We’re back! We’re open for business again! Our October hiatus was much needed, but we’re happy to be back and recording again. Today’s episode covers a little bit about what went on during the month of October, but mostly it’s about the results of those events that make up most of the episode. In a nutshell Kym had a major spiritual awakening. So, we talk about how having a spiritual awakening is no picnic. It ain’t no bed of roses, sun rays, and butterflies. It’s chaos, pain, disturbance…and a wee bit of insanity. The end result is a new self-awareness and inner knowledge that you could never have otherwise, which is amazing. But damn, the process is a corker. We’re all for change and personal growth, but sometimes the Universe has other plans. Sometimes the Universe says, “Miss Kris, Miss Kym, your wake up call is here” and then hits you in the head with a cosmic two-by-four. It’s leveling up in ways the Mario Brothers could only dream of.
Check out “Leveling Up“ episode on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
From a gravitational standpoint, yes, all things fall. Well, maybe not ALL things. We’re kind of sure there are some things that never fall like…liiiiiike…hey…who do you think you’re reading, Neil Degrasse Tyson? This is The Mugly Truth! You know when we say, “ALL THINGS FALL,” we mean, “IT’S AUTUMN BABY!” Mhhmm. Yes ma’am. Yesterday was officially the first day of Fall (America)/Autumn (UK). We are so happy we actually pulled our sweaters out of mothballs (even though in Southern California “Fall” still means “Summer”).
We talk about some fun facts having to do with this time of year, as well as some pumpkin trivia. And because Kris (ok, surprise….me) is still sick, this blog is gonna be short. So to get straight to the point, here are some links to all (most??) of the things we talk about in today’s episode:
That ol’ Harvest Moon…yep, it was Friday, September 13th.
How To Make Your Own Pumpkin Spice 3 Tbsps ground Cinnamon 2 Tsps ground Ginger 2 Tsps ground Nutmeg 1 1/2 Tsps Allspice 1 1/2 Tsps ground Cloves If you want to go all mathy on us and increase that mixture for future baking purposes, measure up to your heart’s content. We’re willing to bet a bit of that sprinkled over some good greek yogurt or a scoop of vanilla ice cream would be heavenly.
Wondering what a High Altitude Male Siberian Hamster looks like?Wonder no more friends. He’s a puffy little thing.
As for that nervous Black Capped Chickadee…here ya go.
Rouge Vif d’Estampes translates to Bright Red Prints. Makes total sense. If you want to see what these “Cinderella” pumpkins look like and/or maybe want to grow some, check here.
So yeah that’s it. Short episode, short blog. If you haven’t already listened, go on and do that, because honestly everything you’ve just read is just a jumble of words. You need to hear the details in context dear friends. Check out “All Things Fall” episode on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Cast, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Kris loves coffee so much. Kym does too, but she also loves her dignity. Photo by Kimberly Sickel, @riverdeer, at 500px
For all that is holy, please pretend this is goulash.
Basically an exact copy of Kris’ mantle.
Dressing up in costumes goes back as far as 2,000 years, starting with the Irish Celts and Samhain.
Sad floofy spider asks “Why you so scurred of me?”
Some might ask, “why GOULASH? Are you (((sure))) you have the right word? Is today’s podcast all about Halloween recipes? This makes no sense. We are all confused.”
To that we say, “We don’t know but it’s too late to change things NOW, we’re tired because it’s vurrry late and we procrastinated getting this thing written until two hours before it’s due and we are always confused, SO GET A GRIP.”
How very collegiate of us.
Let’s fill up a lot of space with other people’s words, shall we? Here’s what the free online dictionary has to say about it:
goulash (ˈɡuːlæʃ) (n)
Definition 1: A rich stew, originating in Hungary, made of beef, lamb, or veal, highly seasoned with paprika. Includes macaroni, onions, tomatoes.
Nope. We aren’t dedicating today’s podcast to a bowl of spicy meat.
Definition 2: A method of dealing, in the game of Bridge, in threes and fours without first shuffling the cards, to produce FREAK HANDS!
VERY CLOSE. Verrrrrrrrrry close. All this talk of “freak hands”, and the wanton dealing of cards with reckless abandon. Hmmm. Yes. It’s all very…ah…close.
Definition 3 – Hodgepodge;jumble.
Winner winner chicken dinner get that dog a bone!
Jumble. HODGEPODGE! (wot an amazing word, eh?) THAT’s why we chose “Halloween Goulash.” We knew deep down we were on the right track. Plus, it’s so much creepier sounding than Halloween Potpourri. We’re so glad it worked out. We are very lucky people.
Right. So today’s episode starts off super great. We are in Big Bear, still sitting on Kym’s mom’s deck, we’re enjoying the flora and fauna, we’re staying the course. We have our topics! We have our notes! We talk about the history of Halloween and Samhain and how the Irish totally invented the First Holiday of the HallowThanksMas Trifecta…
We ramble on about Halloween traditions and candy corn and our favorite movies to watch in October (Harry Potter anything, Hocus Pocus, Rocky Horror Picture Show, High Spirits, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah) and how much Netflix and other streaming video folks have a totally sucky holiday lineup this year…it’s all GREAT…things are BRILLIANT…we sound fairly EDUCATED (snirk)…
And then dangling, creeping, unfolding shit hits the fan.
We won’t tell you exactly HOW it hit, but once it flies things kind of go downhill. Oh, we try to bring it back ’round, try to push through – but in the end, let’s face it, we forgot a whole entire SEGMENT of the episode outline because of SAID SHIT.
That’s ok. There’s still quite a bit of (ahem) meat and potatoes (HAHAHHAHA!!! see what we did there???) (Editors note from Kris: There’s no potatoes in goulash.) (Author’s note: fuck off no one cares.)
((Does anyone actually believe there are two people writing this blog? No? Okeydokey.))
…there’s still quite a bit of substance to the rest of the episode, it just tends to be on the jumbly side of the definition of goulash, not so much the stewy side. A wee bit of the “freak hand” essence is revealed with a slight bouquet of chaos and subtle hint of insanity, paired with well-aged f-bombs.
Now lookey here. We’ve managed to write an entire blog about absolutely nothing, so you’d probably be better off getting on over to HALLOWEEN GOULASH on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Casts, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Then all you need to do is 1) subscribe 2) download and 3) listen! AND!!! 4) If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review (pretty please?). The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Kris and Kym enjoy coffee to the LAST DROP! Photo by Kimberly Sickel, @riverdeer at 500px.
Kym and Kris take the podcast to new heights when they hang out in Big Bear, CA, for the weekend in search of epic history (some tragic) and haunted happenings.
Kym bundled up for recording outside on a deck in Big Bear.
We started off visiting the small and poignant Big Bear Cemetery. The cemetery opened in the late 1980s and unfortunately has had some financial difficulties over the years. It is under new management and by all accounts, seems to be the only cemetery in Big Bear.
We spent quite a bit of time walking through and viewing some of the lovingly decorated gravesites.
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Throughout the cemetery were homages and tributes to the heart and soul of loved ones who have passed on, including some who must have had quite a sense of humor in life.
Humor is forever.
Afterwards, we went into Big Bear Village and visited the Knickerbocker Mansion (or, at least, the chained fence surrounding it). Couldn’t discover if the mansion is haunted, but it is a lovely compound and apparently has the oldest still-standing vertical-log cabin in the area (if not the state, or the country…or perhaps…even…THE WORLD!!) It’s currently closed but we couldn’t figure out if it’s because of renovations or for sale. There was no sale sign, but there was a box full of flyers espousing the virtues of the property.
The Knickerbocker Mansion, Big Bear Lake
We then visited the Captains Anchorage restaurant (once the Sportsmans Tavern, owned by actor Andy Devine) just up the street. We were too early to go inside, so had to be content with just walking around the building while the kitchen crew eyed us through the window. Not creepy at all. Something weird happened to Kym’s camera phone as she tried to take a photo of one of the upstairs windows. Now. There is a story about a man named George who was found dead in his office on the second floor, whether by murder or by suicide no one really knows. But his ghost is said to haunt the restaurant. So. Ghost? iPhone glitch? Hmmm…..we may never know. There was nothing untoward in the photo, but we are planning to go back and next time…go inside! So bring it on George!
Captains Anchorage steakhouse, Big Bear Lake
Our Tour Guide to Macabre Big Bear (Kym’s mom) pointed out a home in her neighborhood and a couple businesses in the village with tragic histories, and at one point we did stop near the condo where Christopher Dorner holed up during a manhunt that ended in a fatal shootout with police. During his vengeful spree, he ruthlessly murdered Monica Quan, Keith Lawrence, Officer Michael Crain and Officer Jeremiah MacKay, and caused injury to many others before dying in a fire in a cabin off Highway 38. It’s a tragic addition to the otherwise rich and beautiful history of Big Bear.
To lighten the mood, we end up by touching on the relationship Big Bear has with Hollywood. This has nothing to do with Halloween, or hauntings, or spookiness. Nope. This is alllll about the “make us feel better please” after spending a day talking about death.
In the early 1900s, the mountains, valleys and lake were discovered to be as much a goldmine for filmmaking as the actual gold mining industry had been in building up the town in the 1800s. Aside from a laundry list of classic westerns made in the early first half of the 20th century, scenes in notable movies including “Gone With The Wind,” “Paint Your Wagon,” “Kissin’ Cousins,” “Old Yeller,” and “Davy Crockett” and television shows including “Lassie” and “The FBI” were filmed in the area.
And just because they were so danged cute, here’s some parting shots of just some of the critters who kept us company during the recording.
Eat up little Chip!!
He wants a peanut mom!
To hear our BIG SCARE episode, go to iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Casts, Stitcher or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and then subscribe, download and listen! If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review! The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Kris and Kym make sure the stairs are safe behind some cool building in Old Orange, CA
Kym and Kris visit one of the mausoleums in Fairhaven Cemetery, Santa Ana, CA
Kym and Kris find this grouping quite…ironic. It’s a SIGN!
Kym inside the original Fairhaven Mausoleum
Kym and Kris in front of the original mausoleum in Fairhaven Cemetery, Santa Ana, CA
Kym and Kris take it outside. There’s bird tweeting, dogs barking, spiders LURKING! **SHUDDER** But we push through our fears and deliver the podcast like the caffeinated, mouthy chat-warriors we are. And we talk about everything under the sun: cancer, cemeteries, Big Bear, Aurora Borealis, noisy airplanes, noisier helicopters, Orange Ghost Walk, worst Christmas gifts…we said everything, we mean EVERYTHING. Today’s episode is a poignant catch-up for these two life-long besties.
To hear our CABANA SPIDERS episode, go to iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Libsyn, Pocket Casts, and Stitcher or any podcast player you prefer and then subscribe, download and listen! If you enjoy what you hear, please leave a rating and a review! The more subscribers and reviews we get, the more opportunities we get to grow this podcast and bring you richer content.
And don’t forget to follow us here at themuglytruth.com (click that blue WordPress Follow button on the right side of your screen) so you get notifications every time we post an episode blog! You can also follow The Mugly Truth on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
UPDATE: Kym’s procedure went smashingly and everything came out ok. Literally. She’s fine, looking forward to her PSL, and sends EVERYONE her love. Which is awesome, because…WE…LOVE…HER!! The only thing we’re kind of bummed about is she’s not opting for the big pain meds. So much for Kris’ evil plan of making a viral video of Kym whacked out on meds.
Next time, Gadget….NEXT TIME.
(JK, there will be NO NEXT TIME! This was it, no more!!! Healthy us forEVAH!!)
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