It’s true, it’s true. I’m just back (minutes ago) from the Press Club of the East Bay’s annual awards dinner and BAM-POW-ALAKAZAM, I won the award for Best Independent Blogger for this blog. No shite, Sherlock! I’ll post a photo of the award this weekend if I can figure it out. Wait, if you’re here for the first time. Don’t judge me. Don’t be too harsh. I’ve been in the midst of wedding planning. All that stuff about cheese and bridesmaids’ dresses — please, indulge me. I’ve been married before, but haven’t done this wedding thing, as such, and all that. Just skip back a bit to the more intriguing…

Been painting all day. I almost typed “paining” which is a truism to beat all. Guest bath/powder room/whatever one calls it, downstairs — a lovely turquoise blue. With seashells and white towels it will look surfy. Kitchen has olive green cabinets now, which, actually, look avocado, but we’ll stick to “olive,” because the little curtain valance I made has olives on it, and though I’m into retro, avocado still causes me to wince. This is the last big push for painting, except possibly my office next weekend, and the rest of our to-dos before the wedding include putting stuff away and hanging art and curtains. Cleaning, getting prepped, etc. But…

This is the editor’s note/column I write in The Music Scene each month, and here’s July’s version. Three Things: A Note from the Editor 1. Alphabetically listening to one’s CD collection: Do you do this? I don’t, or wouldn’t, but I’m (almost) married to an audiophile, and he’s got this thing about having the music in a certain order. Although he often goes for the thematic five-disk mix (music for the tiki party, or baseball music, for example), there are times when he slips on five disks by artists who begin with A, B, C, and so on. For example, at the moment, we have something from the F section…

(This month’s Muse for the Alameda Sun) There are certain times of the year that make me want to sink into nostalgia and wallow in tradition, and summer is definitely one of those times (Christmas is another). While enjoying the full benefits of summer on a foggy Island in the Bay is sometimes a challenge, this year I am determined to enjoy every minute of our “warm” season. Summer, with its long hours of daylight and the feeling that we should be allowed to laze a bit, makes me sleepy, makes me want to read long intricate novels and enjoy seasonal foods like cool watermelon and buttery corn on the…

Wedding stuff is coming up like shoals on a stormy night. Watch out, gonna get splintered by surprise. Twice today someone has quoted Frederick Buechner, a Presbyterian minister who rarely goes to church, according to my dear friend Dennis Green. (Beuchner? Beuchner? Say it in the voice of Ferris Beuler’s teacher…). Doubt is the ants-in-the-pants of faith, my friend-of-faith Jack Buckley told me (Beuchner said it) earlier today. And Dennis quoted Beuchner as saying, “Don’t just get through your life, as all of us are inclined to do, on automatic pilot, not much noticing anything.” Too right. But I’m suddenly in a muddle about my Catholicism, which I thought I’d…