LoveRundle

It's so funny! Ann said she would NEVER buy me more coffee because I have "too much," which maybe she's right... Lucille said I drink too much coffee, and Ann agreed. They think I should have maybe two cups and call it a day. I drink a pot, and if I thought I could get away with it, I'd make another pot for good measure. So, Ann went to Canada and New York for a total of eleven days, and everyone kept asking her if she had tried this amazing Cooke's Coffee. It was so amazing that she had to pick up a bag of coffee for me and a 2nd for Steven, but on her way back through customs, they checked only the dark roast bag. Sue was teasing and said, "So if you find anything in your bag of coffee, it's courtesy of Ann."  Poor Ann.  But nope. There is nothing but coffee in the bag. I know customs is probably looking to make sure it was sealed, but does anyone remember the toys at the bottom of cereal boxes? That's what I sort of thought when Sue and An...

I went to this huge puzzle exchange. I dragged Ann and Sue to do it, which I'm so glad I was able to. They both have strengths in areas I'm very weak in.  Ann did so much talking. She actually talked up my YouTube puzzle channel to anyone who would listen. (She's pushing that I get business cards and T-shirts with our logo). Sue is much more organized than I am. She stayed with the puzzles and wrote down the lot numbers for the people trading with us. I only brought 20 puzzles to trade. Out of those 20, we brought 7 of our stock back. So how did I end up with 45+ puzzles to bring home?  I blame Ann. She said people were just telling her to take what she wanted. I was really surprised because the very first trade I went to, people were guarding their *treasure* like dragons. This trade group down by Magic Mountain was so laid back, and people really were telling us to take what we wanted. I told them to come and take our puzzles too, but very few people did. That's how w...

Much like the movie "Yes Man" with Jim Carrey, sometimes I like to just see what opportunities await if I just say "Yes."  That said, I was walking Mozart in an unfamiliar place, and this man asked me to come inside. Now. I'm not a quick thinker, but something inside of me said, "Okay, let's see." So I followed him inside.  Let's call him Mr. P, and he was probably my mother's age. He was one of eleven children!  I had the most wonderful conversation with him. He was giddy like a little school boy because he had just gotten married. It sounds a little complicated, but everything in life is.  This was his mother's house, who recently passed away. He was giving her stuff away, and I guess a woman dressed like she hadn't showered in weeks with a little mutty-looking dog was the person to put his trust into. However, there was nothing I could fit into my apartment, which is sad because I would love to have a piece of his memory in my ho...

So many exciting things are coming up this month!  Sue is back from her adventure, and we went out for lunch. That was so much fun. We had a chance to catch up over strawberry margaritas. She has such a busy schedule with yoga and guitar lessons. She volunteers and also tutors on the side.  I went to the airport to pick up Ann. It feels like I was just there at the Burbank Airport.... maybe because I was. We dropped her off at the commune, and I stayed while they fed Ann. There was a little wine left over after book club (not my club, but the commune's club), so I poured a little to taste. Sue said she had no desire to finish the wine, so she told me to take the bottle home. That was incredibly nice of her. There is a Jaws 50th Anniversary party in the park. We're thinking about doing that.  I also need to drive down to the puzzle exchange location to make sure I know where to find it. It's in the same direction as Magic Mountain. I like that area. Emory and Sue both thin...

 The vacation continued because the posts can get way too long: Grand Junction was so fun. There was a lot to do, so we did some sightseeing. Nothing too crazy, but we did check out a winery, and then our hotel had a live band, so we went for a quick snack, which consisted of chips and salsa, along with more drinks.  Durango was our next stop. We had a ghost tour that met downtown, which was within walking distance from our hotel, but we didn't want to walk because we were both so exhausted. So there was a spot that is now a toy shop, but it used to be the morgue. They would prop the bodies along the walls outside to thaw so they could stick them into caskets. We took pictures, but we didn't go into the toy shop. We also saw the hanging tree. We went to a salon for drinks.... yes, we did this more than I thought we would, but we met the hotel manager, and he said he would give us a tour if we came back the next day. We got on the Silverton to Durango train. That was so much fu...

I got to spend a week in Colorado. I am so in love with the state, but I was told to come back when it snows. Apparently, black ice is a dangerous thing. We flew into Denver, and that was fantastic. We got to see the Red Rocks Amphitheater. Emory saw a few shows there in his teenage years. We also got to see Golden, which is a super cute little spot. That night, we got to do a Boozy Ghost Tour, and the other people on that tour really made it a blast! The teachers were so welcoming and funny, and there was one who was after my beating heart! We could totally be friends. We heard a ghost story, and I said, "Ohhh, creepy," and she said, "That's so awesome!" I just knew when we locked eyes that we were kindred spirits. She's getting married on Halloween. She stays in all the haunted hotels. All of those teachers made our ghost tour fun as heck! And the tour guide was very interactive, asking us stories. We drove to Boulder next. I had the brilliant idea to do a...

Watching: Timestalker  (so good and very artsy) Eating: BBQ Big Roll Grill Seaweed Rolls Mood: Antsy I JUST watched the opening ceremony for Halloween Horror Nights on YouTube! My heart started racing with excitement. I won't be going this year, but I can still watch and dream. I called Ann, and she was a little confused about the whole excitement thing. We talked about how expensive it is, but also, last time Emory and I went, we really felt it in our bodies. I don't know if this is what aging is like or if we're just not physically healthy enough to be standing for 8 hours straight on cement, but it was fun when we went last time. I'm cleaning like crazy. A few friends from the commune want to come over for coffee, and my place is cozy. I think I've mentioned that before. I can't do anything about the carpet spills, but this is a nice little setup.  Mozart took me for a walk today. Sadly, we have coyotes, and the coyotes have to eat, so we did see a spot where...

Sue packed up her bags and said she wanted to go to a new commune for a bit. So she called me when she hit the road and said goodbye for now. I'll miss the heck out of her, but I know she'll be back. She loves California a lot. Heck, maybe, just maybe she'll be back before the month is up. But you never know with the commune. They are the first ones to hit the road and call you later. 😊 Before Sue left, she gave me Spanish flashcards and a Spanish dictionary to help with my lessons. I'm excited to get this going. I feel like I understand a little, but still need the vocabulary. Steven asked if I could talk with the proper accent on the words. I can't. Crazy Cousin Nik said people would still understand me. I just feel like Peggy Hill from King of the Hill. She's so terrible at Spanish, and so am I, but I feel like I have the confidence to give it a try. My Spanish-speaking friends still ask what I'm trying to say, though. This is how I'm learning.  I fo...

We decided to take a little trip to Temecula and stayed in a hotel that was right near the downtown area, so we ended up walking to it. My only complaint came from the heat! Boy, was it hot walking, but it was probably not even a block to get there. We went into two olive oil shops. I love olive oil so much! We almost bought a black garlic olive oil and an Italian mix olive oil. They were both so delicious. You get a little tiny cup with some bread, but I can't eat regular bread, so I tried the oil by itself. Emory tried oils with bread. We just bought a gluten-free bread that I'm eager to use as a dipping bread.  We found this antique store, and someone made sunglasses so freaking adorable! I really wanted a pair, but sunglasses don't last very long with me. I actually just broke my pink flower ones on this trip, but I'd only paid $5 for them, so not a lot of money.  I found a little romance book store, and it was so neat. They had an LGBTQ section!!! I wanted so many ...

 I just got some pictures of the dust storm in Arizona. It looked pretty bad. Steven said that traffic had stopped on the freeway for about thirty minutes waiting for it to pass. I don't remember dust storms being that bad when I was a kid, but you could always see them coming because the sky would turn yellow in the distance, so you'd go inside at that point. I could be wrong, but these look like they are getting worse.  I've been online shopping. It looks like either Halloween things are now in the stores, or these are old pictures of last year products. I sent the picture of the spider table to the communes, (mass text message), and immediately got phone calls. I guess they thought I already bought the table. 👻😂 Steven said he'd skip coming over if this were my table. Darlene agreed. I love this table so much! I would die to have this in my living room. They did make me laugh and all the comments that followed were great. No one liked the table except Emory, Danne,...

 There is a heat wave coming through. It's going to be as hot out here as it usually is in Arizona. I'm not excited by that.  I went to eat at Lemon Zest with Darlene and Mr. M. It was so fun. I told them I would walk because it's not far from my place, but as I was walking, they must have seen me because they swung by and picked me up. I wore a pretty dress not thinking I'd be sweating in it. The fabric was wet with my sweat. It was 97 degrees. Still not as bad as Arizona heat though. Rose and Matt got a dog!! It's so beautiful. They invited me over to play with it so I'm thinking I need to get a box of treats to bring to the puppy. It's only six months old and they are naming it Jones. Such a cute name for such a cute animal. Darlene wants to come over for coffee. I warned her that our place is a mess. Truthfully, I'd rather be writing than cleaning and I think that frustrates the sisters, because they're like, "you need to be cleaning too....

I really haven't been out of the house for a week due to my issue with walking on my broken toe. Fun. It's so swollen. I wonder if I broke the metatarsal phalangeal joint. Wearing shoes is uncomfortable. I made the mistake of walking a puzzle down to the community library box, which is down the street, and that was a painful little journey. I've been watching horror movies. I'll still watch it if the acting is bad but the script is interesting. I love stories.  I just watched a 2007 horror movie called "Murder Party" that was freaking hilarious and the characters were  interesting. I really liked how the story unfolded. It's about this guy who finds an invitation to a party and decides to go. It's very artsy and probably commentary on the art world.  Art is subjective. Artists.... yeah.  I'm an artist, so I'm probably pretty strange too. I talk for hours on characters. I listen to people's lives and say things like "what an interesting...

 I had this very vivid and weird dream that started out nicely at a restaurant and ended with zombies that came over from the zoo. I told my mom about it and her takeaway... mom: "You have no business at a restaurant with no prices on the menu." me: "But it was a nice restaurant!"  mom: "And how did that work out?" me: "It was a LOT of money." mom: "You never go to a restaurant that doesn't have prices." Seriously though, in my dream, the bill for three people was about $$$. That's what it's going to cost for Emory and me to go to Temecula Valley for a few days with the wine tour and the hotel. I should really bring my bathing suit. I love sitting in the hot tub.  I asked Sue if she had any small travel containers that I could put my hair cream in. I got this really great cream for curly hair and I've been really impressed with the curls lately. She showed up with a bag of stuff. If we were playing Dungeons and Dragons, ...

Monty Python and the Holy Grail says it all: King: "I am your king." Peasant Woman: "Well, I didn't vote for you." Well said Peasant Woman!! I didn't vote for this "king" either, so why are we folding? I never thought we'd be here, but here we are. I'm not folding, but I'm getting exhausted fighting. I'm also tired with the news. I can't stand hearing that disgusting "man" speak for even a second.  I didn't realize I had a different text notification for every person when a text comes through... But why did I choose a horn? The first text that came through for my sister-in-law scared the goosebumps out of me! I have a guitar for Emory. It's pretty cool. I always know he sent me a text. The wasps that came back are bloody huge! Yesterday I felt pretty invincible walking among them with no issues. Today, I saw the wasps lingering on the screen door and thought, "holy crap, I'm not getting near the door u...

Sue just called to tell me that there are coyotes at the bottom of their hill that have formed a home pretty much in their backyard. The household babysits Mozart for us and we babysit their pets so this is a really good warning not to just let any of the animals run around the huge property.  I've been training for long distance walking because when we go to Colorado, there is going to be a great deal of hiking/biking and other touristy things. I still get tired after a couple miles. I don't know if that's normal.  I'm practicing my Spanish while watching horror movies in Spanish. I'm still not sure if I'm learning Spain Spanish or Latin America Spanish. I know Crazy Cousin Nik explained it to me, but I'm not there in my studies to know the difference yet. The commune speaks Latin American Spanish and that's what they want me to focus on, but I think my lessons are Spain Spanish given that it's the flag that I see on Duolingo.  I'm so proud of m...

We got new pets! Six of them to be exact though this picture doesn't show all of them! Okay.... maybe they are unwanted by most people and if they weren't so aggressive we would gladly share a porch with them, but wasps are very territorial. They are supposed to be removed sometime soon. My sister-in-law suggested putting peppermint on their nest. She's so earthy. I love it. The news reported that it's advised that ten states don't drink coffee. Of course, we are one of those states so I had to click on the link to see why. What can I say, I was curious. So due to the heat, it's advised that we don't drink anything hot. I don't think California is bad compared to Arizona and Nevada. Ann says that no one is out during the day in Arizona. I remember those days. Who wants to be outside when the air conditioner just pushes hot air around the car. Nothing can break that heat once it hits.  Sue just asked me what languages I'm studying on Duolingo. I asked...

We decided not to go to the event at the California Science Museum. I really wanted to go for the museum and it's a beer event so Emory could enjoy that aspect. I can't drink beer because I have celiac disease and well, that's not a fun thing to have symptoms for. I've been gluten-free for five years and haven't felt better. I don't mind being the sober driver for this event; however, I don't really drive that far because the California Freeway scares the heaven into me and the museum is 22 miles from our starting point. There is another event out here for an animal charity and it's much closer to home, about 5-7 miles maybe. I asked the Porter Commune to join us, but they are all so busy with golfing, theater, sailing, gardening.... Yeah, they are much busier than we are, but I did offer to be the sober driver because again, can't drink beer. That will be in August. We still haven't booked our hotels for Colorado. We have our flight and our rent...

Sue and I drove around trying to find this doctor's office that I'm supposed to go to. It's interesting because it's inside a store. I thought, "Great, do they even have an office" because last time we were told to go to a store for medical, there was just a alcove. We found the place that I'm going to and I am relieved to see that they have a hallway behind a closed door, so I can have some privacy. Not that there is a lot that I'm worried about admitting.  It's funny because Darlene and Sue are concerned that I have POTS, which is Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, because I just faint. It's one of the reasons I try not to go anywhere by myself. To onlookers, it's super scary and for me.... well, I don't always wake up so nicely. I'm confused. And last time I got super sick and couldn't stop vomiting. I got tested for POTS and they deemed that wasn't what I had. Go figure. I call it my little mystery element.  I wa...

We bought Hatch Pepper chips. So freaking good. They are vegan and not as hot as I expected them to be, but they do have a bite at the back of the tongue. So delicious!!! They remind me of a vegan alternative to Nachos Doritos.  Sue and I went shopping at Dollar Tree, and I got some oils for my hair. I am so thrilled to find new hair products. I love hair products, but I need to slow down my shopping. I was looking for travel oil items that I can throw into my travel bag.  Emory and I went to Ventura for the day. Darlene twisted her back while playing sports, so we had to go by one commune to get some medication that she left at that house and bring it to Oxnard for her. We stopped by for a second because the household was buzzing and busy, and Emory and I were on our way up the street to Ventura Main. I wore a sleeveless shirt and a small, fluffy skirt (the one I bought at Goodwill). I felt cute! I like the days when I feel the female charm. I don't get that feeling too often...