LoveRundle

Our best friends came out for the weekend and of course it was fabulous.... until I fainted. Yeah, that happened. I didn't even realize I did it. Next thing I know, Emory was gently brushing my shoulder and telling me I had another episode. That's what we call it because it's not dainty.  Up until then, we watched Drunk History. I wish this was a thing when I was in school. I might would have remembered names a little better. I might remember dates and scenarios too. It's freaking hilarious.  We went to Solvang after our best friends left. We took our little buddy with us because it was a little late notice to drop him off at the communes (yep two different communes). We did drop by the Port commune to pick up some boat gear for the Oxnard commune. At the Oxnard stop which was closer to our destination, we let Mozart run around their beautiful yard. We just missed the kiddos there because the children went off to another adventure for the week. We filled up on water and...

 Mozart had his very last dental cleaning. We're not going to make him do this again. He's a senior man and he's having a hard time just coming out of it. The procedure was a little late and the medications must have done a number on him because he was pretty out of it for hours and hours into the next day. The doctor said he would cry and he has been. It's so sad. So we've been holding him and just rubbing his back and tummy. Mozart and Me (snapchat) We've been trying to clean some. It's not an easy task. I see things that can be put away, but instead, I'm writing up a storm. The problem is, I live like Merlin's little hut in The Sword and the Stone (Disney cartoon 1963). I'm cramped with books and tea pots and everything else that just speaks to me. Everything has a little bit of magic... a story that just whispers their very existence. How am I supposed to get rid of all these stories?  Sue said we'd start with the closet. I did get rid of...

We went to the grocery store and though I said I wasn't going to pay for any extras, I saw cotton candy grapes for $3.99 lbs. (which is pretty cheap for cotton candy grapes that are usually much higher in price) It was measured so its one pound exactly. So we did it. I know... save all the money I can for the possible next great depression. My family (great grandparents) made it through the first one so I know we can too, but living in California makes it a little hard. With the super bad fires, rent out here has gone up a lot.  I am still drinking my pot of coffee. I have some food in my fridge. I have a strong support group. The commune has space for us to come back if we need to, though more people will be moving in and with kiddos. The community there is getting big. I'm supposed to be downsizing, but I've been writing up a storm. My best friend told me, "Life's for living, not for cleaning" but I'm pretty sure she has a very clean house.  Sue and I ha...

I just read an article that California is losing a substantial bit of its funding for libraries. I wonder if that means our libraries will close. I also saw that books are being purged. I wonder what that's going to mean for our reading lists. I really hate this. Time to invest in my own private library. Fahrenheit 451... ?!?!? Anyone else seeing this? It's kind of funny how people are starting to download the novels they want to keep. I should do that too, but I can't remember the names of the ones I was so in love with that I read years ago. So I think I'll be giving up on the "extra" things we usually splurge on. After my coffee runs out, I don't think I'll buy any more. It seems like such a luxury now... (I say this and then we found coffee for $6.99 so we bought a few bags).  We went to Costco and it was utterly crazy. I don't know how much eggs were being sold for (since it's not part of my diet intake) but the Costco staff kept yelling f...

 Waiting for people to be awake so I can start calling. 💕 Yep, I make morning calls and texts to all my favorite people. Too many to actually count.  Sue picked me up for dinner. We had watermelon mango margaritas and just chatted the heck out of our time together. She is going to let me borrow a overnight bag because I'm getting on an airplane to Arizona. I'll be in AZ for about four days. I think only one commune knows I'm coming. This isn't until May though. Sue is heading to Arizona for the weekend so that will be fun for her. I asked her if she was going to Cave Creek and she said she doesn't think so. Nuts! I need to get more Arizona spices which tend to be a little on the hot side. I have one that Emory puts on our veggie burgers and tofu that tastes excellent! It's hard to find novelity spices out here, though there is a place called Spicetopia, but you only get an ounce for $5.99 and up which is pretty expensive.  With everything going up in price, who...

 Mozart won't let me type. 😂 This makes it so hard to get any stories done. "People shouldn't be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people." Alan Moore - V for Vendetta (If you haven't seen that movie.... well, go see it!)  That said, we've been having wild nights. This woman was screaming outside our window and this morning, more screaming so I went outside because I wasn't sure if she needed help. She was throwing out all sorts of expletives and degrading words. There were people outside, and they said she tried breaking into their car and into the building and they were calling the police.  I hate calling the police because when Emory was badly hurt, I called and was on hold for almost ten minutes. It was frustrating because people were trying to talk with me and I could barely hear the recorded messages as I was waiting for emergency to pick up. I'm just grateful for all the souls that stayed with me until the police...

We went to the Los Angeles County Museum and that was fun. It was a bit of a drive from the valley and parking... don't get me started on parking! $$$ for 30 minutes or the whole day, doesn't matter, it's $21.00 so we got our tickets to the museum and decided afterwards that we would just go get lunch somewhere. There were three levels to the main building and we started at the top. There were so many pieces that I really found myself attached too. So many pieces were made by revolutionists and I can't wait to see what art comes from our revolution as we deal with our own demons in America, because I feel like we're heading down a dark road. Goddess knows I feel fear...  I also realized that after learning about Pablo Picasso that I am adding him to the artists that I don't like. Now that is a little different, because he's a single name on the newest list of reasons for artists that I just can't get behind. It's all morally gray really... I just kno...

We went to "Tip a Cop" which was a fundraiser for Special Olympics. It was fantastic! It was a restaurant at the mall so we showed up early and there was no line but there were a massive amount of cadets! It was so fun and I think only one representative from the Special Olympics was there. I would love to have gotten his name, but I don't want to be overwhelming to anyone so I kept to my small circle. The commune came out to eat with Sue and me. 💗 The weather out here is nice. I would love to have walked the mall as that's not something I really do and I want to see what the "Disney Princess" line is at Bath and Body works. I saw it advertised for a second and really wanted to see for myself what was out for testers.  The rest of the week has been kind of quiet. I watched a horror-ish movie or maybe suspense? I'm not sure, but it was really good and at the end I was like "No! No way!" and even though the villains were all disgusting, I really...

I am reading articles and seeing pictures for the "Last Supper Project" which is extremely interesting. It's about the journey of Joseph Nana Kwame Awuah-Darko and his journey towards assisted suicide. People have reached out to cook him something special on his journey.  I think California has assisted suicide for terminally ill patients.  I wish that option was available for more than just terminally ill patients. I would like to have that option when I'm older. I don't want to be at the mercy of a facility. Especially if my brain is going. I don't want all my money to go to the home keeping me comfortable ... or maybe not so comfortable ... while I watch television and wonder what people are doing.  Sue and I had some free time so we walked to Goodwill. I found the cutest little lacy dress that looked like something from 1920's and ended up buying it. The price tag was decent and the dress was in good condition, so why not.  We ended up finding a littl...

 I just realized, I'm not brave enough to be on a boat. The captain was experienced and great, the company fantastic, but the waves scared the heck out of me!  We went up to the Channel Islands and I was told in the spring that it's absolutely beautiful and covered in flowers. We looked at the arch which was amazing. We saw little sea lions (probably a year old) playing in the waves. No whales or dolphins though. I think Darlene was more disappointed than anything.  safe journey celebration I wanted to do the 7 Caves at La Jolla, but I think we already did it years ago, like a few decades to be exact because the images looked familiar. I have pictures of that experience. There are tons of seals over there. Jodi says it's not safe to be out there and I thought nothing of it, but Ann second that notion. Where there are seals, there are sharks... La Jolla? I was so young when we took this photo Ok... I might stay out of the water. I don't know yet.  I need to start taki...

 Sometimes you read posts that are jokes, but I love them. Like Denmark wanting to purchase California. The last document I saw said that 200,000 signatures were collected. I personally wouldn't mind Denmark coming in and taking over. We already have Solvang which is a super cute little town. Lets make it happen folks! I wrote by friends and told them they would need a passport to come visit us.  All jokes aside. 💕 Typo is doing good right now. We've been feeding her 3-4 times a day. She's gained a little strength back. She barked once and even gave Emory's face a little lick. We love her so much, but we're aware that this is now borrowed time. She's going to have to be a badass over the rainbow soon, but right now, she's our little badass and she's keeping me company while I work. Our friends with a yacht called on Thursday and said they are going out Monday to whale watch. We got an invitation so that was awesome! I asked what we could bring the capta...

 Typo had a seizure/stroke. It was really hard to tell what was happening, but it set us in panic mode. We rushed her to the emergency vet. She's resting now, but there are a lot of things that I noticed like her skin is starting to turn yellowish. Her blood work was really nasty (which is weird because we just had her medical checkup a few month ago and the vet said she was fine). The emergency vet said her liver is fine-ish but her numbers aren't great on other things. I have sent group texts to everyone to let them know her status. I got so many phone calls and people willing to be there with us. I really appreciate all the love we've gotten. We're keeping her comfortable because she is an older dog and she might be just tired. She's not interested in her food any more. She still drinks water, but we have things to squirt water into her mouth if it comes down to that. We need to get her body weight back up, so she's probably going to get 3-4 meals a day just ...

I went over to the commune for dinner. That was an experience. We had these taco salads but it was super fancy and super vegan which I always appreciate. We talked a bit. I had so much tea, which Mr. M loves his tea and he loves sharing. He made the dinner. Ann's in town so she helped me organize. We jumped from room to room, starting here and ending there. It was a mess, but I'm super happy with what we did. She is taking all the stress balls I have (which were a lot) to her exercise class. I guess people can use the stress balls? I had so many of them and they just gather dust. But she's in a class with older people and its good for their hands to have them. I had them in my throw-away box, so she rescued them and a few other things. She's so cute.  She wanted all these tiny little doll house things that I had that I said to throw into my give-away box. She's like "but they're so cute!" so I asked "Do you want them?" and of course, she said...

I got Halloween bed sheets! I freaking love them! Now if I only had a few pairs of Halloween bed sheets to switch them out with, but I only have boring bed sheets to use when they are being washed. I love my Halloween stuff all year long.  I found a few things we could do next month. I'm hoping Emory won't mind driving us because I think it's mostly in the city and I hate being on those freeways. So many freaking freeways to just get from point A to point B.  My little nephew loves wrestling. I hope he gets into it in school, but he likes the entertainment wrestling. He does this really super cute thing but then lunges himself off the counter onto the couch that scares the jinkies out of me! It's like a belly flop that would knock the wind out of his sails if he fell wrong. He's the type of kid that would jump off the roof into the pool. YIKES!! We had a friend do that and it shattered his arms. His mom had to help him and I'm sure that was embarrassing. I swear...

 Well, I'm not to excited. I'm actually pretty nervous about what fate will bring for us. California is not one of those favorite states right now. People are saying terrible things about the fires being our punishment. I don't think anyone deserves what is happening.  We went to Arizona for a handful of days and that was a nice drive, though we had to drive past the area that is having the fires. The sky looked normal so I have no idea how close the fires are to the freeway. I keep looking at the maps and evacuation areas, but I am not completely familiar with the layout.  We visited three communes. I had coffee at one and we laughed about my inability to cook. We went to another and enjoyed nice cream for a few days (because that's the one we were actually sleeping at) and we puzzled. We visited another place and took a few photos with people. We visited two house holds that were not communes. I guess it's a tradition to go to Pita Jungle for lunch when we visit. ...

These fires are leaving me terrified. They aren't extremely close, but boy do I feel terrible for everyone's situation and all the animals.  People were traveling through to the Oxnard commune so Sue asked if I wanted to go join them for the day. I agreed. I had a really great time. Some people went to go swimming (Yes, can you believe swimming at the start of January). For context, most of us are wearing sweaters and coats. Not anything heavy as it's not terribly freezing, just a light coat and pants.  The rest of us went to the bar. It's never too early to drink. Sue kept my wine glass full. I think I had almost an entire bottle of wine. I'd be surprised if I hadn't.  We went to the club next to watch people swim. I had such a great time but I didn't get home until super late and when I called Emory he was just chilling at home. Rose gave us a beautiful box of chocolates that she didn't want. I guess no one at the commune wanted them either so Emory to...

 What a fun New Years!  We got tons of celebratory text messages. There were fireworks!  No drinks for us. The next day we went to the Oxnard house where there were many commune members present and a few guests. We played on the boat and chilled with mocktails. They were willing to open wine, but I wanted to have the mocktail only and Emory did the same. For people not familiar with mocktails, they are non-alcoholic drinks. Mocktails: sparkling water, cranberry juice, mint So the southern New Years traditional dish is black-eye peas, collared greens and ham for "good luck." The other communes were cooking this meal too, but we only went to Oxnard. We made ourselves gluten free cornbread, tofu and then we ate the black-eye peas. Darlene made cornbread for her guests with jalapenos and corn. It looked really good. hanging out on the boat We had such a great night, but as the sun went down, we did have to run so we could get back to our place and feed the dogs.  I'm dyi...

On Christmas Eve, I was over helping Sue chop veggies (tomatoes and onions) for a Cuban salad that she was taking to a friend's party. She was also bringing wine for the host which I agree is a great gift, but I told her to call us if she drinks. She said she's not going to drink and she's true to her word, so no worries there.  Anyways, we're chopping away and I asked her how she liked our gift which I gave WRAPPED to her over the weekend. She said she thought it was cute. I laughed because of course she didn't wait for Christmas Eve or even Christmas to unwrap it. Well, at least I didn't have to wait to talk to her about it. I was afraid she'd find it stupid or worse, frivolous because she's 100% a minimalist. Steven said for Christmas Eve, it's t-shirt and jeans weather at 6pm at night in Arizona. I had to wear a sweatshirt when I left the house out here in California because the weather is getting a little chilly at night. I had a coworker who sa...

First off, let me say Blessed Yule to everyone. Sue came over with five brand new puzzles. They have the original stickers on all of them that prove the seal has never been broken. I really can't wait to get into them.  She came over with a lot of stuff, so I needed her help getting it upstairs. I bet we looked pretty funny. We could have used Emory. I told her that if she chose to open her gift early from us, that she needed to tell me how she liked it because I got the exact same thing for Darlene and Ann. I'm still waiting on Mr. M's gift. I had a great visit with Crazy Cousin Nik. He used to host D&D game night. He still hosts online gaming groups. He taught me a little about Discord. I'm still debating if I want to get on it. He has so many people that he plays games with and I sort of wouldn't mind that, but I felt like last time, playing games really took a lot of my creativity. So I'm still unsure if I want to do it. I've got to learn how to get ...