LoveRundle

 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 ...

We took a little trip with Sue to the wineries in Solvang. It's basically a 2.5 almost 3 hour trip from the valley. She brought coffee which was greatly appreciated.  She has a membership with one of the wineries up there so we went to get her wine. The weather and location was so beautiful. I wore a short dress with a little long sleeve sweater over it. It wasn't that cold out for December. We ended up buying 2 bottles at that location. The wine is so good. We then went to another winery that I wanted to try so badly. I'd seen it in October, but we hadn't stopped in. The charming atmosphere really made it fun and the man pouring our drinks gave us more than just a sip. Well, I didn't think another sample would do anything, but it did leave me questionable. We ended up buying two bottles of wine there as well.  I recently opened the wine so I'm drinking it sip by wonderfully delicious sip for dinner. We then took a walk around Solvang. Every store had a decorate...

 There are two community library boxes in my neighborhood where people can leave books. It's a little different from an actual library because you can keep the books indefinitely. I grabbed two books; "They Both Die At The End" by Adam Silvera and "Double Fudge Murder" by Jan Fields. I grabbed the first book for Sue because she's a little more outgoing when it comes to reading. I like my mysteries, fantasy, romances and Urban Fantasy.  What an incredibly busy weekend!!  So I don't really leave the house without Emory. I'm working on that because I guess I have some agoraphobic tendencies. It's hard to explain but I get sensory overload when I'm outside. Emory grounds that part of me that immediately just panics.  I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it, but I made it down to the car. Still thought I wouldn't be able to do it, but I got in the car. I had my doubts, but I drove down the street. Super unsure I'd be able to get out of ...

 Typo's white beard is orange because she eats pumpkin puree in her dinner dish. I give it to them as a treat and they really like it. It's pure pumpkin. Do NOT use pumpkin pie  mix because it has spices that the dogs shouldn't digest. I was trying to get the regular old pumpkin puree in a container with a lid that I can put in the fridge and they went ballistic. They could smell it... and I'm a sucker for their little faces so I gave them a spoon each. Typo also has oatmeal in her beard and I have no idea how she has it on her ears. I love my little fur babies, but they are getting older. I took Mozart for a walk and his little back leg got disjointed. He didn't use to have this problem but he is getting older now (13 years old) so he's starting to walk funny.  I hope everyone had a great Thanksliving! We had the hardest time trying to put together the recipe we chose off the Internet. We chose one that was a little unorganized. In otherwards, the directions w...

I have been living on stress for the better part of the week. I kind of wonder if Ann called Sue and told her to keep me busy because Sue ended up calling me Saturday morning to go shopping with her.  We went to Walmart looking for two types of card games for children; Go Fish and Old Maid. Sue also bought toys for the toy drive and included things for the teenage boys and girls. Walmart isn't my favorite of stores. It's always crowded and I think it's a little hard to find things. All that chaos makes it hard to focus.  We went to Target next and I found some yummies for my fur babies. I got them these little candy cups that look like pure sugar, but it is dog treats and came in a package of four for $5.00. I need to put a few treats together in a care package for Chanel. She's a little "pom" dog that the Porter commune babysits for the holidays. I have small fur babies too so everything I have is for little mouthes.  Emory and I went shopping this weekend fo...

Never have shoes EVER called to me. They have always been, "meh" in my eyes. Those things that protect my feet from our extremely hot ground in the summer and keep my toes warm in the winter... I winters can get as chilly as our summers get sweltering.  HOWEVER! I was looking for shoes (because yeah, who isn't with the economy scare) and I was looking in the clearance aisle (again... got to hold on to all those nickels and dimes).  WOW!!! These shoes just sort of sang to me! I don't know if it's because they're pink or if it's all the rhinestones, but yeah. I just had to try them on. I called Emory (on the mobile because he was nowhere near me) to come and look at them and to talk me down from the frivolous buy!  $149.99 price tag! 50% off... But where would I wear them? I did send a picture to everyone and yeah, I got more thumbs down than kudos on my find, so I did put them back. Got to be a little careful right now. Just to be clear, if the spirit of ou...

I'm watching this television show from 1970's called: Monster Squad. Emory said it didn't sound familiar though that would have been his childhood. I teased him that he was too busy getting in trouble at that age. 😉  The show is interesting but definately has that (Adam West) Batman vibe. Over acting probably made to entertain children, not that I have a problem with overacting or shows made to entertain the younger folks. Its nice for background noise while I'm writing and cleaning.  😂😂😂 Cleaning! Yeah.... let's go with that. It kind of reminds me of Venture Bros (the cartoon network show) Crazy Cousin Nik did a Venture Bros cosplay once. So freaking awesome! He did a really good job because he's so tall and skinny so he looked JUST like Dean if Dean were a living person. I know I have those pictures somewhere. I'll have to see if I can find them.  We took a look at the commune's new boat! I'm so excited for them. It's big and has a lot of f...

I went to a Diwali celebration! I wish Emory had been able to come because the people throwing the party did ask if he was coming and I had to tell them no, he had previous obligations. There was so much food there. As the night progressed, we got glow sticks and these little things that light up. Definitely fun. I met so many neighbors and I took pictures for people. It was great.  At the end of the celebration, we got little goodie bags. I was given a "boy" gift and a "girl" gift so that I could bring something home for Emory. I also brought him two desserts. I am so thankful that I got to be included in this celebration and to meet so many interesting people.  My neighbor gave me a bottle of Vodka. I guess she doesn't drink and she asked if we do. I laughed and said, "we shouldn't, but...." She laughed and understood. We talked a little bit about vices. She said she doesn't really know if she has one. I, myself, might have too many.  Festiva...

 We had a chance to go see The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It was a small audience compared to the other shows, but it was fantastic. This was my first time ever and I didn't expect all the yelling, the audience getting up to dance the "Time Warp" and I didn't expect items to be thrown (all in good fun). It was such an experience and I tried to capture as much as I could of the moment. I had such a great time. Then I went to a small festival with Sue. I snapped a couple of pictures of her. I call it "Sue in the Wild" as she's hard to get pictures off. She'd probably kill me if she knew I had a photo... or two... Fancy Car Show We got more stuff than we needed. I bought Emory some hot sauce, and so many of the little tables wanted donations. We didn't bring enough money to donate to everyone. They were asking for $20.00 which is pretty hefty price if you have more than five people asking for it. We did spin the wheel of "fortune" and the ...

 I had such a fantastic week!  Solvang is about a three hour drive from where we live. We hopped on the freeway a little late given that we were meeting friends who were driving from Oceanside. We still made it to Solvang before they did. It's a cute little Dutch town with tons of bakeries, which we totes took advantage of. The hotel had complimentary bikes so I wanted to get on them and take one for a test run. Needless to say, I am not really that good on bikes any more. They say you never forget how to ride a bike, but I don't think they met meant me! I was wobbly and a mess. My girl friend took video. I bet she's laughing as we speak watching that video on replay. Emory and I stopped at a Tiki Bar for a drink. I got the "Pain Killa" and Emory got a mixed drink, but I don't remember the name of it. He also got a beer. Heck! It was his birthday week so he could drink every day if he wanted to.  Our friends met us for dinner and we had such a nice time. The g...

 My Goddess! I had the best weekend ever!  I made it down to Hollywood for the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Experience!  The drive always makes me nervous. I hate it down there. I did dress up as that was encouraged. I dressed in my funeral best and wore a little hate from the 1930's that had a very tiny black netted veil. I got so many compliments on my costume. Emory only wore black. He didn't want to "dress up dress up" for this, but he was willing to wear all black to the party. Then we walked around Hollywood a little bit. I offered to take photos for tourists, but they were worried that I was one of the many many many people that ask for money down there for photos. I told them "absolutely free" and took a photo of the couples in front of things. I wasn't expecting to jump in them, if that's what they were afraid of, but I do love taking photos for people who want group photos.  I was asked if I spoke another language. I do not, sadly. I failed at t...

 I've been watching a lot of horror movies. I just recently watched one that is outside my norm. I tend to like spooky horror, not slasher horror, but Tubi kept suggesting one particular one so I said, "Meh... why not?" Because curiosity was triggered. It wasn't as gross as American Mary, but it made me nauseous.  Speaking of nauseous, friends are coming out to go to Magic Mountain. I haven't been there in so long, but I do have powdered headache medication that I'm going to give Steven because I don't know how you can go on roller coasters all day without a headache. He might be very sick by the time he makes it back to the Port commune.   I went to a little antique/art show with Sue and had a blast! I really shouldn't have, but I bought myself a pair of pumpkin earrings! They dangle and are so stinking cute! I wanted to get her kitty earrings as a joke. She keeps saying she doesn't want kitty stuff but ... I think she loves the things we find her...