Spring: Flowers and Ladder

Mrs. Mil. Long!

Mrs. Mil. Long! Lord, have I not made violent haste; I have asked every living thing I met for you; I have inquired after you, as after a new fashion.

—V. McHugh

Bird Statue

Near my office. I love this!

Clean Bee II

And It's STILL Snowing

I was trying, for the most part unsuccesfully, to capture the fatness of the snowflakes.

Snow Day!

I took these photos about 20 minutes ago; the patio is completely covered now.

Clean Bee

I found this bee floating in my milky coffee on the patio today. I got it out, then dipped it in my water, thinking it might help. Then I put it down on the chaise cushion and watched it clean and dry itself.









It finished up and flew away right after I took the photo below.

For Hugh

Hey!
I pause at every post and tree
and sniff in hopes of news of thee!

I cannot eat my kibble!

—Fred Milton, Beat Poodle
via Lynda Barry

Rock of Love

Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That's all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh.

—W. B. Yeats, 1910

Bon Saint Valentin!

I play it cool and dig all jive
That's the reason I stay alive.
My motto, as I live and learn,
is: Dig and be dug in return.

—Langston Hughes

How I Spent My Superbowl Weekend Vacation At the Cabin

1) I knitted this Saints hat for my husband. It is THE WORST hat ever as far as execution goes (it is not supposed to be pointed like an elf hat!), but he loves it, and that's all that matters. Now that I know what not to do, I will make another, better one; but in the meantime, I told him that if he ever wears it outside of the house, he must tell people that he got it at the thrift store, or alternately, that his wife who is insane and lives in an asylum made it for him.


2) I paged book #3 in the Tom Carter series, written by my friend Hank. WARNING: If you know Hank, don't tell him about this, because he won't see it till Wednesday and it is a surprise!


Here's the cover in full. Tom Carter #2, The Key That Opened Everything, is there behind the Auto Caper.


3) I hung out with Spike the cat. She's been pretty poorly this week, but she's happy, and is most content when she is sitting on a person's lap or other body part. When I'm at the computer, she gets on the desk and drapes her little furry body over my left forearm as I type.

4) I cooked a chicken that is now ready, and I'm going to go eat some.

Last Saturday: Just Like Today, but Sunnier

Last Saturday after picking up litter all morning, I laid on the patio in the sunshine until I was driven indoors by the cold and the wind (despite the blanket I was wrapped in and the knitted cap I was wearing). The best spotted dog ever joined me for a while. The little gray cat in my lap is not shown in this photo. It was a stunning day till the clouds rolled in later.

Evening Sky II

Beautiful Evening, Leaving Work

Sunday Shadow

Post-litter pickup

Let He Who is With Sin Among You Throw the First Trash from the Car Window

Or, Litter Pickup: January 2010

This weekend was the bi-monthly litter pickup on my neighborhood's main road. Above is yesterday's haul; those 2 miles of road (times 2—each side of the road) were a mess. We were out there for 2 and a half hours! This morning's 2 x 2 miles were not as bad and took only 2 hours, and maybe only took that long because some of us who'd also been out yesterday were jaded and slower today.

It's funny how the litter varies. Sometimes it's mostly alcohol trash—beer cans & bottles, wine bottles, whiskey bottles, cardboard 12-pack holders. Sometimes it's household & construction items—old rags, dryer sheets, drywall, ziploc bags. Always there are pieces of cars—glass, mirror, fiberglass, bumpers—and always packing peanuts.

This weekend's largest contributor was the fast-food industry. We know whence cameth the red straw above and the torn bag below! I'm featuring these Sonic items in honor of my brother, but I do not mean to single him/them out, as all fast-food groups were equally represented in the array of cups, bags, wrappers, and the like: McDonald's, Wendy's, Popeye's, Whataburger, Jack in the Box, Burger King....I could go on and on. I know that fast food doesn't litter, people litter, but to the dispensers of all food, fast and otherwise, I have this to say:

STYROFOAM CUPS SHOULD BE BANNED FROM THE FACE OF THE PLANET. If every person that ever handed out such a cup had to pick up the approximately 157 pieces that are the remnants of each cup, and had to pick up the remains of approximately 47 cups in two hours, and then realized that they could spend the entire weekend picking them up because there are that many cups out there, perhaps they would reconsider their use. When no one picks them up, those little styro pieces stay there for a long, long time.

YES, I Am Obsessed with My Cat

This weekend I will make an earnest effort to photograph something or someone else, but for now...what could be better?

Loretta: An Update

Tuesday sunset. You can just barely see Shovel Mountain there in the distance, dead center.

So Loretta the elderly cat with failing kidneys is maintaining, nay, perhaps even rallying! We're giving her subcutaneous fluids every day and take her growing feistiness about the procedure as a sign that she's feeling better every day. She is even acting kittenish and perky again! She's not eating a ton but still weighs more than when we got back from England two weeks ago, and she smells a far sight better than she did then, too.

O Loretta! I would do just anything for this cat; she has been my constant companion for almost 17 years. I have had her longer than I've known both my husband and my best friend. She has been with me through thick and thin. I hope she will continue to be with me for much more thick and thin—mostly thick would be good, but I'll take what I can get.

The Frozen Outdoor Shower Tundra of the Icy North—I Mean, Texas

The inside of the outdoor shower after dripping the water for the last couple of nights with temperatures below freezing

2010! Yes, Already!

Lately I haven't been writing much here, just posting photos. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But here it is the beginning of the new year and I'm contemplative; spending time with elderly aunts and then coming home to a very sick elderly cat has provided food for thought. And now it's the last day before returning to work after the winter break and I have that Sunday-night-before-school-on-Monday feeling, only more so.

Things I have to do today: Laundry. Dishes. Lute practice. Give the cat subcutaneous fluids in an attempt to prolong her little elderly-cat kidneys & make her feel better. Spend a lot of time with said cat on my lap.

Things I want to do today: The things listed above, minus laundry & dishes. Begin typesetting, illustrating & binding my friend Hank's first mystery story. Finish the hat I am knitting for Hugh, my second knitted hat and the first one I've knitted in the round & used double-pointed needles on. Take a walk. Make Cornish pasties. Savor this last day off (till next weekend)!

Things I want to do in 2010: Make more art and other things. Be a nicer person & complain less. Be outside a lot. Give attention to all the things in my house that are broken or otherwise need attention. Get rid of a bunch of crap. Take more photos. Limit my exposure to those who are unkind or negative, whatever their reasons for being that way. Learn to play my lute in public without visibly shaking. Enjoy & appreciate the peacefulness that my life mostly is.

The picture at top is Loretta, the ailing elderly cat. The picture below is me in a B&B in Barnes, drinking Dorset brew "Piddle in a Bottle" that Janet gave us. As Hugh is not drinking lately, had to down it all myself, darn it. More's the pity.

Happy New Year!!!

The Golden Face of Fritz

He's so happy we're home...

Holding Tails: Fritz & Lo

Because Who Can Have Enough of Dorset, Really?

Dorset Field, Hills, Sky

A Very Happy Texas Holiday!

I am positive that this century plant is celebrating the solstice. It
was a vision in red near 15th Street spotted on my way to work
yesterday.

Last Night, Fog and Fire

The Butter Cow

Mrs B, thinking of you this evening as I make soup & cheesy
toast...have I told you lately how much we in this house love the
butter cow?

My Floridian Avocado

This avocado, given me by Fran & Groovy, was grown on their very own avocado tree. It is shown here nestled in my purse, in which it rode from Tampa back to Austin. It's almost bigger than my head! And is most delicious, to boot.