LoveRundle

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...

Wow! We drove one hour and twenty minutes to get to our destination for the puzzle exchange. It was utterly insane how many people there were participating in this! I had a good time, but I'm definitely new at this so this made me a little nervous. I needed someone who has talent in customer service to go with me to do all the talking. I did take twenty puzzles from my collection for the exchange and brought back twenty-one puzzles that are new to me.  Sue and I went to Newport and got lunch with Miss Rosy-Dosy. She's so adorable. Her and her boyfriend took us to a very local and wonderful Mexican restaurant. Everything is within walking distance from where they live which is super close to the beach. People ride bicycles down there and lots of people walk with surf boards. It was nice and warm, but it'd been a little cold that morning so I wore a long sleeve shirt that I clearly no longer needed. Rosy-Dosy gave Sue and me a starter kit for sour dough bread. I am nervous. I...

 I went out to eat at this super nice restaurant with Sue. We got teas and salads and yeah... they also offered bread, which I can't eat, but she really seemed to enjoy. The server even opened little packets for us to wash our hands! That is super fancy. I've never had someone open a cloth for me to wash my hands with.  We went to the garden store and Sue picked some really nice plants to put in her garden. She got pepper plants, which looked decorative to me, but she swears you can eat the peppers... I don't know, they looked more like for show. Anyways, that commune eats a lot of peppers. Which is funny. Each commune has something so exotic about them and hers is the constant beautiful peppers they grow and eat all the time.  I went to our apartment complex party. It was for the start of the football season, so they had nachos (which I can't eat), cupcakes (which I can't eat) and soda, which I did grab. They had a decorative football wall, flags with all the teams...

We spent the day out in Oxnard. It was so much fun. We had drinks, we got a nice ride on the Duffy. We looked at the new boats that are up for purchasing. We looked at seals (from a safe distance) and finally stopped at a Yacht Club for drinks. They're part of the yacht club... truthfully, I couldn't tell you the difference between a Yacht and a sailboat. I'm pretty sure I could point out a Duffy though!  My moon sister is in a play and I'm super excited for her. I wish I could get out to Arizona to see the show. I am going to send flowers her way because I told the commune that she's in the play and they want to go see it. I'm excited that I'll be there in spirit and flowers! because I'm so sad I'll miss it. I asked for pictures so I can see the story of the practices and she sent me one. I'm so excited.  Jeffery is going into surgery later this month. I'm really nervous for him and again, if I could just drop everything and get to Arizona, ...

I'm holding my breath because I might be on a collision course for a new adventure and I'm not entirely sure I'm on board with it. If this is the case, I might be heading back to the commune with my hubby and puppies in tow.  Ann said that they'd welcome me and that they have a room... but let me remind you folks that the commune is extremely full so we'd be sharing closet space with a few people and I don't really want them to change anything around for us, soooooo... yeah, that's going to be interesting. Plus there is one television and the elders chose to watch things that don't really interest us, like soap operas and reality television. I'm more of a horror/comedy/superhero type girl. I guess I'll know in the next three weeks what my fate is. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything works out because I really like living in California. There is so much to do.  Our friends from (yet another commune) are coming out soon. We are plann...

 We had another earthquake today. Luckily, Emory was home so when I started to freak out, he was there. Yes, we've lived out here for a while. No, I'm still not used to the earth moving. Though that makes me want to break out in a song. Anyways, we went to Redondo for the weekend and got sunburned pretty badly. For some reason, my Google won't let me download pictures. It keeps telling me to sign in, though I'm pretty sure I'm already signed in, so if you want to see the pictures, check out my Instagram. (The link to my Instagram is to the side) It was so fun! We walked to my favorite tea shop Racer Tea and started our day with a high caffeine tea. At that point, we already walked about 5,000+ steps. (Emory has a counter on his wrist). We then went to our favorite spot and I got a strawberry salad and Emory got a vegan burger. We were just chilling, listening to music when I spotted this lady putting things out for a bully rescue (pit-bulls) so I made a donation and...

I'm having a problem with my account not letting me upload pictures. I'm not sure what happened. 😢😢 So we went up to the Salsa Festival and dragged Sue out with us. The drive was nice. Emory and Sue got drinks so I was the designated driver. I gave Emory and Sue the green light going in. Usually they drive me so this time, I told them to go hog wild and I'd do the driving. They didn't take advantage of the opportunity, but I still did the driving back.  It was all the way out to Oxnard, which is funny because it doesn't feel like such a long drive like it does when driving even 20 minutes in Arizona. Sue and Emory agreed. Driving out in Arizona feels like forever... but maybe it's the heat radiating through the window that gives that illusion. The music was fantastic. I couldn't get anyone in my party to want to dance, but we did do some shopping. I bought gifts for people, I bought Emory a drummer shirt, and I got us some oils for cooking. These oils were...