That was the least depressing C-mas that I can recall.

Finished reading Do They Hear You When You Cry by Fauziya Kassindja, which was a surprisingly good book about her experience seeking asylum in America. Her father built a successful trucking business in Togo and used his status to make his own life, marrying outside his tribe (to the ( Read more... )

Yesterday our porch posts were covered in ladybugs, and today there's no sign of them. Were they meeting for mating, or a rendezvous to flee this climate for the season? I read that they were sacred to Freyja, and then the Virgin when Christianity took over, and it was all kinds of good luck to get them in your bedroom, but they only ended up in ( Read more... )

Sometimes I wish I was smart. I was going to post my tarantula and scorpion pics, but..."Cannot copy file. Cannot read from source file or disk ( Read more... )

Her x-rays were clear. Thank you, world ( Read more... )

Dropped Chile off at the vet for x-rays today. Here's hoping for the best for her, that her cancer (malignant melanoma) hasn't hitched through her lymph nodes, to her lungs or bones, etc. From her outward behavior, there isn't any reason to think that's the case, as she is acting as strong and energetic as ever ( Read more... )

I got Chile on April Fools' Day last year, so this was our first year together. You see how lax I am about anniversary dates, even ones that are easy to remember? She woke me up, and we hung out. We took a walk around the nice Texas State Cemetery, with the good grass that she likes to roll in, and I thought about how much better she's made my life ( Read more... )

Chile and I just got back from the dog park. We left because she was tired enough to lay down for a rest every so often, and because this older guy showed up who got irate about his dog being humped (by another dog, thankfully not Chile). First he chased off the offending dog, yelling at it to get away and for someone to get their "damn" dog. Then ( Read more... )

Chile has her lion cut, a homemade job by me ( Read more... )

So having properly finished up my SXSW volunteering experience this year, and another free day before I'm scheduled back at work, I went sifting through my life's mess to see what I'm behind on now ( Read more... )

Too much rain.

I think I drowned a little walking home. My throat and ears are weirdly sore. My sneakers are still soaking wet, though I took them off when I changed into dry clothes hours ago.

And my dog is not pleased. She really needs a proper long walk, and is restlessly waiting for the weather to clear up enough to go out.