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Diwali Festival, Scary Jerome and Writing

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
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Fall Festivals, Carnivals and Urgent Care

 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

Tiki Bars, Bike Rides and Writing

 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

BeetleJuice Experience, Commune Visits and Writing

 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

Theme Parks, Antique Fairs and Writing

 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

Puzzle Exchanges, Birthday and Writing

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

Fancy Restaurants, Football Parties and Writing

 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

Yacht Clubs, Moon Sister Plays and Somewhat Writing

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,

Collision Course, Doggy Dental Cleaning and Writing

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

Sunburns, Coffee and Writing

 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

Salsa Festival A Blast and Writing

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

Fainted, Salsa Festival and Writing

 Well, I am now 0 Days without incident. I fainted again. It was one of those things where it happened so fast, I didn't have time to get on the ground. I hit my head, but the bruise is small compared to my right wrist, which I must have whacked on my way down to the ground. We might go to a Salsa Festival in Oxnard with some people from the commune. They're going on a trip so it might be too soon for them to go to the festival. I don't know if Emory wants to make that drive all the way down there, but I think it could be fun. We have a place to stay. We have the beach house that the commune owns. We can always go down and stay with them the night and go to the festival in the morning.  Emory had an interview for a really good job AND he got offered a position from the company he already does a temp job for. Temporary was nice for a while, but the problem is that it's not permanent so the work isn't steady.  I did go to the emergency room (ER) because I wasn't f

Chilly Night at the Beach and Writing Update

 We went to Redondo for the weekend! It was so much fun though a lot cooler than down here in the valley. We brought shorts for the weekend, but ended up having to wear jeans because ***burrrrr*** cold, folks! We ended up walking the beach at night, which we hadn't done in the past, probably because it has been a LOT colder, than it was this particular time. There were so many people and that made it really fun. I love to people watch. So much happens at night. So many interesting people.  We did a Mojito flight: which had watermelon, mango chili, original and blueberry. They were so freaking good, but I ended up getting a blueberry mojito at full size and Emory got himself a drink, since we both shared the flight. I felt pretty good after that. Mr. M (at the Port commune) makes killer faux-mojitos because they have all this mint growing wild down their hill. I thought I'd be drinking everyone's because Sue and Emory are not big on mint, but they drank their drinks just fin

Date Night with No Selfie Stick and Writing

We had such a great date night! I love that there are so many things to do out here, but we chose a place that was 100% selfie-mode and we took over 99 photos of ourselves just chilling. The place little light / selfie place was about 1 mile from Long Beach so we didn't dress for the cool night weather. Completely forgot how cold it gets by the beach. The drive wasn't too bad (roughly about an hour to get there). We got there early and went for dinner Korean BBQ (tofu - please and thank you) and we walked around the mall for a little bit waiting for the sunset so we could enjoy the lights in these event.  Emory taught me how to stand AFTER we were done for the night.😆 I told him he always looks so good in photos and I look a little awkward. He taught me how actors stand and well, I stand so weird.  Writing Update: Commissioned work: 3/? chapters written. Editing chapter 3 as we speak.  Werewolf: on hold until I can figure out what's the holdup on the story front. I can'

Can of Chardonnay, Los Angeles Filming and Writing

 Darlene brought a cold back to the commune. I'll probably get sick because I hung out with Sue. She wore a mask, but I have a feeling that just being in her car ... well, yeah.  I found this can (like a soda can) of chardonnay. I've seen wine in a can before, but this is the first time I've actually bought it. I thought it would be funny to put a bow on and give to Darlene. She's so fancy that she'll probably laugh and put it on a shelf and not touch it. I'm thinking I'll dare her to drink it and if she needs someone to try it with, I guess I'll be a test subject too. 💘 We went walking twice this weekend, per my physical therapist's recommendation. They were filming up where we walk, so I was nervous to walk in that direction, but Emory held my hand and we did it. We laughed because Emory said we might see someone famous. There were guys walking around with security right beside them, but I didn't recognize anyone. He said he didn't either.

Horror Fun Things, Drinks in Ojai and Writing

 Steven gave me the coolest collection of Halloween items that he found at this specialized Halloween store. He got me a Scream pin that says: Horror Movies and Chill; a Scream coffee mug that says: What's Your Favorite Horror Movie; a Killer Clowns from Outer Space figurine (which I freaking love that 80's flick) and a awesome pink tie-dye shirt that has movie psycho killers on it. Please don't mind that I'm not wearing makeup and we'd been running around all day. I'm just chilling with my pups and commune and having a great time. I am not sure I want to use the mug because it's so neat and I don't want it to get stained or dirty... but at the same time I really want to use it! Oh the horror! the aggggooooonnnnny!  (Think Bugs Bunny on that last part) We went to Ojai this weekend for lunch and drinks. We did some shopping but WOW that place is super expensive. I found the coolest hummingbird feeder that was $88.00. I wish I had that money to spend becau

100 Degree Weather, Gifts and Writing

We had a great Memorial Weekend! We went to Arizona and visited a few of the communes. I think three in all. I got something from each person we visited. Tea from one, clothes from another and a flower from another: We had so many people to visit and I had a great time. We ate out more than we usually do. We were also asked to help put together a lighting system on a gazebo which was great because at night we drank outside under it.  It was about 100 degrees here and there in places. We forgot you had to bring so much water when you're traveling from place to place.  I really wish I had taken a picture of the tea party we went to. We had an oatmeal bar at that location that was fantastic! I had apple pie oatmeal; apple pie spice, brown sugar, walnuts and apple slices.  We stayed in doors where we could but we were on the road a majority of the time because we had so many people to visit. Steven went with us to a couple of places.  Writing Update: I've been working on side proje

Beach House, Stupid Knee Injections and Writing

Another glorious week and weekend! Well, maybe not too glorious. We spent the weekend up at the beach and it was a little cold. We wore shorts anyways and walked about 15,000 steps a day. We tried a new restaurant called Turquoise. They serve Mediterranean food. It was so amazing. Olive-Walnut Tapenade We had three days up at the beach so that was a nice little break and the dogs were at the commune. We got pictures of them chilling with the other pets. I did get injections in my knees. I don't know what the medication was, but boy did it hurt! I said a few choice words and the doctor said he heard it all so he knew how it goes. He really undersold the "you'll feel a little pressure." That was not a LITTLE!  We saw a brown pelican get caught by wildlife. Later Emory saw an article that said pelicans were getting sick. It's pretty concerning.  Writing Update: Moved back to my werewolf novel. I'm stuck on chapter 5. I have this feeling that I need to edit, but i

Ventura Hostess, Doggie Dental and Writing

 This is going to be a busy month for us.  I'm still listening to the Christi Affair, though I have to do it in little sections as it's not my typical book choice and I hate anything that has to do with affairs. I passed up reading one book already for the book club that had to do with plagiarism. As a writer, you can see why that would bother me. Also that book had to do with snooty writers and I've had my fair share of dealing with that. There might be a reason why some writers tend to be solitary creatures. Though, I do miss Romance Writers of America meetings... with my closest friend.   Book Club might be held in Ventura at a beach house! I'm pretty excited because the hostess always goes out of her way so she might let us get on her Duffy for a ride!  Mozart got his teeth cleaned, which makes me sad for him because they give him an IV to make him sleep through the procedure. I hate needles so maybe I'm projecting, but I doubt he knows what's going on so it

Book Club for May, Happy Beltane and Writing

Watching: Dead Boys Detective Agency  (soooo bloody good) Reading: The Christie Affair Eating: Vegan Nachos  The Christie Affair is really making me mad for Agatha Christie, but Sue and Darlene told me to keep reading and it would all make sense. I looked up the divorce, which is real though the story is fictional, and Agatha's husband was able to take a lot of money. I don't know if it was his money or hers. It just pisses me off. Again, I have to remind myself that the story itself is fictional and I can't keep getting so caught up. Fictional! Fictional! Fictional! *le sigh* I've started my Christmas shopping! I found so many things that need to be personalized, but I love them. I can't show what I've found here, but I think I've got something in mind for every single person I know! I also found wildly inappropriate gifts, that I showed Ann and Lucile and they thought they were great gag gifts.  Happy Beltane! I wish there was somewhere I could build a fir