I’ve been looking for a job for two months with only one callback.” I didn’t ... More Post a comment

Winter Garden

Winter Garden

Abundance flowed from the Kelly garden boxes this summer. When the first produce was ready to be picked, I licked my lips as I planned ... More Post a comment

Bowling

Bowling

"Of course everyone wants to visit us,” I quipped to my husband Patrick. “We live in America’s Finest City.” “Fine,” he retorted. “But all at ... More Post a comment

GoCar, Pedicab, and Segway Tours

GoCar, Pedicab, and Segway Tours

‘We just want to toodle around and see the sights,” said Aunt Nancy on the phone before her visit. “And we don’t want to put ... More Post a comment

Camping Supplies

Camping Supplies

As the night dragged on, the four-year-old wailed with growing pains. The pregnant mama made her third trip to the bathroom across the campsite. Exhausted ... More Post a comment

Baklava

Baklava

My friend Mike is turning 40 this month, and he has been making rumblings about baklava instead of birthday cake. “We used to have it ... More Comments (7)

Bargain Golf

Bargain Golf

Patrick hasn’t been playing golf lately. Three years ago, he played a game about every two weeks. That became a weekday-morning nine-hole at Mission Trails ... More Post a comment

Oral Healthcare

Oral Healthcare

“Bloody hell!” exclaimed Patrick in mock horror as he gazed into the sink at my pink post-brush spittle. “Oh, my gums always bleed when I ... More Comments (2)

A Summer Unstuck

A Summer Unstuck

“My kids are like druggies,” lamented my friend Nancy. “If you give them sugar or TV, they don’t want to stop.” I sympathized. “I know ... More Post a comment

Odor Concealment

Odor Concealment

“With all of my boys,” said my sis Meg, surfacing from her boys’ messy bedroom, “I really should be refreshing our home more often. Between ... More Post a comment

Baby Carriers

Baby Carriers

"The problem with the Baby Bjorn is it’s a two-man job,” complained my brother Mike. A new dad, he was having trouble finding a comfortable ... More Comments (2)

Locksmith

Locksmith

‘Remember when all you needed was a coat hanger you could slide over the window?” asked Patrick as he stared into our locked car at ... More Post a comment

Frozen Pizza

Frozen Pizza

‘What’s the matter with you kids? It’s frozen pizza!” I couldn’t believe it — my own children picking at the cheese on top and regarding ... More Comments (2)

Window Screens

Window Screens

This time of year, hordes of flies visit our 1930s-built home. One would think we were in farm country the way the flying pests invade. ... More Comment (1)

Lead-Paint Removal

Lead-Paint Removal

“How’s life in the new house?” I asked my friend Suzy, who recently bought a North Park bungalow. “New?” she answered. “More like old. I’m ... More Post a comment

Jewelry Engraving

Jewelry Engraving

I will not be surprised by 2009’s Mother’s Day. The 2008 observance caught me off guard. I found myself in a crowded mall the day ... More Post a comment

Soundproofing

Soundproofing

“They told me the freeway would sound like the ocean,” griped Patrick’s friend Jon just after buying his first house. “It doesn’t. It sounds like ... More Post a comment

Easter Gifts

Easter Gifts

Hubby Patrick despises Easter grass. “It’s like the plague!” he complained over our nightcap. “It gets everywhere and clogs up the vacuum. Who created this ... More Comment (1)

Tissues

Tissues

Instead of a handkerchief or tissues, Dad’s pockets always contained a paper towel. Usually used. And if he noticed any of us kids sniffling during ... More Post a comment

Computer Training

Computer Training

“Eve, maybe you can help me,” pleaded my Aunt Azelda, slowly shaking her snowy mane. “They finally put in a computer station here at the ... More Post a comment

Walls for Climbers, Bulls for Riders

Walls for Climbers, Bulls for Riders

‘I hate being the go-to guy at school,” griped my husband Patrick. It seems he missed a meeting and got himself “volunteered” by some of ... More Post a comment

Piano Movers

Piano Movers

"We can move any type of piano except concert grands, the largest-sized pianos,” explained Ron Castiglione, owner and technician at Pitch Perfect Piano in Encinitas ... More Comment (1)

Wedding Transportation

Wedding Transportation

My efforts to help my stressed friend Barbara prep for her upcoming nuptials continue. Her plea: “I want to arrive in style!” “We have a ... More Post a comment

Photo Restoration

Photo Restoration

My husband Patrick’s grandparents’ wedding photo, taken in 1917, sat on the bookshelf with water damage. The damage got me thinking about photo restoration. Only ... More Comment (1)

Wedding Day Fitness

Wedding Day Fitness

‘Fat girls need love too!” crooned Barbara as she sashayed into my kitchen, waving the ring on her left finger. “Oh, hush — you’re not ... More Post a comment

Worms

Worms

Hubby Patrick is revving up for a banner garden year. His cover crop is in, and now he’s got a hankering for worms. “They say ... More Post a comment

Waterproof Cast Covers

Waterproof Cast Covers

Hooray! We’re going to Palm Springs for a weekend at a friend’s place! Boo! My 11-year-old broke his elbow during his first-ever game of pads-free ... More Post a comment

Sewing Machinery

Sewing Machinery

Stitches have played a big part in my life — sewing stitches, that is. In college, there was a wrap cocktail dress I whipped up ... More Post a comment

Cover Crops

Cover Crops

“I could break a Mack truck’s windshield with some of these grocery-store tomatoes,” griped my gardener friend Shawn. “I hate buying produce at the grocery ... More Post a comment

Colored Pencils

Colored Pencils

Colored pencils evaporate in the Kelly household — here one day, gone the next. When my son sat down to work on a drawing last ... More Post a comment

Backyard Adventures

Backyard Adventures

Post-Christmas blahs have set in. Children are lolling about the house, and I got a couple of nice checks for Christmas. Time for a jump ... More Post a comment

O Christmas Tree

O Christmas Tree

O Christmas tree! O Christmas tree!Thy leaves are so unchanging...Not only green when summer’s here,But also when ’tis cold and drear... Hubby Patrick heckled me ... More Post a comment

Holiday Goose

Holiday Goose

We don’t argue politics at Kelly family gatherings; we argue menus. I want something exotic for Christmas dinner, something fancy. Ma Kelly insists on something ... More Post a comment

Christmas Films

Christmas Films

Our street is aglow with candy cane lights, snow globe Santas, and icicle lights. The chilly nights bring the smell of wood fires in the ... More Post a comment

Christmas Malling

Christmas Malling

Girlfriend Jill wanted to hit the malls, but she needed help. She’s pregnant and has a couple of little ones besides. I called around to ... More Post a comment

Giving Back

Giving Back

The Kelly family needs an injection of charity. The thought was sparked by my son presenting me with a long gift list for Christmas. “We ... More Post a comment

Spice Up Your Bird

Spice Up Your Bird

Casa Kelly has been getting loosey-goosey with the Thanksgiving menu in recent years — lobster, sirloin cap, even lasagna. Not this year — Patrick’s Nana ... More Post a comment

Shears

Shears

My love Patrick is a man of many talents: handyman, gardener, chef, athlete, and baker. Goodness, he even sings opera. Last week he added another ... More Post a comment

Babysitter Schools

Babysitter Schools

‘This recession is taking a toll on my love life,” sighed my friend Tara. “My husband and I used to go out every Friday night. ... More Post a comment

Lip Balmers

Lip Balmers

Had the kids taken an expedition to the Sahara desert? Their lips looked as if they had — white, peeling, cracking, and bleeding. My daughter ... More Post a comment

Glass of Sunshine

Glass of Sunshine

“I’ve had crud in my sinus cavity for three days,” griped my husband Patrick. “When I blow my nose, I’m seeing colors that I normally ... More Post a comment

Cheese Doodles

Cheese Doodles

“Sometimes a man gets a hankering,” my husband Patrick said last week, “a hankering for food of a color rarely found in nature, a hunger ... More Post a comment

Wigged Out

Wigged Out

“Maybe I should just shave my head like that Sinéad woman did,” complained Aunt Azelda, dropping a rare pop-culture reference. Azelda was staring at her ... More Post a comment

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