LoveRundle

 We had such a great time at the commune last week. We ate at restaurants a dozen times (it feels like) so we have so much leftover food in our fridge to eat. We were finishing one leftover meal when the head of the commune called and asked if we'd make it to lunch. Everyone was there so we had a huge table and listened to stories. Ann brought back German Chocolate Cake coffee from Texas. Emory and I are dying! We seriously wanted chocolate flavored coffee so this is the best. I've been enjoying the heck out of this coffee. I might be a little addicted to caffeine. Sue gave us some pet grass for Mozart and Typo, but this is why we can't have nice things. The plant was such a great idea, but I found it completely torn up. We scooped it back up and stuck it in a little cup of water, but we found it ripped apart again. Mozart and Typo are such boogers!  We sat out on the porch and had wine. Since Ann was helping me organize my place, we started drinking a little early and then

 We've been sleeping over at the commune for the better part of a week. They live up in the hills so there is more wildlife. We have to watch our dogs so that the coyotes don't get them. I was trying to sleep and I kept hearing someone outside laughing. It threw me off. Why was someone right outside our window? It took about five minutes to realize that it was an owl. I don't think I've ever been somewhere where there was an owl. The "who who" sounds a lot like laughter. Emory was watering the greenhouse. I found the cutest gift for Sue that is a little flower pot coffee mug and it comes with a spoon that looks like a shovel. However, Sue might like cat things better. Go figure. She is so particular about her gifts. Anyways, we were heading back up to our apartment for the day when Emory looked in the rear view mirror and saw something scary. He told me to look back in the direction we came (which now was about 1/2 mile away). It was completely blocked off by

I had Friday off so I went shopping to see if the stores had any good candy. I like YumEarth. What I have is vegan and gluten free so I'm really happy.  Took a look at It's Sugar too. Yikes! Can't eat any of this, but the colors are beautiful. Really just needed to stop by Trader Joe's because they have the vegan box wine. It takes a couple months to finish the wine, though they say it should only be good for about 6 weeks, or maybe that's 9 weeks? I can't remember, but I like a glass of wine while I'm writing.  I have bruising on my toes on both feet. I think I walked too much a weekend ago and they've been sore so despite how chilly it is outside, I've been wearing flip-flops because it hurts to wear shoes. I've never bruised my toes walking. It'll be interesting when my besties come out for Disneyland. That's a full day of walking. I'll have to put braces on my legs. They want to do a few days at Disneyland for Halloween so we'

 My friends sent me such beautiful photos from Hawaii. The nature did them wonders and now they are ready to dive into their creativity! I'm so happy for them.  Emory and I had a nice weekend. I went into my favorite spice shop and tried probably twenty spice blends. I feel like it's important to have a good spice rack. Bad thing is that it's so expensive so for two jars, we paid $$$ dollars. In the past, we bought "Italian Goes on Everything" which is sooooo freaking delicious and we put that on everything. 😍 So we did two more jars of something different. I told Emory we need to get some potatoes so we can try our spices out. Emory wore his Vegan shirt and this woman passing us said very loudly, "He's vegan, ask him what there is to eat around here."  I turned to answer her, but there was a group of people so I barely saw who might have said that and then they were gone. Mom says we need a shirt that says, "ask a vegan" which I think is

 We're back from the communes!  The trip to Arizona wasn't too bad. The dogs were really good and then we got to Arizona and stayed up past midnight just talking with everyone. Emory had a beer with Ann and I just listened to conversation. No shopping, though AZ is my favorite place for garage sales. I'm really supposed to be downsizing, according to a few communes, who have super organizers. You know you can't live in a commune without a few because someone has to get things settled for everyone.  Anyways, at 2pm on Saturday, our besties were having their party so we went. We learned so much about them with the games that they played for their party. It was so funny but lead to me wanting answers, but Emory said that we probably shouldn't ask... I ate way too many red velvet cupcakes, but to be fair, they were gluten-free and vegan so the best combo in my world! They were so stellar! I would have eaten more, but even I know that sometimes you have to share...  I lo

 I bought vegan candies. I got so excited that they were gelatin free that I got three bags, then I looked at the back and it said "wheat." What! Nuts! So I called my best friend to see if she'd eat them. She said yeppers! Because Sue is so anti sugar. She says it'll give you dementia and I think candy just sits around at the Phoenix commune now that most people with children have moved on and out of the community.  I'm going to go visit another commune, that my BFF is staying at. She's having a huge party so that should be fun. Emory and I are staying the night. She's got a crystal room so I'm hoping she'll show me all her witchy stuff. I love the potions and lotions and she's a crystal healer so that is even more fun stuff. Maybe I can get her to read my tarot. I have tons of cards, but I love having other people read for me. Does that make me lazy?  Steven is going to watch our dogs for us. He said Typo can sleep with him, because Mozart wil

 Holy cow the weather was bad on Thursday. I thought we'd lose power. It was hailing, and the rain was coming down in buckets. I think it scared Mozart because he usually doesn't just sit by my feet while I'm working so I picked the little booger up and stuck him on my chair with me. Of course, he growls as we both try to get situated with space.  To be fair, the weather scared me and I knew I was safe, but Emory was out of the house so I was really worried about him driving in it. I called the commune out here to make sure they weren't in it. Sue said she was at home, but she had to leave within the hour. Darlene was out golfing though she never said it was raining. I guess she was up in Solvang and it was just terribly cold and windy.  Mr. M was at the other commune working on painting doors. I guess those doors are pretty heavy and he had to call in for backup moving them.  Emory and I went up to Ventura for Sunday and had a blast. I bought a few puzzles though I kne

The commune out here in Los Angeles is going on a two week cruise trip coming up in June. I was just warned. I usually don't mind babysitting the animals, but now we have a greenhouse to take care of and Emory and I are terrible with plants! I'm a little stressed, because the greenhouse is everything to Sue and Sue means a lot to me so I don't want to mess it up. We'll have to be diligent. And June is pretty hot, so that means extra watering... maybe? Watch, I'll drown these plants. 😓 Emory is working a lot of overtime so we've been a little slow with puzzling. Steven suggested I watch Thanksgiving. It was brutal! But I liked it. With masked slasher films, I always get to the point where I have to know who the killer is so I google it. Yikes! I also watched Dark Harvest, which I thought the plot was great. The story had me intrigued and again, I really just wanted to know what was happening. Emory called it. I think they left it open for a second movie. I hope

 Holy cow! Just holy cow!  I went to the eye specialist and he said there is nothing wrong with my eyes! YEE-HAW!! Sue went with me and she was so awesome! I forgot my sunglasses and she had another pair. She kept me calm. I really thought the doctor would have problems getting drops in my eyes. My eyes are so sensitive and I blink just to blink so it's worse when something is right in front of my eyes. She remembered to ask the doctor about eye drops, which I completely forgot because I was so nervous about the exam. He did do something I wasn't too fond of, which I have no idea what the device was but he was checking the pressure of each eye and it was a little uncomfortable, but it didn't hurt, I just didn't like something that close to my eyes. And he said nothing was wrong! He seemed a little surprised I came in with a "possible problem" given my age. I was one of the younger people in the office. So I'm grateful we got this done because I stayed up a

We had an earthquake on Friday that really got my adrenaline pumping. I called Arizona first, not that they felt it, but I just wanted to hear someone's voice, than I called Sue who lives out here. She asked if I was okay. It wasn't as big as it could have been, but it made things shake and my heart was really pumping. She's straight to the point, asked if I was okay, told her yes and the conversation was over. But it was still nice hearing someone's voice and she was much closer to the zone it started in. Emory said that he heard the office settle and that was that. I asked Miss Mary and she said that she was in the parking garage when it happened and all the car alarms were going off. She laughed and said, "At least I wasn't in the elevator." I got tons of emails from my co-workers all checking in. That was fun.   I'm thinking about going back to school. I really want to be a medical coder, but I have a really good job. It's just that this job ha

  I got a text from my ex boss about coffee. It's funny that she's drinking coffee and thinking of me, but we did bond pretty well. We both like the same things, but I think she's a bit of an introvert and I'm a bit of an introvert, so two introverts get along just fine over text messages.  I finally cut and dyed my hair. I feel like it frames my face better and the long hair... it wasn't as long as it could be but boy was it always tangled and I just couldn't keep the knots out so yeah, it's nice having it short. The hairdresser said it was like a small animal was built out of all my hair. 😹 We have noisy neighbors above us. It's like they have a call center that starts at 10pm sharp until the wee hours of morning. Too many voices and they talk so loud and it's right above our bedroom. I feel really frustrated. Last night, it was like they were playing hopscotch. Our first meeting at book club for the new year went really well. We had themed food t

 I went for the first round of eye tests. They did a scan of my retinas and my optic nerves. I have to wait until the doctor looks at the scan and then I have to go back for more tests. They will dilate my eyes this time. Good luck! I'm a pretty fast blinker and I do NOT like eye drops.  I lost my car in the parking lot and had to ask security to help me find it. I felt rather silly because I called Emory to tell him my car was gone and asked him what to do. He said go to security. Security took my car keys and did exactly what I did to look for my car, by making it beep. We found it and then I got a lecture on what "color" my car was and what the make and model was. Apparently we don't agree on color. I told Emory that I seriously couldn't tell the difference on color and Emory explained to me what the security guard was going on about. (Potatoes and Tomatoes, I swear!) I think there is an ever slight difference in color and the guard wanted to make a point. I di

 Super nervous to get my eyes examined. I'm not sure what it will entail, but whenever doctors have to do tests, it's never fun. I've had too many experiences with "tests" to feel any kind of ease. The woman who booked my appointment said that "they wouldn't be dilating" my eyes. I guess I could always ask Sue to drive down with me, but I think she's got enough things on her plate. She's so busy. I had a quiet weekend. We were going to go on a date night with other couples, but we decided that now wasn't the time. It would have been at a club, and truthfully, I'm a little scared to drive on the freeways out here. I was only going to drink soda for the night, and let Emory have the beer, but we thought about it and it's been a long time since we've been to a club. Maybe we'll do it next time.  We did end up cleaning. I guess Sue is in the cleaning mood ( she blames tax season) and she constantly has advice on what we should

Ann is coming back out and I guess the Porter Commune is heading to Texas. We get to watch Miss Sassy-Pants. I'm sure she'll love to see us and the dogs. I'm excited to see the pictures. That's not for a couple more months though. So we have a little time to switch house-hold duties until then. My best girlfriend is going to renew her vows in Hawaii. I don't think we'll have the funds to go, but it's fun to plan anyway. I want to help her find a dress for her vows. I hope she films EVERYTHING! She's going to put flowers and crystals in her hair and I bet that's going to be lovely. She's going to get a camper this summer and start traveling. I think she's going to start a video-log and show her travels. I really want to see that. Emory and I went to the meetup at the Porter Farmers Market. We met across the street and waited for people then walked across. We ran into a few familiar faces and they remembered us too. I think the meetup is going

 I thought I'd get on here and wish everyone a fantastic Martin Luther King Jr. Day! But I got sick, so this post is going to be a little late. I felt horrible and the only person I told was Ann, (I think) because being this sick makes you delusional. Anyways, The Porter Commune called and said, "You have a fever, we got the cures" which included advice like rub rubbing alcohol over your skin, and put a wash cloth between your armpits and groin for fevers. Don't drink tea... put honey in your drinks... gargle with salt water.  It was funny, but they talked so fast and I barely understood any of it because I had the brain fog seriously bad yesterday. I still have it today and working is so hard. I hope I'm doing okay. It's nice to have people who care. Sue offered to bring us soup. I will have to tell her I don't have much of an appetite. That old saying: Starve a Fever, feed a cold.  Anyways, this weekend was a bust! I wanted to see if I could find pillows

 It's one of those nights that I really couldn't sleep. I have too much on my mind. I just got bad news from the eye doctor that one of my eyes isn't doing so great. I felt invincible and now I feel like my body is really starting to fail me with everything that keeps going wrong. Sue offered to watch the dogs for us so we can go to Palm Springs or the Joshua Tree Forest. I'm excited about that. It's pretty cold though and going up the mountain in Palm Springs might be a bit colder. They have great Date Shakes there. It costs a lot of money though for specialty items. There is one place I want to go, that I don't know the name of, but it's full of rocks that someone has painted. I want to see it, though I think it's called "The Church..." of something. I don't know how religious it is though. I hear it's in the middle of nowhere. Sue's birthday is coming up so I'd like to take her out for a beer. Ann said that Sue would like pil

 Happy New Year! We survived the celebrations! It's time to clean the house. I'm ready to let some things go, especially if we do have to move again. Time to get organized! Finally be that Virgo I was born to be! I have the artistic "chaotic" organization thing going, but there are things I haven't touched for a long time that I need to decide if it's time to give up.   Speaking of gifts, I got a Wallflower gift for Yule. It's a Bath and Body plug-in that smells so delicious. I wanted to go get a few more scents to put in it, so we did that this weekend. I bought way more than I needed but the price was right since everything is on sale.  We have a busy couple of months! I want to go to some parks and do the touristy thing.We want to head to Nevada for a couple of days. We have friends heading to Hawaii who have invited us for the journey. So much to do. Major Goal is to write more. I need to get this story finished. 

 So the Porter Commune packed up there bags and headed towards the Mojave Desert. They wanted to see the Joshua Tree National Park . <-- click for photos. Emory and I got a picture right in front of those trees. They are pretty when they bloom but they look prickly and not very pretty for most of the year. I found a Joshua Tree Distillery. How fun! Maybe we'll go. I'm looking for things to do out here in California and do the touristy thing for a while because who knows when we'll pack up our bags and leave again.  We are going to spend Sunday with a Meetup group at a Wine Bar down in Los Angeles. I hate driving down there because you have to use the freeway and the freeways out here freak me out. (Literally gives me nightmares that the freeway splits and I end up in downtown Los Angeles). Anyways, there are only four people going so far and it's on Sunday from 3pm-5pm. Emory and I both agreed we're only going to drink a small glass of wine and spend the time tal

 Spending the holiday with at the communes! We went to one commune for coffee. I had a gift for Farmer Bill this year to thank him for everything he's done for us. I thought it would be a busy trip, but it really wasn't. We had a lot of people to see, but it was all crammed into a few days and then we ended up having to drive back to California because Emory has a new job right now.  I didn't win the ugly sweater contest at work. I think the homemade sweaters do a lot better than the store bought ones, but I'm not that creative. My creativity lies in writing. OMG! My best friends made me and Emory a wood puzzle piece that can hang anywhere, with our initials on one side and the "Puzzle Couple" initials on the other side! They are so creative. One year, they made us drink mug/wine glass with our initials on it.  I think the funniest, but very practical gift we got this year was a headlamp because Emory and I walk at night and a few times the cars turning have a