No "Sunshine on my Shoulders"...
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Author, Artist, Storyteller

LIFE'S SECOND ACTS
a blog by Marilyn Woods
Welcome to my blog about celebrating family, friends, art, and all the joys and sorrows of life's second act.
Read recent posts or explore by category below.


Vincent Van Gogh, who experienced many tumultuous seasons as he created his radically idiosyncratic, emotionally evocative art,...


Books I’m reading even though my eyesight is temporarily cockeyed.
Six months between cataract surgeries (don’t ask) and I wear a contact on one eye during the day and read at night without the contact...
1911


"WHAT'S GALENTINE'S DAY? OH, IT'S ONLY THE BEST DAY OF THE YEAR."
Never paid much attention to Galentine’s Day, although I adored Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope character on Parks and Recreation. Galentine’s...
1464

Girl's Night


"WHAT'S GALENTINE'S DAY? OH, IT'S ONLY THE BEST DAY OF THE YEAR."
Never paid much attention to Galentine’s Day, although I adored Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope character on Parks and Recreation. Galentine’s...
1464


"I'm fixin' to get into some trouble. You comin'?
I know they consider me a foreigner… And maybe I am. In a way, they are too. Those Texas girls. I return to my stomping grounds there...
2914


In the spotlight...
On my radar…an architect, an actress and an unbelievably awesome vocalist – all women! First, one of British drama’s royalty, Nicola...
2532

Art Speak


Marilyn Gardner Woods
- 5 days ago
- 2 min
No "Sunshine on my Shoulders"...
Vincent Van Gogh, who experienced many tumultuous seasons as he created his radically idiosyncratic, emotionally evocative art,...
983


Marilyn Gardner Woods
- Jan 25
- 2 min
Random reflection on a recent very cool road trip!
After multiple crunch time plane excursions, the idea of getting in an automobile and traveling north from San Diego had great appeal....
1683


Marilyn Gardner Woods
- Sep 23, 2022
- 3 min
A*U*T*U*M*N arrives...
Bookended by Labor Day and the holiday season, Autumn is here. The Turning of the season, although we scarcely notice in Southern...
1153

Family Fun


Marilyn Gardner Woods
- Dec 20, 2022
- 4 min
Really last minute shopping...
The invitation for the dreaded gift exchange stated unisex and at the bottom in barely perceptible font size, up to $100 limit. Yes, I am...
1062


Marilyn Gardner Woods
- Nov 16, 2022
- 3 min
A Wild Turkey happening...
When the front door of my daughter’s home in Valley Center opened, I froze. The sight of her face—a blackish-purple swollen...
1892


Marilyn Gardner Woods
- Oct 17, 2022
- 3 min
HALLOWEEN IN THE LAND OF OZ
From the top shelf in the auto department of Ace Hardware, I pulled a shiny aluminum funnel, the kind for they use at Serrato’s Auto in...
1383

Adventures at Home& Away


Marilyn Gardner Woods
- Jan 25
- 2 min
Random reflection on a recent very cool road trip!
After multiple crunch time plane excursions, the idea of getting in an automobile and traveling north from San Diego had great appeal....
1683

Marilyn Gardner Woods
- Oct 30, 2022
- 1 min
Autumn on the Appalachian Trail...
This Texas girl turned Southern Californian experienced an Autumn to remember days ago on the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina. My...
571


Marilyn Gardner Woods
- Aug 28, 2022
- 4 min
Lessons learned. A hard way...
Three minutes, at most. I pulled into the designated dry cleaners parking spot fifteen feet away from the establishment in the Trader...
3404

Events
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