Whaaa?? You've got ties to The Valley of the Sun? That's pretty cool... :) We are pretty deserty out here.... have to drive north for any real and glorious trees.
Yeah... I wish I could have succulents. I had a friend who is a "plant lady" and she gave me tips. Still killed it. It grew... tall and didn't look like a succulent anymore... then bent over in the middle and died. sigh Our plants in the front yard, a texas sage bush and some random flowers from Wal-mart... thriving. We don't water them at all... just let nature take it's course. It's crazy, right?! Or is it... :D I'm an animal person. As an adult I've had 2 dogs, a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach (a rescue from a kid who I caught painting it, then was gonna smash it. :/ Turd...), several gerbils, hamsters, a few fish. Not all at the same time though... just over the years. You bet I do try to channel my inner Disney princess... I may or may not - sing or sang to my lovelies... or put them on my shoulders.... or booped their noses.... I adore your raccoon tales (pun intended) ... makes me giggle.
My sister and I are closer than we were as children. Never thought we'd grow up to live together. :) Yeah, we were living in apartments and rentals, moved apart for awhile, then we decided to get a house because our individual rents were about a house payment (at that time anyway), we decided to go for it. And here we are. I do miss the ease of not having to deal with every little repair, busted pipe, jacked up roof, etc. that you get with apartment living... Owning a house is expensive in that regard... Every time I get some savings... there it goes... Oh my gosh... after all the paperwork is done and you've wrapped up schooling.... you're gonna have so much time for activities! :) insert deep announcer-type voice What will you do next? :) I hope you have fun figuring out your next obsession. Crochet? Sewing? Juggling? Ballroom dancing? Photography? Genealogy? The possibilities are endless. :) I'm excited for you.

I'm glad they're doing the transition to kumos slowly. Maybe a lot of the kinks can be worked out before we fully move over. This gives us a chance to mentally prepare and slowly acclimate. :) I'm gonna need all the time I can get. Glad he did well. It always stinks to not do as well as you practice... but it must be nice not to stress, knowing the scholarships are covered. A little weight off now. I live in the Phoenix area... lots to do... bustling. We have to drive hours away for any decent fishing. I hear people have great luck in our canals. AZ fishing sucks overall. :) Or I do... yeah... it's probably me :). I just do catch and release. When we travel up north to fish, it's more about the scenery and weather. Otherwise... we have man made ponds in city. Sorry about the garden. I have great respect for anyone who can tend a garden. I have a brown thumb. I killed a cactus. Watered it too much. :/ More power to ya. I didn't even know white birds of paradise were a thing?! With spring here... I'm sure your garden will start thriving and coming back to life.
I have a mutt. He looks like a smaller, brindle, Staffordshire Terrier. We had his DNA tested... he's a "Supermutt" (Supermutt, Pitbull, American Bully, German Shepherd, Shih Tzu (???!!!) and Boxer). Found him in 2018. Love the ol' man. He's so chill... unless another dog barks at him... :/ I love that you "have" a raccoon. That's so fun. Livin' the Disney princess dream. I'm gonna need you to sing to him (or her) and see if more come around... and help you with your laundry. :D Let me know-Keep me posted. Sorry to hear about your dad. It is really tough to watch the ones we love decline.
My dad is out here now. He's staying for several weeks. We're keeping him busy, but also letting him have his alone time to nap, play on his phone, watch tv and such. He seems to be enjoying himself. He loves it out here. We didn't do anything special for lunch or dinner this year for Easter. Just did a breakfast thing. I need to learn how to make deviled eggs properly. Or rather just pick a recipe and do it. I'm just too lazy., I guess. They are one of my sister's favorite things and they feel like such a staple. Family members in the midwest make them for gatherings and such, but when they're not around... it leaves a void.
I hope it all went well for you. I haven't seen Killing Eve yet... one of those shows I'll watch eventually. :) Let me know how being the creepy guy works out for you :P Ha!
End of the school year is coming fast. As a homeschooler... do you end earlier or try to stay on schedule with local schools?

How time flies, huh? Well, I hope he does well. If the confidence is there... that's half the battle... better cool, calm and collected before taking them rather than freaking out and spazzing, huh? :) Oh... just noticing that he's taken the SAT by now. :) I'm a bit behind. It was probably great. He did wonderfully.... right? :D

I've been doing well. Staying busy, working, dealing with car troubles (I sure can pick 'em), playing co-ed softball, fishing, thrifting, pulling weeds (they just don't stop), doing my taxes, walking/hiking with my dog, all the things. :)

Family... let's see... "short" version. Grandma (maternal) had a stroke. Doctor said she'd die within 3-5 days. Got her back in her house and she thrived :). My dad volunteered to be live in care, since he was retired. After months, he got burnt out. Hired help and got volunteers. Family was finally ready to look at long-term care and chose an assisted living center in her town so friends and family could still visit. She's doing so well. We expected the opposite and that's why it was put off for so long.
After going home for a few weeks, he's finally ready to come out here for his yearly visit.

I know you're not on here much... but how's your navigation, page loading, wardrobe, forums and stuff? It may just be the event and more use of Kumos... but I'm struggling. :/

I hope you had a great New Years, a fun Valentine's (Survival) and are going to have a festive St. Patty's day (I just wear green) and a wonderful Easter (Vesnali)...
The Snickers and Cadbury eggs are out... and I'm about to gain 10 lbs. just from that. ^-^

insert silly face Just stopping by to say hi. k... bye :)

Happy Lumi season.