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Tag: NaBloPoMo posts

Fear and Loathing in Granbury Square

When I was a kid up in eastern Washington, I often carried pebbles in my pocket to toss ahead of me before stepping into tall grass. Sometimes I’d hear a rattler slithering out of the way afterwards. My little dog was good, too. She’d run ahead and keep the trail cleared of any snakes. I didn’t realize people ever shot snakes; so when I saw this ad for a snake gun proudly displayed in a shop window, it caught my eye. The ad amuses me because the guy they drew looks a bit like Hunter S. Thompson. I can just…

Just like unexpected snow

Happy 2010, everyone! Since I didn’t quite make it through NaBloPoMo in November, I’ve decided to hop into it for this month. So here I am, posting today even though I’m pretty tired from last night’s revelry. As you can see from the photo above, even the gargoyles caught a chill last week when it surprised us by snowing, not once, but twice. Despite the white sky and the smell of impending snow in the air, I didn’t quite believe that we would get any flakes that would stick. Tex brought home some bags of wood pellets for us to…

NaNo NaBlo Wipe out!

Well, I crashed and burned on both NaBloPoMo and NaNoWriMo this year, but I am still glad to have dabbled in both. Because of the NaNo efforts, I met a local writer, and connected with a local writing group. Because of the NaBlo I discovered some really interesting bloggers. I’m delighted with the groovy new friends I am making, and whose blogs I will be linking to … when I return. Yes, I’m hopping a jet to London in a couple of hours. This will be the first Thanksgiving that I’ve had in 8 years with my fabulous step-daughter and…

Bon jour, y’all!

“Bon jour, y’all!” is how the server at the local French restaurant greeted us. This collage of phrases was melded together with a heavy Texan drawl and seemed utterly natural coming from him. Now that I think about it, it really sums up the Frenchy-Tex cuisine they offer there. In fact, if I were their marketing director, I’d consider making that their slogan.

Monet, the Fishing Spider

When it comes to spiders, I experience equal parts fascination and freak-out. So when I realized the one in the photo above was mere inches from me as I sat by the backyard pond, I had mixed feelings. I’m new to Texas, and don’t quite know what’s venomous here, so this seemed like a good time to call upon the gods of Google. Unfortunately, 15 minutes of downloading one spider photo after another only succeeded in giving me a serious case of the spider heebies. The spider heebies are akin to how you might feel if you spent the night…

Raindrop Halos

The rain in Spain may fall mainly on the plain, but in Texas it just bitch slaps you wherever you may be. Texan rain resembles the tempests you see in movies about Seattle: sheet after sheet of pounding, morbidly obese raindrops, with thunder and lightning for added drama. Any Seattleite will tell you we rarely get Hollywood style deluges in the Pacific Northwest. I know a lot of folks there who don’t even own an umbrella. I like walking in Seattle style rain. There is a certain velvety mist I especially enjoy, like a constant whisper throughout the day; it…