• 15 minute posts,  fighting the fat gene,  half assed posts,  illos,  place holder posts,  rando bits,  the dogs,  Tis the Season

    Mid-Month Catch-up, Who Dis?

    fall-in-Oak-Glen-2021

    I cannot believe that it is feeling like fall here in Southern California and it’s not even Halloween yet. Usually, it’s hotter than dog’s breath all the way up to Halloween and then magically on the dot it turns cold the night of trick-or-treating and that costume you thought was great on a warm night in September is now needing a sweater and tights! But nope. Not this year! We are actually hovering in the mid 60’s and breaking out the fall sweaters. I LOVE IT!

    I had a minute at work so I thought I’d pop in and share a few photos from this month. The top photos are from an impromptu visit to Oak Glen with my mom and Suki. We totally went there for the apple cider doughnuts, I’m not gonna lie. They are such a treat. There is nothing like waiting in line for a popping hot tiny doughnut freshly fried and covered in cinnamon sugar. I don’t have any photos because I was too busy making a tictok.

    I know, who am I?? Do I think I’m some kid playing on tictok? Next thing you know I’ll be filming myself dancing with my teenagers? The answer is: Yes, and no. I am on TicTok and I do actually love it but NO I am not dancing. Are you kidding me?? I’m terrible at memorizing dance moves!!! I might do it for a parody but I am not on purpose following that trend. I’m actually just making little micro movies and I love it! I don’t know if I can put them here. I’ll have to look into that but if you have an account you should check me out. It’s been really fun.

    Cdm5K2021

    Oh yes! I ran the CdM 5K. The same one I used to run back in the day. (Man, I used to be so skinny. The Corona Virus twenty didn’t miss me.) I’ve been trying to keep in shape but it’s a losing battle as I approach fifty. I had planned to run a half marathon but that seems to be pushing itself out further and further.

    pumpkin-patch-blair-bear-2021

    You know what I love about this time of year? Everything! Bring on the pumpkins, bring on the apples, bring on the cozy sweaters! We took Suki’s baby to the pumpkin patch for her first traditional pumpkin patch picture. We didn’t get any good pictures but it was still fun for us. Then I bought enough pumpkins to decorate my front porch that it looks like Martha Stewart lives there. I am a sucker for disposable fall decorations.

    october-2021-vegas-trip

    Payam and I also took a trip to Vegas to visit my good friend Bethany. It’s pretty funny how often I write about hating Las Vegas and yet, here I am visiting again. This is all Payam’s fault and Bethany’s. But I did really have a good time in spite of the hotel that was craptastic. I will not recommend the Flamingo for staying overnight. While it’s been remodeled it’s still pretty dirty and gross. However the flamingos are cool! And who doesn’t love a good pink-themed decor!

    It was so funny, I woke up early like I alwasy do and wandered around the really nice garden pool area with my cup of coffee in hand looking for flamingos. I saw every other bird imagineable but no flamingos! Then the very last place I checked (a back corner near a restaurant) there they were! There weren’t a ton but they were indeed there and I love them. The color of their feathers! So pretty!  So if you are a bird lover or a pool lover I can recommend the flamingo but if you are a fan of cleanliness I’d say skip it.

    what-happens-in-vegas

    We did really have a good time. The ice bar was over-priced but maybe worth it for all the good photos we got. I thought it would be like the ice bar in Finland or Iceland with luxurious furs and ice sculptures but it was more like hanging out in the meat locker in the back of a restaurant. At least we looked groovy in our coats.

    poor-whiskey-got-shaved

    In other news: I am now a dog groomer! Just kidding. I’m so not. But I did order some dog clippers and I went to town on my poor Whiskeybutt.  See, the thing is there are so many people owning dogs now (a side effect of the pandemic and people seeking pets to save their sanity during quarantine) that our local vet (who is also our groomer) is totally booked for grooming all the time. We have had to put off Whiskey’s much-needed monthly grooming for three months and he has been looking rough. I bathed him in the shower and that backfired on me because his fur is so fine it matted up like barbie doll hair. I was so frustrated with trying to brush him and snip out the mats by hand with scissors. It was just getting worse and worse. So I gave in and bought some clippers and guess what! Now he has no more mats! My family thinks I’ve gone crazy but both Whiskey and I are feeling much better. And, yes, he is cold (because he’s a Southern California Pansy ass like the rest of us) so he has his own special jacket. You might think he looks pissed in that top right photo but actually, that is his gentlemanly model look.

    fall-in-the-nature-trail-2021

    Now that Whiskey has no fur we can walk in the nature trail again! It’s beautiful as always.

    inktober-1-2021

    I’ll close out this October post with some inktober drawings. I’m experimenting with adding more texture for darkness…I have a lot to learn. It’s always so hard for me to slow my process down but it’s a good exercise.

  • 15 minute posts,  half assed posts,  rando bits,  Slow News Day

    July 15th 2020

    07152020

    Captains Log 07152020… wait, I’m not even sure how that goes. I watched Star Trek for a brief period during my college years when I lived with my Aunt and her family but I don’t remember much. I was a fan though. Just not a loyal fan, I guess.

    Anyway, I don’t have a lot to write about today. A few topics have been swirling around in my head but none of them are grabbing me.

    1. Wide pants from eshacti. It’s time to kick Stitch Fix.
    2. Bug cooking dinner. Her old soul demeanor humbles me.
    3. Learning to like sparkling water.
    4. Puppuccinos for the dogs in the mornings at the nearby Starbucks. Did you know having a Starbucks within walking distance of your house can increase your house’s value? I had no idea. Fun tip from my morning talks with my Dad.
    5. My mom’s amazing weight loss journey and how we are writing a book about it. Not really, we’re just writing a notebook with tips and tricks. We just need a nutritionist and we could take this on the road. Kidding. Sort of.
    6. My love affair with Belle Robertson, author of Tired of Thinking About Drinking (especially the “okay, goodbyeeeeee!” one minute messages).
    7. CAMPING! We are leaving soon and of course I have typed up a massive list of things to pack.
    8. What if they don’t let us camp because of covid? So far so good.
    9. Garden News (we took a blow from the powdery mold monster), new nylon bags and how not to plant your plants too close together next year so your cucumbers don’t taste like squash and your squash doesn’t taste like cucumber.
    10. Sewing plans.
    11. My new characters Bandit and Su. I actually already wrote about them over here.
    12. Pulling from the Brenda’s Book of proverbs, life lessons, criticisms and hard knocks.
    13. Out in my shed looking at old journals. So many!
    14. Monday Morning Disease, 6 o’clock drink o’clock, Morning Mantras, Cold Showers and other tricks

    What do you got? Anything you’d like me to wax on about now that I’m in the habit writing every morning? No promises though. You know me. This could just be a phase that could dry up tomorrow for all I know.

    We leave tomorrow for our long-awaited camping trip and I’m NOT taking my computer with me. I know. Such self-control, right? Heh. I will be instagramming whenever I find wifi of course. I’ll be up at the general store standing in that one corner that has cell coverage with my mask on, six-feet away from all the other wifi-seeking city-slickers.

    If any local thieves are reading this I just want you to know that my house is heavily alarmed, fully camera-ed up AND I am having someone check in on my cat who is a Krav Maga master.

    Love you guys!