11/30/2024

Once again I spent most of the day laying on either in bed or on the couch. I just feel so crappy.

Until tomorrow...

11/29/2024

It's a day after Thanksgiving and I feel worse. I woke up in the middle of the night with the upset stomach and a massive headache. I feel pressure on my chest.

Two days ago I tested myself for covid and it came up negative. I don't have any more tests available so I have to wait until some more get delivered. I don't think it's covid because other people are telling me that there's a cold going around that is similar to my symptoms.

Basically I just laid on the couch and watched TV all day. 

Until tomorrow...

Happy Thanksgiving

Miss Vivien and I went on a walk with a group of other Senior dogs called the Tofurkey Trot. We walked with the group a sort of short distance and then after the group picture this Vivien and I walked about two more miles. 

Only got home after relaxing a bit and watching my favorite Thanksgiving movie Free Birds, I took out my vegan Thanksgiving dinner that I bought from a local store. It was very good although I started to continue to not feel well. 

Until tomorrow...

11/27/2024

It's a day before Thanksgiving and I am starting to not feel well. My nose is running, I'm sneezing, I have a massive headache, and I just don't feel very good. So I'm going to take it easy even though I have work to do. 

Until tomorrow...

11/26/2024

Today I went and picked up my vegan Thanksgiving dinner from a local store. This year instead of cooking I decided it would be more fun to get my dinner prepared for me. I got a vegan Wellington, sweet potatoes with cranberries, green beans, garlic potatoes, mushroom gravy, and sweet potato curry soup. It looks delicious. 

I had a video meeting with my cardiologist. She wants me to wear a halter monitor for 2 weeks and get a ultrasound. 

In the evening I went to a concert. I went to see Cyndi Lauper and her final farewell tour. I thought she was very surprised for 70 and her voice held up really well. Not a incredibly huge fan of Cyndi Lauper but boy were there some in attendance. 

When I was coming back home I tried to get a taxi but the first one wanted to charge me double the amount to drive me. I turned to the line of taxis and yelled out is anyone want to drive me for the amount that I'm willing to pay? The taxi driver stood up and said he would take me. I hate price gougers. 

Until tomorrow...

11/25/2024

I can't believe it's been around a year since I started planning my month-long band trip this past spring. Now it seems like that trip was so long ago. And yes I've already started planning my next band trip. Yay!! 

It has been such an amazing year of trips and exciting things to see. I can't wait for more amazing adventures. 

Until tomorrow...

11/24/2024

Over the past two days I've been making a bunch of samples of my chocolate. These symbols are for the Chocolate festival that I went to today. It was a small chocolate festival and I decided I would take some of my chocolate samples with my business card and how about. I got some good response and I made a couple of connections. 

The Chocolate festival was kind of interesting it was all different kinds of chocolate.  My friend A went with me to help me because I can't eat many of the chocolates. I wanted to know what they taste like she had lots of fun eating a lot of chocolates. 

Until tomorrow...

11/23/2024

It's almost Thanksgiving and I do not have any plans. I really don't like traveling on Thanksgiving. Many many years ago I flew to the East Coast for Thanksgiving. My flight (not because of weather) was delayed so much that I didn't arrive until 7:00 Thanksgiving night. I completely missed Thanksgiving. I was supposed to arrive on the day before Thanksgiving but it didn't happen. I then had to literally turn around and get back on the plane and come back. That was the last time I traveled on Thanksgiving. 

Also being vegan Thanksgiving is not one of my favorite holidays. It's all centering around killing a bird and then tearing his little bones apart to eat it. 

Until tomorrow...

11/22/2024

One thing that is always hard with having a rental van is that I have been of stuff to take on these trips and when I come back they're all a mess. Before I go everything is organized in the right bin and labeled. When I get back things are all over the place. I need to get a system if I'm going to keep renting these vans so that when I return everything isn't just shoved in the easiest bin. I'm not sure how tha I'm going to do that but I have hope I'll figure out a system. I think maybe the most important thing is I take too much stuff with me. By decreasing the amount of stuff that I take, it might be easier to organize. 

Until tomorrow...

11/21/2024

It's always such a letdown when I get back from one of my trips. I know I have work to do and cleaning to do but a very large part of me wants to be back in the van exploring. I know we all need to get back to our regular lives. I just find it sad and depressing. When I was younger and I would travel I'd be excited to come back home but now I don't have that excitement. 

Until tomorrow...

11/20/2024

I woke up early again so I could finish cleaning the van. I had to have it back by 11:00 a.m. After a quick clean, I got on the road to return the van. After returning it I walked a 30 minute walk to a train. I took the train to the station and then a taxi the rest of the way. It's a bit of a long trek. I didn't get home until mid afternoon. And then I had to finish putting things away or at least out of the way. 

Another trip checked off in the books.

Until tomorrow...

11/19/2024

We woke up early and I took Miss Vivien Butterfly for a walk. Then another friend came over and I gave a tour of the van. After a bit of hanging out, Miss Vivien and I started the drive home. 

Once we got home I emptied out the van and did a little bit of cleaning. I was super tired and just wanted to sit down. 

Until tomorrow...

11/18/2024

Well, today is the start back home. Last night I packed up as much as I could into boxes. Emptying out all the cabinets. We drove from Palm Springs to Fresno where I stayed with a friend. Of course I arrived an hour and a half late and she was so sweet to hold dinner for me. 

Until tomorrow...

11/17/2024

My friend and his wife invited me over to their home to go hiking. They invited Miss Vivien butterfly and sunny the bird also. Sunny stayed in the van but Miss Vivien had a great time in their backyard sniffing everything. Then the three of us went for a hike. 

Until tomorrow...

11/16/2024

I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that's why I send and his wife took me out to dinner. They live near Palm Springs and they took me to a nice restaurant in Palm Springs for a lovely dinner. I left the dog in the van, the weather was quite chilly, and she did really great. 

This morning Miss Vivien Butterfly and I got going early to Joshua Tree National Park. Since this was day two for me, it meant hiking. The rule at National Parks is that dogs are allowed on roads, parking lots, and picnic areas. They're also allowed 100 ft from any of those places. Since Joshua Tree has most of its sites within 100 ft of the parking lot, is Vivien was able to see some things.

I did a little bit of hiking. I can leave the dog and the bird for about an hour hour and a half without any problems. 

Joshua Tree National Park you're very unique landscape. It's very rocky with super large rocks. Since this is not my first time here, I think I've had enough of Joshua Tree for quite some time. 

Until tomorrow...

11/15/2024

Crystal day at Joshua Tree National park. But first I dropped the dog off at a doggy daycare to spend part of the day while I drove around the park. The boarding facility was 5 minutes from the entrance to the park. My first went to the visitors center to get my passport stamp, t-shirt and map. 

I decided to do the 26 mile Loop while the dog was in the boarding facility. That way I could drive the whole thing and map out what I wanted to do in the next day. I only had until 1:00 because I had to take a zoom call and National Parks do not have any Wi-Fi. 

The park was great it was a very relaxing drive around since it's off season. It was not very crowded and I made a plan for the next day. 

I use the doggie boarding parking lot to make my zoom call and when I was done I picked up the dog and we went back to the campsite. 

When you walked all around the campground after dinner and then bought some TV. 

Until tomorrow...

11/14/2024

Got up early and got going. We had a long day of driving ahead of us to get to Joshua Tree National Park. We were staying in Desert Hot Springs at a very nice Campground. 

Once again I had to get up early to give the dog the medicine so that she would not be stressed out in the car. We got to the campsite late afternoon and set up camp. 

This campsite has a lot of amenities and I chose it so that we'd have things to do at the campground since it was a desert. Campground has mineral spring type hot tub, heated pool, unheated pool, bocce ball, kids playground, dog park and more. I'm looking forward to them mineral bath. 

Until tomorrow...

11/13/2024

Got up early to give the dog her new motion sickness medicine. She has to get it 3 hours before we leave. So I started packing the van. 

Once I could put the dog in the van, we took off. The three of us going down to Joshua Tree. Our first stop was Solvang. Unfortunately, since we stopped to buy a water hose, the one provided for me was bad, we ended up getting to Solvang at 4:45pm. The town literally shuts down at 5 pm. We walked around a bit and went back to the campground to heat up chili. 

Until tomorrow...

11/12/2024

Got up early to get a taxi to a train and then hike for half an hour to go get the van. Once again the van pick up was less than perfect. It was still water in the gray tank which is dishwater and shower water. There was also a lack of water hose. I decided instead of arguing with them I just go by my own water hose. 

But I finally got it and got home, put all the dishes in the dishwasher, wash the whole van down. You may ask why when supposedly they clean it. I don't trust that they actually clean it. 

Then I started loading things in. I loaded up all the things except valuables. So clothes, food, dishes, etc. that takes me a couple of hours of walking back and forth to the van. Luckily my neighbor allows me to park the van in his driveway and I give him free candy and pastries. 

All of the rest of the stuff and the pets in the van tomorrow morning. 

Until tomorrow...

11/6/2024

After having groceries delivered, I began making chocolates. This time I made more coffee and a batch of peanut butter. They look great. 

Later in the evening I decided to decorate them. 

I am not sure which of the dark chocolate stars I like best. The roses are decorated with some edible glitter. Just having fun. 

Until tomorrow...

11/5/2024

I had no client work to do today. I was supposed to have a meeting but it was cancelled 15 minutes into the meeting time. 

I have a love/hate relationship when clients cancel meetings at the last minute. On one hand I have more time to do other things. But on the other hand, I most likely didn't schedule something that I needed to do because I had a meeting scheduled. I may have rushed to get to my office for that scheduled meeting. I also think it is rude to schedule an hour of my time and just not show up and send a text saying the meeting is cancelled and not because of some emergency. Maybe it is just me.

After walking the dog, I started to make chocolates. I tried a new version of the coffee chocolates and they are great. I may not sleep tonight but that may also be because it is election night. Ugh. 

Until tomorrow...

11/4/2024

I didn't have much work to do today, so I decided to experiment with some chocolate. I made a vegan ganache that I hope had staying power. I also made some dark chocolate chili with Pepito's. Delicious. 

I had the gardener here to finally put in my front garden. It is a small space but it needed something. He put in 6 succulents with purplish rocks around them. It looks just as I pictured. Partially because I copied it from a house in my neighborhood. They say copying is the greatest form of flattery or something. 

I spoke to a friend and her son has a tortoise. I always wanted a tortoise (and a panda but only one is attainable) but couldn't figure out how the logistics. She says her son feels the tortoise should be rehomed. I am all in. That would make a bird, dog and tortoise. 

Until tomorrow...

11/1/2024

I had to go to the dentist to get a tooth checked. I was worried that the feeling was falling out. But it turns out the tooth is fine. The dentist just had to file down a little bit to make it flatter. 

Other than that my day was pretty chill. I walked the dog a couple times I met with a friend to continue working on her website and told her my finished vision board. 

Until tomorrow...

11/3/24

Today the clocks were turned back an hour so I slept in. After taking a bath, I walked the dog. Then I did laundry and most dreaded task: invoicing clients. I was proud that I finished invoicing by dinner. In-between invoices, I roasted brussel sprouts and baked some tofu for dinner. 

It was a super nice day and I wanted to go hiking but life got in the way. 

Until tomorrow...

11/2/2024

We got up early and went on a hike. It was an hour away and had elevation and switchbacks. Just what the doctor ordered for Vivien. She did okay with all the movement. I'm going to go again next week to see how she does.  I don't want to drug her to get in the van but I will if I have to. It's just a little relaxing pill.

The hike had great views and a .7 mile loop that we did twice to get our steps in. 

Until tomorrow...

10/24/2024

I decided that the dog needed to be washed today. She took a dip in the water in Olympic National Park and hasn't smelled great since. So today was the day she got dunked in the water and washed. She smells so good now and seems happy. 

Later in the afternoon I started to not feel well. I don't think it's from washing the dog, I think it's from from not feeling well. And yes I tested for covid but no it's not covid. I just laid down on the couch and took a nap until it was time to get up dog. 

Until tomorrow...